JP4731533B2 - Pachinko machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a pachinko gaming machine, and is particularly suitable for detecting the origin position of a movable decorative body arranged on a game board surface.

In the pachinko machine, various board parts such as a prize opening, a windmill, a symbol display device, and an electrical decoration device are provided on the board surface of the game board in order to diversify the game contents. For example, the stage effect has been enhanced by moving and deforming a movable panel surface component such as a movable decorative body in various directions and modes triggered by winnings during the game and other changes in the situation.
By the way, in driving the movable decorative body as described above, it is important to accurately control the position of the movable body provided in the movable decorative body in order to enhance the effect.
For this reason, in a movable decorative body that can move up and down with respect to the board surface, sensors are placed at the start and end positions of the movable body that is actually movable, and the movable body is detected by which sensor when the power is turned on. The position of the movable body is grasped according to whether it has been done, and is returned to the original position.
Patent Document 1 discloses a pachinko gaming machine in which a rotational position such as an origin position of a rotating decorative member is determined by output signals of two sensors.
JP 2006-198177 A (FIG. 8)

However, when configured as described in Patent Document 1, two sensors are required for position control of the movable body, and thus there is a problem in that component costs, manufacturing costs, and software costs increase.
Thus, for example, it is conceivable to control the position of the movable body by detecting the origin position of the movable body provided on the movable decorative body with one sensor.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a method for detecting the origin position of the movable body by one sensor. Here, a case where the origin position of a movable body that can move up and down is detected will be described as an example.
In FIG. 12, 201 is a light shielding plate provided on a movable body (not shown), 202 is a sensor, 202 a is a light emitting unit 202 ab of the sensor 202, and a light receiving unit of the sensor 202.
As shown in FIG. 12, when the light shielding plate 201 provided on the movable body is away from the sensor 202, for example, at the highest position, the light receiving unit 202b of the sensor 202 receives light from the light emitting unit 202a. It is in. When the light-shielding plate 201 is lowered from this state, the light-shielding plate 201 shields light between the light-emitting portion 202a and the light-receiving portion 202b of the sensor 202, and the sensor 202 enters a light-shielding state. In this case, even when the movable body is lowered to the lowest position, the sensor 202 remains in the light-shielded state where the light is shielded by the light-shielding plate 201. When the movable body rises from this state, the sensor 202 changes from the light shielding state to the light receiving state. Therefore, for example, if the origin position of the movable body is determined based on the timing at which the sensor 202 changes from the light receiving state to the light shielding state, the origin of the movable body can be detected by one sensor.

However, in the origin position detection method shown in FIG. 12, the light shielding plate 201 is lowered too much for some reason as shown in FIG. 13, and the sensor 202 changes from the light shielding state to the light receiving state at the lowest lowered position. Then, the sensor 202 is switched from the light receiving state to the light shielding state while the movable body is rising from the lowest position. Therefore, when the origin position is determined based on the timing when the sensor 202 is changed from the light receiving state to the light shielding state as described above, there is a problem that the origin position is erroneously detected. That is, in the pachinko gaming machine, if the number of sensors of the movable decorative body is reduced in order to reduce the size and cost, the origin position of the movable body may be erroneously detected.
The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a pachinko gaming machine capable of accurately detecting the origin position of a movable body while reducing the size and cost of the movable decoration device. To do.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 1 is a pachinko gaming machine including a movable decoration body supported by a support member fixed to a game board and movable in the vertical direction. A driving mechanism that drives at different speeds in the direction; a sensor that includes a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit that receives light emitted from the light-emitting unit; and the movable decorative body. Based on a light shielding member that shields light emitted from the light emitting part of the sensor to the light receiving part, and a light shielding time during which the sensor is shielded by the light shielding member, the movement direction of the movable decorative body is determined, and the movable decorative body Control means for performing origin detection control for detecting the origin position of the movable decorative body when it is determined that the moving direction is a predetermined direction.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the pachinko gaming machine according to the first aspect, the driving mechanism includes a single motor, a gear group that transmits a driving force from the motor, and a rotational drive by the gear group. And an arm that makes one end abut against the cam and swings by engaging the other end with the main movable body.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the pachinko gaming machine according to the first or second aspect, the light shielding member is composed of a plurality of light shielding pieces having different lengths .

