JP4802594B2 - Yugi Island - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an amusement island provided with a separation chute for branching a pachinko ball from a replenishment bowl arranged at the top thereof and replenishing the gaming machine.

Conventionally, as an invention for solving a clogging of a separation chute portion for branching a ball from a replenishment basket at the upper part of the game island and replenishing a game machine, for example, a pachinko machine, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-327833 (hereinafter, “ Inventions described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-327561 (hereinafter referred to as “prior art document 2”) have been proposed. In the inventions described in these prior art documents 1 and 2, the ball breaking member rotated by a motor is used as a ball in the inclined passage in order to directly apply vibration or impact to the ball in the inclined passage in the separation chute. Or a stopper portion that vibrates and vibrates the stopper member into the inclined passage to give vibration to the ball.
JP-A-6-327833 (FIG. 4) JP-A-9-327561 (FIG. 1)

  However, as in the inventions described in the above-mentioned prior art documents 1 and 2, in the structure that directly gives vibration or impact to the ball in the inclined passage, the vicinity of the member for giving the vibration or impact Although it is possible to eliminate clogging in the case, there is a disadvantage that it is not effective because it is difficult to propagate vibrations and shocks at positions away from the member, for example, upstream clogging. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a game island that can reliably eliminate clogging in a separation chute having an inclined passage.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the invention according to claim 1, in the game island provided with a separation chute for branching a pachinko ball from a supply basket arranged at the top thereof and supplying the game machine, The separation chute includes an inclined passage that guides pachinko balls branched by the side wall and the bottom surface in a row, a ball detector that detects the presence or absence of a ball flowing down the inclined passage, and vibrations on the side walls that constitute the inclined passage. A ball crushing member having an electric drive source for supplying the electric drive source, and the ball crushing member is configured as a unit body that can be detachably attached to the side wall, and the unit body is attached with the electric drive source. And a mounting plate on which a mounting portion for mounting on the side wall is formed, and a vibration plate fixed to the mounting plate and vibrated by the electric drive source. When mounted on the wall, the diaphragm is brought into contact with the upper end side or lower end edge of the side wall, when the ball detector the inclined path pachinko ball is in capable falling state is detected the Tamanashi, the electrical wherein the vibration due to the driving of the driving source is to provide a vibration in the direction perpendicular to the side wall through the diaphragm.

Further, in the invention described in claim 2, the gaming island of claim 1, wherein the inclined passage, Ri serpentine inclined path der formed in a serpentine shape, said unit constituting the ball breaking member A body is provided in an inner space of the separation chute and is detachably mounted on a side wall located inside the meandering portion of the meandering inclined passage .

  In the first aspect of the present invention, since the vibration of the crushing member by the electric drive source is applied to the side wall constituting the inclined passage, the vibration is propagated to the balls in the inclined passage over the entire length of the inclined passage. Therefore, an effective crushing action can be exerted against a wide range of clogging in the inclined passage.

In the first aspect of the invention, since the vibration applied to the side wall constituting the inclined passage by the electric drive source is the vibration in the direction perpendicular to the side wall, the horizontal vibration is applied to the side wall. Compared to the case, since the vibration is in the gravity direction of the ball, it is easy to eliminate clogging in the inclined passage.

Further, in the invention described in claim 2 , even if the inclined passage is a meandering inclined passage formed in a meandering shape, vibration is given to the side wall constituting the meandering inclined passage, and therefore the meandering Even in the meandering inclined passage where the clogging is likely to occur, an effective crushing action can be exerted against a wide range of clogging in the meandering inclined passage.

Further, in the invention described in claim 2 , since the crushing member is attached to the side wall located inside the meandering portion of the meandering inclined passage provided in the inner space of the separation chute, The dead space is used for mounting, and even if a crushing member is mounted, the separation chute can be made compact without increasing the overall size. Moreover, since the crushing member is formed as a unit body and can be detachably mounted, it is possible to perform quick replacement work and inspection work within a narrow game island in the event of trouble such as a failure.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, with reference to FIG. 1 thru | or FIG. 4, the game island 1 which concerns on embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a side front view showing a part of the appearance of the game island 1, FIG. 2 is a front view of a clogging notification device 8 provided on the upper part of the game island 1, and FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing the internal structure of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing the relationship between the replenishment rod 12 provided on the game island 1 and the separation chute 30. In addition, although it demonstrates by the case where the pachinko machine 2 is installed as a gaming machine installed in the game island 1 in this embodiment, what kind of gaming machine will be used if it is a gaming machine which plays a game using a pachinko ball. It may be installed.

