JP4117365B2 - Enclosed ball game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention plays a game by firing a predetermined number of game balls enclosed in the main body of the game machine from the launch position to the game area, while collecting the game balls that have been played and guiding them to the launch position to circulate the game balls The present invention relates to an enclosed ball game machine to be used.

A predetermined number of game balls (game media) are enclosed in a game machine such as a pachinko game machine, the game balls are launched from the launch position to the game area, and the game balls that have flowed down the game area are collected and led to the launch position again. Enclosed ball game machines that use game balls in a circulating manner are known.
In such an enclosed ball type gaming machine, since a predetermined number of enclosed game balls are used in a circulating manner, the number of game balls as a player's possessed ball does not increase or decrease as in a normal gaming machine. The numerical value indicating the number of possessed balls (the number of game media) decreases in response to the launch of the game ball and increases in response to the winning of the game ball. Here, the number of possessed balls indicates the number of virtual game media held by the player, and indicates the number of times that the player can launch a game ball into the game area. Therefore, in the enclosed ball type gaming machine, when the number of balls held as information becomes 0, the game ball cannot be launched.

  In addition, when a player plays a game, instead of borrowing a game ball, the player purchases the number of game media (the number of balls rented) as information. In this case, for example, each enclosed ball game Cash will be thrown into a lending device that grants the number of game media such as a sand device adjacent to the machine. In addition, when considering making it possible to use high-value bills and not having to change money with a sand device, etc., the number of game media (number of rented balls) directly corresponding to the amount of money inserted The game value information (for example, money amount information) is generated corresponding to the amount of money once thrown in, and a part of the game value information (all are also possible) by the player's operation in the enclosed ball type gaming machine. Is converted into the number of game media, and this is added to the number of balls held in the game media number information.

Therefore, in the enclosed ball type gaming machine, in order to inform the player of the current number of balls in place of the game balls accumulated on the upper and lower plates of a conventional pachinko machine, the number of balls held (the number of game media) ) Is displayed.
However, the player's ball number data that changes as the game progresses is only digitally displayed on the display as numbers, and the movement of the ball on the upper plate like a normal game machine that allows game balls to flow in from the outside. There was a problem that there was no real sense that the number of balls had changed with the launch of game balls or the generation of prize balls.
Therefore, in order to realize that the number of possessed balls has changed in response to the launch of the game ball, the game ball enclosed in the game machine on the back surface of the front plate formed by the transparent member waits for launch. A ball standby passage, a ball feeding member that sends a game ball waiting in the game ball standby passage to a launch position, a launch rail that is the launch position and through which the launched game ball passes, and a collection unit for the launched game balls And a sealed ball-type pachinko gaming machine in which the front plate is made transparent as described above so that the player can see it is proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
In the enclosed ball-type pachinko gaming machine described in Patent Document 1, since the player can visually check the circulation state of the game ball from collection to launch, the decrease in the number of possessed balls is based on the launch of the game ball. The player can confirm that the
JP-A-11-104295 (page 4-5, FIG. 1)

  By the way, in the encapsulated ball pachinko gaming machine described in Patent Document 1, the number of game balls waiting in the game ball standby passage increases or decreases the number of game balls staying in the game area regardless of the number of possessed balls. The number of game balls waiting in the game ball standby passage during a game in which the game balls are being fired at a predetermined interval does not change so much.

Therefore, in the encapsulated ball pachinko gaming machine, even if the number of balls held by the player is small, the number of game balls waiting in the visible standby flow path hardly changes, and the circulation state of the game balls is changed. A player who is viewing may mistakenly think that there are still many balls. In such a case, there was a problem that the player noticed that the number of possessed balls was lost only after suddenly being unable to fire the game balls, and was drained even though he was concentrated on the game.
In particular, when a so-called big hit occurs, the number of balls will decrease, and if a player plays a game without noticing it, the game ball will pass through a specific area of the big winning opening that is opened with the occurrence of the big hit Previously, there was a problem that the number of balls held was zero and the launch of the game ball was stopped, so-called puncture and the player suffered a disadvantage. In addition, even if it is not punctured, the player can not fire the game ball immediately after the big hit occurs, so the player can rush to convert cash into game value information or convert game value information into the number of possessed balls. This will detract from the interest in generating jackpots.

  In other words, the enclosed ball pachinko gaming machine described in Patent Document 1 makes it possible to visually recognize the circulation of game balls including the launch of game balls outside the game area that is normally hidden. Although it is possible to confirm that the number of possessed balls decreases, the number of game balls that can be visually recognized decreases as the number of possessed balls decreases because the game balls circulate. In addition, the decrease in the number of balls could not be realized.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a player with a virtual representation of the movement of a game ball in a sealed ball type game machine, rather than allowing the player to recognize the increase or decrease in the number of balls held only by digital display of the number of balls held. In particular, it is possible to make the player intuitively recognize that the remaining number of balls has decreased.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a predetermined number of game balls sealed in a game machine body are fired from a launch position to a game area to play a game, while a game ball that has been played is It has a circulation path that collects and guides it to the launch position and circulates and uses the game ball,
The circulation path includes
A ball feeder for sending one game ball to the launch position;
A standby flow path for waiting for a game ball sent to a launch position by the ball feeding device;
With
In the enclosed ball type gaming machine that becomes possible to play according to the number of balls held by the player, subtracts from the number of balls held by the launch, and adds to the number of balls held by winning a game ball,
Virtual game ball display means that has a virtual game ball circulation path that encloses and circulates a ball separately from the circulation path, and moves the ball in the virtual game ball circulation path in response to the ball sent to the launch position Provided,
The virtual game ball circulation path faces and a window portion through which the movement of the ball can be visually recognized is provided on the front side of the game machine.

Here, the enclosed ball type gaming machine is one that circulates and uses the gaming ball enclosed in the gaming machine with a bullet ball gaming machine such as a pachinko gaming machine.
In addition, the virtual game ball circulation path needs to be transparent so that the balls circulating inside can be seen, but the whole need not be transparent so that the circulating balls can be seen from the window. Only a part of it may be transparent.
In addition, the window portion is, for example, an opening formed in a member constituting the front surface below the glass frame of the encapsulated ball game machine, that is, below the game area (blocked by a transparent member such as a lens). It is possible to visually recognize at least a part of the virtual game ball display means having the virtual game ball circulation path disposed on the back side of the member constituting the front surface.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the virtual game ball circulation path that encloses and circulates a ball separately from the circulation path and circulates the ball according to the pitch to the launch position is provided. The virtual game ball display means for moving inside the virtual game ball circulation path is provided, and the window part that can visually recognize the movement of the ball in the virtual game ball circulation path is provided on the front side of the game machine. Thus, the movement of the game ball can be virtually represented.
It is also possible to make it possible for a player to see only a part of the virtual game ball circuit, and to increase or decrease the number of balls present in the part of the virtual game ball circuit that is visible to the player. is there.
Therefore, by actually moving and increase or decrease the sphere as a virtual game ball, it is possible to virtually represent the movement and changes in the game ball so easy to realize the player with more realistic. In addition, it is preferable that the ball has substantially the same size as the game ball.

The invention described in claim 2 is the encapsulated ball game machine according to claim 1 , wherein the virtual game ball circulation path is:
An approximately elliptical shape in which a plurality of transparent or semi-transparent spheres are enclosed, an upper flow path inclined toward one side facing the window, a lower conveyance path for conveying the sphere flowing down the upper flow path downward, and A lower flow path that communicates with a lower conveyance path and is positioned below the upper flow path and is inclined downward in a direction opposite to the inclination direction of the upper flow path, and a sphere that has flowed down to the lower flow path An upper conveying path that conveys to the upstream side of the flow path,
A first driving source for driving first conveying means for conveying a ball in the lower conveying path;
A second drive source for driving second transport means for transporting a ball in the upper transport path;
A plurality of light emitting sources provided along the flow surface of the upper flow path;
With
The movement of a predetermined number of spheres aligned in the upper flow path is made visible so that light from the light emitting source is diffused by the spheres.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the virtual game ball circulation path, the sphere flows down from the upper side of the upper flow path according to the inclination, and the lower flow path is formed by the lower conveyance path on the lower side of the upper flow path. It is conveyed to the upper side of the slope. Then, the sphere conveyed to the upper side of the lower flow path reaches the upper conveyance path on the lower side of the lower flow path according to the inclination of the lower flow path, and is sent to the upper flow path on the upper conveyance path. Thereby, it is possible to circulate so that the ball goes around in the virtual game ball circulation path.

  Further, a plurality of light emitting sources are provided on the flow surface (bottom surface side) of the upper flow channel that faces the window and is visible to the player so that the sphere is transparent or semi-transparent so that the light from the light source is diffused by the sphere. Therefore, it is possible to illuminate a sphere that is a virtual game sphere and make it appear to emit light. Thereby, the visibility of the game balls in the upper flow path to the player can be improved, and the virtual game ball display means can be made conspicuous so that the player's attention is directed to the virtual game ball display means. Furthermore, since the sphere moves while diffusing light, the virtual game sphere display means can be used as a decorative member of the enclosed ball game machine. Accordingly, the design of the enclosed ball type gaming machine is improved, and the player who has selected the gaming machine to play is directed to the enclosed ball type gaming machine having the virtual game ball display means to the player. The possibility of being selected can be increased. As the light source, for example, an LED can be used, and a light source capable of changing color, such as the above-described three-color LED, may be used.

Further, the virtual game ball circulation path drives the first transport means for driving the first transport means for transporting the ball in the lower transport path, and the second drive for driving the second transport means for transporting the ball in the upper transport path. Since the source is provided, the first transport unit and the second transport unit can be operated independently of each other.
Here, when the second driving means for driving the second conveying means of the upper conveying path is operated in a state where the first driving means for driving the first conveying means of the lower conveying path is stopped, the lower flow path is present. The sphere moves to the upper flow path by the second transport means in the upper transport path, but the sphere on the upper flow path does not reach the lower flow path from the lower transport path because the first transport means is stopped. The state stays in the upper flow path. Therefore, each time the second transport means transports the ball in the upper flow path visually recognized by the player through the window, the number of balls that become virtual game balls increases, and the number of game balls on the upper plate increases. Can be represented virtually.

Further, when the first driving means for driving the first conveying means in the lower conveying path is operated in a state where the second driving means for driving the second conveying means in the upper conveying path is stopped, the sphere in the upper flow path becomes The first transfer means moves to the lower flow path in the lower transfer path, but the sphere on the lower flow path does not reach the upper flow path from the upper transfer path because the second transfer means is stopped. The state stays in the side flow path. Therefore, in the upper flow path visually recognized by the player through the window portion, the number of balls that become virtual game balls decreases each time the first transport means transports the balls. Can be expressed.
That is, the first conveying means for conveying the sphere of the upper flow path to the lower flow path and the second conveying means for conveying the sphere of the lower flow path to the upper flow path have separate drive sources, so that In addition to circulating the ball in the virtual game ball circulation path, the number of visible balls staying on the upper flow path can be increased or decreased.

According to a third aspect of the invention, the sealed ball type game machine according to claim 2,
The circulation path includes ball feed detection means for detecting a game ball sent to the launch position,
The virtual game ball circuit is
First sphere detecting means for detecting a sphere flowing into the lower flow path from the lower conveyance path;
Second sphere detecting means for detecting a sphere flowing into the upper flow path from the upper transport path;
With
When the ball feed detecting means detects a game ball, the first driving source is driven until the first ball detecting means detects the ball, and the second driving source is driven by the second ball detecting means. Driven until detection, the plurality of spheres arranged in series with the upper flow path are moved downstream by one sphere.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the first ball detecting means conveys the lower ball in relation to the timing at which the ball feeding detecting means detects the game ball, that is, the ball feeding device sends the game ball to the launch position. The first driving source is driven until the sphere flowing into the lower flow path from the road is detected, and the sphere is transferred by the first transfer means, so that the lower transfer path side (downstream side) sphere of the upper flow path becomes 1 It is conveyed to the lower flow path side.
Further, the second sphere detection means drives the second drive source until a sphere flowing from the upper conveyance path into the upper flow path is detected, and the second conveyance means conveys the sphere, thereby causing the upper conveyance of the upper flow path. One sphere is conveyed from the lower channel side to the road side (upstream side). Therefore, since the ball circulates in the virtual game ball circulation path as described above, in the upper flow path, each time the ball feeder sends the game ball to the launch position, the ball moves downstream by one distance. At the same time, one sphere on the downstream side is conveyed to the lower flow path, and one sphere is replenished on the upstream side.
Such movement of the ball in the upper flow path is such that the game balls are focused in a line at the end on the side where the game balls on the upper plate are sent to the launch position, and the game balls in the almost same line are played. In correspondence with the launch of the sphere, it is virtually reproduced to move one by one to the launch position.
Therefore, the player can intuitively feel the decrease in the number of balls held by the game ball launch by looking at the virtual game ball display means.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the sealed ball type game machine according to claim 2,
The circulation path includes ball feed detection means for detecting a game ball sent to the launch position,
The virtual game ball circuit is
First sphere detecting means for detecting a sphere flowing into the lower flow path from the lower conveyance path;
Second sphere detecting means for detecting a sphere flowing into the upper flow path from the upper transport path;
With
When the number of balls held by the player is equal to or less than a predetermined number of balls visible from the upper surface of the upper flow path, the second drive source is stopped when the ball feed detecting means detects a game ball The first driving source is driven until the first sphere detecting means detects the sphere, and the spheres connected to the upper flow path are moved to the downstream side by one sphere. The feature is that it is reduced by one.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the first ball detecting means transports the lower ball in relation to the timing at which the ball feeding detecting means detects the game ball, that is, the ball feeding device sends the game ball to the launch position. The first driving source is driven until the sphere flowing into the lower flow path from the road is detected, and the sphere is transported by the first transport means, so that one sphere on the lower transport path side of the upper flow path flows downward. It is transported to the roadside.
At this time, the second driving source is not driven, and the second conveying means is stopped. Therefore, in the upper flow path, one sphere flows in the lower conveying path on the inclined lower side. In the upper flow path, one sphere decreases and one or more spheres located on the upper slope of the sphere conveyed to the lower flow path move downward by one sphere. To do. In addition, since the second transport means (second drive source) is stopped, the ball is transported to the upper side of the upper flow path (upstream side) in the upper transport path without being replenished as described above. The upper flow path sphere is reduced. Further, when the ball is transported to the first transport means in a state where the number of balls is one in the upper flow path, there is no more ball from the upper flow path that is visible to the player.

That is, in the upper flow path, each time the ball feeding device sends a game ball to the launch position, one downstream sphere is conveyed to the lower flow path side and one sphere is decreased, and the remaining spheres are downstream. Move one side to the side.
Such movement and reduction of the ball in the upper flow path is caused by the release of the game ball in a state where the remaining few game balls are in a line at the end of the upper plate where the game ball is sent to the launch position. Correspondingly, the game balls are sent one by one to the launch position, and the remaining few game balls are virtually reduced.
Therefore, the player can intuitively feel the decrease in the number of balls held by the game ball launch by looking at the virtual game ball display means.

  In addition, in the state where the value of the number of balls is equal to the number of predetermined balls arranged in the upper channel (for example, the maximum number of balls that can be arranged in the upper channel visible to the player), If the ball on the upper flow path is decreased at the timing when the game ball is sent to the launch position as in the case of the above, the number of balls held and the number of balls on the upper flow path are also reduced at the timing when the game ball is sent to the launch position. Will match. By carrying the balls under the control as described above, the player can recognize the number of balls held by the number of the balls in the upper flow path that can be visually recognized. That is, by displaying the number of held balls as the actual number of balls rather than displaying with numbers, it is possible to inform the player of the number of held balls in a more easily felt state. When the number of balls is increased by converting the game value information into the number of balls or winning balls, the number of balls corresponding to the number of balls decreased in the upper flow path is detected by the second ball detection means. Until then, it is necessary to operate the second drive source and return the sphere from the lower flow path side to the upper flow path side by the second transport means of the upper transport path. Alternatively, after the number of spheres in the upper flow path is once set to 0, the spheres may be returned to the upper flow path so that the number of spheres on the upper flow path becomes a predetermined number.

The invention according to claim 5 is the enclosed ball type gaming machine according to any one of claims 2 to 4 ,
The light emitting source is caused to blink when the number of balls held by the player becomes a predetermined number or less.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the number of held balls is larger than the predetermined number, the light emitting source is kept in a lit state, and after the number of held balls reaches the predetermined number, the number of held balls increases and becomes predetermined. The light emitting source can be caused to blink until it exceeds the number. In this way, the player can recognize that the number of balls held has decreased due to the flashing of the light source.
In addition, after the player's attention is directed to the virtual game ball display means by blinking the light emission source, the number of balls on the upper flow path is reduced corresponding to the number of balls held as described above. Further, it is possible to make the player recognize that the remaining number of balls is small.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the enclosed ball type gaming machine according to the third aspect ,
Conversion operation means for performing an operation of converting game value information held by a player into the number of possessed balls, and when the game value information is converted into the number of possessed balls by the conversion operation means, the first drive source is The first sphere detecting means is driven until a predetermined number of spheres are detected, and then the second drive source is driven until the second sphere detecting means detects a predetermined number of spheres. .

Here, the predetermined number of spheres may be, for example, the number of spheres staying in the upper flow path at normal times, the maximum number of spheres that can be arranged in the upper flow path, or the maximum The number may be a predetermined number or less, but is preferably at least 2 and 4, 5 or more.
According to the invention described in claim 7, for example, game value information generated by inserting cash or the like is converted into the number of balls, that is, the number of game media corresponding to the converted game value information is held. By adding to the number of balls, when the number of balls possessed greatly increases in a short time, the following is performed by the virtual game display means.

That is, by driving the first driving source until the first sphere detecting means detects a predetermined number of spheres, a predetermined number of spheres in the upper flow path are sent to the lower flow path side, and on the upper flow path. The sphere is reduced by a predetermined number. Here, for example, if the predetermined number is equal to the number of spheres on the upper flow path, all the spheres on the upper flow path are conveyed to the lower flow path, and the spheres disappear from the upper flow path.
Next, by driving the second drive source until the second sphere detecting means detects a predetermined number of spheres, a predetermined number of spheres are conveyed from the lower flow path to the upper flow path. After the predetermined number of spheres is reduced, the predetermined number of spheres are replenished.
This is because game balls are paid out when borrowing game balls based on game value information stored in a storage medium such as cash or a card after the remaining game balls on the upper plate in ordinary gaming machines are low. This virtually reproduces the increase in the number of game balls on the upper plate. By the display by such virtual game ball display means, it is possible to make the player feel that the number of possessed balls has increased by converting the game value information into game balls.

  According to the enclosed ball type gaming machine according to the present invention, the virtual game ball display means virtually displays the movement or increase / decrease of the game ball, so that the actual game is played on the upper plate like a normal game machine. In an enclosed ball type gaming machine in which the number of balls does not increase or decrease, it is possible for a player to realize an increase or decrease in the number of balls held. That is, it is possible to display the increase or decrease of the game balls that cannot be realized only by digital display of the number of possessed balls in a state where it is easier to realize.

  In addition, since the number of game balls virtually displayed by the virtual game ball display means can be increased or decreased, by reducing the number of game balls virtually displayed when the remaining number of balls is reduced, The player can intuitively recognize that the remaining number of balls is small. That is, it is possible to display that the remaining number of balls is less in a state that is easier to recognize than the digitally displayed number of balls. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the player from noticing that the remaining number of balls is small.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The encapsulated ball type gaming machine of the first embodiment is an application of the present invention to a pachinko gaming machine. For example, the game content can be the same as a conventional pachinko gaming machine, The size of the outer shape and the like is also the same, and it can be installed in the current island facility of the pachinko parlor, but it does not use the ball supply mechanism or the ball discharge mechanism of the island facility. That is, the enclosed ball game machine uses a pre-enclosed game ball. In addition, the enclosed ball type gaming machine receives, for example, game value information (for example, money amount information) generated by inserting cash into a ball rental machine or the like, and the number of game balls that can use the game value information for the game ( The number of game balls) is converted into data on the number of possessed balls, and the game balls encapsulated in correspondence with this data can be launched into the game area. The data of the number of balls is subtracted. In addition, when a game ball that has been launched wins a prize device such as various prize opening or a variable prize device and a prize ball (game ball) is generated, the actual number of balls held without paying out the actual game ball The number of prize balls is added to the data. Further, when the data on the number of possessed balls becomes 0, the game ball cannot be launched. In this state, when amount information as game value information, information on the number of stored game media, and the like are converted into data on the number of game media, the data on the number of game media converted to data on the number of balls is added, and again Game balls can be launched.

That is, the enclosed ball type gaming machine 110 becomes capable of playing with the number of balls held by the player, subtracts from the number of balls held by the launch, and adds to the number of balls held by winning the game ball. .
In addition, the game balls that have been launched reach the game area, and a part of them wins and is guided to the back side of the game board to be collected as safe balls, and the remaining game balls that are not won are collected as out balls. The collected game balls can be fired again through the circulation path, and the game balls are circulated in the enclosed ball type gaming machine. In addition, the game balls that have become fouls are also collected in the circulation path, and the game balls that have become fouls can be collected and fired again without being involved in the game (without getting a chance to win a prize) Based on the occurrence of foul balls, the number of foul balls is added to the number of balls held in the game value information.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 according to the present embodiment includes a machine frame 110 configured in a rectangular frame shape, and is fitted into the machine frame 110, and is attached to the machine frame 110. A rectangular front frame 120 is pivotally supported so as to be rotatable. That is, the front frame 120 can be opened and closed with respect to the machine casing 110 in a door shape. Further, the front frame main body 130, which is the main body of the front frame 120 to which various members such as a game board 1 described later are attached, has a substantially rectangular opening 121 (shown in FIG. 3) extending from the center to the upper end. A game board 1 provided in the opening 121 and having a front side as a game area 1a is fitted. Further, the front surface of the game board 1 is exposed from the opening 121 of the front frame main body 130 in a state where the game board 1 is fitted into the opening 121 of the front frame main body 130.

The front frame main body 130 has an opening window 144 (shown in FIG. 1) through which the game area 1a of the game board 1 attached to the front frame main body 130 can be seen, and covers the opening window 144. A glass frame 140 as a transparent member holding frame for holding a double glass plate 141 as a transparent member is provided.
The front frame main body 130 is a mounting base for each member of the front frame 120, and is configured in a substantially rectangular plate shape so as to fit in the machine frame 110 having a rectangular frame shape as described above. A square-shaped opening 121 for receiving and storing the game board 1 is formed in a portion extending from the center to the upper end. Further, the glass frame 140 is arranged so as to cover the opening 121 in which the game board 1 of the front frame body 130 is fitted, that is, a portion extending from a slightly lower side to the upper end portion from the center of the front frame body 130. Between the front surface of the board 1 and the rear surface of the rear glass plate 141 fitted in the glass frame 140, a portion surrounded by the guide rails 2 provided on the front surface of the game board 1 is launched and a game ball is launched. The game area 1a to be played.