  According to the present invention, based on the light blocking time during which the sensor is shielded by the light blocking member provided on the movable decorative body, it is determined whether the movable body of the movable decorative body is falling or rising, and the determination result is Based on this, the origin position of the movable decorative body is controlled. For example, even when the movable body is lowered for some reason, the origin is detected erroneously when the movable body is raised. Can be prevented. As a result, the number of sensors for detecting the origin of the movable decorative body is reduced from the conventional two to one to reduce the size and cost of the movable decorative body and accurately detect the origin position of the movable body. It becomes possible.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall front view showing a configuration example of a pachinko gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The pachinko gaming machine 1 has a rectangular frame 2, and a game board 3 is detachably attached to a window hole of the frame 2 from the back side.
A glass frame (not shown) is attached to the front side of the game board 3 so as to be opened and closed. A lower part of the game board 3 is provided with a tray part 4 for storing game balls, a launch lever 5 for launching game balls in the tray part 4 and the like. Further, a button switch for a gaming machine, a purchase button for a game ball, and a purchase cancellation button are provided on the upper portion of the tray portion 4.
On the back of the game board 3, a synthetic resin mechanism board (none of which is shown in the figure) is attached to the back of the game board 3 with back parts related to the progress and production of the game, such as a liquid crystal screen, main control board and sub control board Has been. Around the game area 3a of the game board 3, an outer rail R1 for guiding a game ball launched from the launch device by operating the launch lever 5 to the upper part of the game area 3a, or guiding it to the out port 15, and An inner rail R2 is provided.

A center member 7 having an opening at the center is disposed at a substantially central portion of the game board 3. A symbol display device 9 is arranged inside the center member 7. The symbol display device 9 is constituted by, for example, a liquid crystal display panel such as a liquid crystal display device, and displays a special symbol image (not shown) in the normal operation state. In the so-called special game state, an effect image indicating the special game state is displayed.
A movable decorative body 31 that is a movable panel surface component is provided in the movable decorative body installation region 7 a provided in the upper center of the center member 7. In this example, the movable decorative body 31 is a model of the face and body of a black beard that is a gimmick involved in the progress of the game.
Below the center member 7, a variable winning device 11 for variably displaying the special symbol of the symbol display device 9 is provided. Further, on the left side of the center member 7, a gate 12 is provided for operating a normal symbol displayed on the normal symbol display device 10 disposed in the lower right portion of the game board. Further, below the variable winning device 11, there is provided a large winning opening 13 having an open / close door that is opened in a big hit state which is one of the special gaming states.
The variable winning device 11 includes an upper start pocket 14 for variably displaying the symbol display device 9 and an electric tulip having a pair of left and right open / close claws (movable pieces).

The game board 3 is provided with a normal winning port 16, an out port 15, and the like, and a windmill and a number of game nails (not shown) are provided in a protruding manner. The game nail slows down the falling speed of the game ball and changes the falling direction in a complicated manner to enhance the interest in game progression.
The normal symbol displayed on the normal symbol display device 10 can variably display one or a plurality of symbols, and the symbol is a random number on the condition that the gate 12 as a normal symbol start port detects a game ball. It is variable and stopped for a predetermined time by control or the like.
As a normal symbol, a numerical symbol, an alphabet symbol, a character symbol, and other appropriate game symbols are used. Then, when the normal symbol becomes a predetermined mode by random number control on the condition that the game ball has passed through the gate 12, the movable piece made of the electric tulip provided in the variable winning device 11 is opened for a predetermined time. It is configured as follows.
The special symbol displayed on the symbol display device 9 is configured to be in a big hit state when the stop symbol is a predetermined symbol combination, for example, the same symbol combination. In addition, the special symbol is provided on the condition that the winning of the game ball is detected at the lower starting port (not shown) through which the game ball is guided by the opening operation of the upper starting pocket 14 of the variable winning device 11 or the electric tulip. The display is scrolled by a random number control or the like, and is varied (variable) for a predetermined time with a predetermined variation pattern and stopped at the symbol. At that time, when two stop symbols become the same on the active line, a reach state occurs, and in this reach state, the last stop symbol on the active line is already stopped. A jackpot condition occurs when they are the same. In addition, as a special symbol, a numerical symbol, an alphabet symbol, a character symbol, etc. can be used.

