JP4483326B2 - Ball hopper - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball hopper that is used, for example, for paying out winning balls of a pachinko machine or paying out balls for a ball rental apparatus, and more specifically, a ball hopper that easily collects a large number of stored balls stored in a storage tank. Related to the beading structure.

Hereinafter, a pachinko gaming machine will be described as an example.
In general, pachinko machines use pachinko balls (hereinafter referred to as balls) as game media to supply balls from the back side of the pachinko machine to the front side of the pachinko machine. When supplying these balls, a storage tank (prize ball tank) that stores a large number of balls is installed in the upper part on the back side of the pachinko machine, and balls are supplied into the storage tank from an upper supply mechanism (not shown). Are stored, and the stored balls are dispensed downward. When the balls are paid out, the balls are guided from the storage tank to the ball paying device (winning ball processing device) through a ball aligning device that aligns the balls. Dispensing to the upper or lower plate.

  By the way, apart from the ball paying-out operation, the pachinko gaming machine discharges (collects) the balls stored in the storage tank at a stroke as disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 to empty the storage tank. A beading structure is attached. The purpose of the above-described ball removal is provided for the purpose of moving or discarding the pachinko gaming machine in the game hall at the time of shipment inspection of the pachinko gaming machine.

  Usually, such a ball-drawing structure and its ball-drawing operation are carried out between passages that are gently inclined from the storage tank to the ball dispensing device. Specifically, the direction of the passage is changed from the inclined direction to the vertical direction immediately below. In many cases, it is made in the vicinity of the bent passage portion.

  The ball-drilling structure is provided in the vicinity of the bent passage portion using, for example, a mechanical opening structure using a link mechanism or an electric opening structure using a solenoid or the like as an opening means for the passage bottom face. This is because the ball is easily guided to the lower beading passage by its own weight only by opening the bottom surface of the passage.

  However, with such an open structure, the symbol display device of the pachinko machine is currently large and tends to occupy a large space on the back side, and mechanical parts such as a link mechanism and electrical parts such as a solenoid If it is arranged, the space on the back side of the pachinko machine will be further narrowed.

  In addition, the beading structure disclosed in Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4 is expensive because a large number of switches and solenoids are required, and the beading is not performed when the power is not turned on. There was an inconvenience that it could not be implemented.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-90008. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200289. JP 2000-189618. Japanese Patent No. 3231387.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a ball removal structure for a ball hopper that can easily construct a ball removal structure without using a large number of switches and solenoids when removing the ball from the ball hopper.

The present invention has flowed from a storage tank that stores a large number of balls, an alignment passage that extends from the storage tank, aligns balls that are stored in the storage tank while rolling by their own weight, and the alignment passage. It comprises a ball dispensing device that dispenses balls downstream by rotation of a rotating body, and forms a ball opening portion between the ball dispensing device and the alignment passage to discharge the balls to the ball removal passage. A ball hopper provided with a ball removal mechanism, wherein the ball removal mechanism moves from a ball dispensing position at which the ball dispensing device dispenses the ball downstream to a ball removal position for performing ball removal in the storage tank and the alignment passage. The ball opening is formed by sliding, and the ball dispensing device regulates the retreat position that allows the ball to pass to the rotating body and the passage of the ball to the rotating body on the upstream side of the rotating body. Switch to the ball passing restriction position Comprising an operable ball passage adjustment member when the ball ejecting, in a state in which the ball passes through the regulating member is switched to the ball passing regulating position from the retracted position, the ball vent position the ball dispensing apparatus from said ball dispensing position by causing the slide to the ball passage regulating member, characterized in that through the ball vent opening is a ball hopper for guiding the ball to the ball vent passage.

  Here, the ball payout device refers to a ball that has been guided from the upstream side by rolling on an inclined passage and is individually rotated and fed by a rotating body such as a sprocket. The ball is dispensed downstream as a ball.

According to the present invention , the ball dispensing device can be formed by sliding the ball dispensing device. In this way, it is possible to switch between the ball dispensing operation and the ball dispensing operation by simply sliding the ball dispensing device.

Since the open position of the ball vent opening connects the ball vent passage downwardly to stretch ball ejecting a ball which has been rolling in only switching operation by ball ejecting mechanism is dropped from the ball vent openings Can do.

In addition, this ball-drawing structure can be constructed simply by sliding the ball dispensing device, eliminating the need for new machine parts and electrical parts, reducing the number of parts and making it economical, and pachinko machines The space on the back side of the pachinko machine will not occupy a large amount, and the increase in the number of symbol display devices for pachinko machines can be promoted. In addition, since the ball can be removed even when not energized, the clerk can easily execute the ball removal without feeling inconvenience in the ball removal.