  In FIG. 1, as is well known, amusement island 1 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped frame so that a plurality of pachinko machines 2 and ball lending machines 3 are alternately arranged on the substantially central side surface. A waist plate 4 is provided below the position with a counter stand protruding outward. In addition, a decoration plate 5 to which a calling lamp device 6 is attached is provided at the upper part of each pachinko machine 2, and a curtain plate 7 that can be opened and closed is provided at the upper part. Further, as a characteristic configuration in the present embodiment, a clogging notification device 8 is provided corresponding to a plurality (four in the illustrated case) of the pachinko machines 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ball jam notification device 8 includes a unit number display unit 9 (in FIG. 2, for displaying the unit numbers of a plurality of pachinko machines 2 (four in the illustrated example)). And 9a to 9d for distinction) and the presence / absence of clogging of the separation chute 30 (to be described later) corresponding to each unit number display section 9 in green (in this embodiment, green or red) A notification lamp 10 (indicated as 10a to 10d in FIG. 2 to distinguish them) is provided. The clogging notification device 8 is controlled by an overall control board 60 described later.

  In the present embodiment, the clogging notification device 8 is specially provided on the game island 1, but a function may be added to notify the calling lamp device 6 of the presence or absence of clogging. In this case, the call lamp device 6 includes a call switch that can be operated by the player when trouble occurs, a call lamp that lights or blinks when the call switch is operated, and the separation chute 30. The clogging notification lamp lights up or blinks when a clogging occurs. In particular, when two clogging notification lamps are arranged across the calling lamp, it is easy for a game shop clerk to determine whether the calling lamp is operating or whether the clogging notification lamp is operating. Can be determined. Moreover, the curtain 7 has a length corresponding to the two pachinko machines 2, and the clogging of the replenishment basket 12 and the separation chute 30, which will be described later, is artificially eliminated, or the upper part of the game island 1 is It can be opened when dealing with troubles.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which one ball clogging notification device 8 is provided for four pachinko machines has been shown, but one pachinko machine installed on the game island 1 has one A clogging notification device 8 may be provided at the island edge of the game island 1. By installing in such a manner, the clogging situation of the separation chute 30 installed on the game island 1 can be confirmed at a glance.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the inside of the amusement island 1 accepts pachinko balls discharged from each pachinko machine 2 and stores the amount of balls that can be required during operation on the amusement island 1. A storage tank 17 is provided, and a ball lifting device 11 that guides the ball stored in the storage tank 17 and lifts it to the upper part is provided at the approximate center thereof. The ball lifting device 11 in the present embodiment lifts the ball by the revolving motion of the leather belt rotated by the motor, and the polishing cloth provided facing the leather belt contacts the ball during the lifting. Then, the ball is lifted up while polishing the ball. The balls that have been transported to the ball transporting device 11 are once stored in the upper tank and supplied to the replenishment rod 12 that is arranged in an inclined manner from the upper side of the upper tank toward the end of the game island 1. .

  The replenishment rod 12 is provided with a separation chute 30 that constitutes a main part of the present embodiment, and a ball branched by the separation chute 30 is connected to the separation chute 30 via a bellows pipe 13 and a ball cutting device 14. Are supplied to a prize ball tank provided at the upper back of each pachinko machine 2. In addition, the pachinko balls used in each pachinko machine 2 are discharged to the out ball tank 15 attached to the lower back of the game island 1 and then collected by the collection basket 16 and further stored in the storage tank 17. As described above, the ball is lifted and polished by the ball lifting device 11. That is, the pachinko balls are used by circulating inside the amusement island 1.

  By the way, the structure for attaching the separation chute 30 to the replenishing rod 12 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the replenishing rod 12 is fixed to the main body 18 having a U-shaped cross section and both side surfaces of the main body 18. And a side wall plate 19. The heel body 18 is formed on a convex curved surface so that the side wall plate 19 side is low and the center is slightly high, and a heater wire is attached to the back surface of the heel body 18 to evaporate the moisture when the cocoon body 18 is condensed. It has become. On the other hand, the side wall plate 19 is fixed so as to stand on both side surfaces of the heel body 18, and the upper side portion thereof projects upward from the heel body 18 to constitute a heel portion through which pachinko balls flow. A mounting notch 20 for attaching the separation chute 30 is formed on the side wall plate 19 so as to be flush with the upper surface of the bag main body 18, and the pachinko rolling on the replenishment bar 12 from the mounting notch 20. The balls are taken into the separation chute 30.

  Next, the configuration of the separation chute 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the separation chute 30, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a mounting state of a crushing member 45 detachably attached to the separation chute 30 (AA cross-sectional view in FIG. 6). 8 is a cross-sectional view showing another mounting state of the crushing member 45, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing yet another mounting state of the crushing member 45, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing still another attachment state of the member 45, and FIG. 11 is a side partial cross-sectional view showing the operation of the crushing member 45.