2 (a), (b) and (c) are front views of relevant parts for explaining the operation pattern of the movable decorative body, and FIG. 3 is an exploded side view showing the support member and the movable decorative body unit. 4 (a), (b), and (c) are a longitudinal sectional view, a rear view, and a rear perspective view showing the assembled state of the movable decorative body and the support member at the highest position, and FIG. FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are a longitudinal sectional view, a rear view, and a rear perspective view showing the assembled state of the movable decorative body and the support member at the lowest position. ) Is a diagram showing the state of the drive mechanism according to the three positions of the movable decorative body, and FIG. 7 is a rear view of the movable decorative body unit.
The movable decorative body unit 40 includes a movable decorative body 31 that is shaped like a black-beard face (main movable body) 32 and a trunk (secondary movable body) 35, and a drive mechanism 50 for driving the movable decorative body 31. And.
The movable decorative body 31 is supported in a vertically movable state by a support member 60 disposed on the back side of the center member 7. Specifically, the movable decorative body 31 is in the intermediate height position (initial position) shown in FIG. 2A in the non-operating state, while the drive mechanism 50 is driven during operation (b). After descending to the lowest position shown in (1), it immediately rises (jumps) to the highest position shown in (c). Then, it returns to the initial position shown in (a) and stops.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the movable decorative body 31 includes a face part (main movable body) 32 including the head and a body part (secondary movable body) supported by the back side of the face part 32 so as to be movable up and down. 35. While the face portion 32 is disposed on the front surface of the support member 60, a guided piece 32 a protruding from the back surface of the face portion 32 is protruded rearward through a guide slit 61 provided on the support member 60. . A detected member (light-shielding plate) 71 detected by a sensor 70 made of a photo interrupter is fixed to the end of the guided piece 32a. The sensor 70 is configured in a substantially U-shape, and a light emitting unit 70a and a light receiving unit 70b are arranged to face each other on the inner side surface.
The face part 32 supports the body part 35 so that it can be moved up and down by fitting a guide pin 32 b projecting from the back face into a long hole 35 a provided in the body part 35. The trunk | drum 35 is supported so that it may descend | fall by own weight.

When the face portion 32 is at the highest position shown in FIGS. 2C and 4, the body portion 35 is lowered by its own weight and protrudes downward from the lower end portion of the face portion 32. In this state, not only the face portion but also the trunk portion is visible from the front.
When the face portion 32 is at the lowest position shown in FIGS. 2B and 5, the body portion 35 is concealed on the back side of the face portion 32, and the body portion cannot be viewed from the front.
Each operation of the face portion and the trunk portion during the raising / lowering operation of the movable decorative body 31 can be realized by the first restriction member 62 and the second restriction member 63 provided on the support member 60.
That is, the support member 60 includes a first restricting member 62 that defines an upper limit position of the torso 35 when the face 32 is at the highest position, and a face of the torso 35 when the face 32 is at the lowest position. And a second restricting member 63 that raises the relative height position to 32.
The first restricting member 62 is a protruding piece that protrudes forward from a predetermined position along the movement path of the body portion 35, and is in contact with the upper portion of the body portion 35 when the face portion 32 is at the highest position shown in FIG. By touching, the body part 35 is surely shifted to a state where it droops, and the posture of the body part 35 protruding downward from the face part 32 is corrected so as not to tilt.
The second restricting member 63 is a protruding piece that protrudes forward from a predetermined position along the movement path of the torso 35, and when the face 32 is at the lowest lowered position shown in FIG. By abutting, the body part is surely pushed into the back side of the face part and concealed.
Since the movable decorative body 31 is disposed behind the front plate 66 provided on the front surface of the support member, a part of the face is concealed by the front plate 66 in the lowered state of FIG.