Further, the alignment passage is connected to the downstream side of the storage tank, and the aligned flow flows so that the balls supplied from the storage tank can be aligned in one or a plurality of rows so that the balls can be stably supplied to the ball dispensing device on the downstream side. It is what

At the time of this ball removal, in order to remove the ball from the restricted passage state of the ball, the balls connected on the same inclined passage are squeezed in the inclined direction by the pressure applied to the inclined direction, and an aerial bridge is generated in the inclined direction. It is difficult to fall directly below the direction. However, when the ball dispensing device is slid, the position restriction in the tilt direction is instantaneously released, and the pressure between the balls can be released. For this reason, the structure suitable for ball removal which can eliminate a drop resistance and can drop a ball naturally is obtained. As described above, as an example of the displacement operation of the ball dispensing device, a simple ball removal structure by sliding can be constructed by sliding the ball dispensing device slightly along the alignment path.

When the ball dispensing device is slid from the ball dispensing position to the ball removal position, the ball passage restriction member faces the ball removal opening at that time, and the ball passage restriction member rolls from the upstream side to the downstream side. It can also be used as a ball guide member that guides the moving ball down to the ball opening.

For this reason, the ball passage restriction member can also be used as a ball removal guide, in addition to the role of restricting / allowing the original flow of balls. For this reason, since the existing ball passage restricting member can also be used, it is not necessary to dispose a new ball removal guide component.

In particular, simply opening the ball opening at the bottom of the passage makes it difficult for the balls that are continuous in the inclined direction to fall due to the applied pressure applied in the inclined direction, so that the ball passage restriction member is not opened. By facing the part, it is possible to reliably change the direction of the ball that flows down and drop it smoothly.

The present invention is a ball hopper provided with a slide operation unit that slides the ball dispensing device in an inclination direction of the alignment passage.

According to the present invention, when the operator operates the slide operation portion, the slide mechanism can slide the ball dispensing device in the inclination direction of the alignment passage to open or close the ball removal opening. Therefore, when ball removal is performed, the ball opening opening can be opened only by the operator operating the slide operation unit. The ball rolling from the upstream side based on this opening falls by its own weight at the position of the ball opening and is ball-bumped.

The present invention, the sliding operation unit includes an operation unit which receives an operation force of the operator, the slide release mechanism for releasing the slide restriction in the ball dispensing position of the ball dispensing device when said operation unit receives the operation force characterized in that it is a ball hopper and a biasing mechanism for sliding the said ball dispensing apparatus in conjunction with the sliding release operation of the slide release mechanism to ball ejecting position from the ball dispensing position.

  The operation unit can be easily configured by, for example, a push button, a lever, or the like that can be input-operated with one touch of the operator's fingertip, and reduces the work load of the ball removal operation by the operator.

  According to the present invention, when the operator operates the operation unit, the slide release mechanism releases the slide restriction based on this operation and allows the ball dispensing device to slide. If the urging force of the urging mechanism is applied to the ball dispensing device, the ball dispensing device that has received this urging force slides from the ball dispensing position to the ball dispensing position to form a ball dispensing opening. As a result, the ball that has been rolling from the upstream side only by operating the operation unit can be dropped by its own weight at the position of the doffing opening to be dipped.

  When returning the ball dispensing device from the ball removal position to the original ball dispensing position, if the operator slides the ball dispensing device in the reverse direction and pushes it back against the urging force of the urging mechanism, the slide regulation is performed again. The ball dispensing device can be returned to the original ball dispensing position.

The present invention is characterized in that a lower end portion of the ball passage restriction member is formed in an arc shape .

According to the present invention, since the lower end portion of the ball passage restriction member has an arc shape, the ball can be brought into surface contact with the spherical surface of the ball to exhibit a stable receiving action. In addition, it is possible to achieve the role of a guide passage that makes it easy to discharge the ball directly under the ball.

According to the present invention, it is possible to form a ball ejecting opening a ball dispenser only in passage bottom sliding. For this reason, new mechanical parts and electrical parts are not required, and the number of parts can be reduced and economically manufactured. In addition, since the space on the back side of the pachinko gaming machine can no longer be reduced, it is possible to promote the increase of the symbol display device of the pachinko gaming machine. Further, since the beading can be carried out even when not energized, the operator can easily perform the beating operation without feeling inconvenience in the beading operation.

