JP5159392B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine, and more particularly to an improvement in a ball feeding device of a ball and ball gaming machine (so-called pachinko machine).

The bullet ball game machine includes an open / close door (front door) that is pivotally supported on one front side of the main body frame so as to be openable and closable (turnable).
The front side of the front door is provided with a tray portion for storing game balls. The game balls stored in the tray portion are sent to a launching device provided on the main body frame side, and the game balls are sent to the game board by the launching device. Fire into the game zone. In this way, the game machine is provided with a ball feeding device in order to guide and guide the game ball on the tray to the launching device.

Conventionally, there are various structures of the ball feeding device.
For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the ball cutting member and the movable iron piece are connected, the driving device is excited to attract the movable iron piece, and the ball cutting member connected to the movable iron piece is moved to the storage position and the open position. There is a ball feeding device that realizes the ball feeding.
In this ball feeding device, in order to prevent ball spilling when the front door is opened and to feed the ball while separating one ball at a time, when the ball cutting member is in the open position, the next game ball to be waited for is sent to the ball feeding device. The subsequent game balls are dammed by a part of the ball cutting member so as not to enter.
JP 2002-17977 A

However, the technical means disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the following problems.
(1) The ball drilling member will operate unnecessarily due to the ball pressure of the game ball supplied from the supply tray to the ball feed mechanism and the vibration when the front door is opened.
(2) When the ball pressure becomes high, the ball drilling member operates, the game ball flows to the launch point, obstructs the launching operation, or the ball drilling member operates due to vibration when the front door is opened, causing the ball to spill May occur.
(3) Especially in gaming machines with a ball feed mechanism provided on the front door, it is easy to be subject to ball pressure and vibration when the front door is opened, so there is a high need to take measures when the front door is opened. It was.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and the object of the present invention is to enable stable ball feeding without causing malfunction even when external pressure such as ball pressure is applied to the ball feeding device. Is to provide a unique gaming machine.

In order to achieve such an object, the first invention includes a main body frame including a game board having a game area in which a game ball rolls down,
A launching device 12 provided in the main body frame 1 for launching a game ball toward the game board;
A front door 2 attached to the body frame 1 so as to be openable and closable;
A supply tray 3 provided in the front door 2 for storing game balls to be supplied;
A ball feeding device 17 for delivering the game ball of the supply tray 3 to the launching device 12,
The ball feeder 17 includes:
A receiving port 20 for receiving a game ball from the supply tray 3,
A delivery port 21 for delivering the game ball received from the receiving port 20 to the launching device 12, and
A restriction that is configured to be switchable between a restriction position A1 for restricting the flow of the game ball from the receiving port 20 to the delivery port 21 and a release position A2 for blocking the supplied subsequent game ball at a predetermined position. A ball feeding mechanism 18 provided on the back surface of the supply tray 3 in the front door 2,
Ball feed drive that is provided in the main body frame 1 and acts on the restricting piece 36 in a state where the front door 2 is closed to the main body frame 1 to switch the restricting piece 36 between the restricting position A1 and the release position A2. Source 47;
Including a fixing member 46 capable of fixing the restriction piece 36 to the release position A2.
The fixing member 46 has a restriction receiving surface 46c that comes into contact with the restriction piece 36 and a frame receiving surface 46d that comes into contact with a gaming machine member (ball feed drive source 47) in the process of closing the front door 2. Configured,
When the front door 2 is in an open state, the fixing member 46 contacts the restriction piece 36 to fix the restriction piece 36 at the release position A2, and a gaming machine member ( For example, the case body 50) of the ball feed driving source 47 and the frame receiving surface 46d come into contact with each other, whereby the restriction receiving surface 46c moves from a contact position with the restriction piece 36 to a non-contact position. It was a machine.

  According to the present invention, when the front door 2 is in the open state, the restriction receiving surface 46c of the fixing member 46 is brought into contact with the restriction piece 36, whereby the restriction piece 36 is fixed to the release position A2. For this reason, the succeeding game ball that has been blocked does not enter the ball feeder 17. When the front door 2 is in the open state, the fixing member 46 acts as described above, so that the ball feeding device 17 operates unnecessarily due to the ball pressure of the game ball and the vibration when the front door 2 is opened. There is nothing.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the restriction piece 36 is connected to the ball feed lever 37 that can be switched between the restriction position A1 and the release position A2, and the ball feed lever 37 so as to be swingable. The ball feed drive source 47 includes a ball feed solenoid 48 that excites the metal plate 38, and the metal plate 38 of the restriction piece 36 is connected to the restriction receiving surface 46 c of the fixing member 46. This is a gaming machine characterized by touching.

  According to the present invention, since the excited metal plate 38 is fixed, even if it is excited from the outside when the front door 2 is opened, the fixing cannot be released.