Next, the relationship between the raising / lowering operation of the movable decorative body and the drive mechanism (operation of the movable decorative body unit) will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, each left figure of FIG. 6 (a) (b) and (c) is a front view of a movable decoration body unit, and each right figure is a perspective view.
6A shows a state in which the movable decorative body 31 is in the initial position shown in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 6B shows the lowermost position in which the movable decorative body is shown in FIG. 6 (c) shows a state in which the movable decorative body is at the highest position shown in FIG. 2 (c).
The drive mechanism 50 disposed on the back side of the support member 60 is integrated with a motor 51, gears (gear groups) 53 and 54 that sequentially mesh with the output gear 52 of the motor 51, and a small gear 55 that meshes with the gear 54. And an arm 57 pivotally supported by a shaft 65 provided on the support member 60 so as to be swingable in the vertical direction. The arm 57 has one end 57a that functions as a cam follower and the other end 57b that engages the back side of the face 32. The one end portion 57a is always in contact with the outer peripheral surface (cam surface) 56a of the cam 56, and is configured to be in sliding contact with the cam surface 56a when the cam 56 rotates. The face portion 32 (or the arm 57) is always urged upward by the elastic member 58, and the one end portion 57 a of the arm 57 is always pressed against the cam surface 56 a of the cam 56 by the urging force of the elastic member 58.

As shown in FIG. 7, an elongated hole 57c is formed in the other end portion 57b of the arm 57, and a pin 36 protruding from an appropriate position on the back surface of the face portion 32 is loosely fitted in the elongated hole 57c.
The cam surface 56a of the cam 56 includes a curved surface portion 56a-1 in which the distance from the central axis 55a of the small gear 55 increases in a curved manner, a step portion 56a-2 provided at the end portion of the curved surface portion 56a-1, 6A, the motor 51 is stopped when the movable decorative body is in the initial position as shown in FIG. 6A, and the one end 57a of the arm is connected to the cam surface 56a by the urging force of the elastic member 58. The curved surface portion 56a-1 is kept in contact with the vicinity of the starting end portion. For this reason, the other end portion 57b of the arm is at the intermediate height position, and the movable decorative body 31 is held at the intermediate height position. At this time, the face 32 is visible from the front of the game board, but the body 35 is concealed by the front plate 66.

  When the motor 51 starts to rotate in the forward direction, the driving force is sequentially transmitted to the gears 52, 53, 54, and 55 as shown in FIG. 6B, and the cam 56 rotates in the direction of the arrow. The part 57a moves relatively toward the end part of the curved surface part 56a-1. As shown in the figure, when the one end 57a of the arm is positioned at the terminal end of the curved surface portion 56a-1 (immediately before the stepped portion 56a-2), the other end 57b of the arm is at the lowest lowered position. Lowers to the lowest position. In the process in which the face portion 32 constituting the movable decorative body is lowered to the lowest lowered position by the other end portion 57b of the arm 57, the lowering range of the body portion 35 is restricted by the second restricting member 63. The height of the relative height of the face portion 32 rises and is concealed on the back side of the face portion 32 (FIGS. 2B and 5).