  In FIG. 5, the separation chute 30 includes a first serpentine inclined passage 33 and a second serpentine inclined passage 34 that guide the pachinko balls branched by the side wall and the bottom surface in a meandering manner, and the first meandering shape. A ball detection sensor 41 (a ball detection sensor corresponding to the second meandering inclined passage 34 is not shown) as a ball detector provided downstream of the inclined passage 33, the first meandering inclined passage 33 and the second A crushing member 45 having a solenoid 46 that vibrates the side wall of the meandering inclined passage 34. In the illustrated separation chute 30, a ball counter 42 is attached to the downstream side of the ball detection sensor 41, and above the first meandering inclined passage 33 and the second meandering inclined passage 34 of the separation chute 30. A covering cover 52 can be detachably attached. Hereafter, each component which comprises the separation chute | shoot 30 is demonstrated in detail, referring FIG.

  The separation chute 30 can be detachably attached to the side wall plate 19 of the replenishing reed 12 and the reed main body 18 by an attaching piece 31 formed on the front side thereof. That is, the engagement grooves 31a formed so as to open outward at the left and right end portions of the attachment piece 31 are formed at the end portions of the side wall plate 19 that are notched to form the attachment notches 20 of the replenishing rod 12. The separation chute 30 can be easily and detachably attached to the replenishing rod 12 by fitting from above and engaging the engaging claw 31b formed on the rear surface side of the attachment piece 31 with the lower end side of the rod main body 18. . The attachment piece 31 is integrally formed with a take-in portion 32 that is flush with the attachment notch 20.

  In the mounting piece 31, the first side wall plate 35, the second side wall plate 36, the bottom surface and the like constituting the first serpentine inclined passage 33 and the second serpentine inclined passage 34 are integrally formed of synthetic resin. And fixed with screws or the like. The first side wall plate 35 extends rearward from one end of the take-in portion 32, and then continues from the outer wall 35a extending toward the other end of the take-in portion 32 and the outer wall 35a. A bent side wall 35b bent in a U-shape, an inner side wall 35c continuously extending from the bent side wall 35b and extending in parallel with the take-in portion 32, and an inner side wall 35c continuous with the inner side wall 35c. An inner wall 35d extending in the direction is integrally formed. The inner side wall 35d is formed about half of the inner side wall 35c, and a partition side wall 35e that connects the inner side wall 35c and the outer side wall 35a is integrally formed at a portion facing the tip of the inner side wall 35d. ing. That is, the first side wall plate 35 is integrally formed so as to wind an elliptical spiral counterclockwise from the one intake portion 32 in plan view.

  On the other hand, the second side wall plate 36 includes a bent side wall 36b and an outer side of the bent side wall 35b of the first side wall plate 35 extending from the other end of the take-in portion 32 so as to be substantially parallel to the bent side wall 35b. An outer wall 36a is formed integrally with the outer wall 35a of the first side wall plate 35 so as to extend from the outer wall 35a of the first side wall plate 35 so as to be substantially parallel to the outer wall 35a. That is, the second side wall plate 36 is formed so as to cover the outside of the bent portion of the first side wall plate 35.

  Thus, the first serpentine inclined passage 33 is formed between the hanging wall 32a (see FIG. 7) hanging downward from one end side of the intake portion 32 of the mounting piece 31 and the inner wall 35c of the first side wall plate 35. A pre-bending inclined passage 33a formed on the outer side of the first side wall plate 35, a bent inclined passage 33b formed between the bent side wall 35b of the first side wall plate 35 and the bent side wall 36b of the second side wall plate 36; The post-bending inclined passage 33c formed between the wall 35a and the outer wall 36a of the second side wall plate 36 is configured to be continuous. The bottom surfaces of the inclined passages 33a to 33c are formed with bottom surfaces (see FIGS. 7 and 11, but without reference numerals) having dimensions slightly larger than the diameter of the pachinko balls. It is formed so as to be inclined so that its bottom surface is gradually lowered from 33a toward the inclined passage 33c after bending. In addition, in the inclined passage 33c after bending, two ball leveling members 38 and 40 are provided. One ball leveling member 38 is pivotally supported at its upper end so as to be swingable, and a weight is embedded at its lower end, and the other ball leveling member 40 is pivotally supported at its lower end. A weight is embedded at the other end of the upper part and arranged in an inclined shape, both of which exhibit an action of smoothing so that pachinko balls flowing down the inclined passage 33c after bending overlap in the vertical direction. It is. An insertion slot (not shown) for inserting a stopper pin 51 for forcibly stopping the flow of the pachinko ball is formed on the bottom surface of the inclined passage 33c after bending. Furthermore, although the outlet of the inclined passage 33c after bending is formed so as to open downward, it is in close contact with the slightly upstream side wall (the surface of the outer wall 35a that does not constitute the inclined passage 33c). Thus, a ball detection sensor 41 for detecting a pachinko ball flowing down the inclined passage 33c after bending is provided.