  In a third aspect based on the second aspect, the ball feed mechanism 18 is provided on the back side of the supply tray 3 of the front door 2, and the ball feed drive source 47 faces the ball feed mechanism 18 and faces the main body frame 1. This is a gaming machine characterized by being provided on the side.

In a gaming machine in which the ball feed mechanism 18 and the ball feed drive source 47 are set as a set and provided on the front door 2 side or the main body frame 1 side, a delivery port from the supply tray 3 or a reception port of the ball feed mechanism is separately provided. If a mechanism for closing the delivery port is not provided, there is a possibility that the game ball on the supply tray may fall when the front door is opened.
Further, in a gaming machine provided with the ball feed mechanism 18 and the ball feed drive source 47 on the front door 2 side, it is necessary to route the wiring from the main body frame 1 side to the front door 2 side. In this case, the wiring has to be turned to the rotating shaft side that pivotally supports the front door 2 with respect to the main body frame 1, and design restrictions and burdens are large. In addition, durability must also be taken into account in relation to turning to the rotating shaft side.
According to the present invention, the ball feed mechanism 18 and the ball feed drive source 47 are provided separately, and when the front door 2 is opened, the fixing member 46 acts to fix the restricting piece 36 at the release position A2. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the game ball of the supply tray 3 from falling from the ball feed mechanism 18 without providing a separate mechanism for closing the receiving port 20 and the delivery port 21 of the ball feed mechanism 18, and the member cost is not increased. Further, since the ball feed drive source 47 is provided on the main body frame 1 side, it is not necessary to turn the wiring to the front door 2 side, so that design restrictions and burdens can be reduced.
Accordingly, it is possible to supply a stable ball without incurring a member cost or a design burden. Further, in the case where the ball feeding mechanism 18 is on the front door 2 side, it is easily affected by vibration when the front door 2 is opened. However, in the present invention, the restriction piece 36 is fixed at the release position A2. Even if the ball feeding mechanism 18 is provided on the front door 2 side, ball spillage due to vibration does not occur.

  According to a fourth invention, in the third invention, the fixing member 46 is formed of a leaf spring, and the ball feeding mechanism 18 is housed in a case member (the ball feeding case main body 19 and the ball feeding case lid 22) and is mounted on the front door 2. Provided on the back side of the supply tray 3, the case member is provided with a storage recess 24 that opens upward and stores one end (fitting surface 46 a) of the fixing member 46 made of the leaf spring. This is a gaming machine.

  According to the present invention, in addition to the effects of the present invention described above, the housing recess 24 that houses one end (fitting surface 46a) of the fixing member 46 made of a leaf spring opens upward, so that the plate An effect of facilitating maintenance such as replacement of the fixing member 46 made of a spring can also be expected. Further, since a leaf spring can be adopted as the fixing member 46, the cost can be reduced.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a gaming machine capable of stable ball feeding without causing malfunction even when an external pressure such as ball pressure is applied to the ball feeding device.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the gaming machine of the present invention will be described.
The present embodiment is merely an example of the gaming machine of the present invention, and is not construed as being limited to the illustrated form. The design can be changed to various gaming machines within the scope of the present invention.
In other words, the present invention is characterized by the configuration of the ball feeding device 17, and other configurations and operational effects can use well-known techniques within the scope of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the gaming machine includes a main body frame 1 disposed in an island facility of a game hall, and a game board (not shown) is provided on the front side of the main body frame 1. In other words, on the back side of the game board, a predetermined space is provided between the game board and an effect is produced by an image in a game ball rolling area (game area) where the game ball rolls down on the surface of the game board. (Not shown) such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) is provided. The image display means is not particularly limited in the present embodiment, and a well-known image display means can be applied. The present invention is also applicable to a gaming machine that does not include such image display means.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, on the front side of the side surface of the main body frame 1, a transparent plate such as a synthetic resin plate or a glass plate having translucency (in this embodiment, two sheets to be incorporated at intervals) Glass plates 5 and 6 are assumed to be set and incorporated in the transparent plate holding frame 7, and the game board is made visible through the transparent plates (glass plates 5 and 6) and can be opened and closed. A front door (also referred to as an opening / closing door) 2 to be worn is provided.
Further, an upper plate (supply plate) 3 and a lower plate 4 are provided on the front side of the front door 2. By opening the front door 2, the launching device 12 provided on the main body frame 1 side is exposed (see FIGS. 5 to 7). Further, a launching handle (not shown) for sending a signal to the launching device 12 and driving the launching device 12 by being rotated by a player is provided at a predetermined position.
In this launching handle, it is possible to adopt a launching handle of the form normally used for gaming machines.
In this gaming machine, the ball feed mechanism 18 provided on the back side 2b of the front door 2 and the ball feed drive source 47 provided on the main body frame 1 side and provided close to the launching device 12 are provided. The ball feeder 17 comprised by these is provided. By this ball feeding device 17, the game ball supplied from the supply tray 3 is sent in the direction of the launching device 12.
In the present embodiment, although not shown, a main control board (main control circuit) for controlling the progress of the game and a signal from the main control board (main control circuit) are provided on the back of the image display means in the main body frame 1. A board base (not shown) on which a control device such as a sub-control board (sub-control circuit) for controlling each effect device (light-emitting device, image display means, speaker, etc.) is disposed is mounted.