When the arm swings, the pin 36 loosely fitted in the elongated hole 57c moves in the elongated hole, so that the face pressing operation by the other end of the arm becomes smooth.
When the motor 51 further rotates in the forward direction by a predetermined angle, the cam 56 further rotates in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. 6C, so that the one end portion 57a of the arm gets over the step portion 56a-2 and the elastic member 58 It falls on the starting end of the curved surface portion 56a-1 by the restoring force. As shown in the drawing, when the one end portion 57a of the arm is positioned on the starting end portion of the curved surface portion 56a-2, the other end portion 57b of the arm is in the highest position, so that the movable decorative body 31 reaches the highest position. When the face portion 32 constituting the movable decorative body is pushed up to the highest position by the other end portion 57b of the arm 57, the body portion 35 is projected downward from the face portion 32 by its own weight and is visible from the front of the game board. It becomes a state (FIG. 2 (c), FIG. 4). At this time, since the upper range of the upper portion of the trunk portion 35 is regulated by the first regulating member 62, the upper portion of the trunk portion 35 can reliably project downward from the lower end portion of the trunk portion 35. Even if the trunk portion 35 is caught by the peripheral member, the projecting posture is correctly corrected by the first restricting member 62.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the movable decorative body 31 is at the highest position, the sensor 70 at the fixed position does not detect the detected member (light-shielding plate) 71 integrated with the movable decorative body 31. In this state, when a control signal for driving the motor 51 is output from the control means to be described later, the motor 51 rotates in the forward rotation direction and starts to move down the movable decorative body 31 by the arm 57 against the elastic member 58. Let When the detected member 71 integrated with the face portion 32 constituting the movable decorative body 31 reaches the sensor 70 as shown in FIG. 5, the control means stops the driving of the motor 51 by the detection signal output from the sensor 70. The movable decorative body 31 is pulled up by a predetermined distance by the force of the elastic member 58 and maintains the stopped state in the initial state of FIG.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the face 32 as the main movable body and the trunk 35 as the secondary movable body are separate members, and the trunk 35 is suspended by the face 32 so as to be movable up and down. Therefore, the entire movable decorative body 31 can be moved up and down only by moving up and down only the face part 32. While the face part 32 is lowered, the body part 35 is retracted to the back side of the face part 32, In the state where the face part 32 is raised to the highest position, the body part 35 protrudes downward from the lower edge of the face part. Since it comprised in this way, by setting the vertical dimension of the movable decoration body installation area | region 7a slightly larger than the vertical dimension of the face part 32 (only the height dimension of a trunk | drum), the face part 32 will be in an initial position. At some time and when it is in the lowest position, the torso 35 is concealed by the face 32 and the front plate 66 and cannot be seen from the front, but when the face 32 is raised, the torso 35 protrudes below the face 32, And since it moves above the front plate 66, it can be visually recognized from the front.