In addition, one side (left side) of the glass frame 140 is pivotally supported by one side (left side) of the front frame main body 130 so as to be freely opened and closed like a door. By opening, the front side of the game area 1a on the front side of the game board 1 can be opened.
Further, the front frame body 130 and the glass frame 140 can be locked in a closed state by inserting a key into the keyhole 159 and rotating the same as in a known ball game machine such as a known pachinko game machine. When the glass frame 140 is opened, it is detected by a glass frame open detection sensor 142 (shown in FIG. 12).

In addition, on the front side of the glass frame 140, a plurality of external appeal decoration lamps 11,..., Side lamps 12, 12, speakers 13, 13, error indicator 14, 14 ( It also serves as a decorative lamp). The external appeal decoration lamps 11,... Are used to notify the surroundings when the number of acquired game balls mainly becomes large in the upper part of the glass frame 140. For example, the number corresponding to the difference ball number or the difference ball number which is the difference between the number of balls entered (the number of balls that the player has struck into the gaming machine) and the number of balls played (the number of prize balls that came out by winning the game ball). Based on the number of balls, for example, when the number of balls held (difference ball number) increases, the number of external appeal decoration lamps 11,... Corresponding to the number of balls held is turned on.
In addition, as described above, in the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100, the winning ball is not paid out, and the above-mentioned number of outgoing balls, number of incoming balls, number of difference balls, number of possessed balls, etc. are not the actual number of game balls. It becomes a numerical value on the data. In other words, there are only a limited number of game balls that are actually used (for example, 25) that are circulated and used. For example, the number of shot balls that are counted by detecting the game balls that are launched into the game area 1a, The number of foul balls counted by detecting the game balls that have been launched but returned, the number of recovered balls that have been detected by counting the game balls that have been launched and collected in the game area 1a, the number of winning balls when winning From the numerical values such as the number of balls rented from an amusement store, the above-mentioned number of incoming balls, outgoing balls, difference balls, and the number of balls held can be obtained.

  As long as there is no trouble such as opening the glass frame 140 and the game balls coming out, the number of fired balls = the number of foul balls + the number of collected balls (when the number of collected balls does not include the number of foul balls). . Then, the number of entered balls = the number of collected balls = the number of launched balls−the number of foul balls, the number of issued balls = the number of awarded balls = the number of entered balls−the number of rented balls (the number of replayed balls) + the number of held balls, Number of balls rented (or the number of replayed balls) + Number of balls to be played-Number of balls to be thrown, Number of balls to be thrown-Number of balls to be thrown = Difference in number of balls Become. As described above, the game with the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 is completely performed as a numerical value on the data, and an error due to spilling the game ball or leaving the game ball on the lower plate or the upper plate occurs. It is possible to reliably manage in integer units. However, the satisfaction and superiority that the player can obtain by obtaining a large number of game balls and collecting them in the game ball box and seeing them in the surroundings is the number of balls It is hard to get by increasing. Therefore, the external appeal decoration lamps 11,... Are made to appeal to the player with a large number of balls with respect to the surroundings of the gaming machine by changing the lighting or emission color so that the player can obtain satisfaction and superiority. Used.

In the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100, the number of balls held is digitally displayed as a numerical value as will be described later, but when the number of balls held increases, the external appeal decoration lamp 11 is added to the digital display of the number of balls held. As mentioned above, it is possible to notify the player and the surrounding people that the number of balls is large by turning on or changing the emission color according to the number of balls held. In addition to the digital display of the number of balls held when the number of balls decreases, a virtual game ball display 154 serving as a virtual game display means described later can notify the player that the number of balls held is small.
Further, the side lamps 12 and 12 and the error indicators 14 and 14 perform effects such as lighting, blinking, and change of emission color corresponding to the gaming state. Further, the error indicators 14 and 14 notify the occurrence of an error by performing light emission different from normal when an error occurs.

The lower part of the front frame main body 130, which is the lower side of the opening to which the game board 1 of the front frame main body 130 is attached, has a front operation unit 150 (described later) attached to the front side thereof, as shown in FIG. A mounting board 131 to which a later-described launch unit 60 and the like are attached is provided on the side.
The front operation unit 150 attached to the front side of the attachment board 131 serves as an operation means operated by the player to play a game, and a touch sensor 152 and a firing slide volume 153, which will be described later, relating to the launching operation of the game ball. Touch panel display which has an operation device 16 equipped with, and is attached to the operation device 16 so as to display predetermined game information described later and allow the player to perform operations related to game information including game value information. A unit 151 is included.
In addition, the touch panel display unit 151 includes a virtual game ball display 154 that virtually displays a game ball to be held by the player. The details of the front operation unit 150 including the fantasy game ball display 154 according to the present invention will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the launch unit 60 is provided on the back side of the mounting plate 131 below the front frame main body 130, and the enclosed ball circulation that collects the game balls that have flowed down the game area 1a and guides them to the launch position. Enclosed ball circulation unit 200 as a device, launch control board 63 (disposed in box 631) as launch controller 63a (shown in FIG. 12), and power supply board 71 as power supply device 72 (shown in FIG. 12) (Arranged in the box 71a), a first frame control board 81 (arranged in the box 81a) and a second frame control board 82 (arranged in the box 82a) as the frame control device 83 (shown in FIG. 12). Is provided.

  Also, a game control board 20 (arranged in the box 22) as a game control device 21 (shown in FIG. 12) that performs overall control related to game content, and effect control that performs control related to game effects under the control. An effect control board 50 (arranged in the box 52) as the device 51 (shown in FIG. 12) is provided on the back side of the game board 1. Therefore, a control device related to the control of the game content is provided in the game board 1, and by exchanging the game board 1, it is possible to change only the game content by diverting a device not related to the game content as it is. . Various control devices of the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 will be described later.

The launch unit 60 includes an attachment plate 64 attached to the attachment board 131, a launch rail 62 attached to the attachment plate 64, a launcher 66 for hitting a game ball on the launch rail 62 and launching a game ball. A launcher 61.
The launching device 61 is connected to the motor (stepping motor) (not shown), and is driven to rotate so that the launcher 66 hits the game ball and launches the game ball, and the rotation angle of the launcher 66 is changed. A stopper member 67 to be controlled, and a ball that stops the game ball supplied from the enclosed ball circulation unit 200 on the firing rail 62 at a predetermined position where it can be hit by the launcher 66 on the lower end of the launch rail 62 as will be described later. A positioning member (not shown).
The position at which the game ball is held by the ball positioning member on the rear end portion (inclined lower end portion) of the launch rail 62 is the launch position at which the game ball is launched into the game area 1a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a bottom wall portion 134 that closes a lower portion of the game area 1 a between the rear surface of the glass plate 141 on the rear side of the glass frame 140 and the front surface of the game board 1 is formed. A launch ball passage port 135 through which a game ball launched from the lower side of the game area 1 a passes is provided in the bottom wall portion 134 of the main body 130. Note that the game ball that has passed through the launch ball passage port 135 reaches the game area 1 a from a guide path in which the guide rails 2, 2 are arranged on the inside and outside of the game board 1.
Further, the foul ball that has returned from the guideway without reaching the game area 1 a also passes through the launch ball passage port 135. The tip surface of the launch rail 62 is arranged in front of the launch ball passage port 135 and the foul ball returning to the launch ball passage port 135 flows down before the launch rail 62 without returning to the launch rail 62. Then, it reaches the foul ball collection part 257 of the enclosed ball circulation unit 200 described later.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the enclosed ball circulation unit 200 has a collection port 211 for collecting game balls (including out balls and safe balls, excluding foul balls) that have been launched into the game area 1 a. A member 210, a circulation path 220 that guides the game ball from the collection port 211 to the launch position of the game ball of the launching device 61 and uses the game ball in circulation, and a part of the upstream side of the circulation path 220 from the collection port 211 A recovery ball flow path 280 that causes a game ball to flow down to a standby flow path 221 to be described later, a recovery ball sensor 212 as a recovery ball detection means that detects a game ball flowing down the recovery ball flow path 280, and a downstream of the circulation path 220 A standby channel 221 that waits for a game ball before being sent to the launch position, and a ball as a ball shortage state detection unit that detects a shortage of gaming balls waiting in the standby channel 221. A foot detection sensor 264 is provided at the downstream end of the standby flow path 221, and the launch of the game ball is launched via the ball supply port 247 to the lower end of the launch rail 62 (game ball launch position) of the launch device 61. And a ball feeder 240 that sequentially sends one game ball to the player according to the timing.

  Accordingly, the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 plays a game by firing a predetermined number of game balls sealed in the game machine main body from the launch position to the game area 1a, while collecting the game balls that have finished the game and launching them. A circulation path 220 that circulates and uses the game ball and sends the game ball to the launch position, and the ball feed apparatus 240 sends the game ball to the launch position. A standby flow path 221 for waiting for a game ball is provided.

In addition, the encapsulated ball circulation unit 200 is the foul ball collection means 250 again, although it is fired between the inner guide rail 2 and the outer guide rail 2 by the launch device 61, the launch device 61 side again. A foul ball collection port 251 that collects foul balls that have returned to the position (including launch balls that did not reach between the guide rails 2), a foul ball sensor 253 that detects the collected foul balls, and a foul A foul ball flow path 252 is provided for allowing a foul ball (game ball) collected from the ball collection port 251 to flow down to the standby flow path 221 (circulation path 220).
The encapsulated ball circulation unit 200 includes an adhering substance removing unit 400 that removes adhering substance of the game ball that moves in the standby flow path 221 every time the game ball is fired, and a ball removing device 230 that extracts the ball in the circulation path 220. Is provided.

In addition, the encapsulated ball circulation unit 200 stores game balls for replenishment in addition to the game balls normally used for circulation in the encapsulated ball circulation unit 200, and replenishes the balls when the number of game balls circulating during the game decreases. Attach the device 260 and a ball exchange cassette (not shown) containing a predetermined number of game balls for replacement of game balls (for example, 30 balls including the above-mentioned game balls for replenishment), and in the ball exchange cassette And a ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270 for supplying the game balls into the enclosed ball circulation unit 200.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7 and the like, the main part of the enclosed ball circulation unit 200 is a schematic box composed of a front wall member 310 constituting the front side of the main part and a rear wall member 320 constituting the back side of the main part. The above-described circulation path 220 (including the recovery ball flow path 280 and the standby flow path 221) and the foul ball flow path 252 are formed inside the main part. Basically, members constituting the path of the above-mentioned game ball are formed on the front wall member 310 side, and members for attaching sensors, solenoids, and the like are formed, and each member is attached to the rear wall member 320. An auxiliary member and an outer peripheral wall 326 surrounding the outer periphery of the enclosing ball circulation unit 200 are provided. Further, the front wall member 310 and the rear wall member 320 are each integrally formed of a transparent synthetic resin, and a game ball in the enclosed ball circulation unit 200, a game ball on the front side of the enclosed ball circulation unit 200, and a launch unit 60. Can be seen through, and the clogging of game balls can be visually confirmed from the back side of the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100. The front wall member 310 and the rear wall member 320 are detachably joined.

In addition, the enclosed ball circulation unit 200 has left and right attachment portions 132 and 132 (shown in FIG. 3) provided at predetermined positions below the launch rail attachment position of the attachment plate 131 of the front frame body 130 at the lower end thereof. In addition, left and right connection members 201, 201 that are detachably and rotatably connected are provided, and can be rotated around a rotation axis set in the left-right direction of the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100. The encapsulated ball circulation unit 200 falls from the vertical state (use state) along the back surface of the encapsulated ball game machine 100 (the back surface of the mounting board 131) to the rear side with the upper end centered on the connection members 201 and 201. Thus, it can be rotated to a substantially horizontal state (maintenance state).
In addition, the connection members 201 and 201 of the enclosing ball circulation unit 200 have a cylindrical shape into which protrusions serving as axes of the mounting portions 132 and 132 of the mounting plate 131 are rotatably inserted, and the cylindrical portion includes Since the slits are formed and the shafts can be moved in and out of the slits 201a and 201a, the connecting members 201 and 201 can be detached from the mounting portions 132 and 132, and the enclosed ball circulation unit 200 is attached to the mounting frame of the front frame body 130. It is detachable (detachable) from 131.

  At both left and right ends of the rear wall member 320, there are mounting members 203, 203 for detachably attaching the rear wall member 320 to the mounting board 131 in a state where the front wall member 310 is attached to the front side of the rear wall member 320. Is provided. By removing the mounting members 203, 203 from the mounting plate 131, the enclosing ball circulation unit 200 can be rotated so as to be tilted rearward.

In addition, the enclosed ball circulation unit 200 is attached to the back side of the front frame body 130 that is the back side of the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100. The mounting board 131 which is the lower part of the front frame body 130 is configured such that a substantially vertical flat plate portion which is a main part thereof is in front of the game board 1 fixed to the front frame body 130. A firing unit 60 having the above-described launching device 61 and the like attached to the back surface of the board 131 is arranged substantially directly below the game area 1a on the front side of the game board 1.
The encapsulated ball circulation unit 200 is disposed on the rear side of the launch unit 60 and attached to the attachment plate 131 so as to overlap the launch unit 60 attached to the attachment plate 131 in the front-rear direction. The encapsulated ball circulation unit 200 is arranged almost directly below the game board 1 attached to the front frame body 130 in a state attached to the attachment board 131.

  The recovery member 210 is formed at an upper end (upper part) that is an upper part of the enclosing ball circulation unit 200. The recovery member 210 has a front portion below the game board 1 so that it can collect out balls, which are game balls that have flowed down without winning from below the game area 1a on the front side of the game board 1. To the lower side of the above-mentioned notch portion of the guide rail 2 on the lower side of the game area 1a on the front side of the game board 1. In addition, the recovery member 210 can recover the safe ball, which is a winning game ball that flows downstream on the back side of the game board 1 and is discharged to the lower side of the game board 1. From the bottom of the game board 1 to the bottom of the safe ball discharge path (not shown).

In addition, the recovery member 210 has a rectangular shape that is long along the left-right direction of the encapsulated ball game machine 100 in plan view, and a surrounding wall 214 forms a substantially vertical periphery. The central part of the collection member 210 (inside the enclosure wall 214) is extended to the left and right except for the right end, and the game balls collected in the collection member 210 are collected in the enclosed ball circulation unit 200. A recovery sphere flow path 280 having an introduction inclined portion 213 leading to the sphere sensor 212 (inside the enclosed sphere circulation unit 200) as a bottom portion is formed.
A portion surrounded by the surrounding wall 214 of the recovery member 210 and opened upward is a recovery port 211 for recovering the out ball and the safe ball. Further, the front part below the front side of the game board 1 of the collection port 211 is an out ball collection port 215 for collecting out balls, and the rear part under the back side of the game board 1 is a safe ball for collecting safe balls. It is a recovery port 216.

  The collection ball sensor 212 is fixed to the sensor mounting portion 330 of the front wall member 310, and is, for example, a well-known pachinko ball passage sensor switch. The recovery ball sensor 212 includes a hole 212a through which a game ball passes, and the pachinko ball has passed through the hole 212a. In this case, a HIGH or LOW signal is output.

  The recovery ball sensor 212 is arranged at a position where the hole 212a flows down from the inclined lower end of the introduction inclined portion 213, and waits from the inclined lower end of the introducing inclined portion 213. The recovery sphere flow channel 280 flows down toward the upstream end portion of the flow channel 221 and a merging portion 254, which will be described later, which is a downstream end portion of the foul sphere inclined portion 255 serving as the bottom of the foul sphere flow channel 252. A game ball to be detected is detected.

  The standby flow path 221 has, as its bottom part, the following members extending in a plate shape from the front wall member 310 to the rear side in three upper and lower stages. That is, the circulation path 220 is a downstream end portion of the above-described foul sphere flow path 252 as a member serving as a bottom portion thereof, and the circulation path 220 is replenished to the circulation path 220 from the foul sphere and ball replenishing device 260 flowing down the foul sphere flow path 252. A replenishment sphere that is a game sphere, a merging portion 254 where three kinds of game spheres, the recovery sphere flowing down from the recovery sphere flow path 280 through the recovery sphere sensor 212 as described above, and the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 The downflow slope part 222 that inclines downward from the left side to the right side when viewed from the back side, and the downflow slope part 222 below the junction part 254 (foul sphere channel 252) that slopes down from right to left when viewed from the back side. And a standby inclined portion 223 that descends from right to left as viewed from the back side and reaches the ball feeding device 240.

  Moreover, it is used when controlling the operation of the ball replenishing device 260 above the downstream portion of the falling slope portion 222 of the standby flow path 221, that is, below the upstream portion of the foul ball slope portion 255 of the front wall member 310. A proximity sensor mounting portion 319 for mounting the ball shortage detection sensor 264 is provided, and the ball shortage detection sensor 264 is attached thereto. The ball shortage detection sensor 264 is a well-known proximity sensor switch, and outputs a signal indicating that a game ball exists in a state where a metal game ball is in proximity. Therefore, if the game balls are normally collected, the ball shortage detection sensor 264 detects the game balls collected at least within a predetermined period.

  In addition, on the flow down inclined portion 222 of the standby flow path 221, the flow down ceiling portion 224 whose upper end is integrally joined with the merge portion 254 of the foul ball inclined portion 255 and whose lower end is integrally joined with the standby inclined portion 223. Is formed. In addition, a standby ceiling portion 225 whose upper end is integrally joined to the flow-down inclined portion 222 is formed on the standby inclined portion 223 of the circulation path 220.

In the foul ball collection means 250, the foul ball collection port 251 is provided on the upper end portion of the foul ball flow channel 252, and the lower end of the foul ball collection port 251 and the upper end portion of the foul ball flow channel 252 are provided. A foul ball sensor 253 is arranged on the upper side.
The foul ball collection port 251 is an opening formed at the upper right end portion when viewed from the back side of the front wall member 310 that constitutes the front surface of the enclosed sphere circulation unit 200, and collects the collected foul sphere from the outside of the enclosed sphere circulation unit 200. It is designed to be introduced inside. Further, a foul ball collection portion 257 extending forward from the front surface of the front wall member 310 is provided at a position corresponding to the lower edge of the foul ball collection port 251 on the front side of the front wall member 310. The foul ball collection part 257 is formed in a plate shape whose upper surface is inclined downward toward the rear foul ball collection port 251 and protrudes upward surrounding the periphery except for the rear edge connected to the foul ball collection port 251. When the encapsulated ball circulation unit 200 is mounted in a state substantially perpendicular to the mounting plate 131, the foul ball collection unit 257 is adjacent to the upper end portion (the end portion in the firing direction) of the firing rail 62. Thus, it is arranged directly below the firing ball passage port 135 so as to receive a foul ball flowing through the firing ball passage port 135 and flowing down.

Accordingly, in the foul ball collecting means 250, the foul ball collecting unit 257 receives the foul ball that has flowed from the front side of the game board 1 through the launching ball passage port 135 to the lower side of the game board 1. Then, the foul sphere reaching the upper surface of the foul sphere collecting unit 257 enters the foul sphere flow path 252 in the enclosed sphere circulation unit 200 from the rear foul sphere collecting port 251 along the inclination of the upper surface, and enters the foul sphere collecting port 251. It passes through the lower foul sphere sensor 253 and reaches the foul sphere inclined portion 255 which is the bottom of the foul sphere flow path 252. Then, the game ball on the foul ball inclined portion 255 reaches the merging portion 254 along the inclination, and reaches the standby flow path 221 so as to merge with the game ball flowing down the recovery ball flow path 280. It will flow down the path 221.
The foul ball sensor 253 is a well-known pachinko ball passage sensor switch similar to the collection ball sensor 212, and is attached to the lower side of the collection ball sensor 212 of the sensor mounting portion 330 in the opposite direction to the collection ball sensor 212. A hole 253 a through which a game ball of the foul ball sensor 253 passes is arranged at the upper end portion of the foul ball channel 252. Then, similar to the collection ball sensor 212, a foul ball is detected and a signal is output.

The ball removing device 230 for extracting the game ball from the enclosed ball circulation unit is provided on the rear surface side of the ball feeding device 240 adjacent to the downstream end of the standby flow channel 221 that is the downstream portion of the circulation flow channel 220.
The ball removal device 230 includes a ball removal opening 231, a plate-like lid member 232 that opens and closes the ball removal opening 231, and ribs 234, 235, and 236 that support and guide the lid member 232.

The ball opening 231 is provided at a position where the transfer supply member 243 of the rear wall member 320 is located, and the size thereof is such that one game ball can pass through.
Further, a plate-like lid member 232 for opening and closing the ball opening 231 is provided on the outer surface of the ball opening 231 provided in the rear wall member 320 so as to be slidable left and right. A lid member storage 237 for storing the lid member 232 when the ball opening 231 is opened is provided on the side of the opening 231.
On the rear surface of the lid member 232, a handle 232a for opening and closing is projected.
The lid member storage portion 237 has a width that is equal to or greater than the lateral width of the lid member 232, and the lid member 232 can be completely retracted from the ball opening portion 231 when the ball opening portion 231 is opened. Further, on the outer surface of the rear wall member 320, an outer peripheral rib 234 protrudes from the outer periphery of the ball opening 231 and the lid member storage portion 237 adjacent thereto, and the lid member 232 is disposed inside the outer peripheral rib 234. It is supported by the formed slide part 233.

A pair of ribs 235 and 236 for guiding the lid member 232 are provided at the top and bottom of the position of the ball opening 231 of the slide portion 233 and the position of the lid member storage portion 237, respectively. Slides on the inside (front side) of the ribs 235, 236.
Of the two pairs of ribs 235 and 236, the rib 235 on the ball opening 231 side has a front and rear position on the surface that guides the lid member 232 in comparison with the rib 236 on the lid member storage portion 237 side. It is close to the front.
In addition, the front wall 239 of the lid member storage portion 237 is inclined forward toward the ball opening 231.

As a result, when the lid member 232 moves from the position in the lid member storage portion 237, which is the position where the ball opening portion 231 is opened, to the position where the ball opening portion 231 is closed, the rib 235 and the lid member storage portion. It is guided by the front wall 239 of 237 toward the transfer supply member 243 (front) side and moves obliquely.
And in the position which closes the ball | bowl extraction opening part 231, the inner surface of the cover member 232 becomes the front-back position substantially the same as the inner surface of the rear wall member 320.
Thereby, there is no step when the lid member 232 is closed, and the flow of the game ball near the ball opening 231 is not hindered.

In addition, the lower rib 235 on the side of the ball opening 231 has an inclination on the upper surface thereof that falls downward from the ball opening 231 and flows out of the ball opening 231 when the ball is removed. It also has the role of guiding and smoothly flowing down.
There is a projection 238 in the vicinity of the boundary between the ball opening 231 and the lid member storage 237 of the lower slide portion 233, and the lid member 232 stored in the lid member storage 237 when the ball is removed is this projection. It is designed to ride on 238.
As a result, the lid member 232 is pushed up and pressed against the upper slide portion 233, so that the lid member 232 can be prevented from moving due to vibration during ball removal, and the open state can be maintained.