  The game board is entirely composed of a translucent member (including a transparent / semi-transparent material, such as a glass plate or a synthetic resin plate). An inner guide rail that is arranged inside the outer guide rail and forms a predetermined game ball launching area, and a surface area partitioned by the guide rail, although not shown, is a general winning device, gaming state A start winning device as a starting area for starting a lottery process for determining whether or not to win a jackpot, a big winning device that constitutes a special electric accessory called an attacker that performs an opening operation of a winning opening based on the occurrence of a jackpot gaming state, The game area is configured with a number of game members such as game nails that change the flow of game balls.

The game board base has at least part of a region formed of a translucent member, and an image display means (liquid crystal display device) disposed on the back side through the region formed of the translucent member is a player. Anything that can produce a production effect, a decoration effect, and the like by being visually recognized from the side may be used.
The translucent member forming the game board base is, for example, made of a transparent material that can fix the game member and has a hardness and strength that do not easily deform (bend) or change quality. select. For example, a hard synthetic resin material having high transparency can be cited as an example, and more specifically, a colorless and transparent acrylic resin material, polycarbonate resin material, polyarylate resin material, and the like are arbitrarily selected. It is also possible to employ materials other than resin, such as glass.
Although the translucent member constituting the entire game board base is colorless and transparent, a colored transparent member can also be adopted. Depending on the specifications, the game board base can be composed of a colorless transparent member and a colored transparent member, or the game board base can be provided with a color / pattern, which can be displayed on the image display means (liquid crystal display device). The design can be changed within a range that does not adversely affect the design. In this case, the pattern is preferably a colorless and transparent diagram, but depending on the configuration of the image display means (liquid crystal display device) disposed on the back side of the game board base, a colored pattern can be applied.
In the present embodiment, the gaming board base is composed of a member having translucency. However, in the present invention, it is not intended to be limited to that composed of a member having translucency. Needless to say, a member that does not have translucency (synthetic resin, wooden, etc.) may be used.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, 19 and 20, in this embodiment, the front door 2 has a substantially elliptical shape penetrating the front side (player facing side) 2a and the back side (game board facing side) 2b. A window portion 8 having a shape is provided.
Then, as shown in FIG. 2, an annular panel ring 9 is attached and fixed to the inner periphery of the window portion 8.
In this embodiment, the panel ring 9 has a window portion (not shown) having the same shape as the window portion 8 of the front door 2, and the back side panel plate 11 covers the entire back side 2 b of the front door 2. It is fixed so as not to come out in the lateral direction (see FIGS. 2 and 3).

  As shown in FIG. 2, a transparent plate (glass plates 5 and 6) is held on the rear side 2 b of the front door 2 so as to close the window portion 8 on the outer diameter side of the panel ring 9. A plate holding frame 7 is detachably provided.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, for example, the launching device 12 has a known configuration for launching a game ball sent from the supply tray 3 via the ball feeding device 17 toward the game area. Specifically, it has a hammer 13 and a spring 14 for hitting a game ball supplied by the ball feeder 17.
In the figure, reference numerals 15 and 16 denote an upper launch rail and a lower launch rail that guide the game balls launched by the launcher 12 in the direction of the guide rail provided in the game board.

  Specifically, the launching device 12 operates the hammer 13 and strikes the game ball based on the rising or falling of the pulse signal output in response to the operation of the launching handle. More specifically, the pulse signal output in response to the operation of the firing handle is a periodic signal generated using a crystal oscillator, and in this embodiment, 0 is obtained by operating the firing handle. The pulse signal is output every 6 seconds.

In addition, in the launching device 12, a plunger (not shown) provided inside the firing device 12 is used for hitting the game ball with the hammer 13, and the plunger operated to hit the game ball with the hammer 13. A spring 14 is used to return the position to its original position.
In this embodiment, a linear reciprocating solenoid is used as the launching device 12. However, for example, a launching device using a rotary solenoid or a hitting ball with a motor as a drive source may be used. .

  The ball feeding device 17 is provided with a ball feeding mechanism 18 provided on the back side of the front door 2 and a ball feeding drive source that is separated from the ball feeding mechanism 18 and provided on the main body frame 1 side to operate the ball feeding mechanism 18. 47.