As described above, the movable decorative body unit 40 of the present embodiment is configured such that the driving force of the motor 51 is transmitted to the movable decorative body 31 via the cam 56, and the motor 51 rotates in the forward rotation direction. When the amount of rotation 51 reaches a predetermined amount, the elastic force of the elastic member 58 accumulated by the cam mechanism is released and the face portion 32 pops out.
In the present embodiment, in order to detect the origin position of the movable decorative body 31, a light shielding plate 71 and a sensor 70 fixed to the back side of the face 32 of the movable decorative body 31 as shown in FIGS. Thus, the origin position of the movable decorative body 31 is accurately detected.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a method for detecting the origin position by the sensor of the present embodiment, where (a) is a diagram showing the relationship between the position of the light shielding plate and the detection output of the sensor, and (b) is output from the sensor. It is the figure which showed an example of the detection output.
As shown in FIG. 8A, when the light shielding plate 71 fixed to the face 32 of the movable decorative body 31 is at a position away from the sensor 70 (for example, the highest position), that is, the face of the movable decorative body 31. When 32 is at the most protruding position, the light receiving unit 70b of the sensor 70 is in a light receiving state in which light from the light emitting unit 70a is received. When the motor rotates in the forward rotation direction from this state and the face portion 32 is lowered, the light shielding plate 71 is lowered accordingly. As a result, the space between the light emitting portion 70a and the light receiving portion 70b of the sensor 70 is shielded by the light shielding plate 71, and the sensor 70 enters a light shielding state. When the motor further rotates in the forward direction from this state, the face 32 further descends and reaches the lowest position.
Here, for example, it is assumed that the light shielding plate 71 is lowered too much at the lowest position for some reason, and the sensor 70 changes from the light shielding state to the light receiving state. In this state, it is assumed that the elastic force accumulated by the cam 56 is released and the face 32 pops out vigorously. Then, in this case, the sensor 70 is changed from the light receiving state to the light shielding state while the face portion 32 jumps out vigorously. For this reason, when the origin position is obtained based on the timing when the sensor 70 changes from the light receiving state to the light shielding state, the origin position may be erroneously detected.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, focusing on the difference in moving speed between when the face portion 32 of the movable decorative body 31 descends and when the face portion 32 of the movable decorative body 31 rises, Using the difference in moving speed, it is determined whether the face portion 32 is in the lowered state or the raised state, and the origin of the movable decorative body 31 is detected only when the face portion 32 of the movable decorative body 31 is lowered. I did it. That is, the lowering of the face 32 of the movable decorative body 31 is performed by the driving force of the motor 51 transmitted through the cam 56. On the other hand, since the rising of the face 32 is performed by the elastic force of the elastic member 58, the rising speed of the face 32 is remarkably faster than the descending speed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8B, the low signal (L signal) indicating the light receiving state and the high signal (H signal) indicating the light shielding state output from the sensor 70 at the time of descending are expressed as “... LLHHHHLLLL. ”, The signal output from the sensor 70 at the time of rising is“... LLHLLL... ”, And the time (period) for outputting the H signal is longer at the time of lowering. The detection operation of the sensor 70 is performed every 2 ms to 5 ms. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is determined whether the face portion 32 of the movable decorative body 31 is descending or ascending from the length of the H signal output from the sensor 70.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a game control device that performs game control of the pachinko gaming machine according to the present embodiment.
The game control device shown in FIG. 9 is provided with a game control board 111 that controls the progress of the game as a main control board, and an effect control that controls the effects of the game as a sub control board. A board 120, a lamp control board 141, a prize ball control board 151 for controlling prize balls, and the like are provided.
The game control board 111 includes a CPU 112, a ROM 113, a RAM 114, and input / output interfaces (hereinafter referred to as “I / O”) 115, 116, and performs main control of the pachinko gaming machine. The I / O 115 of the game control board 111 includes an upper start SW 14 a provided in the upper start pocket 14 of the variable winning device 11, a lower start SW 14 b provided in a lower start port (not shown), and a start gate 12 on the game board 3. A start gate SW12a is connected. Also, the normal winning openings SW16a and 16b provided at the normal winning opening 16 of the game board 3, the large winning opening SW13a provided at the large winning opening 13, and the large winning opening for opening and closing the opening / closing doors of the large winning opening 13, respectively. A solenoid 13b, a start opening solenoid 17a for opening and closing the electric tulip 17 provided in the variable winning device 11 and the like are connected.
On the other hand, the I / O 116 of the game control board 111 is connected to the I / O 125 provided in the effect control unit 121 of the effect control board 120 and the I / O 155 of the prize ball control board 151.

The effect control board 120 includes an effect control unit 121 and an image / sound control unit 131. The effect control unit 121 includes a CPU 122, a ROM 123, a RAM 124, and I / Os 125, 126, and 127, and controls the entire effect. The I / O 126 of the effect control unit 121 is connected to the I / O 135 of the image / sound control unit 131, and the I / O 127 is connected to the I / O 145 of the lamp control board 141.
The image / sound control unit 131 includes a CPU 132, a ROM 133, a RAM 134, and I / Os 135 and 136, and controls images and sounds. The I / O 136 of the image / sound control unit 131 is connected to a speaker (not shown), the symbol display device 9, and the normal symbol display device 10.
The ROM 133 of the image / sound control unit 131 stores image data to be displayed on the display screen 9 a of the symbol display device 9.

The lamp control board 141 includes a CPU 142, ROM 143, RAM 144, I / O 145, and 146, and various lamps connected to the I / O 146, for example, a panel lamp 147 including an illumination display 21, a front frame lamp 148, a side The lamp 149 and the like are controlled. The lamp control board 141 controls the movable decorative body unit 40 and also controls the origin position of the movable decorative body 31 constituting the movable decorative body unit 40 based on the detection output of the sensor 70.
The prize ball control board 151 includes a CPU 152, a ROM 153, a RAM 154, and I / O 155 and 156, and controls the drive of the payout drive motor 157 connected to the I / O 156 based on a control signal from the game control board 111. Do. Further, a fixed position detection SW 158a, a payout ball detection SW 158b, a ball presence detection SW 158c, a full tank detection SW 158d, and the like are connected to the I / O 156.