The transfer supply member 243 is a member that constitutes a ball feeding device 240 described later, and is a U-shaped (channel-shaped) member that is open on the left and right sides and the rear side.
The bottom plate member 243a for placing (holding) the game balls of the transfer supply member 243 can place one game ball and falls from right to left when viewed from the back side of the enclosed ball circulation unit 200. In this way, it is inclined (the same inclination as the standby flow path 221).
In addition, part or all of the bottom plate member 243a has a thickness that decreases from the back side to the near side when viewed from the back side of the encapsulated ball circulation unit 200, and the top surface falls to the near side (rear side). So as to be inclined.
That is, the top surface of the bottom plate member 243a is inclined so as to descend from the right back (front right) to the left front (back left) as viewed from the back side of the encapsulated ball circulation unit 200.
Thereby, when the ball removal opening 231 is opened, the game ball naturally flows out from the enclosed ball circulation unit 200.

The ball removing device 230 configured as described above is for taking out the game ball enclosed in the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 by an external operation of an attendant or the like. Maintenance of the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100, game ball It is used for taking out the game ball from the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 for exchanging the game.
When the game ball is replaced, the lid member 232 is slid to be stored in the lid member storage portion 237, the ball opening portion 231 is opened, and the game is played along the inclination formed on the bottom plate member 243a of the transfer supply member 243. The ball is allowed to flow out and taken out from the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 (encapsulated ball circulation unit 200).

The ball feeding device 240 is provided on the downstream side of the standby flow path 221, and the downward movement of the game ball is inclined by the load of the game balls waiting in line on the standby flow path 221 due to the inclination of the standby flow path 221. And a ball receiving portion 242 for receiving only one gaming ball at the lowest inclination side of the game balls arranged as described above, and the game ball held by the ball receiving portion 242 It is provided with a transfer supply member 243 that is at the top and transfers to a supply introduction port 249 that is an inlet of the supply flow path 245, and a ball feed solenoid 244 that drives the transfer supply member 243 up and down.
The ball feeding device 240 is formed on the opposite side of the ball receiving portion 242 of the restriction wall 241, gets over the restriction wall 241, and guides the game ball flowing in from the supply introduction port 249 to the launching device 61 (on the firing rail 62). Supply passage 245 for detecting, a ball feed sensor 246 (supply ball sensor) for detecting a game ball passing through the supply passage 245 as a ball feed detecting means and being sent to the launch position, and a supply passage 245 (encapsulated ball) The circulation unit 200) includes a supply outlet 247 serving as an outlet to the game ball launching device 61.

  The restriction wall 241 stops the game ball on the lowermost side of the game balls arranged on the inclined standby flow path 221. For example, the restriction wall 241 has a height slightly lower than the diameter of the game ball (transfer supply located at the lowest position). The member 243 is formed in a plate shape having a height from the upper surface of a bottom plate member 243a described later. The ball receiving portion 242 includes a holding portion bottom wall 248 that is joined to the restriction wall 241 at a right angle, and the restriction wall 241 and the holding portion bottom wall 248 are L-shaped.

  The transfer supply member 243 is disposed on the holding part bottom wall 248 of the ball receiving part 242, and has a bottom plate member 243a functioning as a holding part for placing (holding) a game ball flowing into the ball receiving part 242, and the front side wall. It has 243b and a top plate portion, is formed in a U-shape (channel shape) that is open on the left and right sides and the rear side, and allows game balls to pass from right to left. The bottom plate member 243a is a portion that becomes the bottom of the U-shaped transfer supply member 243. The transfer supply member 243 has a plunger of a ball feed solenoid 244 connected to the top plate portion. Then, by the ball feed solenoid 244, the upper surface of the bottom plate member 243 a on which the upper surface on which the game ball is placed is lower than the uppermost surface of the standby inclined portion 223, and the upper surface of the bottom plate member 243 a is from the upper end of the regulation wall 241. It can be raised and lowered between the upper position.

When the transfer supply member 243 is on the upper side, the bottom plate member 243a is provided adjacent to the supply introduction port 249. Further, as described above, the upper surface of the bottom plate member 243a is inclined (same inclination as the standby flow path 221) so as to descend from the right to the left when viewed from the back side of the enclosing ball circulation unit 200, and on the near side Inclined to go down (rear side).
Then, the game ball that has flowed into the bottom plate member 243a of the transfer supply member 243 disposed in the ball receiving portion 242 from the standby inclined portion 223 of the standby flow path 221 is restricted on the bottom plate member 243a due to its inclination. And the lid member 232 are in contact with the regulating wall 241 and the lid member 232 toward the adjacent portion. When the transfer supply member 243 is raised by the ball feed solenoid 244 and the upper surface of the bottom plate member 243a becomes higher than the upper end of the regulation wall 241, the game ball on the bottom plate member 243a is inclined by the bottom plate member 243a. As a result, it flows down from the supply introduction port 249 toward the supply flow path 245 beyond the regulation wall 241. When one side end (the end facing the standby flow path 221) of the bottom plate member 243a rises, the game ball to be sent to the transfer supply member 243 next on the standby flow path 221 is transferred to the transfer supply member 243. The diameter of the game ball waiting in the most downstream portion of the standby flow path 221 is prevented from rising higher so as not to enter below.

  The ball feed solenoid 244 is attached to a ball feed solenoid mounting portion 311 provided on the front wall member 310 with the plunger facing substantially vertically downward, and the transfer supply member 243 is attached to the tip of the plunger. In the connected state, the plunger is driven up and down. The ball feed solenoid 244 is controlled in synchronization with the launching device 61 by the launch control board 63, and immediately after the launching device 61 launches the game ball, it moves up and down to send the game ball to the launch position. Is sent to the launch position, the launch device 61 launches a game ball.

  The supply flow path 245 is formed on the opposite side of the transfer supply member 243 with respect to the restriction wall 241, and after the game ball has flowed down almost directly along the restriction wall 241, the supply flow path 245 is guided forward to the front supply outlet 247. The game ball is led out to the launching device 61 side on the front side of the enclosed ball circulation unit 200. The supply channel 245 is formed by a supply channel wall portion 245a that extends rearward from the front wall member 310. In addition, a channel rib 245b that is vertically erected along the front-rear direction of the enclosing ball type gaming machine 100 is formed at a position that becomes the bottom of the supply channel 245, and the channel rib 245b is placed from the rear to the front. The game ball that has flowed down on the flow channel rib 245b rolls forward on the flow channel rib 245b from the rear to the front, and is led out from the supply outlet 247. Yes.

The ball feed sensor 246 is a well-known pachinko ball passage sensor switch similar to the recovery ball sensor 212, and is attached to a supply sensor provided at the position of the front wall member 310 on the opposite side of the ball feed device 240 with respect to the supply flow path 245. A game in which the rear end portion is attached to the portion 312, the front end portion is disposed in contact with or close to the restriction wall 241, passes over the restriction wall 241, flows from the supply introduction port 249, and flows down the supply flow path 245. A hole 246a through which the ball passes is formed, and a game ball passing through the hole 246a is detected by flowing down the supply channel 245.
The ball feed sensor 246 also detects a game ball and outputs a signal in the same manner as the collected ball sensor 212. Since the game ball detected by the ball feed sensor 246 is supplied to the launching device 61 and fired immediately after the detection, the ball feed sensor 246 is a front side of the launching device 61, but launching that detects the launch of the game ball. It also serves as a ball sensor.

  The sphere replenishing device 260 is provided on the upper side of the circulation flow path 220 and has a replenishing sphere storage unit 262 that includes a sphere storage plate 261 that is elongated to the left and right and is rotatable to change the inclination angle. A replenishment solenoid 263 that changes the inclination angle of the plate 261 between a state in which the refilling ball storage unit 262 stores the game ball and a state in which the game ball is replenished, and a left side (foul) as viewed from the back side of the ball storage plate 261 The ball restraining member 265 is provided on the opposite side of the ball passage 252 and restricts the falling of the game ball on the ball storage plate 261 and guides the game ball flowing in from the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270 onto the ball storage plate 261. With.

  The ball storage plate 261 is pivotally supported by a rotation pin 313 provided on the front wall member 310 at a position in front of the central portion thereof. The sphere storage plate 261 is normally in a state of storing the sphere, and slightly so that the rear end of the sphere holding member 265 side, which is one end of the sphere storage plate 261, is down. A plurality of (for example, five) game balls are placed in a row on the ball storage plate 261 in an inclined state. At this time, the game ball placed on the most end side of the game balls on the ball storage plate 261 is held by the ball holding member 265, and the game ball moves along the inclination of the ball storage plate 261. It does not flow down.

  In addition, the front end portion, which is the other end portion of the sphere storage plate 261, is located on the merging portion 254 on the lower side of the inclination of the foul sphere inclined portion 255 (foul sphere channel 252). When the other end on the side of the ball flow path 252 is inclined downward, the game ball on the ball storage plate 261 is caused to flow down on the merge portion 254. In other words, in a state where the game ball that is a supplement ball is replenished, the ball storage plate 261 is inclined so that the other end portion on the foul ball flow path 252 side faces downward.

In addition, at one end of the ball storage plate 261, a locking portion 261 a that is hooked to a latch plate 263 a connected to a plunger of the replenishing solenoid 263 is provided on the lower side thereof, and the plan of the replenishing solenoid 263 is provided. The inclination angle of the ball storage plate 261 can be changed by the vertical movement of the jar, and when the plunger is lowered, the ball storage plate 261 is inclined so that one end of the ball storage plate 261 is downward. In the state where the plunger is raised, the ball storage plate 261 is inclined so that the other end of the ball storage plate 261 is at the bottom, and the ball is replenished.

  Furthermore, an engaging member 261 b extending from the locking portion 261 a along the extension line of the ball storage plate 261 to the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270 is formed at one end of the ball storage plate 261. The engaging member 261b is engaged with an operation link member 273, which will be described later, of the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270, and is lifted upward when the ball exchange cassette is set in the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270. The sphere storage plate 261 is brought into a sphere replenishment state by inclining so that the end of the sphere is higher than the other end.

The replenishing solenoid 263 is attached to a replenishing solenoid mounting portion 314 formed on the front wall member 310 with a plunger facing upward. Under control of the frame control device 83, the ball shortage detection sensor 264 causes the ball of the circulation flow path 220 to be Control is performed to raise the plunger when a game ball is not detected within a predetermined time at the position of the shortage detection sensor 264. As a result, when the number of game balls is insufficient in the circulation flow path 220, the inclination angle is changed by the replenishment solenoid 263 so that the ball storage plate 261 enters the ball replenishment state, and the game balls on the ball storage plate 261 are circulated through the circulation flow. It is supplied to the junction 254 that is the upstream end of the passage 220.
Note that the shortage of balls is caused by, for example, clogging of game balls in the game area 1a, and game balls collected in the enclosed ball circulation unit 200 when there are more game balls than usual in the game area 1a. This occurs when the number of the game balls decreases, or when the game balls flow out to the outside when the glass frame 140 is opened.

  The ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270 includes a cassette insertion portion 271 formed on the rear wall member 320, a cassette receiving portion 272 formed on the front wall member 310, and a ball exchange cassette inserted in the ball exchange cassette attachment portion 270. A cassette latching portion 279 that latches, an operation link member 273 that changes the inclination angle of the above-described ball storage plate 261 when the ball exchange cassette is attached, and a cassette lid opening locking member 274 are provided.

  The cassette insertion portion 271 is formed in the rear wall member 320 and is provided to be inserted and inserted around the insertion opening 276 for inserting the ball exchange cassette and the insertion opening 276 of the rear wall member 320. And a cassette guide member 277 for guiding the inserted ball exchange cassette and supporting the inserted ball exchange cassette. In the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270, when the ball exchange cassette is set, one end on the side where the ball outlet of the ball exchange cassette is located (the ball replenishing device 260 side) is lower than the other end. When the ball is set on the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270, the game balls in the ball exchange cassette flow down toward the ball outlet due to the inclination of the ball exchange cassette.

  The cassette receiving portion 272 formed on the front wall member 310 is a concave portion having a shape corresponding to the front end portion in the insertion direction of the ball exchange cassette, and the cassette receiving portion in which the front end portion of the inserted ball exchange cassette is a concave portion. By being inserted into 272, the front end portion of the ball exchange cassette is supported in a positioned state. Further, the movement of the operation link member 273 that rotates and moves at one of the left and right ends (the right end as viewed from the back) of the cassette receiving portion 272 on the side of the ball replenishing device 260 is not hindered. An operating link member opening (not shown) is formed.

  The cassette hooking portion 279 is formed on the front wall member 310 and extends rearward from the front wall member 310 and is arranged along the cassette guide member 277 from the lower portion of the peripheral edge portion of the insertion opening 276 of the rear wall member 320. And has an engaging projection 278 on the upper surface at the rear end. The engaging protrusion 278 protrudes into the passage path of the ball exchange cassette when the ball exchange cassette is inserted into the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270. When the engaging protrusion 278 comes into contact, the cassette latching portion 279 is elastically deformed so that the ball exchange cassette can be inserted into the insertion opening 276, and after insertion, is latched on the lower surface of the ball exchange cassette to hold the ball exchange cassette. To do.

The cassette lid opening locking member 274 is formed in the vicinity of the cassette insertion portion 271 of the rear wall member 320 and on the side of the ball replenishing device 260, and is formed to extend rearward and toward the cassette insertion portion 271. And a lid engaging protrusion 274a protruding. The lid engaging projection 274a covers a ball outlet of the ball exchange cassette when the ball exchange cassette is set in the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270, and slides in the front-rear direction to freely open and close the ball outlet. When engaging and moving the ball exchange cassette forward and inserting it into the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270, the cassette lid is fixed to the ball exchange cassette moving forward, and the cassette lid is fixed to the ball exchange cassette main body. The cassette lid is in a state of opening the ball outlet of the ball exchange cassette.
Thus, by setting the ball exchange cassette in the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270, the ball outlet of the ball exchange cassette is in an open state, and when the ball exchange cassette is set, the game ball is released from the ball outlet of the ball exchange cassette. The flow starts to the circulation flow path 220 side via the replenishment device 260.

The operation link member 273 is disposed at the end of the ball replacement cassette mounting portion 270 of the front wall member 310 on the side of the ball replenishing device 260. In addition, the space between the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270 and the ball replenishing device 260 serves as an introduction path for game balls from the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270 to the ball replenishing device 260 at the time of ball exchange, and the operation link member 273. Functions as an opening and closing member for opening and closing the introduction path of the game ball. In addition, when a game ball is replenished from outside such as when a game ball is exchanged, the game ball passes through the ball replenishment device 260 when the game ball is sent from the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270 to the circulation flow path 220. Yes. The operation link member 273 is configured to convert the ball storage plate 261 of the ball replenishing device 260 from the above-described inclination angle in the storage state to the inclination angle in the replenishment state when the game ball is supplied from the outside.
The operation link member 273 has an opening / closing door portion 273a that opens and closes the introduction path, and has a front-rear width and a vertical width that block the introduction path so that a game ball cannot pass. It has a thickness (horizontal width) that can be reliably pressed when pressed against a ball exchange cassette that is set as will be described later. Further, the operating link member 273 has a plate-like link piece 273b extending rearward from the front part of the lower end part at the lower end part below the opening / closing door part 273a as the main part. Further, the link piece 273b is arranged in the vicinity (may be in contact) below the engaging member 261b of the ball storage plate 261 extending to the above-described ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270 side.
Further, the operating link member 273 is rotatably supported by a shaft (not shown) formed on the front wall member 310 at a joint portion between the opening / closing door portion 273a and the link piece 273b.

  The operation link member 273 is in a state in which the open / close door portion 273a closes the above-described game ball introduction path during normal times when no external force is applied. In this case, when the ball exchange cassette is inserted into the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270, one of the left and right end portions of the portion where the opening / closing door portion 273a serves as a passage path for the ball exchange cassette is the end portion on the side of the ball replenishing device 260. When the ball exchange cassette is inserted into the insertion opening 276 of the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270, the opening / closing door portion 273a is pushed rearward so that the opening / closing door portion 273a moves rearward and the introduction path Is opened, and the operating link member 273 rotates so that the link piece 273b moves obliquely upward and forward.

  Further, the link piece 273b is disposed in the vicinity of the lower side of the engaging member 261b of the ball storage plate 261 as described above. By inserting the ball exchange cassette as described above, the link piece 273b is inclined upward. Is pushed up, the ball storage plate 261 is inclined downward toward the foul ball collection means 250 from the state where the ball storage plate 261 is inclined downward toward the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270 and stores the game ball. Thus, the game ball is caused to flow down to the junction 254 and the game ball is replenished. Then, the game ball that has flowed down from the ball outlet of the ball exchange cassette to the ball replenishing device 260 side flows down on the ball storage plate 261 and flows into the circulation flow path 220. Since the link piece 273b is disposed below the engagement member 261b of the ball storage plate 261, the replenishment solenoid 263 raises the end of the ball storage plate 261 on the engagement member 261b side to replenish. Even when the sphere is replenished, the link piece 273b does not move, and the open / close door 273a maintains a state where the space between the sphere replacement cassette mounting portion 270 and the sphere replenishing device 260 is closed.

  When the ball exchange cassette is set in the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270 as described above, the opening / closing door portion 273a of the operation link member 273 provides an introduction path for the game ball between the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270 and the ball replenishing device 260. By opening, the game ball that has flowed out of the ball outlet of the ball exchange cassette as described above passes over the ball restraining member 265 formed at the end on the ball exchange cassette mounting portion 270 side of the ball replenishing device 260. The ball storage plate 261 flows down onto the ball storage plate 261. At this time, the ball storage plate 261 is replenished by the operating link member 273 and is replenished because it is inclined downward toward the foul ball collection means 250 side. The game ball flows down on the ball storage plate 261 toward the foul ball collection means 250, falls from the end of the ball storage plate 261, and flows down on the junction 254 that becomes the upstream end of the circulation channel 220. Te, it will flow into the circulation flow path 220.

  The deposit removing means 400 includes a metal plate 410 that is provided in contact with the game ball in the standby flow path 221 of the circulation flow path 220 serving as the flow-down path and grounded, and the standby of the circulation flow path 220 serving as the flow-down path. A blower fan 420 serving as wind forming means for forming artificial wind by blowing or sucking into the flow path 221 is provided.

  The metal plate 410 constitutes the bottom of the standby flow path 221 (the bottom of the game ball flow) and is attached to a plate-like standby inclined portion 223 extending rearward from the back surface of the front wall member 310. The metal plate 410 is disposed on the upper surface, which is the bottom surface of the standby flow path 221 of the standby inclined portion 223, over almost the entire width of the standby inclined portion 223 (the width in the direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the game ball). In addition, the launch unit 60 including the metal launch rail 62 is grounded. Accordingly, when the game ball passes over the metal plate 410 of the standby flow path 221, static electricity is removed.

  The blower fan 420 is a well-known blower fan for exhaust heat (cooling) of a power source, a substrate, etc. of an electric product, and includes, for example, a fan in a substantially square casing when viewed from the front and a motor that rotates the fan. It is provided and is attached to the blower fan attachment part 310a provided in front of the position where the metal plate 410 of the standby flow path 221 is attached on the front side of the front wall member 310. Moreover, the blowing direction of the blower fan 420 is from the front to the rear of the enclosing ball type gaming machine 100 in this example.

Further, vents 318,... Are formed at the upper and lower portions of the front wall member 310 where the blower fan 420 is attached and where the metal plate 410 of the standby flow path 221 is disposed.
In addition, a filter attachment portion 321 for attaching a filter (not shown) having a filter opening 322 is provided at a portion corresponding to the attachment position of the blower fan 420 on the back surface of the rear wall member 320.
As described above, the adhering matter such as dust attached to the game ball from which static electricity has been removed is blown off by the blower of the blower fan 420 and collected by the filter.

  The blower fan 420 is formed on the mounting plate 131 of the front frame main body 130 which is the base frame for disposing the touch panel display unit 151 on the back side of the touch panel display unit 151 as a display device. Air is blown from the front side in the front-rear direction of the enclosed ball game machine 100 to the rear side so as to suck in heat released from the touch panel display unit 151 from a fan opening (not shown) communicating with 420, thereby cooling the touch panel display unit. It is supposed to be.

Then, in the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 as described above, a game is performed in the game area 1a on the front side of the game board 1 fitted in the opening 121 of the front frame body 130.
That is, the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 performs a game by firing a game ball (hit ball; game medium) into a game area 1a surrounded by the guide rails 2 of the game board 1 shown in FIG. In the game area 1a, as shown in FIG. 1, the game start balls 6 and 6, and the game ball passes through the game start gates 6 and 6, and the game variable display game is unprocessed. Common figure start memory display (not shown) for displaying the number of processing, normal figure change display (not shown) for displaying a normal symbol (general) variable display game, normal variable winning device 9, and this normal variable winning device 9 is a special chart start memory display (not shown) that displays the number of unprocessed times in which the game ball is won and the special figure variation display game is unprocessed, and a special symbol (special figure, identification information) variable display. A variable display device 4 for displaying a game, a special variable winning device 5, a general winning port 8 ..., the ball striking direction changing member (not shown) called a wind turbine, and the like are provided a number of nails (not shown).

  In the gaming board 1 of the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 of the present invention, the out ball as a gaming ball that did not win even if it flows down to the lower end of the gaming area 1a is played at the lower end of the gaming area 1a. 1 is not provided with an out-hole leading to the back side of the game board 1. Instead, the guide rail 2 surrounding the game area 1 a on the front surface of the game board 1 is not provided at the lower end of the game area 1 a, that is, a guide The portion surrounding the lower side of the game area 1a of the rail 2 is provided with a notch, and the game ball that has not won a prize is the central portion of the lower end of the game board 1 and the front side of the game board 1 The game area 1a flows as it is to the collection port 211 on the outer side (lower side) of the game area 1a.

The normal variation winning device 9 includes a pair of left and right opening / closing members and a general electric solenoid 9a (illustrated in FIG. 12: general electric power SOL) for operating the opening / closing member, and this opening / closing member always has one game ball. Although the closed state (a disadvantageous state for the player) is maintained at intervals enough to allow inflow, the result of the normal map change display game of the normal map change display is a predetermined stop display mode (for example, “7”). ), It is changed to a state in which the game ball is easy to flow into the normal variation winning device 9 (a state advantageous to the player).
The normal variation winning device 9 also serves as a special winning start opening. That is, the start condition is established based on the detection of the game ball by the start port sensor 9b (shown in FIG. 12) provided in the inside of the normal variable winning device 9 (winning area), and the special display variable display game is started. It has come to be.

Further, a gate sensor 6a (illustrated in FIG. 12: a general diagram start sensor) for detecting a game ball that has passed through the general diagram start gates 6, 6 is provided in the general diagram start gates 6, 6. .
Then, when the game ball driven into the game area 1a passes through the normal start gates 6 and 6, a normal variable display game is played on the normal variable display.
Here, the common figure change indicator is composed of, for example, LEDs, etc., and the change display game of normal symbols (for example, numbers, symbols, character symbols, etc.) displays the lighting state of the common figure change indicator for a predetermined time. Then, it is performed by displaying a stop.
If, as a result of the usual fluctuation display game, the stop indication on the ordinary fluctuation display becomes a special result mode, the opening / closing member of the normal fluctuation prize-winning device 9 is set for a predetermined time (for example, 0). .5 seconds) released as described above. Thereby, it becomes easy to win a game ball in the normal variation winning device 9, and it becomes easy to start a special display variation display game.