  The beading structure for opening the bead opening at the bottom of the passage is constructed by displacing the ball dispensing device.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a ball hopper 11 mounted on an upper part on the back side of a pachinko machine 11A of a pachinko machine. As shown in FIG. 2, the ball hopper 11 is configured by integrating an upstream storage tank 12 and a downstream ball dispensing device 13, and these are arranged on the base end side of a large storage tank 12 that is installed horizontally. The single ball dispenser 13 is connected to a single unit.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the above-described storage tank 12 has a tapered concave shape whose upper surface is opened, and balls are replenished from a replenishment mechanism (not shown) above the upper surface opening portion. Store balls. The balls stored in the storage tank 12 are configured to roll by their own weight and to be guided from the upstream side to the ball dispensing device 13 on the downstream side.

  In this case, an alignment passage 14 is formed in the front stage of the ball dispensing device 13 in order to smoothly pass the balls from the upstream side to the downstream side. As shown in FIG. 4, the alignment passage 14 is formed integrally with the storage tank 12, and is provided with a long and narrow alignment passage 14 protruding from the tip of the storage tank 12.

  By the way, from the tank bottom surface in the upstream storage tank 12 to the bottom surface from which the balls of the ball dispensing device 13 on the downstream side are dispensed, there is provided a long identical inclined passage L that is gently inclined in the same inclination direction and goes straight.

  This same inclined passage L is connected by setting the bottom surface of each passage through which balls P roll and pass in the order of the storage tank 12, the alignment passage 14, and the ball dispensing device 13 to a gentle inclination angle in the same inclination direction. It is a passage. For this reason, the ball rolls gently from the upstream side to the downstream side by its own weight.

  Further, in this case, since the passages go straight in the same inclination direction, there is no drop or direction change at the time of ball flow, and the flow goes down while smoothly moving straight ahead suitable for ball flow.

  In this case, if the inclination angle of the same inclination passage L is small, the inclination is loose, so that the rolling speed of the ball is slow, and the supply of the ball to the downstream side is likely to be delayed. On the other hand, when the inclination angle of the same inclined passage L is large, the inclination becomes steep, so that the load due to gravity on the balls flowing down continuously increases. As a result, it is suitable to roll at a gentle inclination angle of, for example, about 5 to 8 degrees. For this reason, the ball rolling here has a small speed difference and flows down stably.

  In particular, since the same inclined passage L is a passage that goes straight diagonally downward, it extends longer in the horizontal direction than in the vertical (height) direction. For this reason, it occupies less space in the height direction, becomes a passage with a shortened length in the height direction, and enables a compact attachment that can take a large space in the central portion on the back side of the pachinko machine 11A.

  The three elements connected in the order of the storage tank 12, the alignment passage 14 and the ball dispensing device 13 are connected in series in the passage direction, and are integrally held by the holding plate 15 in a horizontally long manner. A horizontal dispensing unit 16 is provided.

  The holding plate 15 of the horizontal paying unit 16 has a horizontally long and flat plate shape shorter than the width of the pachinko machine 11A. The storage tank 12 and the ball paying device 13 are provided with an alignment passage 14 on one side of the holding plate 15. Are attached to the back side of the pachinko machine, and both sides of the holding plate 15 are effectively used as attachment surfaces. Further, in this case, since the attachment is made through one holding plate 15, the number of parts is reduced, and the attachment is simplified. Furthermore, since the storage tank 12 and the ball dispensing device 13 are exposed on the back surface side of the holding plate 15 when viewed from the back surface side of the pachinko machine 11A, maintenance inspection by an attendant becomes easy for these.

  Further, since the three elements of the storage tank 12, the alignment passage 14, and the ball dispensing device 13 can be handled as a single horizontal dispensing unit 16 that is connected in series in a horizontally long shape, the assembly work to the pachinko machine 11A is possible. Becomes easier.

  Furthermore, since the horizontal payout unit 16 has the same gentle sloping passage L that is long in the lateral direction, the overall length is long in the lateral direction and becomes a rectangular parallelepiped, and the height direction of the passage L is shortened. it can. For this reason, it can be incorporated into the upper position on the back side of the vertical pachinko machine in a horizontally long manner. For this reason, a large mounting space for other components can be secured below the horizontal dispensing unit 16 mounted on the back side of the pachinko machine. Further, by connecting the three elements in series, it is not necessary to bend or turn the passage like the S-shaped passage when guiding the ball to the ball dispensing device 13 on the downstream side, and it can be provided linearly. . For this reason, the entire passage length is shortened to reduce the size.

  Further, a ball dispensing port 17 from the horizontal dispensing unit 16 is provided on the lower surface of one end portion of the unit 16 located on the end side of the passage of the ball dispensing device 13 so that the ball is dispensed downward from the dispensing port 17. It is configured. For this reason, the side space of the unit can be fully utilized. A ball lowering passage 18 (see FIG. 1) is connected to the dispensing port 17, and the balls dispensed thereby are dispensed to a tray (not shown) on the front surface of the pachinko machine below.