  On the other hand, the second meandering inclined passage 34 includes an intake inclined passage 34a formed so as to communicate with the upstream end portion of the pre-bending inclined passage 33a, an outer wall 35a and an inner wall 35d of the first side wall plate 35. A pre-bending inclined passage 34b formed between the first side wall plate 35, a bent inclined passage 34c formed between the distal end side of the inner side wall 35d of the first side wall plate 35 and the partition side wall 35e, and an inner side wall of the first side wall plate 35. A post-bending inclined passage 34d formed between 35c and the inner side wall 35d is continuous. Further, a bottom surface (not shown) having a size slightly larger than the diameter of the pachinko ball is formed on the bottom surface of each of the inclined passages 34a to 34d, and further, from the intake inclined passage 34a toward the inclined passage 34d after bending. The bottom surface is formed so as to be gradually lowered. The pre-bending inclined passage 34b is provided with a ball leveling member 39 having the same structure as the ball leveling member 38, and when the pachinko balls flowing down the pre-bending inclined passage 34b overlap in the vertical direction, the leveling member 39 is further increased. It exhibits the effect of leveling the ball. An insertion slot (not shown, but having the same structure as the stopper pin 51) for inserting a stopper pin for forcibly stopping the flow of the pachinko ball is formed in the bottom surface of the inclined passage 34d after bending. (Not shown) is formed. Further, the outlet of the inclined passage 34d after bending is formed so as to open downward, but a pachinko ball flowing down the inclined passage 34d after bending is detected so as to be in close contact with the side wall slightly upstream of the outlet. A ball detection sensor (not shown, but having the same structure as the ball detection sensor 41) is provided.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the ball counter 42 that counts the balls that have passed through the ball detection sensor 41 is the lower portion of the transparent synthetic resin material that constitutes the first serpentine inclined passage 33 and the second serpentine inclined passage 34. It attaches to the counter attachment member 43 assembled | attached to detachable. As is well known, the ball counter 42 has a ball passage in which balls flow down in a line in front of the ball counter 42, a counting gear is provided so as to face the ball passage, and the counting gear engages with a pachinko ball that flows down. Then, when one revolution is made, a signal of one pulse is generated, and the signal is sent to the management computer to be used for generating balance management data of the pachinko machine 2. Usually, 10 pachinko balls are counted in one pulse. The ball counter 42 is attached with a pipe connector 44 for connecting the bellows pipe 13 whose lower end is connected to the prize ball tank of the pachinko machine 2.

  By the way, the separation chute 30 in the present embodiment takes a pachinko ball flowing down the replenishing rod 12 from the mounting notch 20 and the take-in portion 32 and branches the pachinko ball into two meandering inclined passages 33 and 34. However, one meandering inclined passage 33 is for supplying pachinko balls to the pachinko machine 2, and the other meandering inclined passage 34 is for supplying pachinko balls to the ball lending machine 3. Is. Thus, when the ball lending machine 3 is not lined up on the game island 1, the other meandering inclined passage 34 is not used. Therefore, the take-in inclined passage 34a is closed with a predetermined member, and the pachinko balls meander the other meander. However, it may not be taken into the inclined passage 34. In addition, all pachinko balls taken in both meandering inclined passages 33 and 34 are used as gaming machines (for example, slot machine type gaming machines that use pachinko balls with a large amount of pachinko balls used per unit time). It is good also as a structure to supply.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the crushing member 45 that is detachably attached to the separation chute 30 is provided with a solenoid 46 and a side wall that is attached to the side wall located inside the meandering inclined passage. The mounting plates 47 and 48 are provided with locking claws 49 as mounting portions, and the diaphragm 50 is fixed to the mounting plates 47 and 48 and the plunger of the solenoid 46 collides with the mounting plates 47 and 48. That is, the crushing member 45 has a solenoid 46 attached to one corner of a T-shaped connecting vertical mounting plate 47 and a mounting plate 48, and a diaphragm 50 is attached to the upper end of the mounting plate 47 and the mounting plate 48. It is fixed. One mounting plate 47 is integrally formed with a locking claw 49 that is elastically deformed when mounted. As shown in FIG. 7, a plunger that rises due to the urging force of the spring collides with the rear surface (lower surface) of the diaphragm 50 when the solenoid 46 changes from the excited state to the non-excited state. The diaphragm 50 is slightly larger than the upper end planar shape of the mounting space 37 (internal space) formed by the outer side wall 35a, the bent side wall 35b, the inner side wall 35c, and the partitioning side wall 35e of the first side wall plate 35 described above. 6 and 7 when the ball crushing member 45 is inserted from above the mounting space 37 and the locking claw 49 is engaged with the lower end of the side wall (in the illustrated case, the outer wall 35a). As shown, the outer peripheral portion of the diaphragm 50 is in contact with the upper end sides of the outer wall 35a, the bent side wall 35b, the inner side wall 35c, and the partitioning side wall 35e.