The special figure variable display device 4 (special symbol display device) includes, for example, a liquid crystal display 41 and a display screen 42 that can change display contents. The display content on the display screen 42 is controlled by an effect control device 51 (shown in FIG. 12) having a function as display control means.
Then, based on the fact that the game ball that has been driven into the game area 1a enters the normal variation winning device 9 that also serves as the start port of the special figure and the start condition is satisfied, a plurality of types of identification information (for example, on the display screen 42) , Numbers, symbols, character symbols, and the like). It should be noted that the special figure variable display game is performed by displaying a plurality of types of identification information in a variable manner on the display screen 42 for a predetermined time.
As a result of the special display variable display game, if the display mode of the display screen 42 is a special result mode (for example, any one of the numbers “7, 7, 7”, etc.), the jackpot It becomes a special gaming state (so-called jackpot state).

Here, the special variable winning device 5 includes a large winning opening that is opened and closed by an attacker-type opening / closing door that can be opened by rotating in a direction in which the upper end side is tilted toward the front side, and during the special gaming state The cycle game that facilitates the inflow of game balls into the big prize opening by converting the big prize opening from the closed state to the open state is performed a predetermined number of times (the number of predetermined rounds). The open / close door is driven by a special prize opening solenoid 5a (illustrated in FIG. 12: special prize opening SOL).
In addition, in the inside of the winning a prize opening (winning area), a count sensor 5b (shown in FIG. 12) for detecting a gaming ball that has entered the winning prize opening, and a game ball that has entered the winning prize opening continues. A V winning sensor 5c (shown in FIG. 12) for detecting a game ball flowing into the winning area (V winning area) is provided.
It should be noted that a winning hole sensor 8a (shown in FIG. 12) for detecting a game ball that has entered the winning holes 8,... Is disposed inside the general winning holes 8,. .

  Here, the game balls that have been driven into the game area 1a flow into any of the winning ports (winning tools) such as the general winning port 8, the ordinary variable winning device 9, and the special winning device 5 of the special variable winning device 5. When a winning occurs, the winning game balls are detected by the sensors of each winning opening, and based on the detection, a predetermined number of winning balls set corresponding to each winning opening is stored in the above-mentioned number of holding balls data. Is added.

Therefore, by performing the above-described cycle game during the special game state, the player has an opportunity to acquire a high number of game balls (specific game value).
That is, the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 is a pachinko gaming machine, and when a special figure variation display game results in a predetermined special result mode (when it is a big hit), a specific game value is given to the player. It is configured to be able to generate a special gaming state that can be given.

The front operation unit 150 will be described in detail below.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front operation unit 150 includes a touch panel display unit 151 that is an information display device and an operation device 16.
The operating device 16 includes touch sensors 152 and 152 and a firing slide volume 153 for operating the launching of the game ball, and a speaker 155.
As shown in FIG. 9, the operating device 16 includes a mounting member 163 that covers the front surface of the mounting plate 131 provided in the lower portion of the front frame body 130 from the front, and a front structural member 161 that is mounted on the front surface of the mounting member 163. Is provided. As described above, the glass frame 140 covers a part of the front frame body 130 that extends from the lower side to the upper end part from the front in the vertical direction, but the mounting member 163 is located on the lower side of the front frame body 130. The part (mounting board 131) is covered from the front.

  The front structural member 161 is provided below the front side of the encapsulated ball game machine 100 and is provided on the front side for disposing a touch panel display unit 151 having a virtual game ball display 154, a speaker 155, and a firing slide volume 153. It bulges out. That is, the front structural member 161 is attached to the front surface of the mounting member 163 so as to cover the entire front surface of the mounting member 163, and the front structural member 161 is formed to bulge forward from the glass frame 140. Since the front structural member 161 is provided in a state where it bulges forward, a space is formed between the front structural member 161 and the mounting member 163, and the touch panel display unit 151 having the virtual game ball display 154 and the firing slide The volume 153 can be disposed in an inclined state. Further, the central portion of the space becomes an information display device mounting space 16a for mounting the touch panel display unit 151. The touch panel display unit 151 is installed in the information display device mounting space 16a in a state where the lower portion is accommodated in the information display device mounting space 16a. It is attached to the operating device 16 so as to close the upper opening of the space 16a.

In addition, a speaker mounting recess 166, which will be described later, of the front constituent member 161 is in a state of extending from the front to the rear at the lower part of the left and right central portions of the space that is inside the front constituent member 161 bulging to the front side. . Accordingly, the speaker mounting recess 166 is disposed below the information display device mounting space 16a inside the operating device 16, and the upper surface of the speaker mounting recess 166 faces the information display device mounting space 16a. On the upper surface of the speaker mounting recess 166, mounting ribs 167 and 167 are formed on the left and right sides, respectively, extending in the front-rear direction and having the upper end surface substantially horizontal.
When the touch panel display unit 151 is attached to the operation device 16, the bottom wall 183 of the display attachment portion 18 of the information display device attachment member 151b of the touch panel display unit 151 is placed in the information display device attachment space 16a. , 167.

The front structural member 161 includes space forming portions 165 and 165 that can form a space portion 16c that opens to the side on both right and left side portions. The space forming portions 165 and 165 are extended from the side portion of the front structural member 161. That is, when the encapsulated ball game machine 100 is viewed from the front side, the space forming portions 165 and 165 extend from the left and right sides of the touch panel display unit 151 and the speaker mounting recess 166 to the side. Provided, pocket-shaped space portions 16c and 16c are formed behind the space forming portions 165 and 165, the left space portion 16c is open to the left, and the right space portion 16c is to the right. Open.
Among the inner surfaces of these space portions 16c, 16c, touch sensors 152, 152 are formed by forming a touch sensor mainly on the front side of the gaming machine and facing backward. In addition, the bottom portions of the pocket-shaped spaces 16c and 16c are in a state of extending outward from the inside of the recess so that the player's hand can be placed. Easily put your hand on the bottom of the recess. That is, the bottom surface of the recess functions as a hand rest 158a.

  The enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 includes the touch sensors 152 and 152 and the firing slide volume 153 described above in place of the rotary operation type handle for operating the launching of the game ball provided in the conventional pachinko gaming machine. Have.

The touch sensor 152 is made of a metal plate and has the same configuration as that of a touch sensor provided on a conventional operation handle, and controls the emission of a signal by touching the touch sensor 152 of the player's hand. It outputs to the device 63a, and activates the launch device 61 under the control of the launch control device 63a to launch a game ball.
Conventionally, the firing force is adjusted by rotating the operation handle. In the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100, the firing lever 156 of the firing slide volume 153 is moved up and down.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the touch panel display unit 151 includes a touch panel display 151a, an information display device attachment member 151b for attaching the touch panel display unit 151 to the operation device 16 as well as the touch panel display 151a, and a player. A virtual game ball display 154 that virtually displays a game ball as a holding ball, and an angle adjustment member 17 for adjusting the angle of the touch panel display 151a with respect to the player in the information display device mounting member 151b It is.

As shown in FIG. 9, the touch panel display 151 a is a kind of pointing device (digitizer, tablet), a touch panel 15 a capable of inputting coordinates with a finger or the like, an LCD panel 15 b, and driving of the touch panel 15 a and the LCD panel 15 b. A touch panel display control unit 15c having a circuit and a control circuit; a connection terminal 15d for connecting the touch panel display control unit 15c to a second frame control board 82 as a frame control device 83; a touch panel 15a and an LCD panel 15b; And a casing 15e surrounding the periphery.
In the touch panel display 151a, a transparent touch panel 15a and an LCD panel 15b are arranged so as to overlap each other and display information on the LCD panel 15b, and on the touch panel 15a based on the information displayed on the LCD panel 15b. By inputting the coordinate position, it is possible to display information and input information.

Then, on the LCD panel 15b of the touch panel display 151a, information on the current number of balls held by the player, and information on the amount (balance) of money that has been inserted by the player and has not yet been converted into the number of balls held (number of game media). (Game value information) is displayed.
In addition, when the game store permits a member or the like to replay with stored balls, information on the number of stored balls (game value information) is displayed.
The LCD panel 15b of the touch panel display 151a includes, for example, information on the player's game such as the number of hits of the variable display game, the number of jackpots with probability fluctuation, the number of start of the variable display game from the previous jackpot, and the like. Is displayed.

Further, on the LCD panel 15b, a unit amount (100 yen, 500 yen, 1000 yen, etc.) set in advance from the information on the amount of money as the above-mentioned game value information is displayed as an operation display on the touch panel 15a. When a ball rental button to be converted is displayed and a coordinate position corresponding to the coordinate position of the ball rental button is input by the touch panel 15a, the unit amount is subtracted from the amount as game value information, and the number of balls (number of game media) The above-described frame control device performs control in which the converted number of balls is added to the number of balls held.
Similarly, the LCD panel 15b converts the preset number of unit game balls (25, 125, 250, etc.) into the number of game media from the information on the number of stored balls as the game value information. When the replay button is displayed and the coordinate position of the replay button is input from the touch panel 15a, the number of unit game balls is subtracted from the number of stored balls, converted into the number of game media, and further added to the number of held balls. Control is performed by the frame control device.
Therefore, the touch panel display 151a functions as a conversion operation means for performing an operation of converting the game value information held by the player into the number of possessed balls.

  In addition, the touch panel display 151a displays various buttons for performing operations for instructing call of a staff member, rest, game end, and the like, and operations for instructing them are possible. When the coordinate position of the call button of the clerk is input, the external appeal lamp 11,... Illuminates in red and, for example, a call lamp for game machine information is sent from the frame control device via the external management device. When the lamp is turned on, etc., and the coordinate position of the break button is input, a display indicating the break is displayed on the LCD panel 15b, and a control for making a game impossible by inputting a password or the like is limited. When the coordinate position of the game end button is input by the control device, the control of the frame control device 83 discharges the storage medium such as a card and outputs the game value information and the number of game media information to the outside. Processing such as management of the information by the management device is performed by the processing.

  In addition, the touch panel display 151a includes a button for displaying history information such as the number of hits of the variable display game as information related to the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 that the player plays, and an enclosure that can be changed by the player A button or the like for operating the setting of the ball game machine may be displayed. When the coordinate positions of these buttons are input, processing such as display screen switching is performed by the frame control device by displaying a submenu or the like.

The touch panel display controller 15c is disposed on the back side of the touch panel display 151a and is housed in a portion protruding rearward of the casing 15e.
The connection terminal 15d is connected to the touch panel display control unit 15c and is exposed on the back side of the casing 15e.

  In addition, the left and right sides of the lower end surface of the casing 15e, which is the lower end side (front side) of the touch panel display 151a, which is obliquely arranged so as to incline downward toward the front side on the upper surface of the front operation unit 150, Rotating protrusions 15h extending obliquely downward so as to be perpendicular to each other are provided. Further, the tip end portion of the rotation protrusion 15h is formed in a cylindrical shape whose axial direction is set to the left-right direction. And the rotation protrusion 15h is engaged with the front-end | tip recessed part of the rotation support receiving part 18a mentioned later of the information display apparatus attachment member 151b. And the rotation protrusion 15h is rotatably supported centering on the column-shaped front-end | tip part in the state engaged with the rotation support receiving part 18a. Accordingly, the touch panel display 151a is rotatable so that the upper end moves up and down around the lower end, and the angle (elevation angle) of the touch panel display 151a tilted so that the front surface is inclined downward. It can be changed. The upper part of the touch panel display 151a is supported by the angle adjusting member 17 so as to be movable up and down as will be described later.

Further, a step 15o having a lower front side and a higher rear side is formed on the upper end surface of the casing 15e, and the inner side of the upper side wall 182 described later of the information display device mounting member 151b above the display mounting opening 181. The upper end position of the upper end of the casing 15e is regulated by engaging with the lower side of the edge.
That is, the upper part of the touch panel display 151a is moved upward by being pushed by the angle adjustment member 17 from below as described later, and the angle of the touch panel display 151a is adjusted. The step 15o of the casing 15e is engaged with the lower side of the inner edge of the upper surface wall 182 of the information display device mounting member 151b above the display device mounting opening 181 so that the upper end of the touch panel display 151a is the information display device. This prevents the attachment member 151b from coming off.

  Further, the stepped portion 15o prevents the upper end of the touch panel display 151a from being detached from the information display device mounting member 151b while the lower end portion of the casing 15e is rotatably engaged with the information display device mounting member 151b. Therefore, the touch panel display 151a cannot be removed toward the upper side of the display attachment opening 181 of the information display device attachment member 151b.

The information display device attachment member 151b has a front side inclined downward, and the display attachment portion 18 to which the touch panel display 151a is attached, and an upper portion of the display attachment portion 18 along the lower surface of the glass frame 140 in the left-right direction. The upper component 19 has an opposing surface 192a which will be described later and extends and faces the lower surface.
The display attachment portion 18 is formed to be inclined so as to incline downward toward the front, and has an upper surface wall 182 having a rectangular display attachment opening 181 to which the touch panel display 151a is attached, and an upper surface The bottom wall 183 is disposed substantially horizontally below the upper surface wall 182 with a space from the wall 182, and the front edge of the bottom wall 183 and the lower side of the display mounting opening 181 of the upper surface wall 182. The front wall 184 provided between the inner edge and the left and right side walls 185 provided between the left and right side edges of the bottom wall 183 and the inner edges of the upper surface wall 182 of the indicator mounting opening 181. , 185.

The upper surface wall 182 has an outer shape that follows a top opening of an information display device mounting space 16a (to be described later) of the operating device 16, and the upper surface wall 182 is arranged so as to close the top opening. It can be attached to the operating device 16.
The upper surface wall 182 has a display attachment opening 181 that is substantially the same shape as the outer shape of the touch panel display 151 a, and the touch panel display 151 a is attached to the display attachment opening 181.

In addition, a virtual game ball opening 18b that is exposed in a state in which a lens 154c of a cover member 154a (to be described later) of the virtual game ball display 154 protrudes from the upper right side (rear part) of the display device mounting opening 181 of the upper surface wall 182. Is formed in a shape that is long to the left and right. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, a support engagement portion 18c that is engaged with and supported by the lower end portion of the cover member 154a is provided below the virtual game ball opening 18b on the back surface of the upper surface wall 182. It has been.
Further, on the left side of the display attachment opening 181 on the upper surface wall 182, a dial opening 18d that is exposed in a state in which an angle adjustment dial 17a (described later) of the angle adjustment member 17 protrudes is formed.

The front wall 184 has a lower edge joined to the front edge of the bottom wall 183 and an upper edge joined to the lower side of the lower inner edge of the display mounting opening 181 on the back surface of the upper surface wall 182. The left and right side edges are connected to the side walls 185 and 185.
On the left and right of the upper end portion of the inner surface of the front wall 184, the above-described rotation support receiving portion 18a is formed at a position corresponding to the left and right rotation protrusions 15h of the lower end portion of the touch panel display 151a attached to the display attachment portion 18. ing. The turning support receiving portion 18a has a recessed portion that fits with the cylindrical tip of the turning protrusion 15h at the tip.
Further, as shown in FIG. 9, a step-shaped lower engagement portion 187 is formed at the upper end portion of the front surface of the front wall 184 facing diagonally downward, and the step surface of the lower engagement portion 187 is formed on the operation device 16. It engages with the inner edge which is the lower side of the upper opening from the lower side (inner side).
By this engagement, the upward movement of the lower end portion (front end portion) of the information display device mounting member 151b (touch panel display unit 151) is regulated.

The side walls 185 and 185 are joined to either the left or right side edge of the bottom wall 183 at the lower edge, and the oblique upper edge is either the left or right of the display mounting opening 181 of the upper surface wall 182. The front edge is joined to one of the left and right side edges of the front wall 184.
Moreover, the rear side edge part of the side walls 185 and 185 is in an open state without being joined to other members. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, bearing recesses 18e and 18e with which the rotation shaft 17b (described later) of the angle adjusting member 17 is rotatably engaged respectively on the rear side edge portions of the left and right side walls 185 and 185. Is formed. A boss 18 f is formed integrally with the side wall 185 so as to be adjacent to the left side of the bearing recess 18 e of the left side wall 185 as viewed from the rear. By screwing a screw 18i into the boss 18f as shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to prevent the end of the rotary shaft 17b from dropping off from the bearing recess 18e.

Further, the dial opening 18d is formed on the right side of the right side wall 185 as viewed from the rear, and a bearing wall 186 is formed on the right side of the dial opening 18d in parallel with the side wall 185. The lower end portion of the bearing wall 186 is bent toward the right side wall 185 as viewed from the rear, and is joined to the side wall 185. The front edge portion of the bearing wall 186 is joined to the back surface of the upper surface wall 182. A bearing recess 18g is formed on the rear edge of the bearing wall 186 at a position aligned with the bearing recesses 18e and 18e of the side walls 185 and 185.
Accordingly, the rotation shaft 17b of the angle adjusting member 17 is rotatably fitted to the two bearing recesses 18e and 18e on the side walls 185 and 185 and the bearing recess 18g on the bearing wall 186.
Further, a boss 18h is formed integrally with the bearing wall 186 adjacent to the bearing recess 18g of the bearing wall 186, and a screw 18i is screwed into the boss 18h as shown in FIG. It is possible to prevent the end of the rotary shaft 17b from falling off.

  The upper component 19 is arranged to extend left and right along the upper edge of the display mounting portion 18, and the upper surface (front surface) of the display mounting portion 18 is slanted, whereas Is vertical and the top surface is horizontal. That is, the upper component portion 19 includes a vertical front wall 191 and an upper surface wall 192 that horizontally extends downward from an upper edge portion of the vertical front wall 191 and an upper surface wall 182 of the display attachment portion 18. And a horizontal rib 193 extending horizontally rearward from a boundary portion with the upper surface wall 182 of the front wall 191 that is integrally connected to the front wall 191, and the front wall 191, the upper surface wall 192, and the horizontal rib 193 It is formed in a shape.

In addition, the upper component 19 is disposed along the lower surface of the closed glass frame 140 as described above, and the upper surface of the upper surface wall 192 becomes a facing surface 192 a that faces the lower surface of the glass frame 140. Further, the front portion of the facing surface 192a that is the upper surface of the upper component portion 19 is in front of the glass plate 141 of the glass frame 140 and directly below the portion on the front side of the glass frame 140 where the decorative member is disposed. The rear part is behind the lower side (lower wall 142, shown in FIG. 1) where the decorative member on the front side of the glass frame 140 is arranged.
The lower wall 142 extends rearward from the lower end portion of the front surface portion serving as a decorative member on the front surface side of the glass frame 140, and the lower side thereof becomes the lower surface of the glass frame 140 and the opposite surface 192 a of the upper component portion 19. Opposite the front. Further, the rear end portion of the lower wall 142 is in front of the rear end portion of the facing surface 19 of the upper component 19.

And since the upper component 19 of the touch panel display unit 151 is disposed directly under the glass frame 140 (transparent member holding frame) in a closed state, the touch panel display unit which is an information display device when the glass frame 140 is opened. 151 can be moved in the vertical direction, and when the glass frame 140 is closed, the movement of the touch panel display unit 151 in the vertical direction is restricted.
Further, an inverted L-shaped insertion preventing member 194 is formed on the upper surface wall 192 of the upper component 19 so as to extend from side to side, and a cell, piano wire, etc. from between the glass frame 140 and the front component 161 When the insertion preventing member 194 is engaged with the lower wall 142 and a force is applied to pull the touch panel display unit 151 forward with the glass frame 140 closed. Further, the touch panel display unit 151 is prevented from coming off toward the front side.

  The angle adjusting member 17 supports the upper part of the touch panel display 151a whose lower end is rotatably engaged with the display mounting part 18, and moves the upper part of the touch panel display 151a up and down to move the touch panel display 151a. The angle (elevation angle) is adjusted (tilt adjustment), and is arranged along the left-right direction at a position below the upper portion of the touch panel display 151a of the display mounting part 18, and rotates to the display mounting part 18. A rotary shaft 17b that is freely supported, an angle adjustment dial 17a that is disposed at one end of the rotary shaft 17b, is fixed to the rotary shaft 17b, and rotates integrally with the rotary shaft 17b, and a touch panel display of the rotary shaft 17b And a cam 17c that is fixed to the left and right of the position overlapping with the container 151a and rotates integrally with the rotary shaft 17b.

The rotating shaft 17b is rotatably engaged with the bearing recesses 18e and 18g formed in the side walls 185 and 185 and the bearing wall 186 of the display mounting portion 18 as described above, and the bearing recesses 18e and 18g by the screw 18i. It is supported not to fall off.
The angle adjusting dial 17a is a disk-shaped dial, and a rotation shaft 17b is fixed to the center thereof. The angle adjustment dial 17a can be rotated integrally with the rotation shaft 17b. A player is exposed from the dial opening 18d to the front side of the upper surface wall 182 so as to be operable.

Therefore, the rotary shaft 17b can be rotated by operating the angle adjustment dial 17a that is partially exposed on the front surface of the upper surface wall 182 that constitutes the surface of the touch panel display unit 151 that is an information display device.
As shown in FIG. 9, the cams 17c and 17c are configured such that the rotation shaft 17b is inserted through a through-hole formed in the center of the cams 17c and 17c so that the rotation phases of the two cams 17c and 17c are matched.

For example, when the angle at which the distance from the rotation center to the outer periphery becomes the shortest is 0, the shape of the outer periphery of the cams 17c, 17c becomes farther as the angle increases from the rotation center to the outer periphery. It has a shape. The distance from the outer periphery of the cams 17c, 17c to the center of rotation is the maximum immediately before the angle returns to 0, and a step along the radial direction is formed at the angle 0 portion so that the distance is minimized. It has become. And the upper part of an information display is supported by the angle adjustment member 17 as mentioned above by the outer periphery of cam 17c, 17c contacting the back surface of the upper part of the touchscreen display 151a.
The cams 17c and 17c can be rotated by rotating the rotary shaft 17b by operating the angle adjustment dial 17a. Further, in a state where the step where the angle of the cams 17c, 17c is 0 is orthogonal to the back surface of the touch panel display 151a, that is, in a state where the outer peripheral portion where the angle of the cams 17c, 17c is 0 is in contact with the back surface of the touch panel display 151a. The outer peripheral portion, which is the most distant from the rotation center immediately before the angle 0, enters the cam hole (not shown) on the back surface of the casing 15e of the touch panel display 151a. As a result, the outer peripheral portion closest to the center of rotation at an angle 0, which is below the step of the cams 17c, 17c, can be brought into contact with the vicinity of the back of the cam hole on the back surface.