Next, a method for detecting the origin of the movable decorative body in the pachinko gaming machine according to the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating processing executed by the game control device when performing origin detection processing in the pachinko gaming machine according to the present embodiment. Note that the processing shown in FIG. 10 is realized by the CPU 142 of the lamp control board 141 executing a program stored in the ROM 143. Note that the origin detection process described below is performed, for example, every 2 ms to 5 ms.
In this case, the CPU 142 of the lamp control board 141 determines whether or not the sensor 70 is turned on in step S1, and if it is determined that the sensor 70 is turned on, that is, if the sensor 70 is in a light shielding state, Proceeding to step S2, high data (H data) is set in a memory area on the RAM 144. On the other hand, if it is determined that the sensor 70 is not turned on, the process proceeds to step S3, and low data (L data) is set in the memory area on the RAM 144.

In the subsequent step S4, the H data set in step S2 or the L data set in step S3 is accumulated while shifting to the memory area. In step S5, it is determined from the motor control signal for controlling the motor 51 whether or not the rotation direction of the motor 51 is the normal rotation direction. If the rotation direction of the motor is the normal rotation direction ("Y in S5" In step S6, the number of consecutive H data in the accumulated data is counted. If the number of H data is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (“Y” in S6), origin detection is performed in subsequent step S7. That is, it is determined that the face 32 of the movable decorative body 31 is descending, and origin detection processing is performed. Here, in the origin detection process, for example, when the accumulated data is switched from “L” to “H”, or after the accumulated data is switched from “L” to “H”, several “H” data are obtained. Processing is performed with the given timing as the origin position.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that the rotation direction of the motor is not the normal rotation direction, or if it is determined in step S6 that the number of H data is equal to or less than the predetermined number, the process is terminated without performing the origin detection process. To do.

  As described above, in the pachinko gaming machine according to the present embodiment, whether the face 32 is descending or rising from the length of the on-time of the sensor 70 by the light shielding plate 71 fixed to the face 32 of the movable decorative body 31. Since the discrimination is performed and the origin position of the movable decorative body 31 is controlled based on the discrimination result, for example, when the face 32 is lowered too much for some reason, the face 32 is raised. It is possible to prevent an erroneous origin detection when the user is in the middle. Therefore, according to the pachinko machine of the present embodiment, the number of sensors for detecting the origin of the movable decorative body 31 is reduced from two to one to reduce the size and cost of the movable decorative body 31. Even in the case of the drawing, the origin position of the face portion 32 can be accurately detected.

  In the present embodiment described above, the rotation direction of the motor 51 is determined from the motor control signal. However, the rotation direction of the motor 51 can also be determined from the detection output of the sensor 70. For example, as shown in FIG. 11A, a notch is provided in the light shielding plate 71 fixed to the back of the face 32 of the movable decorative body 31, and the light shielding plate 71 is formed into two light shielding plates 71a and 71b having different lengths. By dividing, as shown in FIG. 11B, the detected waveform obtained when the motor 51 rotates in the forward direction and when the motor 51 rotates in the reverse direction is different. Therefore, the rotation direction of the motor 51 can be determined from the detected waveform. It is. If the rotation direction of the motor 51 is obtained from the detection output of the sensor 70 in this way, the origin detection can be accurately performed only by the detection output of the sensor 70.

  In addition, as a method of returning the movable body of the movable decorative body to the origin position, for example, it may be possible to return to the origin position by using a stepping motor whose rotation angle can be controlled by the number of steps, but the stepping motor was used. In this case, the movable body may deviate from the original position due to a number of factors, such as differences in rotation angle due to molding errors of the movable decorative body, differences in rotation angle due to improper assembly, differences in individual manufacturing of the rotating gear, and backlash of the rotating gear. Therefore, the method using the position detection by the sensor as the origin as in the present invention is suitable.