  In other words, the fact that the outer peripheral portion of the diaphragm 50 is in contact with the upper end sides of the outer wall 35a, the bent side wall 35b, the inner side wall 35c, and the partitioning side wall 35e means that when vibration is generated by the solenoid 46, vibration occurs. That is, the plate 50 generates vibration in the vertical direction, and the vibration in the vertical direction is propagated to the outer side wall 35a, the bent side wall 35b, the inner side wall 35c, and the partition side wall 35e of the first side wall plate 35. Since the outer side wall 35a, the bent side wall 35b, and the inner side wall 35c of the first side wall plate 35 form one side wall located inside the first serpentine inclined passage 33, the first serpentine inclined passage is provided. This means that vibrations in the vertical direction are propagated to the pachinko balls present in all the 33 inclined passages 33a to 33c. Further, the outer side wall 35a, the inner side wall 35c, and the partitioning side wall 35e of the first side wall plate 35 form one side wall of the second meandering inclined passage 34, so that all of the second meandering inclined passage 34 is provided. This means that vibration in the vertical direction is propagated to the pachinko balls existing in the inclined passages 34a to 34d.

  Therefore, for example, in the post-bending inclined passage 33c of the first serpentine inclined passage 33, as shown in FIG. 11A, clogging occurs even though the ball leveling members 38 and 40 act. When vibration is applied to the solenoid 46 of the crushing member 45 while the ball is in contact, vibration in the gravitational direction propagates to the pachinko balls that are clogged due to vertical vibration of the outer wall 35a of the first side wall plate 35. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11B, the clogging is eliminated and the pachinko balls smoothly flow through the first meandering inclined passage 33. Note that the above-described operation is also performed on the second meandering inclined passage 34.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the two side walls (the hanging wall 32a and the inner side wall 35c) constituting the pre-bending inclined passage 33a and the two side walls (the outer wall 35a and the inner side wall 35c) constituting the post-bending inclined passage 33c. Although the example in which the diaphragm 50 is in contact with the upper end sides of the inner wall 35c and the outer wall 35a of the first side wall plate 35 among the outer side walls 36a) is shown, the present invention is not limited to this example. One end side of the second side wall plate 36 may be extended to the outer side wall 36a of the second side wall plate 36 so as to contact the upper end side of the outer side wall 36a. With such a configuration, vibration is propagated in the vertical direction from the two side walls constituting the inclined passage, so that clogging can be more reliably eliminated.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, as the mounting state of the crushing member 45, the diaphragm 50 is brought into contact with the upper end sides of the inner side wall 35 c and the outer side wall 35 a of the first side wall plate 35. However, as shown in FIG. 8, the crushing member 45 may be attached in the reverse direction. Specifically, one end of the diaphragm 50a is brought into contact with the lower end side of the outer wall 35a, while the other end side of the diaphragm 50 is bent at a right angle and its end is brought into contact with the lower end side of the inner wall 35c. In this manner, the crushing member 45 is attached by locking the locking claw 49a of the mounting plate 47a to the upper end side of the outer wall 35a. Even in such a configuration, the vibration is propagated in the vertical direction from the side wall constituting the inclined passage, so that the clogging can be surely eliminated.

  The above described crushing member 45 shown in FIG. 8 has a structure in which the solenoid 46 is arranged in the mounting space 37 and the diaphragm 50a collides from above with the plunger of the solenoid 46. FIG. As shown, even if the mounting plate 47b is extended downward so that the solenoid 46 is mounted, and the plunger of the solenoid 46 is disposed so as to collide with the vibration plate 50b from below, it is perpendicular to the side wall constituting the inclined passage. Since vibration is propagated, clogging can be reliably eliminated. Further, in this case, since the crushing member 45 is formed as a unit body and can be detachably mounted, quick replacement work and inspection work are performed within the narrow game island 1 in case of trouble such as failure. be able to.

  Further, as a structure in which the solenoid 46 is not disposed in the attachment space portion 37, as shown in FIG. 10, the diaphragm 50c is extended outside the outer wall 36a of the second side wall plate 36, and below the extended diaphragm 50c. The solenoid 46 may be fixed to the head. In this case, since the diaphragm 50c comes into contact with the upper end side of the outer side wall 36a of the second side wall plate 36, the outer side wall 35a of the first side wall wall 35 and the upper end side of the inner side wall 35c, the inclined passage The vibration is propagated in the vertical direction from the two side walls constituting the clogging, and the clogging can be more reliably eliminated. Further, in this case, since the crushing member 45 is formed as a unit body and can be detachably mounted, quick replacement work and inspection work are performed within the narrow game island 1 in case of trouble such as failure. be able to.

  In addition, when the ball clogging signal is output from the ball detection sensor 41, the solenoid 46 performs an excitation / de-excitation operation (for example, 0.1 second) after a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds by the timer B). ) Is performed a certain number of times (for example, 5 times). If the clogging is not eliminated even if the basic operation as described above is performed a predetermined number of times (for example, 5 times), a clogging notification signal is output to the clogging notification device 8 and the notification lamp 10 is set to a predetermined value. It comes to light up in color.