This state is a state where the upper part of the touch panel display 151a is the lowest and the angle of the touch panel display 151a is closest to the horizontal.
Further, when the tilt angle is increased in this direction, the outer peripheral surfaces of the cams 17c and 17c that are in contact with the back surface of the touch panel display 151a are far from the rotation center of the cams 17c and 17c. The upper part is pushed up, and the tilt angle of the touch panel display 151a is increased. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, at a rotation angle slightly in front of the rotation angle at which the distance from the outer peripheral surface of the cams 17c, 17c contacting the back surface of the touch panel display 151a to the rotation center of the cams 17c, 17c is maximum. The step portion 15o of the casing 15e of the touch panel display 151a abuts on the lower side of the inner edge portion of the upper surface wall 182 of the information display device mounting member 151b on the upper side of the display mounting opening 181, and the upper portion of the touch panel display 151a is Further, it will be in a state where it cannot move upward.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 11, the virtual game ball display 154 includes an LED substrate 154b having a plurality of (for example, about 5) LED 154h as light emitting means, and a cover having a lens 154c covering the LED 154h. Member 154a.
In the LED 154h, the size of a lens, which is a light-transmitting member surrounding the periphery of the issuing element that is an LED, is approximately the size of a game ball. In this example, the lens has a hemispherical shape, a truncated cone shape, or a bell shape, and the diameter of the bottom surface is substantially equal to the diameter of the game ball. Further, three or two LED elements having different colors may be arranged in one lens, and each LED 154h may be capable of emitting light in a plurality of colors (so-called three-color LEDs may be used). The plurality of LEDs 154h are arranged in a line on the LED substrate 154b in a state of being close to or in contact with each other.

  The cover member 154a is a transparent lens 154c that integrally covers a plurality of LEDs 154h aligned in a row on the LED substrate 154b, and the upper side of the lens 154c is an upper mounting member. 154e and the lower side of the lens 154c are the lower attachment members 154f. The upper mounting member 154e is formed on a boss 19h (shown in FIG. 10) formed on the right side of the front wall 191 of the upper component 19 and on the back surface of the front wall 191 above the virtual game ball opening 18b. It has a screwing portion 154g to be screwed.

Further, the lower mounting member 154f is disposed along the back surface of the upper surface wall 182 of the display device mounting portion 18, and engages with the support engagement portion 18c formed on the back surface of the upper surface wall 182, so It is engaged in a state in which downward movement is restricted.
Further, an LED attachment portion 154i for attaching the LED substrate 154b is provided on the back surface side of the lens 154c of the cover member 154a, and a screw at the center of the LED substrate 154b is provided on a boss (not shown) provided on the LED attachment portion 154i. The LED board 154b is attached to the cover member 154a by screwing and fastening the screw through the hole.

In addition, in the state in which the virtual game ball display 154 is attached to the display attachment portion 18, a plurality of LEDs 154h that are covered with the lens 154c and arranged in a row are exposed from the horizontally long virtual game ball opening 18b, and the plurality of LEDs 154h Are arranged in a line along the left-right direction.
Further, the mounting position of the virtual game ball display 154 on the touch panel display unit 151 (front operation unit 150) is the right side of the touch panel display 151a when viewed from the front. In addition, in the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100, a gaming ball is launched from the lower right side firing position toward the upper left side on the lower side of the game board 1, and the virtual gaming ball display 154 is The front operation unit 150 is disposed on the game ball launch side.

  The virtual game ball display 154 displays the plurality of LEDs 154h as if they are game balls held by the player. For example, the state of decreasing each time a game ball is fired or the state of increasing due to winning a prize is arranged in a row by sequentially turning on / off / flashing a plurality of LEDs 154h arranged in a row at different timings. It is possible to express the light moving in the left-right direction along the LED 154h, and this can be regarded as a state where the game ball is flowing.

  Further, when the remaining number of held balls decreases and becomes equal to or less than the number of LEDs 154h, the number of LEDs 154h to be lit is made equal to the number of held balls in the virtual game ball display 154. That is, for example, when there are five LEDs 154h, the LEDs 154h are all lit when the number of held balls reaches five, and then each time the number of held balls decreases by one with the launch of a game ball By turning off one LED 154h, the remaining number of balls remains and the current number of balls is notified. As described above, the virtual game ball display 154 is arranged on the right side, which is the game ball launch side, in the front operation unit 150. In a pachinko game machine that does not circulate and use game balls, an upper plate launcher ( The virtual game ball indicator 154 is arranged at a position corresponding to the right end portion on the side where the game ball is introduced at the launch position).

  Accordingly, the player turns off the LED 154h in the virtual game ball display 154 so that the number of game balls decreases one by one as described above (shuts off sequentially from the left LED 154h to the right side) In a pachinko gaming machine that is not a ball type, it can be considered that the number of game balls decreases and the number of game balls decreases as it is launched while the game balls are only at the right end of the upper plate. Thus, the player can intuitively recognize that the above-described display on the virtual game ball display 154 indicates that the remaining number of balls is small, without particularly explaining.

Accordingly, the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 has a virtual game ball display in which a plurality of LEDs 154h each having a substantially hemispherical shape (including a truncated cone shape, a bell shape, etc.) are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction. When a game ball is sent to the launch position, the device 154 is provided on the side (ie, the right side) of the touch panel display unit 151 serving as the information display device, and light is emitted from the LED 154h. It is made to operate so that light moves to the side (left-right direction).
In other words, the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 is provided with virtual game ball display means (virtual game ball display 154) for virtually showing the game ball to the player as if the game ball has moved in association with the ball sending to the launch position. The virtual game ball display means has a structure in which a plurality of LEDs 154h,... As light emitting means having lenses having a diameter substantially the same as that of the game ball are arranged in a line in the left-right direction.

Next, the control system of the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 as described above will be described with reference to the control block diagram of FIG.
The control system of the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 includes a game control device 21 (main control device) that controls the progress of the above-described game, and an effect control device that controls various effects under the control of the game control device 21. Under the control of 51 (sub-control device) and game control device 21, the number of balls held (number of game balls) and display control of touch panel display unit 151 (touch panel display 151a) (control of touch panel display control unit 15c) ) And the like, and a frame control device 83 for controlling the virtual game ball display 154 and the external appeal decoration lamp 11 and the like, and a launch control device 63a for controlling the launch device 61 under the control of the frame control device 83, and the like. Is provided. Note that a power supply device 72 for supplying power to these control system devices and other devices is provided, and the power supply device 72 is at least volatile when the supply of power from the outside is stopped during a power failure or the like. A backup power source 73 is provided to prevent the data stored in the memory from being lost.

  Of these, the game control device 21 is composed of a game microcomputer having a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., an input / output I / F, a clock (oscillator), and the like, and is well known in pachinko gaming machines. Various random numbers related to the variable display game shown in the figure are also generated. Various random values include random numbers for jackpot determination for special figure fluctuation display games, random numbers for hit judgment for normal figure fluctuation display games, etc. The result is determined.

Also, the game control device 21 is connected to each prize opening sensor 8a, gate sensor 6a, start opening sensor 9b, count sensor 5b, and V prize sensor 5c via the input / output I / F. The detection signal is input. A winning ball is generated based on input from various winning ports such as the winning port sensor 8a, the starting port sensor 9b, the count sensor 5b, and sensors provided in the winning device. In the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100, In a pachinko machine other than the enclosed ball type, instead of a discharge control device for controlling the payout of game balls as prize balls, information relating to prize balls is output to the frame control device 83. In the control device 83, calculation processing for adding the number of prize balls to the number of balls held is performed based on information on the prize balls. Further, in the game control device 21, the progress of the special display and the usual variable display game is controlled based on signals input from the gate sensor 6a, the start port sensor 9b, and the V winning sensor 5c.
Further, the game control device 21 is controlled by being connected to a general-purpose solenoid 9a and a special prize opening solenoid 5a via an input / output I / F. On the basis of the above, the opening and closing of the special variation winning device 5 and the normal variation winning device 9 are controlled.

Based on the production command from the game control device 21, the production control device 51 causes the variation display device 4 to perform various production displays including a special figure variation display game based on the identification information, and other various information displays. I do.
The effect control device 51 includes an effect microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and various ICs for video control. Based on the progress control of the special display variable display game in the game control device 21, the effect display is performed. The device 4 controls the display of the special figure variable display game and the accompanying effect display.
In addition, the effect control device 51 is based on the command from the game control device 21 as described above, and the speakers 13 and 13 (the speaker 155 is driven and controlled by the frame control device 83 under the control of the effect control device 51). And the like, and the lighting and extinguishing of the decorative lamp 15 including decorative LEDs and the like provided on the front surface of the game board 1 (including various objects) are controlled. The side lamps 12 and 12 may be controlled by the effect control device 51, or may be controlled by the frame control device 83 under the control of the effect control device 51.

The frame control device 83 includes a microcomputer 84 having a CPU 84a, a RAM 84b, a ROM 84c, an input / output I / F 85, a clock (oscillator) 86, and the like. Note that the frame control device 83 is actually a control device configured by the first frame control substrate 81 and a second frame control substrate that performs control under the control of the control device configured by the first frame control substrate 81. In this embodiment, one frame control device 83 is composed of the first frame control board 81 and the second frame control board 82 for the sake of simplicity. Will be described.
Among these, the CPU 84 a includes a control unit and a calculation unit, and performs various types of calculation and control. Information regarding the launch of the game ball input from the ball feed sensor 246 and the game ball input from the game control device 21. From the information regarding the prize balls, etc., the number of possessed balls, which is data of the number of game balls that the player can use for the game, is calculated, or the number of balls possessed by the touch panel display unit 151 is calculated based on the calculated number of retained balls. Control is performed to digitally display the number as a numerical value, and control such as turning on / off or changing the luminescent color of an electric light emitting source such as an LED in the external appeal decoration lamp 11 and the virtual game ball display 154 is performed.
The RAM 84b has storage areas for various flags, various timers, various counters, and the like, and a work area for the CPU 84a.
The ROM 84c includes a program for performing control related to the launching of the game balls such as the number of the above-mentioned balls, a program for performing various controls when the game balls are circulated, a touch panel display unit 151, an external appeal decoration lamp 11 and a program for controlling the virtual game ball display 154, data used in these programs, and the like are stored.

In addition, the input / output I / F 85 includes a game control device 21, an effect control device 51, a touch panel display 151a (touch panel 15a), a ball feed sensor 246, a foul ball sensor 253, via a low-pass filter and a buffer gate (not shown). A collection ball sensor 212, a ball shortage detection sensor 264, a storage ball detection sensor 262a, a glass frame open detection sensor 142, and the like are connected, and various signals from these are input. These various signals are relayed by the input / output I / F 85 and output to the CPU 84a.
Furthermore, various control signals output from the CPU 84a are input to the input / output I / F 85, and these control signals are relayed by the input / output I / F 85 and transmitted via an output port and a driver (not shown). It is output to the control device 63a, the touch panel display unit 151 (the LCD panel 15a), the external appeal decoration lamp 11, the virtual game ball display 154, the speaker 155, the replenishment solenoid 263, the error display 14, and the like.

  Further, the microcomputer 84 of the frame control device 83 is connected to a communication device (not shown) via an input / output I / F 85 and is connected to a management device 90 which is a computer system of a game store, and the communication device of the conventional game control device 21 is connected. The frame control device 83 outputs various signals that have been performed via the external terminals, and information from the management device 90 can be input. That is, information such as jackpot, entry, exit, etc. with probability change after the start, jackpot, jackpot, and the like of the special figure variation display game transmitted from the frame control device 83 to the management device 90 are output. Information, information on other gaming machines, and the like can be input from the management device 90 to the frame control device 83.

  The frame control device 83 as described above includes information on award balls, information on the launch of game balls based on signals from the ball feed sensor 246, information on foul balls based on signals from the foul ball sensors 253, and information on the recovery ball sensor 212. Information on the number of various game balls, such as the number of balls, is calculated based on the information on the balls based on the signal, and the launch of the game balls is controlled via the launch control device 63a based on the number of balls. Further, the frame control device 83 controls display on the touch panel display 151a, the external appeal decoration lamp 11, the virtual game ball display 154, and the like based on the calculated information on the number of game balls. In addition, in the display control of the touch panel display 151a, information on the above-described variable display game, information input from the management device 90, and the like are also displayed.

Further, the frame control device 83 permits the launch of the game ball when the number of held balls is greater than 0, based on the information on the number of held balls, and when the number of held balls is 0, via the launch control device 63a. The launch of game balls is prohibited.
In addition, the frame control device 83 controls the external appeal decoration lamp 11 based on the information on the number of balls held and the signal from the ball feed sensor 246, and the information on the number of balls held and the signal from the ball feed sensor 246 Based on the signal from the touch panel display 151a, the virtual game ball display 154 is controlled.

  In FIG. 12, first and second microswitches 753 and 757 are connected to the frame control device 83 via the input / output interface 85 so that signals can be input to the frame control device 83, and the first and second microswitches can be controlled. The second electric motors 752 and 756 and the ball display LED 707 are connected. This is the configuration of the second embodiment to be described later. In the second embodiment, instead of the virtual game ball display 154, the second embodiment is performed. The first and second micro switches 753 and 757, the first and second electric motors 752 and 756, and the ball display LED 707 are connected to the frame control device 83.

  The firing control device 63a includes a microcomputer including a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like (not shown), and a touch sensor 152 (touch sensor) and a firing slide volume 153 of the front operation unit 150 via an input / output I / F (not shown). Are connected to the ball feed solenoid 244, the blower fan 420, and the launching device 61 (the motor driver).

The firing control device 63a controls the launching force of the game ball in the launching device 61 based on the signal level based on the operation of the operation lever 156 of the firing slide volume 153, the player's hand is detected by the touch sensor 152, and When the above-mentioned number of possessed balls is greater than 0, the launching device 61 is controlled to sequentially fire the game balls at predetermined time intervals. The launch control device 63a controls the supply of the game ball from the enclosed ball circulation unit 200 to the launch device 61 by operating the ball feed solenoid 244 in accordance with the timing of launching the game ball by the launch device 61.
The launch control device 63a also controls the blower fan 420 of the deposit removing means 400. For example, when the launch of the game ball by the launch device 61 is stopped (a signal from the touch sensor 152 is received). When the air is being input), the blower fan 420 is stopped, and when the game ball is being fired by the launching device 61 every predetermined time, the blower fan 420 is operated. As a result, the game fan is stopped at the position of the deposit removing means 400 in the standby flow path 221 and the blower fan 420 remains in a state where artificial wind is applied to the game ball that is stopped at the position of the deposit removing means 400 in the standby flow path 221. This is intended to extend the useful life of the blower fan 420 and reduce power consumption.

  In the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 as described above, when the player touches the touch sensor 152 in a state where the number of balls is 1 or more, the firing control device 63a causes the predetermined time interval (for example, 60/100). Every second), the ball feed solenoid 244 is driven, and the ball feed device 240 sends the game ball from the standby flow path 221 of the circulation path 220 to the launch position on the launch rail 62 through the supply flow path 245, and then the game The launch device 61 launches the game ball with a launching force corresponding to the volume based on the operation of the operation lever 156 of the launch slide volume 153 at the timing after the ball reaches the launch position. The launched game balls flow down in the game area 1a to perform a game for obtaining an opportunity to win a prize, and the game balls won in various winning holes are led out from the game area 1a to the back side of the game board 1. After being detected by each winning port sensor 8a, start port sensor 9b, and count sensor 5b, it is recovered as a safe ball by the recovery member 210 of the enclosed ball circulation unit 200.

  In addition, the game ball that has flowed down the game area 1a without winning a prize flows down from the notch provided in the lower guide rail 2 to the lower side of the game area 1a and is collected by the collection member 210 of the enclosed ball circulation unit 200. The Then, the collected safe sphere and out sphere are detected by the collected sphere sensor 212 and counted as the number of collected spheres. The number of collected balls corresponds to the number obtained by subtracting the number of foul balls from the number of shot balls (the series sent to the launch position), and is used for, for example, a check.

  Further, the foul balls that have been launched but have not been used in the game are collected from the foul ball collection port 251 into the enclosed ball circulation unit 200 and detected by the foul ball sensor 253. The collected safe spheres, out spheres, and foul spheres are collected in the enclosed sphere circulation unit 200 and then returned to the standby flow path 221 of the circulation route 220, and sent again to the launch position by the ball feeder 240. And circulates in the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 so as to be launched into the gaming area 1a.

Then, as described above, a game ball sent by the ball feeding device 240 and passing through the supply flow path 245 is detected by the ball feed sensor 246, and a signal indicating detection of the game ball sent from the standby flow path 221 to the launch position is generated. It is sent to the frame control device 83. Then, the frame control device 83 subtracts 1 from the number of balls held based on the input of the detection signal of the ball feed sensor 246.
When a signal indicating detection of a foul sphere is input from the foul ball sensor 253 to the frame control device 83, the frame control device 83 performs a process of adding 1 to the number of balls held.
In addition, when a signal indicating the detection of a game ball that has won a prize is input to the frame control device 83 from any of the winning port sensors 8a, the start port sensor 9b, or the count sensor 5b, the frame control device 83 The number of winning balls corresponding to (winning) is added to the number of balls held.

Then, the frame control device 83 controls the external appeal decoration lamp 11 based on the number of balls.
The external appeal lamp 11,... (Hereinafter abbreviated as “lamp”) has a hemispherical translucent member (lens (lamp ball)) containing a plurality of red, blue, and green LEDs. In the example, five lamps 11,... Are provided, and each lamp 11,.
In the lamps 11,..., All the lights are turned off when the number of balls is less than 1000, and when the number of balls is 1000 to 1999, the first lamp 11 at the left end lights in green. When the number of balls is 2000 to 3999, the first and second lamps 11 and 11 from the left end are lit yellow, and when the number of balls is 4000 to 5999, the first to third When the first three lamps 11,... Illuminate in blue and the number of balls held is 6000-7999, the first to fourth lamps 11,... In the case of 8000 to 9999, the five (all) lamps 11,... From the first to the fifth are lit in light blue. That is, each time the number of balls is increased from about 1000 to about 2,000, the number of lamps 11,... The lamps 11,... That are not lit in the above-described colors are turned off.

  In addition, when the number of balls is 10,000 or more, when the number of balls is 10,000 to 11999, the first lamp 11 at the left end lights in rainbow color, and the remaining four lamps 11 are white. Lights up. Here, the rainbow color is a display having a gradation like a rainbow, and is performed by, for example, temporally changing the emission color with a plurality of three-color LEDs. For example, for the rainbow color, the brightness of the LED elements of each of the three-color LEDs can be individually adjusted to enable seven colors to be emitted, and the seven colors can be changed sequentially every predetermined short time. It is also possible to emit light that changes into seven colors by emitting light one by one.

  When the number of balls held is 12000-13999, the first and second lamps 11 and 11 from the left end are lit in rainbow color, and the remaining three lamps 11 are lit in white. When the number is 14,000-15999, the first to third lamps 11,... Are lit in rainbow color, the remaining two lamps 11 are lit in white, and the number of balls is 16000-17999. In this case, the four lamps 11,... From 1st to 4th are lit in rainbow color, the remaining one lamp 11 is lit in white, and the number of holding balls is 14000-15999. The lamps 11 are lit in rainbow colors. When the number of balls held is 20000 or more, all the lamps 11,... Are lit in rainbow colors, and the emission color is changed by shifting the emission color variation timing in the order of the lamps 11,. 11, ... are displayed so as to move between them.

  Note that the lamps 11 and 11 may be used not only for display when the number of balls held increases but also for production of a variable display game. For example, a normal big hit and a probable big hit in a variable display game. In the case where the number of balls held is 20000 or more, the rainbow color may be turned on and the color may be displayed. Further, in the case of a normal big hit, it is possible to produce different effects for the normal big hit and the probable big hit by displaying the three luminescent colors instead of the seven colors.

  In addition, the lamps 11 and 11 may be used for warning, notification, and the like. For example, when the glass frame 140 is opened, the frame control device from the glass frame open detection sensor 142 that detects the opening of the glass frame 140. When a signal indicating opening of the glass frame 140 is input to 83, or when a detection means for detecting fraud, error or the like is provided, a signal indicating fraud or error is input from these detection means to the frame control device 83. In the case of performing the above-mentioned notification of the number of held balls or the effect of the variable display game, for example, when a signal indicating the pressing of the above-described calling button is input from the touch panel display unit 151 to the frame control device 83. 11 and 11 may be turned on differently from each other, for example, all the lamps 11 and 11 may be lit in red to notify and warn of the above cases.

  Also, in the digital display of the numerical value of the number of balls held on the touch panel display unit 151, the frame control device 83 is controlled so that the display corresponding to the lamps 11 and 11 is performed, and the number of balls held is from 0 to 999. Numerical values are displayed in white, 1000 to 1999 in green, 2000 to 3999 in yellow, 4000 to 5999 in blue, 6000 to 7999 in purple, 8000 to 9999 in light blue, 10000 to 19999 in rainbow The display is a rainbow color display at 20000 or more and a display in which the color moves in the digit direction.

On the other hand, in the virtual game ball display 154, five LEDs 154h are arranged in a line on the left and right, and each LED 154h is provided with a lens having the same diameter as the game ball. When a ball is being fired, in relation to the timing at which a signal is input from the ball feed sensor 246 to the frame control device 83 or the timing at which the number of balls is decreased by 1, that is, the timing at which the game ball is sent to the launch position A display in which one light is moved by the LEDs 154h arranged in a horizontal row is performed.
For example, in a state where all the LEDs 154h are lit, the LED 154h is blinked one by one from the left end LED 154h to the right end LED 154h at each timing described above, and when the right end LED 154h blinks, The flashing is repeated.

  If the LED 154h can be turned on and off so that the light moves by one LED 154h at the timing related to the game balls being sent to the launch position in the LED 154h row, the above control is performed. The LED 154h is turned on, and one LED 154h to be turned off is changed to the LED 154h adjacent to the right at each timing described above, and the LED 154h on the right end is turned off at the timing described above. The LED 154h at the left end may be turned off, and the LED 154h that is turned off again may be changed to the LED 154h that is adjacent to the right at every timing described above, or the LED 154h that is turned on and the LED 154h that is turned off may be reversed.

The virtual game ball display 154 notifies the number of balls when the lamps 11,... Mainly have a large number of balls, whereas the virtual game ball display 154 displays the balls. When the number decreases, the number of balls held is reduced to the player, and immediately, the number of balls held becomes zero and the game ball cannot be fired.
For example, if the number of game balls is 10 to 6 which is one more than the number of LEDs 154h,..., Random control without turning on / off the LEDs 154h,. Each LED 154h blinks in a state close to, and control is performed such that all LEDs 154h are all turned on and all turned off, thereby bringing the player's attention to the virtual game ball display 154 and holding the player. This suggests that the number of balls has decreased.

  Then, when the number of balls held is further reduced and the number of balls held and the number of LEDs 154h (number of lenses) of the virtual game ball display 154 are combined, in this example, when the number of balls held is five, When all the LEDs 154h are lit and the number of holding balls is 4, one LED 154h at the left end is turned off (the remaining 4 are turned on), and when the number of holding balls is 3, the LED 154h is turned on from the left end. When 2 lights are turned off (the remaining 3 lights) and the number of balls held is 2, the LED 154h is turned off from the left end (the remaining 2 lights), and when the number of held balls is 1, Four LEDs 154h are extinguished from the left end (the remaining one is lit), and when the number of balls is zero, the LEDs 154h are all extinguished.