  A tank switch SW1 and a ball presence / absence detection switch SW2 are arranged on the bottom surface of the storage tank 12 located on the upstream side of the above-described same inclined passage L to detect the accommodation state of the balls in the tank 12. Yes.

  At the tip of the storage tank 12 on the downstream side, the left and right walls of the tip are tapered and narrowed so that the stacked balls stored in the tank 12 are gradually aligned and flowed down. The passage extends long forward, and this extended portion is provided in the alignment passage 14.

  The alignment passage 14 constitutes passages 14a and 14b having two rows of concave grooves with the left and right wall surfaces and the partition plate therebetween.

  In this case, the bottom of the alignment passage 14 is provided with an exclusion port 14c that is opened in a lattice shape to exclude foreign matter. By providing this exclusion port 14c, even if foreign matter is mixed in the storage tank, the foreign matter will drop from the exclusion port 14c and be removed when it moves to the alignment passage 14 on the downstream side. For this reason, it is possible to avoid clogging due to foreign matter mixing by always passing only the balls P.

  The balls guided irregularly here are aligned in two rows by the alignment passage 14 having the two rows 14a and 14b described above and an overlap limiting roller 19 which will be described later.

  The overlap limiting roller 19 described above is provided as an aligning portion 20 that aligns the balls by breaking the overlap of the balls above the alignment passage 14. The aligning portion 20 allows the upper cantilever support shaft 21 orthogonal to the passage direction to rotate in the passage direction around the tilting fulcrum, and suspends a freely overlapping overlap limiting roller 19 below the shaft 21. By providing this overlap limiting roller 19, it is possible to suppress the overload by breaking the overlap of balls when delivering the balls from the storage tank 12 to the ball dispensing device 13 via the downstream alignment passage 14. A flow guide function suitable for ball delivery is obtained. The above-described overlap limiting roller 19 may be provided so as to be freely pivotally supported, or may be configured to be rotated by transmitting a rotational force in order to increase the breaking force.

  Then, the aligned balls are guided in two rows to the ball dispensing device 13 located on the downstream side thereof. In this case, the tip end portion 14d of the alignment passage 14 extends to the position of the ball dispensing device 13, and the upstream storage tank 12 and the downstream ball dispensing device 13 are arranged via the alignment passage 14 as shown in FIG. Are connected by the same inclined passage L linearly. Further, the ball dispensing device 13 is provided so as to be detachable from the horizontal dispensing unit 16 to facilitate maintenance and inspection inside the ball dispensing device 13.

  The above-described storage tank 12 is configured to guide a large number of stored balls P by their own weight and guide them to the downstream ball flow lower port 12a. The width direction of the side faces toward the lower ball flow port 12a. A reverse-shaped narrowed-down portion that is gradually narrowed is provided.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a top plate 22 is provided at the upper part on the downstream side of the storage tank 12. The top plate 22 can be constituted by a flat plate having a length that covers the alignment passage 14 and the upper surface of the ball dispensing device 13. At the upstream end of the top plate 22, a receiving piece (corresponding to the downstream side of the storage tank 12) that faces the upper side of the storage tank from the upper side and receives the upper layer portion of the ball P that overlaps and moves ( 23) is suspended.

  By providing this receiving piece 23, the flow of the upper layer part of the ball P in a piled state is prevented. For this reason, only the ball P of the lower layer can be caused to flow down, and thereafter, the flow rate of the number of balls can be sufficiently reduced and supplied to the downstream side. Thereby, it becomes the flow which reduced the ball pressure to the downstream, and can ensure the smooth flow suitable for supply of the ball P from the storage tank 12 to the alignment channel | path 14 side.

  In addition, since the top plate 22 is provided, the balls P supplied to the storage tank 12 jump up vigorously and reach the alignment passage 14 or the ball dispensing device 13 by being blocked by the top plate 22 so that they do not jump. And there is no risk of inducing malfunctions.

Next, the ball dispensing device 13 that performs a ball dispensing operation will be described.
The ball dispensing device 13 has a feeding portion 24 and a detecting portion 25 in this order along the same inclined passage L following the alignment passage 14 on the downstream side of the storage tank 12.

The above-mentioned feeding portion 24 has a sprocket 26 provided on the upper surface of the terminal end portion of the same inclined passage L, and the balls guided between the sprocket 26 and the same inclined passage L are discharged continuously one by one in the rotational direction. Is.
Further, the balls guided between the above-described sprocket 26 and the same inclined passage L below it are fed one by one as the sprocket 26 rotates. For this reason, a plurality of balls supplied continuously are continuously paid out without interruption.