  Although the detailed configuration of the separation chute 30 has been described above, in the separation chute 30 according to the present embodiment, the separation chute 30 that replenishes the pachinko balls from the replenishment basket 12 arranged at the upper portion and replenishes the gaming machine 2. In the gaming island 1 provided with the separation chute 30, the serpentine inclined passages 33 and 34 that guide the pachinko balls branched by the side wall plates 35 and 36 and the bottom surface in a meandering manner, and the serpentine inclined A ball detection sensor 41 that detects the presence or absence of balls flowing down the passages 33 and 34, and a ball breaker member 45 having a solenoid 46 that vibrates the side wall plate 35 that constitutes the meandering inclined passages 33 and 34; When the ball detection sensor 41 detects the absence of a ball while the pachinko balls can flow down the meandering inclined passages 33 and 34, the solenoid 46 is driven to meander the inclination. Since vibration is applied to the side walls 35 constituting the paths 33 and 34, vibration is propagated to the balls in the inclined paths 33 and 34 over the entire length of the meandering inclined paths 33 and 34. An effective crushing action can be exerted for a wide range of clogging.

  Further, in the separation chute 30 according to the present embodiment, the crushing member 45 can be detachably mounted on the side wall 35 provided inside the separation chute 30 and positioned inside the meandering portion of the meandering inclined passage 33. Since it is configured as a unit body, it will be mounted using the dead space (mounting space 37) in the separation chute 30 and the overall size of the separation chute 30 will be increased even if the ball breaking member 45 is mounted. It can be made compact without doing. Further, since the crushing member 45 is formed as a unit body and can be detachably mounted, it is possible to perform quick replacement work and inspection work in the narrow game island 1 in the event of trouble such as failure. .

  Further, in the separation chute 30 in the present embodiment, the crushing member 45 configured as a unit body is attached as a mounting portion for mounting the solenoid 46 and mounting it on the side wall 35 located inside the meandering inclined passage 33. The mounting plates 47 and 48 in which the locking claw 49 is formed, and the vibration plate 50 fixed to the mounting plates 47 and 48 and the plunger of the solenoid 46 collide with the mounting plates 47 and 48, meandering inclined passages. When the vibration plate 50 comes into contact with the upper end side of the side wall 35 located on the inner side when mounted on the side wall 35 located on the inner side of the 33, vibration due to driving of the solenoid 46 is applied to the side wall 35 via the vibration plate 50. Since the vibration in the vertical direction is applied, the ball clogs in the gravitational direction compared to the case where it is propagated as the vibration in the horizontal direction. There is an advantage that it is easy to.

  Thus, a specific operation of the separation chute 30 that performs the above operation will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 12 is a wiring diagram showing the relationship between the separation chute 30, the clogging notification device 8, and the overall control board 60 that controls them. FIG. 13 shows the relationship between one overall control board 60 and the separation chute 30. FIG. 14 to FIG. 18 are flowcharts showing processing procedures controlled by the overall control board 60.

  First, as described above with reference to FIG. 12, a plurality of pachinko machines 2 are lined up on the amusement island 1 and among them, a separation chute corresponding to a total of four pachinko machines 2 of two on one side. 30 is controlled by one integrated control board 60. In the case of illustration, the separation chute | shoots 30a-30d corresponding to a total of four pachinko machines 2 of 2 each side are controlled by one general control board 60a. However, since the clogging notification device 8 notifies the clogging of the four pachinko machines 2 on one side as described above, the clogging provided on one side of the game island 1 as shown in the figure. The notification device 8a receives a signal related to two separation chutes 30a and 30b from one overall control board 60a and a signal related to two separation chutes 30e and 30f from an adjacent overall control board 60b. The ball clogging notification device 8b provided on the other side of the game island 1 has signals related to the two separation chutes 30c and 30d from one overall control board 60a and from the adjacent overall control board 60b. Signals related to the two separation chutes 30g and 30h are input.

  Thus, the configuration of one overall control board 60 will be described by taking the overall control board 60a shown in FIG. 12 as an example. As shown in FIG. 13, the first overall control board 60a includes a CPU 61, a ROM 62, a RAM 63, and an input. Each of the balls of the separation chutes 30a to 30d provided corresponding to the four pachinko machines 2 controlled by the first integrated control board 60a is constituted by a microcomputer having an output interface 64. A signal from the detection sensor 41 is input, and a drive signal is output to each solenoid 46. Further, the clogging notification device 8a via the input / output interface 64 is connected to the machine number display unit 9 by a machine number information signal (a dep switch (not shown) provided in the first overall control board 60a). A signal for setting the unit number and displaying the set unit number on the corresponding unit number display unit 9 is sent, and a signal for turning on the notification lamp 10 in a predetermined color (clogging) Either a signal or no jammed signal). Note that the overall control board 60 other than the first overall control board 60a has the same configuration as that described above. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, in the separation chute 30 controlled by the overall control board 60, the ball detection sensor 41 is provided only at the portion corresponding to the first meandering inclined passage 33, and the second meandering The ball-shaped inclined passage 34 is not provided with the ball detection sensor 41 as being not used.