  In this case, the LEDs 154h,... Are related to the fact that one LED 154h is extinguished at the timing when the number of balls is decreased, and that one number of balls is decreased, that is, one game ball is sent to the launch position. At the timing, the LED 154h is turned off. Then, after displaying the player's attention on the virtual game ball display 154 as described above, the number of balls held is 1 when the number of balls held and the number of LEDs 154h,. Each time the number of LEDs 154h is decreased, the number of LEDs 154h that are lit is equal to the number of balls possessed, and the player can intuitively view the current possession by viewing the virtual game ball display 154. The number of balls can be recognized.

  Further, in the virtual game ball display 154, when the number of balls held increases due to conversion of the game value information into the number of game media, that is, when the number of balls held by ball lending increases, the LEDs 154h are sequentially turned on from the right end after being completely turned off For example, the control of turning on one by one is repeatedly performed a predetermined number of times (or only once), and the increase in game balls is virtually reproduced. Note that the control of the virtual game ball display 154 to increase the number of game balls is controlled by the player pressing the displayed ball rental button or replay button with a finger on the touch panel display unit 151 serving as a conversion operation means. This is performed when a signal serving as an instruction to convert the game value information into the number of game media is input from the touch panel display unit 151 to the frame control device 83.

The virtual game ball display 154 may display other than the display regarding the number of balls held. For example, when the break button is pressed on the touch panel display unit 151 and the player is away from the virtual game ball display unit 154, When the LED 154h is turned on and off in a short time repeatedly (flashing) on the ball display 154, the game end button is pressed on the touch panel display unit 151, and the enclosed ball game machine 100 becomes empty In the virtual game ball display 154, the control to turn off the LEDs 154h one by one from the state in which the LEDs 154h are all turned on is repeated.
Thereby, it is possible to easily determine whether the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 without a player is a vacant stand or during a break.

  It should be noted that the virtual game ball display 154 may also use a three-color LED similar to the external appeal decoration lamp 11,. Change the light emission color by changing the control to turn on and off, for example, change the light emission to blue light emission and change the light emission to red light emission to display the number of balls held as described above. Also good.

  As described above, the encapsulated ball type gaming machine 100 according to the first embodiment performs a game by launching a game ball having a predetermined number enclosed in the main body of the game machine from the launch position to the game area 1a while finishing the game. A circulation path 220 that collects the game balls, guides them to the launch position, and circulates and uses the game balls. The circulation path 220 includes a ball feeder 240 that sends one game ball to the launch position, and the ball A standby flow path 221 for waiting for a game ball to be sent to the launch position by the feeding device 240, the game can be performed according to the number of possessed balls held by the player, subtracting from the number of possessed balls by the launch, A virtual game ball display means (virtual game ball display 154) that virtually adds the game ball to the player as if the game ball has moved in association with the pitching to the launch position. ), The virtual game Display means has a LED154h as a light emitting means, and arranged to ... a plurality lateral direction a line structure size has a lens of substantially the same size as the game ball.

  Therefore, as the virtual game ball display 154 that virtually displays the game ball as if it is moving, a plurality of LEDs 154h that are provided with lenses that can be virtually regarded as game balls are arranged in a line in the left-right direction. The movement of the game ball in the left-right direction can be virtually represented by the lighting state of the LEDs 154h,. For example, by sequentially turning on the LEDs 154h,... From the state in which they are all turned off, sequentially flashing the LEDs 154h,... In the order, or sequentially turning off the LEDs 154h,. The light as a virtual game ball can be seen as moving.

Here, since the lenses of the LEDs 154h,... Appear to be a circle (circle) that is almost the same size as the game ball, the player intuitively understands that the virtual game ball display 154 represents the movement of the game ball. Can be recognized.
And the state where the game ball is moving can be virtually represented by sequentially blinking the LEDs 154h,. Therefore, by controlling the lighting and extinguishing of the LEDs so that the light of the LEDs 154h,... Moves by one game ball corresponding to the launch timing of the game balls, the state where the game balls are moving at each launch is virtually Can be expressed.

  Further, when the LEDs 154h,... Are sequentially turned off in order from the lighting state, it is possible to virtually represent the state where the game balls are decreasing. That is, each time several game balls remaining on the upper plate are sent to the launch position one by one, it is possible to virtually represent a state where the game balls on the upper plate disappear. Here, when the number of balls held decreases and becomes equal to the number of LEDs 154h,..., All LEDs 154h,... Are turned on, and the game balls in the standby channel are sent to the launch position by the feed member (or game balls) Each time the number of balls held decreases in relation to the launch of the LED), by turning off the LEDs 154h, one by one in order, the remaining number of balls will decrease and the number of balls likely to disappear, The player can intuitively recognize the value of the number of balls held.

  Next, an enclosed ball game machine 100 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The difference between the encapsulated ball game machine 100 of the first embodiment and the encapsulated ball game machine 100 of the second embodiment is that the virtual game ball moves on the virtual game ball display 154 of the first embodiment. Is reproduced by the LED 154h and does not actually move, whereas the virtual game ball in the virtual game ball display 700 of the second embodiment is reproduced by the transparent or translucent ball 7 It is something that actually moves.

  Accordingly, the configuration of the encapsulated ball game machine 100 of the second embodiment is the same as that of the encapsulated ball game machine 100 of the first embodiment except for the configuration related to the virtual game ball display 700, and the virtual game Descriptions other than the configuration related to the sphere display 700 are omitted.

The virtual game ball display 700 is attached to the display shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 of the information display device attachment member 151b of the touch panel display unit 151 on which the virtual game ball display 700 is installed, as in the first embodiment. The unit 18 is installed on the right side of the touch panel display 151a.
The virtual game ball display 700 according to the second embodiment is larger than the virtual game ball display 154 because it has a transport mechanism for the balls 7,..., As shown in FIGS. In the display unit mounting portion 18 of the information display device mounting member 151b, the display unit mounting opening 181, that is, the mounting position of the touch panel display 151a is shifted to the left as compared with the first embodiment, and the display unit mounting unit The attachment area of the virtual game ball display 700 on the right side of the 18 information displays 18 is widened.

In addition, the upper surface wall 182 of the display mounting portion 18 serves as a window portion that allows the spheres 7,... Circulating in the virtual game ball display 700 installed on the back side of the upper surface wall 182 to be visible. A virtual game ball opening 18b is formed. The virtual game ball opening 18b is formed to be slightly longer than that of the first embodiment, so that the movement of the rolling balls 7 can be easily seen.
In addition, a lens member 18k for improving the visibility of the balls 7 in the virtual game ball display 700 is fitted into the virtual game ball opening 18b.

On the back surface of the upper surface wall 182, a bottom fixing rib 18m for fixing the box-shaped virtual game ball display 700 having a thin appearance in a direction orthogonal to the upper surface wall 182, and left and right upper fixing ribs 18n, 18n is provided.
The bottom fixing rib 18m extends rearward substantially horizontally, contacts the front edge of the bottom of the virtual game ball display 700 that is substantially orthogonal to the upper surface wall 182, and supports the virtual game ball display 700 from below. The left and right upper fixing ribs 18n and 18n are in contact with the rear edges of the left and right arc plate-like portions on the upper surface of the virtual game ball display 700 to determine the position of the virtual game ball display 700.

In addition, as described above, the virtual game ball display 700 is positioned and supported by the bottom fixing rib 18m and the left and right upper fixing ribs 18n and 18n, and both ends are joined to the upper surface wall 182. It is fixed to the upper surface wall 182 by a thin plate-like (band-like) fixture 18p.
In addition, the display attachment part 18 is different from the first embodiment in the attachment position of the touch panel display 151a, the shape of the virtual game ball opening 18b, and the attachment structure of the virtual game ball display 700 as described above. Has the same configuration as in the first embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 15 to 20, the virtual game ball display 700 has two upper and lower channels 710 and 720 that are linear spheres 7,. And a circular virtual game ball circulation path 770 composed of a lower transport path 730 and an upper transport path 740 that serve as a transport path for the arc-shaped (semicircular) sphere 7 on the left and right. It is substantially oval thicker than the diameter of the game ball, has a shape resembling a track (raceway), and is made of a transparent synthetic resin.
Note that the arc-shaped lower transport path 730 has a smaller arc diameter than the arc-shaped upper transport path 740 and has a slightly different shape from the track.

  In the virtual game ball circulation path 770, the upper flow path 710 and the lower flow path 720 are disposed between the right lower transfer path 730 and the left upper transfer path 740. The upper flow path 710 is inclined downward from the upper conveyance path 740 toward the lower conveyance path 730 so that the sphere 7 flows down from the upper conveyance path 740 toward the lower conveyance path 730. Contrary to the upper flow path 710, the lower flow path 720 is inclined downward from the lower conveyance path 730 toward the upper conveyance path 740, and the sphere 7 flows down from the lower conveyance path 730 toward the upper conveyance path 740. It is like that.

The lower conveyance path 730 conveys the spheres 7,... From the downstream end of the upper flow path 710 to the upstream end of the lower flow path 720. At this time, the downstream end of the upper flow path 710 Thus, the sphere 7 is allowed to freely flow down to the upstream end portion of the lower flow path 720, and the movement of the sphere 7 from the upper flow path 710 to the lower flow path 720 can be controlled.
The upper conveyance path 740 moves the sphere 7 from the downstream end of the lower flow path 720 to the upstream end of the upper flow path 710 for conveyance.

  Therefore, the sphere 7 in the virtual game ball circulation path 770 flows down from the upstream end of the upper flow path 710 to the downstream end, and then descends from the downstream end of the upper flow path 710 by the lower transport path 730. It is conveyed to the upstream end of the side channel 720, then flows down from the upstream end of the lower channel 720 to the downstream end, and then from the downstream end of the lower channel 720 to the upper conveyance path 740 is transported to the upstream end of the upper flow path 710 and can circulate around the virtual game ball display 700.

Accordingly, the encapsulated ball type gaming machine 100 of the second embodiment has a virtual game ball display means (virtual game ball display means) that virtually displays the game ball to the player as if the game ball has moved in association with the pitching to the launch position. 700), and the virtual game ball display means is composed of a virtual game ball circulation path that encloses and circulates a ball separately from the circulation path, and the virtual game ball circulation path faces and the movement of the ball can be visually recognized. A virtual game ball opening 18b serving as a simple window is provided on the front side of the game machine.
The virtual game ball display means has a substantially elliptical shape in which a plurality of transparent or semi-transparent balls 7,... Are enclosed, and faces the virtual game ball opening 18b. A lower conveyance path 730 that conveys the ball that has flowed down the path 710 downward; and a lower conveyance path 730 that communicates with the lower conveyance path 730 and is located below the upper flow path 710 and in a direction opposite to the inclination direction of the upper flow path 710 The lower flow path 720 is inclined downward, and the upper conveyance path 740 conveys the sphere flowing down to the lower flow path 720 to the upstream side of the upper flow path 710.

  The balls 7,... Enclosed in the virtual game ball display 700 and circulating through the virtual game ball circulation path 770 are made of, for example, glass balls, are colorless or colored and transparent, and have substantially the same diameter as the game balls. It has become. The spheres 7,... Need not be transparent, and may be, for example, semi-transparent, i.e., have translucency. The spheres 7 are not limited to glass, and may be made of synthetic resin or other materials as long as they have translucency. In this example, a predetermined number of six balls 7,... Are enclosed in the virtual game ball display 700, but the entire ball 7,... Visible at a time from the virtual game ball opening 18b. Is a predetermined number on the upper flow path 710. In this example, as will be described later, since the two balls 7 are always held in the lower conveyance path 730, the number of the balls 7, is 6 in total.

  In addition, a predetermined number (six or more) of spheres 7,... Can be enclosed in the virtual game ball circulation path 770, and all of the spheres 7,. It is also possible to send the sphere on the upper flow path 710 that is visible to the upper transfer path 740 and the like, and to discharge the sphere on the upper flow path 710 so that the spheres 7,. It has become.

The virtual game ball display 700 includes a bottomed cylindrical main body portion 704 that includes an outer peripheral wall portion 702 and a bottom portion 703 that form a substantially elliptic outer periphery, and a virtual game ball display that serves as a lid for the main body portion 704. And a lid portion 705 for closing the opening of the device 700, and the inside of these is a virtual game ball circulation path 770.
The outer peripheral wall portion 702 is a right semicircular portion that is an outer periphery of the lower conveyance path 730, a left semicircular portion that is an outer periphery of the upper conveyance path 740, and an outer periphery of the upper flow path 710 therebetween. The upper straight portion and the lower straight portion that is the outer periphery of the lower flow path 720 are formed in the above-described substantially elliptical shape. As described above, since the semicircular portion on the upper conveyance path 740 side has a larger diameter than the semicircular portion of the lower conveyance path 730, the upper and lower straight lines are not parallel, and the upper conveyance path 740 is not parallel. The distance between the upper and lower straight line portions becomes narrower toward the lower conveyance path 730 side.

Therefore, when the center of the left semicircular part and the center of the right semicircular part are arranged at the same height position (horizontally arranged), the outer peripheral wall part 702 has an upper straight line part from the left to the right, that is, the upper part. The lower straight line portion is inclined downward from the conveyance path 740 toward the lower conveyance path 730, and the lower straight portion is inclined downward from right to left, that is, from the lower conveyance path 730 toward the upper conveyance path 740.
Further, the outer peripheral wall portion 702 has a width slightly larger than the diameter of the sphere 7 serving as the virtual game ball of the virtual game ball display 700, and the outer peripheral wall portion 702 has a substantially elliptical cylindrical shape. And the outer peripheral wall part 702 needs to be transparent at least in the upper surface part used as the outer periphery of the upper side flow path 710. FIG. The virtual game ball display 700 needs to be transparent so that the members constituting the virtual game ball display 700 are made of synthetic resin and at least a part of the internal ball 7 is visible as described above. For the convenience of molding, the whole may be made of a transparent synthetic resin, or a part thereof may be made of an opaque synthetic resin.

  In order to make only the spheres on the upper flow path 710 visible, that is, to prevent the spheres 7 such as the lower flow path 720 from being seen, only the outer peripheral wall 702 or the outer peripheral wall 702 It is preferable that only the upper surface side is transparent and other members are opaque. However, as will be described later, a spherical LED 707 as a light emission source is provided on the bottom surface of the upper flow path 710, and light emitted from the spherical LED 707,. Therefore, even if a transparent synthetic resin is used almost entirely, it is unlikely that anything other than the balls 707,. Accordingly, by integrally molding the entire virtual game ball display 700 or the main body 704 with the same transparent synthetic resin material, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and the cost.

The bottom portion 703 is a plate formed in a substantially oval shape (track) corresponding to the outer peripheral wall portion 702, and is in a state of closing the opening on the back side of the outer peripheral wall portion 702.
The bottom portion 703 includes an upper flow path bottom plate 706 that forms the bottom surface of the upper flow path 710 and a lower flow path top plate 708 that forms the ceiling surface of the lower flow path 720 and the upper flow path 710. It has a light source substrate 709 provided with a ball-showing LED 707 that illuminates from the bottom side.

The upper flow path bottom plate 706 is provided in parallel to the straight portion at the top of the outer peripheral wall portion 702 with a distance slightly longer than the diameter of the sphere 7. Further, the upper flow path bottom plate 706 has a width slightly larger than the sphere 7 and is erected at a right angle from the bottom portion 703. A space between the upper straight portion of the outer peripheral wall portion and the upper flow path bottom plate 706 becomes the upper flow path 710.
The upper flow path bottom plate 706 is provided with four light source holes 711. The light source holes 711,... Are arranged in a line along the flow-down direction of the sphere 7 of the upper flow path 710, with the same interval as the diameter of the sphere 7. Further, the light source holes 711,... Are provided in the central portion in the width direction of the upper flow path 710. In the light source holes 711,..., The above-described spherical LED 707 is exposed from the lower side of the upper flow path bottom plate 706 to the upper side.

The lower flow path top plate 708 is provided below the upper flow path bottom plate 706 in parallel with the straight portion below the outer peripheral wall portion 702 with a distance slightly longer than the diameter of the sphere 7. Further, the lower flow path top plate 708 has a width slightly wider than the sphere 7 and is erected at a right angle from the bottom portion 703.
Further, the lower flow path top plate 708 is provided at the left end portion and the right end portion thereof so that the substrate support portions 721 and 722 protrude upward. Note that the left substrate support portion 721 is a circle centered on the rotation center of the second transfer rotator 755 so that the substrate support portions 721 and 722 do not contact first and second transfer rotators 751 and 755 described later. The right substrate support portion 722 is formed in an arc shape with the rotation center of the first transport rotating body 751 as the center.
Further, the upper ends of the substrate support portions 721 and 722 are arranged at the same distance from the lower surface of the upper flow path bottom plate 706. A light source substrate 709 is fixed on the substrate support portions 721 and 722 in parallel with the upper flow path bottom plate 706 with both left and right ends supported by the substrate support portions 721 and 722.

  In the light source substrate 709, four spherical LED's 707 corresponding to the above-mentioned predetermined number of spheres 7 that can be visually recognized are provided at intervals similar to the diameter of the spheres 7 corresponding to the light source holes 711,. ,... Are arranged in a line. The light source substrate 709 is supported by the substrate support portions 721 and 722 on the lower side of the upper flow path bottom plate 706 as described above. .. Of the light source substrate 709 are inserted in one-to-one correspondence with the light source substrates 709 of the upper flow path bottom plate 706. As shown in FIG. 12, the sphere display LEDs 707,... Of the light source board 709 are connected to the frame control device 83 via the input / output interface 85, and the sphere display LEDs 707,. Are controlled by a frame control device 83. When the spheres 7 are on the upper channel bottom plate 706 of the upper channel 710, the spheres 7,... Are irradiated with light from the sphere display LEDs 707,. , ... spread through. Therefore, the player can visually recognize the spheres 7 in a state where the light from the light source is diffused through the virtual game ball opening 18b. That is, the player can see the spheres 7,.

Therefore, the virtual game ball display 700 of the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 of the second embodiment has a plurality of light emitting sources (ball display LEDs 707,...) Provided along the flow surface of the upper flow path 710. The movement of a predetermined number of spheres 7,... Aligned in the upper flow path 710 is made visible so that the light of the sphere display LEDs 707,.
The lid portion 705 has the same shape as the bottom portion 703 and is detachably fitted into the opening of the main body portion 704.

  Further, a first electric motor 752 serving as a first drive source for driving a first transport rotating body 751 serving as a first transport unit that transports the ball 7 through the lower transport path 730 is provided at the bottom 703 of the virtual game ball display 700. A second electric motor 756 serving as a second drive source for driving a second transport rotator 755 serving as a second transport means for transporting the ball 7 in the upper transport path 740, and the first transport rotator from the lower transport path 730. A first micro switch 753 serving as a first detection means for detecting the sphere 7 conveyed to the upstream end of the lower flow path 720 by 751 and the upper flow path 710 by the second conveyance rotating body 755 from the upper conveyance path 740. And a second micro switch 757 serving as a second detecting means for detecting the sphere 7 conveyed to the upstream end of the first micro switch.

  The semicircular portion on the lower conveyance path 730 side of the bottom portion 703 of the virtual game ball display 700 and the semicircular portion on the upper conveyance path 740 side are formed with the semicircles of the rotation shafts 754 and 758, respectively. First and second electric motors 752 and 756 are fixed so as to be orthogonal to the center of the circle. The first and second electric motors 752 and 756 are fixed to the back side (outside) of the bottom portion 703, and the rotation shafts 754 and 758 of the first and second electric motors 752 and 756 are orthogonal to the bottom portion 703. And protrudes into the main body 704.

In addition, sprocket (gear) -like first and second transport rotating bodies 751 and 755 are attached to the rotating shafts 754 and 758. The first transport rotator 751 is disposed in the lower transport path 730 having a smaller diameter than the upper transport path 740, is fixed to the rotation shaft 754 of the first electric motor 752, and can rotate integrally with the rotation shaft 754. Further, the first transport rotating body 751 is provided with four teeth 761,... At equal intervals on the outer periphery thereof, and has a sprocket shape as described above. Moreover, in the 1st conveyance rotation body 751, between the top parts of the teeth 761, ... is an arc-shaped trough, and the inner surface of the trough has a shape along the outer periphery of the sphere 7. That is, the diameter of the circle that becomes the arc of the arc-shaped valley is slightly larger than the diameter of the sphere 7.
The shortest distance between the lowest portion of the valley of the first transport rotator 751 (the portion closest to the rotation center) and the inner surface of the semicircular portion on the lower transport path 730 side of the outer peripheral wall 702 is the sphere 7. It is supposed to be slightly longer than the diameter. The shortest distance between the top of the teeth 761 and the inner surface of the semicircular portion on the lower conveyance path 730 side of the outer peripheral wall 702 is shorter than the diameter of the sphere 7.

  Therefore, when the first electric motor 751 is operated to rotate the first conveyance rotating body 751, if there is a sphere above the lower conveyance path 730, the teeth 761 support the sphere while the teeth 761 support the sphere. It is designed to be transported downward. As described above, in the lower conveyance path 730, the sphere 7 can flow down from the upper part to the lower part of the lower conveyance path 730 without conveying the sphere 7, but the teeth 761,. When the first transport rotator 751 is stopped because the shortest distance between the top of the outer wall 702 and the inner surface of the outer peripheral wall 702 is shorter than the diameter of the sphere 7, the upper portion of the lower transport path 730 of the sphere 7,. When the first transport rotating body 751 rotates clockwise, the balls 7,... Can be moved from the upper part of the lower transport path 730 to the lower part. Accordingly, the first transport rotator 751 controls permission and prohibition of movement of the sphere 7 from the upper flow path 710 to the lower flow path 720 in the lower transport path 730.

  The second transport rotator 755 is disposed in the upper transport path 740 having a larger diameter than the lower transport path 730, is fixed to the rotation shaft 758 of the second electric motor 756, and can rotate integrally with the rotation shaft 758. Further, the second transport rotator 755 is provided with six teeth 762,... At equal intervals on the outer periphery thereof, and has a sprocket shape as described above. Moreover, in the 2nd conveyance rotation body 755, between the top parts of the teeth 762 ... is an arc-shaped trough, and the inner surface of the trough has a shape along the outer periphery of the sphere 7. That is, the diameter of the circle that becomes the arc of the arc-shaped valley is slightly larger than the diameter of the sphere 7.

The shortest distance between the lowest part of the valley of the second transport rotator 755 (the part closest to the rotation center) and the inner surface of the semicircular part on the upper transport path 740 side of the outer peripheral wall 702 is the sphere 7. It is supposed to be slightly longer than the diameter. The shortest distance between the top of the tooth 761 and the inner surface of the semicircular portion on the upper conveyance path 740 side of the outer peripheral wall 702 is shorter than the diameter of the sphere 7.
Accordingly, when the second electric motor 756 is operated to rotate the second conveyance rotating body 755, if there is a sphere at the lower part of the upper conveyance path 740, the teeth 762 push up the sphere to be above the upper conveyance path 740. It is designed to be transported.
As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 12, the first and second electric motors 751 and 755 (drive circuits thereof) are connected to the frame control device 83 via the input / output interface 85, and the operation and The stop is controlled by the frame control device 83.