  This sprocket 26 has semicircular concave portions and convex portions (claw portions) suitable for ball feeding on the outer peripheral surface alternately in the circumferential direction. Then, the sprocket 26 is rotated at a constant speed suitable for dispensing by the driving force of a dispensing motor (not shown). As a result, the balls P guided here are partitioned by the claw portions one by one as the sprocket 26 rotates, and are individually fed while being held by the recesses.

  The detection unit 25 described above is configured by arranging, for example, proximity sensors near the end position of the same inclined path L as the two counting sensors S corresponding to the two rows of paths for counting the balls that have been paid out. When the balls are paid out through the same inclined passage L, the counting sensor S counts the balls immediately after the passing through.

  Further, in the front stage of the ball dispensing device 13, a flat overlap prevention cover 27 that restricts the overlap of balls between the bottom surface of the same inclined passage L and the upper facing surface thereof is provided above the same inclined passage L. is doing. This overlap prevention cover 27 is a reverse-shaped flat plate provided along the same inclined passage L at a height interval allowing one ball to pass above. This overlap prevention cover 27 prevents the balls from overlapping so that the alignment just before the sprocket 26 is complete.

In addition, a ball passage restriction lever 28 for restricting the flow of balls is disposed at a position immediately before the sprocket 26 of the ball dispensing device 13. As shown in FIG. 7, the ball passage restriction lever 28 is provided by pivotally supporting the upper end portion of the ball passage restriction lever 28 on a support shaft 29 protruding from a side wall of the drive unit U <b> 2 described later. When the support shaft 29 is provided as a rotation fulcrum and the lower end portion of the lever 28 is allowed to rotate up and down and moved to the up and retracted position, there is no restriction in the same inclined passage L, so the ball P When the passage is allowed and moved downward, the same inclined passage L is closed perpendicularly to the same inclined passage L, the passage of the balls P is restricted, and the supply of the balls P to the sprocket 26 is stopped.

  The lower end portion of the ball passage restriction lever 28 is formed in an arc shape that is in surface contact with the spherical surface of the ball P and can perform a stable receiving action. Further, it also serves as a guide passage that makes it easy to discharge the ball P directly below during a ball removal operation to be described later.

On the other hand, the upper end portion of the ball passage restriction lever 28 has a fan shape, and a lower elastic locking piece 30 for elastically locating and positioning the lever 28 when the lever 28 is tilted upward is provided in the fan-shaped portion, When the lower elastic locking piece 30 corresponds to the engagement pin 31 protruding from the side wall of the drive unit U2, the ball passage restriction lever 28 is elastically held at the upward movement retracted position. Thereby, the passage of the ball is permitted and the ball is continuously supplied to the sprocket 26 .

  Similarly, an upper elastic locking piece 32 for elastically locating and positioning the lever 28 when the lever 28 is tilted downward is provided in the fan-shaped portion at the upper end of the lever. The ball passage restriction lever 28 is elastically held at the downward movement restriction position. In this case, the lower end of the lever 28 closes the same inclined passage L to restrict the passage of the balls P. In this manner, the ball flow restriction lever 28 can be tilted to either the upward movement retracting position or the downward movement restriction position, so that the ball flow can be released or stopped.

  By the way, in this ball hopper 11, as shown in FIG. 8, a ball removal mechanism for emptying the ball hopper 11 by collecting all the balls existing in the storage tank 12 and the same inclined passage L. 71 is provided. The ball removal mechanism 71 includes a slide mechanism 72 that slides the ball dispensing device 13 in the inclination direction of the same inclined passage L, and a slide operation unit 73 that causes the operator to slide the slide mechanism 72.

  When the ball dispensing device 13 is slid in the downstream direction by the ball removal mechanism 71, a ball removal opening 74 is formed between the bottom surface of the ball dispensing device 13 and the bottom surface of the same inclined passage L on the upstream side. Then, the ball is dropped directly from the same inclined passage L into the ball removal passage 75. And it is provided so that it may be balled through a balling passage 75 connected below the balling opening 74 (see FIG. 7).

  As shown in FIG. 9, the slide mechanism 72 includes a ball dispensing device 13 in which both the units U1 and U2 of the dispensing unit U1 and the drive unit U2 are connected to the left and right and integrated with the longitudinal (inclined passage) of the ball hopper 11. It is provided to allow sliding in the direction.