  Operations controlled by the first overall control board 60a will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 14 is a main flowchart (main control process). First, when the main power is turned on in step 100, an initial setting process is performed in step 101, and then a control process of the first separation chute in step 102, In step 103, the control process of the second separation chute, the control process of the third separation chute in step 104, the control process of the fourth separation chute in step 105, and the control process of the clogging notification device in step 106 are sequentially performed. The processing from step 102 to step 106 is repeated.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the initial setting process in step 101 performs a process of resetting parameters relating to all separation chutes 30a to 30d to initial values in step 110. Specifically, a timer that resets the flag A set when the ball is jammed to “0” and counts whether a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) has elapsed after the ball detection sensor 41 detects the absence of a ball. The value of B is reset to “0”, the value of the counter C that counts the number of solenoid operation processes is reset to “0”, and the value of the timer D that measures the excitation time per time of the solenoid 46 is set to “0”. And the value of the counter E that counts the number of excitations of the solenoid 46 is reset to “0”. Next, in step 111, a no-clogging signal relating to all the separation chutes 30a to 30d is output to the clogging notification device 8a. When this output is present, the notification lamp 10 is lit in green. Further, in step 112, the solenoids 46 for all the separation chutes 30a to 30d are turned off, and the initial setting process is terminated.

  Since the same processing is executed for the control processes of the separation chutes in steps 102 to 105, the control process of the first separation chute 30a will be described with reference to FIG. 16, and the second, third and fourth separation chutes 30b will be described. The control process of ˜30d is omitted. Thus, in the first separation chute control process, whether or not the first ball detection sensor 41 is OFF in step 120, that is, the ball detection sensor 41 is in the post-bending inclined passage 33 c of the first serpentine inclined passage 33. It is detected whether there is a pachinko ball on the downstream side, and when it is determined that there is a pachinko ball (the ball detection sensor is ON), after resetting each parameter in step 121 as in step 110, step 122 is performed. Then, a no-clogging signal is output to the clogging notification device 8 (notification lamp 10: green), and in step 123, the solenoid 46 is turned off to end the subroutine.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 120 that there is no pachinko ball in the ball detection sensor 41 (the ball detection sensor is OFF), it is determined in step 124 whether or not the value of the clogged flag A is “1”. If it is “1”, it is still in a clogged state even if the crushing process has already been performed, so that the process proceeds to step 131 described later, and on the other hand, if it is determined that it is not “1” in step 124 In step 125, it is determined whether or not the timer B for counting the time since the first ball detection sensor 41 detects the absence of the ball has become 5 seconds or more. If it is less than 5 seconds, the timer is determined in step 126. The subroutine is terminated by starting or continuing the operation of B. If it is determined in step 125 that the timer B has elapsed 5 seconds, the subroutine for the first separation chute solenoid operation process is executed, then the timer B is reset in step 128, and then the subroutine process in step 127 is performed in step 129. “+1” is added to the value of the counter C that counts the number of processing times. Thereafter, in step 130, it is determined whether or not the value of the counter C is “5” or more. If it is less than “5”, the subroutine is terminated. If it is determined in step 130 that the value of the counter C is “5” or more, a clogging signal is output to the clogging notification device 8 in step 131 (notification lamp: red), and a clogging flag is displayed in step 132. Set A. That is, in steps 130 and 131, if the clogging is not eliminated even after the predetermined solenoid operation process is performed a predetermined number of times (five times), a process of outputting a clogging signal to the clogging notification device 8 is executed. is there.

The first separation chute solenoid operation process of step 127 in the first separation chute control process subroutine will be described with reference to FIG. 17. In step 140, the operation of the timer D for measuring the excitation time of the solenoid 46 is started or The operation of the timer D is continued. In step 141, it is determined whether or not the timer D has elapsed for 50 ms. If less than 50 ms, the process returns to the main routine, and when 50 ms has elapsed, the excitation of the solenoid 46 is stopped in step 142. As a result, the plunger of the solenoid 46 is moved by the biasing force of the spring and collides with the diaphragm 50 of the crushing member 45. Thereafter, the excitation timer D is reset in step 143, the value of the counter E for counting the number of excitations of the solenoid 46 is incremented by " +1" in step 144, and whether or not the value of the counter E is "5" in step 145. If it is determined that the value is less than “5”, the process returns to the main routine. If it is “5”, the value of the counter E is reset in step 146. The processing of steps 140 to 146 described above is the basic operation processing in which the excitation / de-energization operation (0.1 second) is performed a predetermined number of times (5 times) after the above-described predetermined time (5 seconds by the timer B) has elapsed. Show. If the clogging is not eliminated even when such a basic operation is performed, the basic operation of the maximum predetermined number of times (five times) regulated by the counter C shown in FIG. 16 is executed. Is.