  Therefore, the virtual game ball display 700 of the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 of the second embodiment drives the first transfer means (the first transfer rotary body 751) that transfers the balls 7,... In the lower transfer path 730. A first driving source (second electric motor 752) and a second driving source (second electric motor) for driving second conveying means (second conveying rotating body 755) for conveying the balls 7,... In the upper conveying path 740. 756).

  The first and second microswitches 753 and 757 are contact type (mechanical) sensors that output a signal when the sphere 7 comes into contact, and the contact portion of the sphere 7 is penetrated from the outer surface side to the inner surface of the bottom portion 703. The contact portion is attached to the outer surface of the bottom portion 703 so as to protrude from the inner surface side of the bottom portion. Since the virtual game ball display 700 is disposed substantially at right angles to the upper surface wall 182 disposed obliquely of the display attachment portion 18, the virtual game ball display 700 is also disposed obliquely. In addition, since the first and second electric motors 752 and 756 are attached to the outer surface side of the bottom portion 703 of the virtual game ball display 700, the bottom portion 703 has an enclosed ball type in consideration of ease of wiring and maintenance. The game machine 100 is directed to the rear side (back side) in the front-rear direction, and the first and second micro switches 753 and 757 are also attached to the bottom 703 side for ease of wiring and the like.

  In the virtual game ball display 700 that is inclined, the bottom portion 703 on the back side is on the upper side with respect to the facing lid portion 705, and the ball 7 is displayed in a virtual game ball display in a state of being in contact with the lid portion 705 side. Circulates in the vessel 700. Therefore, the contact portions of the first and second microswitches 753 and 757 need to protrude so as to contact the ball 7 circulating in the virtual game ball display 700. Note that the contact portions of the first and second microswitches 753 and 757 can be displaced in a direction away from the sphere 7 by the contact of the sphere 7, so that the movement of the sphere 7 is not hindered. Further, since the bottom portion 703 is on the upper side as described above, the ball 7 does not run on the first and second micro switches 753 and 757, and the ball 7 can be moved smoothly.

The first micro switch 753 is an end portion on the lower conveyance path 730 side of the lower flow path 720 of the bottom 703, and is above and below the lower flow path 720 (lower part of the outer peripheral wall 702 and the lower flow path top plate 708). It is installed at a position slightly below the center of the game, and comes into contact with the upper and lower center portions of the game ball that reaches the upstream end of the lower flow path 720 through the lower transport path 730.
The second micro switch 753 is an end portion on the upper conveyance path 740 side of the upper flow path 710 of the bottom portion 703, and slightly above and below the center of the upper flow path 710 (upper peripheral wall portion 702 and upper flow path bottom plate 706). The upper and lower central portions of the game ball that reach the upstream end of the upper flow path 710 through the upper conveyance path 740 are in contact with each other.

The first and second micro switches 753 are connected to the frame control device 83 via the input / output interface 85, and a signal output when the sphere 7 is detected is input to the frame control device 83. Yes.
The first and second micro switches 753 and 757 are for confirming that the balls 7 are transported by the first and second transport rotating bodies 751 and 755 serving as the first and second transport means. The first and second drive sources of the first and second transport rotators 751 and 752 when one sphere 7,... Is transported, or when a predetermined number of spheres 7,. This is for controlling the stop of the first and second electric motors 752 and 756.

Therefore, the virtual game ball circulation path 770 of the virtual game ball display 700 according to the second embodiment is configured to detect the first ball detection means (the first ball detection means (first)) that detects the balls 7,. 1 microswitch 753) and second sphere detecting means (second microswitch 757) for detecting the spheres 7,... Flowing into the upper flow path 710 from the upper transport path 740.
The detecting means (sensor) for detecting the sphere 7 is not limited to a contact type sensor such as a mechanical type, and a non-contact type sensor such as an optical type may be used. When it is transparent, the detection sensitivity of the optical sensor may be lowered. In this example, a contact type sensor is used. Needless to say, an optical sensor may be used when the sphere 7 is translucent or when the transparent sphere 7 can be sufficiently detected.

Further, as the first electric motors 752 and 756, by using a motor capable of controlling the rotation angle, rotation speed, rotation speed, etc., such as a stepping motor and a servo motor, the first and second micro switches 753 and 757 are not necessarily provided. Even without this, it is possible to control the movement of the spheres 7,. In the virtual game ball display 700, since the balls 7,... Flow freely in the upper flow path 710 and the lower flow path 720, the first and second transfer rotations are performed on the entrance side of the upper transfer path and the lower transfer path. If the balls 7,... In contact with the bodies 751, 755 are repelled, the balls 7,... Are not normally conveyed even if the first and second conveying rotating bodies 751, 755 are rotated by a preset angle, There is a possibility of malfunction, and it is preferable that there is a means for detecting the spheres 7,..., Such as the first and second micro switches 753, 757.
Further, when the first and second micro switches 753 and 757 are provided, the rotation angle, rotation speed, rotation speed, etc. of the stepping motor and servo motor can be controlled as the first and second electric motors 752 and 756. An inexpensive motor can be used instead of a simple motor, and even if the first and second micro switches 753 and 757 are provided, the cost can be reduced.

Next, the operation and control of the virtual game ball display 700 based on the number of possessed balls and the like will be described.
First, in the virtual game ball display 700, as shown in FIG. 18A, at the end of the game, which will be described later, as shown in FIG. 18A, the balls 7,. The four spheres 7 are arranged from the upper conveyance path 740 to the lower flow path 720, and the two spheres are held in the lower flow path 720. Therefore, basically, when the encapsulated ball type gaming machine 100 is turned off and started, the balls 7,... Are arranged in the state shown in FIG.

  In the virtual game ball display 700, the six balls 7,... Are enclosed as described above, and a maximum of four balls 7,... Are arranged in the upper channel 710 and the lower channel 720, respectively. It is possible. Further, it is possible to hold two spheres 7,... In the lower conveyance path 730, and it is possible to hold four spheres 7,. Here, holding means a state in which the spheres 7,... Are sandwiched between the inner surface of the outer peripheral wall portion 702 and the outer peripheral valley portions of the first and second transport rotating bodies 751 and 755.

  In this example, when the virtual game ball display 700 is installed, two spheres are held on the first transfer rotating body 751 of the lower transfer path 730 as shown in FIG. 18A described above. In the following operation, the state in which the two balls are held on the first transport rotating body 751 of the lower transport path 730 is always maintained in the following operations.

  At the start of the game, the player inserts a storage medium such as a card storing information for reading the game value information and the game value information stored in the management device 90 into the ball lending machine (sand device). After the player inputs game value information into the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 based on, for example, the player inserting cash into the ball lending machine, the player uses the touch panel display unit 151 to When the lend button or the replay button is pressed, a signal indicating that game value information is converted into the number of game media is input from the touch panel display unit 151 to the frame control device 83, and the game value information is converted into the number of game media in the frame control device 83. And is added to the number of balls held.

At this time, the frame control device 83 controls the virtual game ball display 700 as follows based on the input of the above-described signal, that is, the operation of converting the game value information into the number of game media.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 18A, the frame control is performed in a state where four balls 7 are arranged from the upper conveyance path 740 to the lower flow path 720, and two spheres 7 are arranged in the lower conveyance path 730. The device 83 stops the first electric motor 752 and holds the first transport rotating body 751 in a stopped state, and operates the second electric motor 756 to rotate the second transport rotating body 755.
Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 18B, the balls 7,... Are conveyed to the upper flow path 710 by the second conveyance rotating body 755 in the upper conveyance path 740. The transported spheres 7,... Are detected by the second microswitch 757 when passing through the upstream end of the upper flow path 710, and the spheres 7,. A signal indicating that this has occurred is input.
The frame control device 83 counts the number of input signals from the second micro switch 757, and stops the second electric motor 756 when the count value reaches a predetermined number of four.

When the above count value is 4, as shown in FIG. 19A, the four balls 7 are transferred from the lower transfer path 730 to the upper flow path 710, and the entire upper flow path 710 is transferred. Is the maximum number of four balls 7 that can be visually recognized. At this time, the lower conveyance path 730 is maintained in a state where the two balls 7 are held. Further, the frame control device 83 clears the count value to 0 when the count value becomes 4.
Further, the frame control device 83 lights all the ball display LEDs 707,... Based on the operation timing for converting the above-described game value information into the number of game media, and for a predetermined time (for example, four balls as described above). , Or until the count value reaches 4, the four ball-showing LEDs 707,... Are repeatedly turned on and off sequentially from left to right, and then turned off. Control is performed so that all the ball-showing LEDs 707,... Are kept lit.
By the operation of the virtual game ball display 700 described above, it is possible to virtually reproduce the state in which a ball is supplied to the upper plate by lending a ball at the start of the game. Further, the spheres 7,... Are irradiated with light from below by the sphere display LEDs 707,. That is, it can be seen as if the spheres 7,. Moreover, the movement of a game ball can be suggested by blinking so that light may move through the ball display LEDs 707.

A case where the number of balls held during the game is greater than 10 as a predetermined number (11 or more) will be described.
The frame control device 83 is in a state where the player is not performing a game ball firing operation, that is, a state in which the ball feed sensor 246 of the ball feed device 240 is not detecting a game ball sent from the standby flow path 221 to the launch position. Then, as shown in FIG. 19A described above, the state where the four balls 7,...

  When a signal indicating that a game ball has been detected is input from the ball feed sensor 246 to the frame control device 83 by performing a game ball launch operation by the player, the frame control device 83 performs the first and second electric motors. The motors 752 and 756 are operated to rotate the first and second transport rotating bodies 751 and 755. Next, the frame control device 83 stops the first electric motor 752 when the detection signal of the spheres 7,... Is input from the first micro switch 753, and the detection signal of the spheres 7,. Is input, the second electric motor 756 is stopped.

  By this control, in the virtual game ball display 700, as shown in FIG. 19A, the first transfer is performed in the lower transfer path 730 from the state where the four balls 7,. The spheres 7 are transferred to the upstream end of the lower flow path 720 by the rotating body 751. Then, the conveyed balls 7,... Are detected by the first micro switch 753, thereby stopping the rotation of the first conveying rotating body 751. Thereby, one of the right ends of the four spheres 7 of the upper flow path 710 moves to the lower conveyance path 730 on the right side and becomes almost invisible, and the three remaining in the upper flow path 710 The sphere 7 moves to the right by one sphere 7.

On the other hand, the spheres 7 transferred to the lower flow path 720 flow down from the upstream end to the downstream end due to the inclination of the lower flow path 720 and reach the upper transfer path 740. In the upper transport path 740, the second transport rotator 755 is rotating, and the balls 7 are transported from the upper transport path 740 to the upstream end of the upper flow path 710. Thereby, one sphere 7 flows in from the upstream side of the upper flow path 710 where the three spheres 7 are arranged, and the four spheres 7 are arranged in the upper flow path 710. .
Then, the transported spheres 7,... Are detected by the second micro switch 757, whereby the rotation of the second transport rotator 755 is stopped and the signal is input from the next ball feed sensor 246 until the upper side is input. The state where the four spheres 7 are arranged in the flow path 710 is maintained. In addition, during the above-described processing, all of the ball display LEDs 707,... Are maintained in a lighted state, and one sphere 7,... Is replaced in the lower conveyance path 730, but the held spheres 7,. The total number is maintained at 2.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, the circulation path 220 includes ball feed detection means (ball feed sensor 246) for detecting a game ball sent to the launch position, as in the first embodiment, and the ball feed sensor. When 246 detects a game ball, the first electric motor 752 is driven until the first micro switch 753 detects the balls 7,..., And the second electric motor 756 is detected by the second micro switch 757. The plurality of spheres 7 aligned with the upper flow path 710 are moved downstream by one sphere 7.

  While the player is performing a game ball launch operation, a signal indicating detection of a game ball is input from the ball feed sensor 246 to the frame control device 83 every predetermined time, and every predetermined time. The above-described operation is repeated. As a result, the virtual game ball display 700 converges in a line on the right end side of the upper plate and virtually moves in the state of moving by a distance of one game ball every time the game ball is launched (every movement to the launch position). Can be reproduced. Note that the input timing of the signal from the ball feed sensor 246 is the timing at which the game ball is sent from the standby flow path 221 to the launch position, but the game ball is launched immediately after this timing, Since the number is decremented by 1 as described above, the timing may be set as the timing at which the game ball is fired or the timing at which the number of balls is decreased by 1.

Next, when the number of balls held is 11 or more as a predetermined number, a signal indicating that game value information is converted into the number of game media is input from the touch panel display unit 151 to the frame control device 83 as described above. explain. As will be described later, when the number of held balls is 4 or more as the maximum number to be visually recognized, the same processing as in the case of 11 or more is performed.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 19A, since the four spheres 7,... Are arranged in the upper flow path 710, the frame control device 83 first stops the second electric motor 756. The second transport rotator 752 is held in a stopped state, and the first electric motor 752 is operated to rotate the second transport rotator 751.
Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 19B, the balls 7,... Are transported to the lower flow path 720 by the first transport rotating body 751 in the lower transport path 730. The transported spheres 7,... Are detected by the first micro switch 753 when passing through the upstream end of the lower flow path 720, and the spheres 7,. A signal indicating detection is input.
The frame control device 83 counts the number of times the signal is input from the first micro switch 753, and stops the second electric motor 756 when the count value reaches a predetermined number of four.

  When the above-mentioned count value is 4, as shown in FIG. 18A, the four balls 7,... Are transferred from the lower transfer path 730 to the lower flow path 720, and the lower flow path 720 is transferred. Four spheres 7 are arranged on the side. At this time, the lower conveyance path 730 is maintained in a state where the two balls 7 are held. Further, the frame control device 83 clears the count value to 0 when the count value becomes 4.

Since this state is the same as that at the start of the above-described game, the same processing as when the game value information is converted into the number of game media is performed at the start of the game, as shown in FIG. It is assumed that four spheres are arranged in the upper flow path 710 so as to be visible.
Therefore, in the second embodiment, the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 is similar to the first embodiment in the conversion operation means (touch panel display unit 151) for performing the operation of converting the game value information held by the player into the number of possessed balls. When the game value information is converted into the number of possessed balls (number of game media) by the touch panel display unit 151, the first electric switch 753 detects the predetermined number of balls 7,. Then, the second electric motor 756 is driven until the second micro switch 757 detects a predetermined number of spheres.
It should be noted that the ball display LEDs 707,... Are arranged in the order of four ball display LEDs 707,. It is controlled to repeat turning on and off sequentially from right to left.

Next, the control of the virtual game ball display 700 by the frame control device 83 when the number of balls is 10 or less to 5 or more will be described.
In this case, the control by the frame control device 83 of the first and second electric motors 752 and 756 is performed in the same manner as when the number of balls is 11 or more.
On the other hand, in the control by the frame control device 83 of the ball display LEDs 707,..., The ball display LEDs 707,... Were turned on when the number of balls held was 11 or more, whereas the number of balls held was 10 or less. All of the ball display LEDs 707,... Are flashed to alert the player that the number of balls held has decreased.
That is, in the encapsulated ball type gaming machine 100 of the second embodiment, when the number of balls held by the player becomes a predetermined number (for example, 10) or less, the ball display LEDs 707,. I have to.

Next, the control of the virtual game ball display 700 by the frame control device 83 when the number of balls possessed is four or less will be described.
The ball display LEDs 707,... Are all blinking as described above when the number of balls held is 10 or less.
Then, in the control of the first and second electric motors 752 and 756, when the number of balls is changed from five to four, the upward flow as described above is performed according to the timing of signal input from the ball feed sensor 246. In the road 710, the number of balls 7, ... becomes four after being changed from four to four, and in the state where the number of balls is 4, the balls 7, ... as shown in FIG. Two balls 7,... Are held in the lower conveyance path 730, and four balls 7,... Are arranged in the upper flow path 710 so as to be visible, and the number of balls 7,. .

  In this state, when a signal indicating the detection of the game ball is input from the ball feed sensor 246 to the frame control device 83, the frame control device 83 subtracts 1 from the number of balls held to 3, and the second electric motor 756 is turned on. The second transport rotator 755 is held in a stopped state, and the first electric motor 752 is operated to rotate the first transport rotator 751 to lower the balls 7,... In the lower transport path 730. It is conveyed to the side channel 720. When one sphere 7 is transferred to the upstream end of the lower flow path 720 and a signal indicating that the sphere 7 is detected from the first micro switch 753 is input to the frame control device 83. In addition, the second electric motor 752 is stopped, and the rotation of the first transport rotating body 751 is stopped. As a result, as shown in FIG. 19B, one sphere 7,... On the upper flow path 710 is reduced by one, and three spheres 7,. It moves to the right by the amount, and the number of spheres 7,.

Thereafter, the same control is performed each time a signal is input from the ball feed sensor 246, so that the number of balls 7,. When the number of balls reached 32, as shown in FIG. 20A, the number of balls 7,... Visible on the upper flow path 710 is two, and the number of balls held is one. In this case, as shown in FIG. 20 (B), when the number of balls 7,... Visible on the upper flow path 710 is one and the number of balls held is zero, the number shown in FIG. As described above, the number of spheres 7,... Visible on the upper flow path 710 is zero.
Therefore, the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 detects that the ball feed sensor 246 detects a game ball when the number of balls held by the player is equal to or less than a predetermined number of balls visible from the upper surface of the upper flow path. The second electric motor 756 is held in a stopped state, and the first electric motor 756 is driven until the first micro switch 753 detects the spheres 7,. The spheres 7, ... are moved downstream by one sphere so as to be reduced by one sphere.

Then, the player ends the game when the number of possessed balls decreases, or converts the game value information into the number of game media to increase the number of possessed balls. In the control of the virtual game ball display 700 in the frame control device 83 during the conversion operation, when the number of balls is 4 or more, the control is the same as when the number of balls is 11 or more.
In addition, when the number of possessed balls is 0, the visually recognizable balls 7 in the upper flow path 710 become 0, and the virtual game ball display at the time of the above conversion operation of the game value information to the number of game media The control is the same as the control 700.

Further, when the number of balls held is 1 to 3, that is, when the number of spheres 7,... Visible in the upper flow path 710 is 1 to 3, the balls 7,. Then, when the number of possessed balls is 0, that is, the same control as the control of the virtual game ball display 700 at the time of the above-described conversion operation of the game value information to the number of game media is performed.
It should be noted that when the number of spheres 7,... Visible in the upper channel 710 is 1 to 3 and the spheres 7,. In this case, the first electric motor 752 is operated in a state where the second electric motor 752 is stopped to rotate the first transport rotating body 751, so that the balls 7,. When the conveyance starts toward the flow path 720 and the first micro switch 753 at the upstream end of the lower flow path 720 detects the conveyed balls 7,... Three times, the first electric motor 752 is stopped. Then, the conveyance by the first conveyance rotating body 751 is stopped. Similarly, when the number of balls held is 2, when the count value of the balls 7 detected by the first micro switch 753 becomes 2, the first electric motor 752 is stopped and the number of balls held is 1. In this case, the first electric motor 752 is stopped when the count value of the sphere 7 detected by the first microswitch 753 becomes 1.

The number of the visible spheres 7,... Remaining on the upper flow path 710 is, for example, that the spheres of the upper flow path 710 are moved by the lower conveyance path 730 as described above for each input of a signal from the ball feed sensor 246. When transported one by one to the lower flow path 720, it is determined by counting the input signal from the first micro switch 7753, and the count value is 4 in a state where the count value is 1 to 3, The balls 7 and 7 remaining in the upper flow path 710 may be conveyed to the lower flow path.
By adopting such control, it is possible to always keep the two balls 7 in the lower transport path 730.
In addition, even when the number of balls held is 3 or less due to a prize ball, the same control may be performed. For example, the second transport rotating body 755 is simply rotated to the lower side. It is good also as what conveys all the spheres 7 ... in the flow path 720 to the upper flow path 710.

  As described above, by controlling the virtual game ball display 700, it is assumed that, as with the virtual game ball display 154 of the first embodiment, the number of held balls decreases in correspondence with the launch of the game ball. In particular, when the number of balls held is small, the number of balls held is equal to the number of balls 7,... Visible on the virtual game ball display 700, and the number of balls held is lost. The player can easily recognize this, and the player can grasp the exact number of balls without looking at the digital display of the number of balls. Further, the virtual game ball display 700 of the second embodiment reproduces the movement of the game ball on the right end portion of the upper plate by actually moving the balls 7,. The movement of the game ball can be reproduced intuitively and realistically.

The reason why the two balls 7,... (The maximum number of balls 7 that can be held in the lower conveyance path) are always held in the lower conveyance path 730 will be described below.
In the virtual game ball display 700, four spheres 7,... (The maximum number of spheres 7 that can be visually recognized,...: The maximum number of spheres 7 that can be arranged in the upper flow path 710) can be visually recognized. Since the virtual game ball display 700 can be arranged on the road 710, it is sufficient to enclose at least four balls 7,. However, the first transport rotator 751 in the lower transport path is configured to hold two balls 7,... (The maximum number of spheres 7 held in the lower transport path).

Therefore, as described above, in relation to the timing at which the game ball is sent from the standby flow path 221 to the launch position by the ball feeding device 240, one of the four balls 7,. When the control is made to send out the spheres 7 and flow in one sphere 7 from the upstream side, if there are only four spheres 7,..., The spheres 7,. When transporting from the path 730 to the lower flow path 720, two are held in the lower transport path 730, and the four balls 7,... Cannot be arranged in the upper flow path 710.
From the above, the virtual game ball display 700 has six or more balls, which is the number obtained by adding the maximum number of balls 7,... Held in the lower conveyance path to the maximum number of balls 7,. 7, ... need to be enclosed.

  Here, in the state in which the six balls 7,... Are enclosed in the virtual game ball display 700, the maximum number of balls 7,. When only five balls 7,... Can be arranged even including the end of the path 710 and the end of the lower transport path 730 on the upper flow path 710, the number of the balls 7, ... held in the lower transport path 730 is 0. When the first electric motor 752 is stopped and only the second electric motor 756 is rotated, all the spheres 7,... (6 spheres 7,...) Are conveyed to the upper flow path 710. However, it is not possible to arrange all the spheres 7,... In the upper flow path 710, and the second transport rotating body 755 forcibly pushes the sixth sphere 7,. As a result, there is a possibility of stopping the second electric motor. In this embodiment, the first and second micro switches 753, 755 are used to limit the maximum number of balls 7,... Never do.

Further, by holding the maximum number of balls 7 that can be held in the lower conveyance path 730 as described above, the virtual game ball display without the first and second micro switches 753 and 755 is achieved. 700 can be easily controlled.
Hereinafter, a case where the virtual game ball display 700 is controlled without using the first and second micro switches 753 and 755 using the first and second electric motors 752 and 756 as stepping motors will be described. In the following description, the conveyance pattern of the spheres 7,...