  When sliding, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a guide rail 76 projecting from the inner wall surface of the holding plate 15 is engaged with a guide rail 77 extending to the drive unit U2, so that the ball dispensing device 13 is engaged. The ball hopper 11 is supported so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the guide rail 77 is stably slid and guided by engaging a pair of guide protrusions 76 with the elongated holes 78 on both sides opened in series along the sliding direction. The opening length of the long hole 78 substantially corresponds to the slide length, and the guide projection 76 comes into contact with one end surface 78a of the long hole 78 and is regulated to slide.

  The ball dispensing device 13 includes a coil spring 81 stretched between a locking projection 79 protruding from the side surface of the guide rail 77 and a locking projection 80 protruding from the inner wall surface of the holding plate 15 shown in FIG. It is urged | biased by the direction which opens the doffing opening 74 by the tension | pulling effect | action. Normally, the coil spring 81 is supported in a state in which a biasing action is applied in a direction in which the ball opening 74 is opened from the closed state.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the position restriction and the position restriction release of the slide position at this time include a connecting lever 83 having a push button part 82 as a slide operation part, and a slide release mechanism for releasing the slide restriction at the ball dispensing position. 84 is executed in combination.

  As shown in FIGS. 8, 14, and 16, the connecting lever 83 extends long along the passage direction, and an intermediate shaft 85 perpendicular to the passage direction is attached to the lower portion of the top plate 22 at the middle portion of the lever. The intermediate lever 85 is attached to the tilting fulcrum so that the connecting lever 83 is allowed to tilt up and down in the form of a seesaw.

  A push button portion 82 that can be pushed with a fingertip is provided on the upper surface of the base end portion of the connecting lever 83, and the push button portion 82 projects to a push button window 86 opened on the upper surface of the top plate 22 so as to be pressed. Mounted.

  On the opposite side of the lever tip, a long and narrow lever claw 87 projects from one side of the branch and parallel, and this lever claw 87 is detachably provided on a fixed claw 88 provided in the drive unit U2. In a normal ball payout state, the lever claw 87 is caught by the fixed claw 88 and is regulated to slide. An excessive tilt restricting piece 89 protrudes from the other end of the lever branching side by side, and the excessive tilt restricting piece 89 comes into contact with the lower surface of the top plate 22 and interlocks with the pressing operation of the push button portion 82. This prevents excessive tilting when the connecting lever 83 tilts.

Next, a procedure for performing ball removal will be described.
First, the operator pushes down the ball passage restriction lever 28 with a fingertip, and moves the lower end portion of the ball passage restriction lever 28 to the downward movement restriction position. Thereby, the lower end portion of the ball passage restriction lever 28 is orthogonal to the same inclined passage L, restricts the passage of the ball flowing through the same inclined passage L, and temporarily stops the flow of the ball P from the upstream side.

  After the passage is closed, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 17, when the operation button portion 82 exposed on the upper surface of the connecting lever 83 is pressed with a fingertip, the lever claw 87 as the slide release mechanism 84 is fixed to the fixing claw 88. More off. Based on this slide release operation, the ball dispensing device 13 slides in the downstream direction from the ball dispensing position to the ball removal position, and a ball removal opening 74 is opened at the bottom of the passage. As soon as the bead opening 74 is opened, the beading operation is started.

  In this case, in order to remove the ball P from the restricted passage state of the balls P, the balls connected on the same inclined passage L are dropped directly below the inclined direction, for example, an air bridge is formed in the inclined direction by the pressure applied to the inclined direction. It is difficult to do. However, when the ball dispensing device 13 is slid, the position restriction in the tilt direction is instantaneously released, and the pressure between the balls in the tilt direction can be released. For this reason, dropping resistance can be eliminated and the ball P can be dropped naturally by its own weight.

  Further, when the ball opening portion 74 is opened, the ball passage restriction lever 28 faces the ball opening portion 74, and the ball that flows down can be smoothly dropped by changing the direction from the inclined direction to directly below.

After this ball removal, the balls roll on the inclined surface of the same inclined passage L from the upstream side to the downstream side, and thereafter the ball is naturally extracted.
In addition, even if one or two balls P remain on the sprocket 26 of the ball dispensing device 13 positioned downstream from the ball opening 74, an operation knob 90 that protrudes outside the dispensing unit U1. If the operator performs a turning operation, the sprocket 26 guides the ball to the opening 74 and can completely discharge it.

  When all the balls are collected by the ball hopper 11, the operator grasps the ball dispensing device 13 and slides it backwards so as to push it back to the position before the slide. Returning to the position, at this time, the lever claw 87 engages with the fixing claw 88 and the position is restricted, and at the same time, the doffing opening 74 is closed. Thereafter, when the ball passage restricting lever 28 is pulled up to the up and retracted position, the same inclined passage L is opened again, the ball flows, and the ball is supplied to the ball dispensing device 13 on the downstream side for the next ball dispensing. Provided.