It is the whole front view showing the example of composition of the pachinko gaming machine concerning one embodiment of the present invention. (A) (b) And (c) is a principal part front view for demonstrating the operation | movement pattern of the movable decoration body which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. (A) And (b) is a decomposition | disassembly side view which shows a supporting member and a movable decoration body unit. (A) (b) And (c) is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the assembly | attachment state of the movable decoration body in a highest position, and a supporting member, a rear view, and a back perspective view. (A) (b) And (c) is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the assembly | attachment state of the movable decoration body in the lowest position, and a supporting member, a rear view, and a back perspective view. (A) (b) And (c) is a figure which shows the state of the drive mechanism according to three positions of a movable decoration body. It is a back surface block diagram of a movable decoration body unit. (A) is the figure which showed the relationship between the position of a light-shielding plate, and the detection output of a sensor, (b) is a figure which showed an example of the detection output. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the game control apparatus which performs the game control of the pachinko game machine of this Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the process which a game control apparatus performs when performing an origin detection process in the pachinko game machine of this Embodiment. (A) is the figure which showed the other structure of the light-shielding plate, (b) is the figure which showed the detection output waveform of the sensor. It is explanatory drawing of the detection method of the origin position by a sensor and a light-shielding piece. It is explanatory drawing of the problem by the detection method of the origin position by a sensor and a light-shielding piece.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Pachinko machine, 2 ... Frame, 3 ... Game board, 3a ... Game area, 4 ... Dish part, 5 ... Launch lever, 7 ... Center member, 7a ... Movable ornament installation area, 10 ... Normal symbol display apparatus, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Variable winning apparatus, 12 ... Gate, 13 ... Grand prize opening, 14 ... Normal prize opening, 15 ... Out opening, 31 ... Movable decoration body, 32 ... Face (main movable body), 32a ... Guided piece, 32b ... guide pin, 35 ... body (subordinate movable body), 35a ... long hole, 36 ... pin, 40 ... movable decorative body unit, 50 ... drive mechanism, 51 ... motor, 52 ... output gear, 52, 53, 54, 55 ... gear, 55 ... small gear, 55a ... center shaft, 56 ... cam, 56a ... cam surface, 56a-1 ... curved surface portion, 56a-2 ... stepped portion, 57 ... arm, 57a ... one end, 57b ... other end Part, 57c ... elongated hole, 58 ... elastic member, 60 ... support member, 61 ... gas Ditch, 62 ... 1st regulating member, 63 ... 2nd regulating member, 65 ... Shaft, 66 ... Front plate, 70 ... Sensor, 71 ... Shading plate, 111 ... Game control board, 112, 122, 132, 142 152, CPU, 113, 123, 133, 143, 153 ... ROM, 114, 124, 134, 144, 154 ... RAM, 115, 116, 125, 126, 127, 135, 136, 145, 146, 155, 156 ... I / O, 120 ... Production control board, 121 ... Production control unit, 131 ... Image / audio control unit, 141 ... Lamp control board, 147 ... Board surface lamp, 148 ... Front frame lamp, 149 ... Side lamp, 151 ... Award Ball control board, 157... Discharge drive motor, 158a... Fixed position detection SW, 158b... Discharge ball detection SW, 158c. Out SW

Claims (3)

In a pachinko gaming machine comprising a movable decorative body supported by a support member fixed to a game board and movable in the vertical direction ,
A drive mechanism for driving the movable decorative body at different speeds in the moving direction;
A sensor comprising a light emitting part and a light receiving part for receiving light emitted from the light emitting part;
A light shielding member that is provided on the movable decorative body and shields light emitted from the light emitting portion of the sensor to the light receiving portion according to the position of the movable decorative body;
When the sensor determines a moving direction of the movable decorative body based on a light blocking time during which the light blocking member blocks light, and determines that the moving direction of the movable decorative body is a predetermined direction, A pachinko gaming machine comprising control means for performing origin detection control for detecting an origin position.   2. The pachinko gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the driving mechanism includes a single motor, a gear group that transmits a driving force from the motor, a cam that is rotationally driven by the gear group, and one end portion of the driving mechanism. A pachinko gaming machine comprising: an arm that abuts against a cam and swings by engaging the other movable portion of the movable decorative body with the main movable body.   3. The pachinko gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding member includes a plurality of light shielding pieces having different lengths. 4.

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