When the virtual game ball display 700 is installed as described above, the two balls 7,... Are set in the lower transport path 730.
When the spheres 7,... Are transported from the upper flow path 710 to the lower flow path 720 by the lower transport path 730, instead of confirming the transport of the spheres 7,. The first conveyance rotating body 751 of the lower conveyance path 730 holding the maximum possible number of balls 7,... Is rotated at an angle corresponding to the number of valleys (teeth 761) holding the balls 7.
That is, when conveying one sphere 7,..., The first conveying rotator 751 is equal to the angle α obtained by dividing the angle (360 °) that makes one round of the first conveying rotator 751 by the number of troughs (tooth 761). Rotate. Further, when transporting a plurality of spheres 7,..., The first transport rotator 751 is rotated at an angle obtained by multiplying the number of spheres 7,. Repeat as many as the number of spheres 7.
In addition, when rotating the 1st conveyance rotation body 751, the upper-side flow path 710 needs to always have the spheres 7. Here, it is assumed that the upper flow path 710 has four balls 7. If the second transport rotator 755 is kept rotated for a certain period of time while the first transport rotator 751 holds the two spheres 7,. Are all conveyed to the upper flow path 710, so that the upper flow path 710 can always have four spheres 7.

  Further, in the case of transporting one ball 7,... By the second transport rotating body 755 in the upper transport path 740 for each input of a signal from the ball feed sensor 246, in the above transport pattern, FIG. As shown in FIG. 19A, from the state in which there is no sphere 7,... In the upper conveyance path 740, one sphere 7,... Flows down the lower flow path 720 from the lower conveyance path 730. Since it reaches the conveyance path 740 and one or more spheres cannot be conveyed, it is possible to convey one sphere 7,... By rotating the second conveyance rotator 755. it can. Therefore, in the state where the number of holding balls is four or more and the game balls are being sequentially fired, the second transfer rotating body 755 may be kept rotating, and when the number of holding balls becomes 3, the second transfer The rotating body 755 may be stopped.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 18A, after the four spheres 7 are transferred to the lower flow path 720 by the first transfer rotator 751, the four spheres 7 are transferred by the second transfer rotator 755. ,... May be controlled to rotate the second transport rotator 755 for a time sufficient to transport the four balls 7.

Like the encapsulated ball type gaming machine 100 of the first example, the encapsulated ball type gaming machine 100 of the second embodiment as described above launches a predetermined number of game balls enclosed in the main body from the launch position to the game area 1a. While the game is played, a circulation path 220 that collects the game balls that have been played and guides them to the launch position and circulates and uses the game balls is provided. In the circulation path 220, one game ball is addressed to the launch position. A ball feeding device 240 for sending a ball, and a standby flow path 221 for waiting for a game ball sent to the launch position by the ball feeding device 240, the game becomes possible depending on the number of balls held by the player, and is held by the launch. Subtraction processing is performed from the number of balls, and addition processing is performed on the number of balls held by winning a game ball.
The encapsulated ball game machine 100 according to the second embodiment has virtual game ball display means (virtual game ball display) for virtually showing the game ball to the player as if the game ball has moved in association with the ball sending to the launch position. 700), and the virtual game ball display means includes a virtual game ball circulation path 770 that encloses and circulates the balls 7,... Separately from the circulation path 220, and the virtual game ball circulation path 770 faces. A window (virtual game ball opening 18b) through which the movement of the balls 7,... Can be visually recognized is provided on the front side of the game machine.

Accordingly, the virtual game ball display 700 that virtually shows the game ball as moving is provided with a virtual game ball circulation path 770 in which the balls 7,... Since the virtual game ball opening 18b that can visually recognize the movement of the balls 7,... In the game ball circulation path 770 is provided on the front side of the game machine, the balls 7,. It is possible to virtually represent the movement of the game ball.
Further, only a part of the virtual game ball circulation path 770 can be visually recognized by the player, and the number of balls 7,... Existing in the part of the virtual game ball circulation path 770 visible to the player can be increased or decreased. It is also possible to do.
Therefore, the movement and increase / decrease of the game ball can be obtained virtually by moving the light of the LED 154h of the invention described in the first embodiment, and the ball 7, which becomes the virtual game ball, can be obtained. By actually moving and increasing / decreasing ..., it is possible to virtually represent the movement and increase / decrease of the game ball so that it is more realistic and easy for the player to feel.

  In addition, the virtual game ball circulation path is a substantially elliptical shape in which a plurality of transparent or semi-transparent balls 7 are enclosed, and faces the window (virtual game ball opening 18b) and is an upper flow path that is inclined downward toward one side. 710, a lower conveyance path 730 that conveys the sphere that has flowed down the upper flow path 710 downward, and a lower conveyance path 730 that communicates with the lower conveyance path 730 and is located below the upper flow path 710, and the inclination of the upper flow path 710 A lower flow path 720 inclined downward in a direction opposite to the direction, and an upper conveyance path 740 that conveys the sphere flowing down to the lower flow path 720 to the upstream side of the upper flow path 710. The first drive source (first electric motor 752) that drives the first transport means (first transport rotating body 751) that transports the balls 7,..., And the balls 7,. Driving the second transport means (second transport rotating body 755) A second drive source (second electric motor 756) and a plurality of light-emitting sources (ball display LEDs 707,...) Provided along the flow surface of the upper flow path 710 are arranged in the upper flow path 710. The movement of the number of spheres 7 is made visible so that the light from the light source is diffused by the spheres 7.

  Therefore, in the virtual game ball circulation path 770, the balls 7,... Flow down from the upper side of the upper flow path 710 according to the inclination, and the lower flow path 730 moves down the lower flow path 720 on the lower side of the upper flow path 710. It is conveyed to the upper side of the slope. Then, the spheres 7,... Conveyed to the upper side of the lower flow path 720 reach the upper conveyance path 740 on the lower side of the lower flow path 720 according to the inclination of the lower flow path 720. It is sent to the upper flow path 710. Thereby, it is possible to circulate so that the ball goes around in the virtual game ball circulation path 770.

  Further, a plurality of light emitting sources (ball display LEDs 707,...) Are provided on the flow surface (upper channel bottom plate 706) of the upper channel 710 that faces the virtual game ball opening 18b and is visible to the player. Is made transparent or semi-transparent, and the light of the sphere display LED 707,... Is diffused by the spheres 7,..., So that the spheres 7,. it can. Thereby, the visibility of the player with respect to the virtual game ball display 700 can be improved, and the virtual game ball display 700 can be made conspicuous, and the player's attention can be directed to the virtual game ball display 700. . Furthermore, the spheres 7,... Move while diffusing light, so that the virtual game sphere display 700 can be used as a decorative member of the encapsulated sphere game machine 100. Therefore, the designability of the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 is improved, and attention is paid to the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 having the virtual game ball display 700 to the player who has selected the gaming machine to play, The possibility of being selected by the player can be increased.

  Further, the virtual game ball circulation path 770 drives a first drive source (first and second electric motors) that drives first transport means (first transport rotating body 751) that transports the balls 7, ... in the lower transport path 730. 752) and a second drive source (second electric motor 756) for driving the second transport means (second transport rotating body 755) for transporting the balls 7,... In the upper transport path 740, The first transport rotator 751 and the second transport rotator 755 can be operated independently of each other.

  In a state where the first and second electric motors 752 that drive the first transport rotating body 751 in the lower transport path 730 are stopped, the second electric motor 756 that drives the second transport rotating body 755 in the upper transport path 740 is operated. And the spheres 7... In the lower flow path 720 move to the upper flow path 710 by the second transport rotating body 755 in the upper transport path 740, but the spheres 7,. Since the rotating body 751 is stopped, the rotary body 751 stays in the upper flow path 710 without reaching the lower flow path 720 from the lower conveyance path 730. Therefore, in the upper flow path 710 visually recognized by the player, each time the first transport rotary body 751 transports the balls 7,..., The balls 7,. An increase in the number of game balls can be virtually represented.

Further, the first and second electric motors 752 for driving the first conveyance rotating body 751 of the lower conveyance path 730 are stopped in a state where the second electric motor 756 for driving the second conveyance rotation body 755 of the upper conveyance path 740 is stopped. When activated, the spheres 7,... In the upper flow path 710 are moved to the lower flow path 720 by the first transport rotator 751 in the lower transport path 730, but the spheres 7,. Since the second transport rotator 755 is stopped, the second transport rotator 755 remains in the lower flow path 720 without reaching the upper flow path 710 from the upper transport path 740. Therefore, in the upper flow path 710 visually recognized by the player through the virtual game ball opening 18b serving as a window, each time the first transport rotating body 751 transports the ball, the balls 7,. As a result, the decrease in game balls can be virtually represented.
That is, there is a first transport rotator 751 that transports the sphere of the upper flow path 710 to the lower flow path 720 and a second transport rotator 755 that transports the sphere of the lower flow path 720 to the upper flow path 710. Can not only circulate the plurality of balls 7,... In the virtual game ball circulation path 770, but also increase or decrease the number of the visible balls 7, etc. staying on the upper flow path 710.

  The circulation path 220 includes ball feed detection means (ball feed sensor 246) for detecting a game ball sent to the launch position, and the virtual game ball circulation path 770 is located on the lower side from the lower transport path 730. First sphere detecting means (first microswitch 753) for detecting the spheres 7 ... flowing into the flow path 720, and a second sphere for detecting the spheres 7, ... flowing into the upper flow path 710 from the upper transport path 740. Detecting means (second micro switch 757), and when the ball feed sensor 246 detects a game ball, the first electric motor 752 is driven until the first micro switch 753 detects the balls 7,. In addition, the second electric motor 756 is driven until the second micro switch 757 detects a sphere, and a plurality of spheres 7 arranged in series with the upper flow path 710 are arranged on the downstream side by one sphere 7. And so as to moved.

Accordingly, the first microswitch 753 flows from the lower conveyance path 730 to the lower flow path 720 at the timing when the ball feed sensor 246 detects the game ball, that is, the timing when the ball feed device 240 sends the game ball to the launch position. The first electric motor 752 is driven until the spheres 7 are detected and the spheres 7 are transferred by the first transfer rotator 751, so that the lower transfer path 730 side (downstream side) of the upper flow path 710 is reached. One sphere 7,... Is conveyed to the lower flow path 720.
Further, the second electric motor 756 is driven until the second micro switch 757 detects the spheres 7,... Flowing into the upper flow path 710 from the upper conveyance path 740, and the spheres are conveyed by the second conveyance rotating body 755. , One sphere 7 is transferred from the lower flow path 720 to the upper transfer path 740 side (upstream side) of the upper flow path 710. Therefore, since the balls 7,... Circulate in the virtual game ball circulation path 770 as described above, each time the ball feeder 240 sends the game ball to the launch position, the ball 7,. ... Moves by a distance of one, and one downstream sphere 7,... Is conveyed to the lower flow path 720, and one sphere 7,.
The movement of the balls 7,... In the upper flow path 710 is focused so that the game balls are arranged in a row at the end on the side where the game balls of the above-mentioned upper plate are sent to the firing position. The game balls are virtually reproduced in such a way that the game balls are sent one by one to the launch position in response to the launch of the game balls. Therefore, the player can intuitively feel the decrease in the number of balls held by the game ball launch by looking at the virtual game ball display 700.

  The circulation path 220 includes a ball feed sensor 246 that detects a game ball sent to the launch position, and the virtual game ball circulation path 770 flows into the lower flow path 720 from the lower transport path 730. The first micro switch 753 for detecting the spheres 7,... And the second micro switch 757 for detecting the spheres 7,... Flowing into the upper flow path 710 from the upper transport path 740, and the number of balls held by the player is When the ball feed sensor 246 detects a game ball when the number of balls 7,... Visible from the upper surface of the upper flow path 710 becomes less than a predetermined number, the second electric motor 756 is held in a stopped state. The first driving source is driven until the first detection means detects a sphere, and the aligned spheres connected to the upper flow path are moved downstream by one sphere to decrease by one sphere. I try to let them.

Accordingly, the first micro switch 753 flows from the lower conveyance path 730 to the lower flow path 720 at the timing when the ball feed sensor 246 detects the game ball, that is, the timing when the ball feed device 24 sends the game ball to the launch position. The first electric motor 752 is driven until the spheres 7 are detected, and the spheres 7,... Are transported by the first transport rotating body 751, so that the spheres 7 on the lower transport path 730 side of the upper flow path 710. Is conveyed to the lower flow path 720.
At this time, since the second electric motor 756 is not driven and the second transport rotating body 755 is in a stopped state, the upper flow path 710 has the ball 7 in the lower transport path 730 on the inclined lower side. Are sent to the lower flow path 720 side, and in the upper flow path 710, one sphere 7 is decreased and the upper side of the sphere 7,. A plurality of or one sphere 7,..., Moved downward by one sphere 7. Further, since the second transport rotating body 755 (second electric motor 756) is stopped, the balls 7,... Are transported and replenished on the upper transport path 740 to the upper side (upstream side) of the upper flow path 710. Without any change, the spheres 7 of the upper flow path 710 are reduced as described above. Further, when the balls 7,... Are transferred to the first transfer rotating body 751 in a state where the upper flow path 710 has one ball 7,..., The balls 7,. … Is gone.

That is, in the upper flow path 710, each time the ball feeder 240 sends a game ball to the launch position, one downstream ball 7 is conveyed to the lower flow path 720 side, and the ball 7,. As the number of balls decreases, the remaining spheres 7,... Move downstream by one distance.
The movement and reduction of the balls 7,... In the upper flow path 710 are in a state where the remaining few game balls are in a line at the end on the side where the game balls on the upper plate are sent to the firing position. Corresponding to the launch of game balls, the game balls are sent one by one to the launch position, and the remaining few game balls are virtually reduced.
Therefore, the player can intuitively feel the decrease in the number of balls held by the game ball launch by looking at the virtual game ball display 700.

  In addition, in a state where the value of the number of balls is equal to the number of predetermined balls arranged in the upper channel 710 (for example, the maximum number of balls that can be arranged in the upper channel visible from the player) If the ball on the upper flow path 710 is decreased at the timing when the game ball is sent to the firing position (the timing at which the game ball is fired in relation to the timing when the game ball is sent to the launch position is also possible) as described above. Similarly, the number of balls held that decreases when the game ball is sent to the launch position and the number of balls 7 on the upper flow path 710 coincide. By controlling the balls 7... To be transported in this way, the player can recognize the number of balls held by the number of the balls 7. That is, by displaying the number of balls possessed as the actual number of balls 7,... Rather than displaying with numbers, it is possible to inform the player of the number of balls possessed more easily.

In addition, in the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100, when the number of balls held by the player becomes a predetermined number or less, the ball display LEDs 707,...
Therefore, when the number of balls held is greater than the predetermined number, the ball display LEDs 707, ... are kept lit, and after the number of balls held reaches the predetermined number, the number of balls held increases until it exceeds the predetermined number. The ball display LEDs 707,... Can be blinked. In this way, the player can recognize that the number of balls held has decreased by blinking the ball display LEDs 707,.
In addition, after flashing the ball display LEDs 707,..., The player's attention is directed to the virtual game ball display 700, and then, as described above, the balls 7,. If the number of balls is reduced, it is possible to make the player recognize that the remaining number of balls is small.

  In addition, the enclosed ball type gaming machine 100 includes conversion operation means (touch panel display unit 151) for performing an operation of converting game value information held by the player into the number of balls, and the touch panel display unit 151 holds the game value information. When converted into the number of balls (number of game media), the first electric motor 752 is driven until the first micro switch 753 detects a predetermined number of balls 7,. 756 is driven until the second microswitch 757 detects a predetermined number of spheres.

Here, the predetermined number of spheres 7,... May be, for example, the number of spheres 7,... Staying in the upper flow path 710 at normal times, or the spheres 7,. May be the maximum number or a predetermined number less than the maximum number, but is preferably at least 2 and 4, 5 or more.
Therefore, for example, by converting the game value information generated by inserting cash into the number of possessed balls, that is, by adding the number of game media corresponding to the converted game value information to the number of possessed balls. When the number of balls greatly increases in a short time, the virtual gaming ball display 700 performs the following.

That is, by driving the first electric motor 752 until the first micro switch 753 detects a predetermined number of spheres 7,..., The predetermined number of spheres 7,. The spheres 7 on the upper flow path 710 are sent to the 720 side and decrease by a predetermined number. Here, for example, if the predetermined number is equal to the number of spheres 7 on the upper flow path 710, all the spheres 7 on the upper flow path 710 are conveyed to the lower flow path, and from above the upper flow path 710. Sphere 7, ... disappears.
Next, the second electric motor 756 is driven until the second micro switch 757 detects a predetermined number of spheres 7, so that the predetermined number of spheres 7,. In the upper flow path 710, the predetermined number of spheres 7, ... are reduced, and then the predetermined number of spheres 7, ... are replenished.
This is because game balls are paid out when borrowing game balls based on game value information stored in a storage medium such as cash or a card after the remaining game balls on the upper plate in ordinary gaming machines are low. This virtually reproduces the increase in the number of game balls on the upper plate. With such display by the virtual game ball display 700, it is possible to make the player feel that the number of balls has increased by converting the game value information into game balls.
The encapsulated ball type gaming machine 100 of the present invention is not limited to the pachinko gaming machine as shown in the above embodiment as a gaming machine, and for example, a gaming ball such as another pachinko gaming machine is used. Applicable to all gaming machines.
Furthermore, it should be thought that embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration and restrictive at no points. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

It is a perspective view which shows the enclosed ball type game machine which open | released the glass frame of embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the enclosure ball type game machine of the state which closed the glass frame. It is a rear view of an enclosure ball type game machine. It is a perspective view which shows the enclosed ball circulation unit of an enclosed ball type game machine. It is a rear view which shows an enclosure bulb | ball circulation unit. It is a figure which shows the inner surface of the front wall member of an enclosure bulb | ball circulation unit. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows an enclosure bulb | ball circulation unit. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the touchscreen display unit of 1st Embodiment of an enclosed ball type game machine. It is sectional drawing which shows the touchscreen display unit of 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the back side of the touchscreen display unit of 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the back side of the information display apparatus attachment member of the touchscreen display unit of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of an enclosed ball type game machine. It is a front view of the information display apparatus attachment member of the touch panel display unit of 2nd Embodiment. It is a rear view of the information display apparatus attachment member of the touchscreen display unit of 2nd Embodiment. It is a disassembled perspective view of the virtual game ball display of the touch panel display unit of 2nd Embodiment. It is drawing which shows the main-body part of the virtual game ball display of 2nd Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the back side of the virtual game ball display of 2nd Embodiment. It is drawing for demonstrating circulation of the ball | bowl in the virtual game ball display of 2nd Embodiment. It is drawing for demonstrating circulation of the ball | bowl in the virtual game ball display of 2nd Embodiment. It is drawing for demonstrating circulation of the ball | bowl in the virtual game ball display of 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Game board 1a Game area 100 Enclosed ball-type game machine 151 Touch panel display unit (conversion operation means)
154 Virtual game ball display (virtual game ball display means)
154h LED
220 Circulation path 221 Standby path 240 Ball feed device 246 Ball feed sensor (ball feed detection means)
7 ball 700 virtual game ball display (virtual game ball display means)
707 Sphere LED (light source)
710 Upper flow path 720 Lower flow path 730 Lower transfer path 740 Upper transfer path 751 First transfer rotating body (first transfer means)
752 First electric motor (first drive source)
753 First micro switch (first sphere detecting means)
755 Second transfer rotating body (second transfer means)
756 Second electric motor (second drive source)
757 Second micro switch (second sphere detecting means)
770 Virtual game ball circuit

Claims (6)

While playing a game by launching a predetermined number of game balls enclosed in the game machine body from the launch position to the game area, a circulation path for collecting and using the game balls after collecting the game balls and returning them to the launch position Prepared,
The circulation path includes
A ball feeder for sending one game ball to the launch position;
A standby flow path for waiting for a game ball sent to a launch position by the ball feeding device;
With
In the enclosed ball type gaming machine that becomes possible to play according to the number of balls held by the player, subtracts from the number of balls held by the launch, and adds to the number of balls held by winning a game ball,
Virtual game ball display means that has a virtual game ball circulation path that encloses and circulates a ball separately from the circulation path, and moves the ball in the virtual game ball circulation path in response to the ball sent to the launch position Provided,
An encapsulated ball type gaming machine, wherein the virtual game ball circulation path faces and a window portion through which the movement of the ball can be visually recognized is provided on the front side of the gaming machine. The virtual game ball circuit is
An approximately elliptical shape in which a plurality of transparent or semi-transparent spheres are enclosed, an upper flow path inclined toward one side facing the window, a lower conveyance path for conveying the sphere flowing down the upper flow path downward, and A lower flow path that communicates with a lower conveyance path and is positioned below the upper flow path and is inclined downward in a direction opposite to the inclination direction of the upper flow path, and a sphere that has flowed down to the lower flow path An upper conveying path that conveys to the upstream side of the flow path,
A first driving source for driving first conveying means for conveying a ball in the lower conveying path;
A second drive source for driving second transport means for transporting a ball in the upper transport path;
A plurality of light emitting sources provided along the flow surface of the upper flow path;
With
2. The encapsulated ball game according to claim 1 , wherein the movement of a predetermined number of spheres aligned in the upper flow path is made visible so that the light from the light emitting source is diffused by the spheres. Machine. The circulation path includes ball feed detection means for detecting a game ball sent to the launch position,
The virtual game ball circuit is
First sphere detecting means for detecting a sphere flowing into the lower flow path from the lower conveyance path;
Second sphere detecting means for detecting a sphere flowing into the upper flow path from the upper transport path;
With
When the ball feed detecting means detects a game ball, the first driving source is driven until the first ball detecting means detects the ball, and the second driving source is driven by the second ball detecting means. 3. The enclosed ball game machine according to claim 2 , wherein the ball is driven until it is detected, and a plurality of balls arranged in series with the upper flow path are moved downstream by one ball. The circulation path includes ball feed detection means for detecting a game ball sent to the launch position,
The virtual game ball circuit is
First sphere detecting means for detecting a sphere flowing into the lower flow path from the lower conveyance path;
Second sphere detecting means for detecting a sphere flowing into the upper flow path from the upper transport path;
With
When the number of balls held by the player is equal to or less than a predetermined number of balls visible from the upper surface of the upper flow path, the second drive source is stopped when the ball feed detecting means detects a game ball The first driving source is driven until the first sphere detecting means detects the sphere, and the spheres connected to the upper flow path are moved to the downstream side by one sphere. The enclosed ball type gaming machine according to claim 2 , wherein the number is reduced by one. 5. The encapsulated ball game machine according to claim 2 , wherein when the number of balls held by the player becomes a predetermined number or less, the light emitting source is caused to blink. Conversion operation means for performing an operation of converting game value information held by a player into the number of possessed balls, and when the game value information is converted into the number of possessed balls by the conversion operation means, the first drive source is The first sphere detecting means is driven until a predetermined number of spheres are detected, and then the second driving source is driven until the second sphere detecting means detects a predetermined number of spheres. The encapsulated ball game machine according to claim 3 .

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