  Next, a rotation type ball removing structure that opens only the ball dispensing opening 74 by rotating only a part of the dispensing unit U1 without sliding the ball dispensing apparatus 13 will be described. Only the portion that is rotated and beaded out differs from the first embodiment, and the other structures are the same, so only the different portions will be described. Moreover, about the structure similar to Example 1, description is abbreviate | omitted using the same code | symbol.

  First, as shown in FIG. 18, the turned-out dispensing unit U1 is integrally unitized by incorporating the sprocket 26 and the counting sensor S in the dispensing casing 91. The payout unit U1 is detached from the drive unit U2 and integrally connected so as to be divided. Further, the payout unit U1 is provided so as to be rotatable in a state of being connected to the drive unit U2.

  The sprocket 26 built in the payout unit U1 is supported at one end portion of the rotary shaft 92, the rotary shaft 92 of which is pivotally supported so as to penetrate the payout casing 91 in the passage width direction and protrudes outward of the payout casing 91. Is extended for connection to the drive unit U2, and the other end is extended to the attachment portion of the operation knob 90 for manual rotation.

  When connecting and positioning the units U1 and U2, the side wall surface of the drive unit U2 is used as a mounting reference surface 93 for positioning the dispensing unit U1 in a plane, and a shaft hole for driving transmission is provided in the mounting reference surface 93. 94 is opened. When connecting the payout unit U1 to the drive unit U2, the rotary shaft 92 having the detent key surface 95 of the payout unit U1 is inserted into the shaft hole 94, and when the insertion is completed, the payout unit U1 The side wall surface of the dispensing casing 91 corresponds to the mounting reference surface 93 of the drive unit U2, and the height, passage direction, and width direction in the connecting direction between the units U1 and U2 are positioned.

  Next, when positioning the dispensing unit U1 in the circumferential direction, a positioning pin 96 protrudes from the mounting reference surface 93 above the shaft hole 94, and the dispensing unit U1 is rotated in the ball dispensing direction (right in the figure). When the first pin-corresponding recess 97 for ball payout positioning projecting from the upper portion of the payout unit U1 is fitted to the positioning pin 96 in the circumferential direction, the payout unit is prevented from rotating at that position. U1 is positioned at the ball dispensing position in the circumferential direction.

  In this circumferential positioning operation, the rotation shaft 92 and the shaft hole 94 have already determined the alignment between the units U1 and U2 other than the circumferential direction. If it is rotated in the pin-corresponding direction along 93, circumferential positioning can be performed. When the first pin-corresponding recess 97 is fitted to the positioning pin 96, the circumferential positioning is completed.

  Furthermore, the upper part of the payout unit U1 has a second pin-corresponding concave portion 98 for positioning the ballout, and the payout unit U1 is rotated in the ballout direction (left rotation in the figure) to correspond to the second pin. When the concave portion 98 rotates in the same direction and is fitted to the positioning pin 96, it is prevented from rotating at that position, and the payout unit U1 is positioned at the ball removal position in the circumferential direction. At this time, a bead opening portion 74 having a space in which a ball can be dropped is opened between the bottom surface of the alignment passage 14 and the bottom surface of the inclined passage of the dispensing unit U1.

  Thus, the payout unit U1 has a rotation mechanism that is rotated in a rotation range in which the first pin-corresponding recess 97 and the second pin-corresponding recess 98 are prevented from rotating around the positioning pin 96 during rotation. Normally, the payout unit U1 is positioned in the first pin-corresponding concave portion 97, and the mounting position thereof is detachably fixed by a unit connecting lever 99 as a lock mechanism.

  As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the unit connecting lever 99 is pivotally supported by a support shaft 100 protruding from the mounting reference surface 93 so that the base end portion of the lever 99 can be tilted freely in the vertical direction. . Then, an elongated arc-shaped elastic engagement piece 101 is formed on the free end side provided to freely tilt, and the elastic engagement piece 101 is formed on the outer arc surface of the first pin corresponding recess 97. By providing the unit 102 so as to be freely disengaged, the two units U1 and U2 are integrally connected to each other when they are locked together.

  When the unit connecting lever 99 is pulled upward with the support shaft 100 as the tilting fulcrum, the engagement between the locking step portion 102 and the elastic engagement piece 101 is released, and the payout unit U1 is allowed to be detached.

Next, a procedure for performing ball removal will be described.
Prior to ball removal, the ball passage restriction lever 28 is pushed down to the downward movement restriction position to close the same inclined passage L. Thereby, the flow of the ball P from the upstream side is once restricted.