  Further, the control process of the clogging notification device in step 106 described above will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step 150, it is determined whether or not there is a clogging no signal, that is, whether or not there is a signal output by the processing in step 122. If there is an output, in step 151 the corresponding notification lamp 10 (LED) is determined. Lights up green. Next, in step 152, it is determined whether or not there is a clogging signal, that is, whether or not there is a signal output by the processing in step 131. If there is an output, in step 153 the corresponding notification lamp 10 (LED) is turned on. Lights red. Here, when it is determined that there is no output in both step 150 and step 152, the notification lamp 10 is not lit. As a cause of the non-lighting state in this way, a failure of the device (for example, disconnection of a signal line or the like) can be considered.

  As described above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described. In the above-described embodiment, all the inclined passages 33a to 33c and the second meandering of the first meandering inclined passage 33 are obtained by vibrating the first side wall plate 35. Although the description has been given of the case where the vibration propagates to all the inclined passages 34a to 34d of the cylindrical inclined passage 34, a plurality of inclined passages (for example, bent) The structure may be such that vibration propagates only to the rear inclined passage 33c and the bent inclined passage 33b, and only to the rear inclined passage 34d and the bent inclined passage 34c. Moreover, although what showed the separation chute | shoot 30 and the clogging notification apparatus 8 by one integrated control board 60 was shown, it is comprised so that each may be controlled by a separate control board and a signal may be transmitted / received by a mutual control board. You may do it. As a matter of course, not only the separation chute 30 and the clogging notification device 8 are controlled by the overall control board 60, but other devices (for example, the calling lamp device 6) may be controlled. Further, in the present embodiment, the meandering inclined passage is shown, but the inclined passage does not necessarily need to be configured in a meandering shape, and is adopted for the inclined passage constituted by a bottom surface that slopes down on a straight line and two side walls. May be. In this embodiment, a solenoid is used as a drive source to apply vibration to the diaphragm 50. However, a motor or the like may be used.

It is a side front view showing a part of the appearance of amusement island. It is a front view of the clogging notification device provided in the upper part of the amusement island. It is side sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of amusement island. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the relationship between the supply basket provided in amusement island, and a separation chute. It is a perspective view of a separation chute. It is a perspective view of a separation chute similarly. It is sectional drawing which shows the attachment state of the crushing member attached detachably to a separation chute. It is sectional drawing which shows the other attachment state of a crushing member. It is sectional drawing which shows the other attachment state of a crushing member. It is sectional drawing which shows the other attachment state of a crushing member. It is side part sectional drawing which shows the effect | action of a crushing member. It is a wiring diagram which shows the relationship between a separation chute, a clogging notification device, and an overall control board for controlling them. It is a block diagram which shows the relationship between one general control board and a separation chute. It is a main flowchart which shows the process sequence of the separation chute controlled by the general control board. It is a flowchart which shows the initial setting process subroutine of step 101 of a main flowchart. It is a flowchart which shows the 1st separation chute control processing subroutine of step 102 of a main flowchart. It is a flowchart which shows the 1st separated chute solenoid operation processing subroutine of step 127 of the flowchart which shows a 1st separated chute control process subroutine. It is a main flowchart which shows the process sequence of the clogging notification apparatus controlled by the overall control board.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Game island 2 Pachinko machine 8 Ball clogging notification apparatus 10 Notification lamp 30 Separation chute 33 First serpentine inclined passage 34 Second serpentine inclined passage 35 First side wall plate 36 Second side wall plate 37 Mounting space 41 Ball detection sensor 45 Crushing member 46 Solenoid 49 Locking claw 50 Diaphragm 60 Overall control board

Claims (2)

On the amusement island with a separation chute that branches off the pachinko balls from the replenishment cage placed at the top and replenishes the gaming machine,
The separation chute includes an inclined passage that guides pachinko balls branched by a side wall and a bottom surface in a row, a ball detector that detects the presence or absence of balls flowing down the inclined passage, and a side wall that constitutes the inclined passage. A crushing member having an electric drive source for applying vibration, and
The crushing member is configured as a unit body that can be detachably attached to the side wall,
The unit body has a mounting plate on which a mounting portion for mounting the electrical drive source and mounted on the side wall is formed, a vibration plate fixed to the mounting plate and vibrated by the electrical drive source, And when the mounting plate is mounted on the side wall, the diaphragm is brought into contact with the upper end side or the lower end side of the side wall,
Wherein when pachinko balls inclined passage the ball detector in which can flow down state is detected the Tamanashi gives vibrations in the vertical direction vibration by driving of the electric drive source to said side walls through said diaphragm An amusement island characterized by that. The inclined passage, Ri serpentine inclined path der formed in a meandering shape,
The said unit body which comprises the said crushing member is provided in the internal space of the said isolation | separation chute | shoot, It is detachably mounted | worn with the side wall located in the bending inside of the meandering part of the said meandering inclination channel | path. 1 amusement islands.

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