  Subsequently, the unit connection lever 99 is moved up and retracted to unlock the payout unit U1. As a result, the payout unit U1 is disengaged from the drive unit U2 and is allowed to rotate. An operator grasps the dispensing unit U1 that is allowed to rotate, and rotates the dispensing unit U1 in the ball removing direction.

  At this time, after the payout unit U1 is released from the circumferential fitting correspondence between the positioning pin 96 and the pin-corresponding recess 97, the payout unit U1 rotates in the ball removing direction, and the positioning pin 96 and the second pin-corresponding recess. The rotation stops at the doffing position corresponding to 98.

  Finally, when the operator pushes up the ball passage restriction lever 28 and moves it up and down, the flow restriction of the balls P is released and the ball is placed between the bottom surface of the alignment passage 14 and the bottom surface of the inclined passage of the dispensing unit U1. Can be opened, and the ball P can be continuously discharged from the bead opening 74 to be removed.

In correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the configuration of the above-described embodiment,
The rotating body of the present invention corresponds to the sprocket 26 of the embodiment,
Similarly,
The biasing mechanism corresponds to the coil spring 81,
Although the ball passage restriction member corresponds to the ball passage restriction lever 28, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and can be applied based on the technical idea described in the claims, Many embodiments can be obtained.

The principal part rear view of the pachinko machine provided with the ball hopper of Example 1. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a ball hopper of Example 1. FIG. The perspective view which shows the ball hopper of Example 1. FIG. The perspective view which shows the flow of the ball in the storage tank of Example 1. FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a ball hopper according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the ball paying-out state of the ball hopper of Example 1. FIG. The principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the ball removal state of the ball hopper of Example 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially exploded perspective view showing a ball removing mechanism incorporated in the ball hopper of the first embodiment. The principal part disassembled perspective view which shows the ball removal mechanism integrated in the ball hopper of Example 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a relationship between a holding plate and a slide mechanism according to the first embodiment. The perspective view which shows the relationship between the ball paying-out apparatus of Example 1, and a slide mechanism. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a state where the coil spring and the guide rail according to the first embodiment are locked. The principal part expansion perspective view which shows the latching state of the coil spring and holding plate of Example 1. FIG. The principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the control state of the slide cancellation | release mechanism of Example 1. FIG. The principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the cancellation | release state of the slide cancellation | release mechanism of Example 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part showing a restricted state of the slide release mechanism according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part showing a release state of the slide release mechanism according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part showing a rotating type beading structure according to a second embodiment. The principal part perspective view which shows the rotation type bead removal state of Example 2. FIG. The principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the rotation type bead removal state of Example 2. FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Ball hopper 13 ... Ball dispensing device 71 ... Ball removal mechanism 74 ... Ball removal opening U1 ... Dispensing unit L ... Same inclination passage

Claims (4)

A storage tank for storing a large number of balls;
An alignment passage extending from the storage tank and aligned while rolling balls stored in the storage tank by their own weight;
A ball dispensing device that dispenses balls that have flowed down from the alignment passages to the downstream side by rotational feed of a rotating body;
A ball hopper provided with a ball removal mechanism for forming a ball extraction opening between the ball dispensing device and the alignment passage and discharging the ball to the ball removal passage,
The ball removal mechanism forms the ball removal opening by sliding the ball dispensing device from a ball dispensing position for dispensing balls downstream to a ball extraction position for performing ball extraction in the storage tank and the alignment passage. ,
The ball dispensing device has a ball passage on the upstream side of the rotating body that can be switched between a retreat position that allows passage of the ball to the rotating body and a ball passage restriction position that restricts passage of the ball to the rotating body. With a regulating member,
During ball ejecting, in a state in which the ball passes through the regulating member is switched to the ball passing regulating position from the retracted position, by causing the slide to the ball vent position the ball dispensing apparatus from said ball dispensing position, the ball passed regulations ball hopper member, characterized in that to guide the ball to the ball vent passage through said ball vent opening. The ball hopper according to claim 1, further comprising a slide operation unit that slides the ball dispensing device in an inclination direction of the alignment passage. The slide operation unit receives an operation force of an operator, and
A slide release mechanism that releases the slide restriction at the ball dispensing position of the ball dispensing device when the operation unit receives an operation force;
The ball hopper according to claim 2, further comprising an urging mechanism that slides the ball dispensing device from a ball dispensing position to a ball removal position in conjunction with a slide releasing operation of the slide releasing mechanism. The ball hopper according to claim 1, wherein a lower end portion of the ball passage restriction member is formed in an arc shape.

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