The ball feeding mechanism 18 is disposed on the back side 2b of the front door 2 so as to be provided at the back position of the supply tray.
Specifically, the ball feeding case main body 19, the regulating piece 36 provided in the ball feeding case main body 19, and the ball feeding case lid 22 integrally attached to the front door facing surface 19 a side of the ball feeding case main body 19 The ball feeding case lid 22 is fixed at one end and is provided with a fixed member (also referred to as a ball feeding stopper) 46 that is swingable.

The ball feeding case main body 19 is provided at the highest position on the front door facing surface 19a side so as to communicate with the supply tray 3 and communicate with a ball supply hole (not shown) formed in the back panel plate 11. A receiving port 20 for receiving a game ball from the supply hole, and provided at the lowest position on the main body frame facing surface 19b side, communicates with the guide hole 51b provided on the main body frame 1 side when the front door 2 is closed. , A delivery port 21 for sending out the game ball received from the receiving port 20 to the launching device 12, and a ball passage 29 that connects the receiving port 20 and the sending port 21.
The ball feeding case body 19 has an upper end surface 19c formed in a predetermined inclined shape, and an opening 19d where the metal plate 38 of the regulating piece 36 faces is formed in a predetermined region of the inclined upper end surface 19c. ing.

The ball feeding case lid 22 is formed in a thin wall shape that is substantially the same shape as the front door facing surface 19a of the ball feeding case main body 19 in front view in FIG. 9, and has the same hole as the receiving port 20 at the highest position. A lid-side receiving port 23 that opens at the same height in shape is provided. The ball feeding case main body 19 is integrally attached and fixed to the front door facing surface 19a side. Further, at a predetermined position of the front door facing surface 22a of the ball feeding case lid 22, there is provided a storage recess 24 which opens upward and stores one end (fitting surface 46a) of a fixing member 46 which will be described later.
The storage recess 24 is formed in a substantially U-shape with the upper portion 27 opened, and is provided with one end (fitting surface 46a) of the fixing member 46 on each of the left and right vertical edges 25, 25 and the horizontal edge 26 constituting the bottom. Fitting grooves 25a, 25a, and 26a are formed (see FIG. 9).
The storage recess 24 is provided with the same inclination as the upper end surface 19c. That is, the lateral edge 26 and the upper side 27 are parallel to the upper end surface 19c.
Further, the ball feeding case lid 22 is formed with a notch region 22c into which a fixing member 46, which will be described later, can enter and exit, on the upper end surface located vertically above the lateral edge 26 and the upper side 27.
In the drawing, the portions protruding to the left and right indicated by reference numerals 28 and 28 are attachment pieces for screwing the ball feeding mechanism 18 to the back panel plate 11 on the back side 2 b of the front door 2.
In this embodiment, the ball feeding case main body 19 and the ball feeding case lid 22 are collectively referred to as a case member.

  The ball passage 29 provided in the ball feeding case body 19 is a passage space in which one game ball can roll and flow down. In this embodiment, the ball passage 29 is continuous from the receiving port 20 and is inclined downward toward the sending port 21. A first passage 30 formed in the first passage 30 and a second passage 32 that is continuous with the first passage 30 through the step portion 31 and is formed in a downwardly inclined shape. A space 34 is formed to be continuous with the second passage 32 via the stepped portion 33 and to communicate with the delivery port 21, and is rotatably accommodated in the space 34. A game ball receiving portion 41 of the restriction piece 36 to be described later is continuous with the second passage 32 and functions as a third passage 35 communicating with the delivery port 21.

The restricting piece 36 releases the restriction of the flow of the game ball from the receiving port 20 to the outlet 21 and the restriction of the flow of the game ball and the succeeding game ball of which the restriction has been released. The game ball is configured to be switchable to a release position A2 where the game ball is blocked at a predetermined position inside the receiving port 20.
The restricting piece 36 of this embodiment is attached to the ball feed lever 37 that can be switched between the restriction position A1 and the release position A2 and integrally connected to the upper end of the ball feed lever 37. It is composed of a flat metal plate 38 that can be attracted to and separated from the ball feed drive source 47 by the excitation / non-excitation action of the source 47.
Further, the restriction piece 36 will be described in detail as follows.

The ball feeding lever 37 is formed in the same inclined state as the inclined state of the upper end surface 19c region of the ball feeding case main body 19, and has a flat plate-like upper end surface portion 39 for integrally fixing and connecting the metal plate 38, and the upper end surface A flat plate-shaped ball contact surface portion 40 extending downward from the surface portion 39 and a game ball receiving portion 41 having a storage space formed in a concave shape continuously from the ball contact surface portion 40 are configured. In addition, the upper end 42 on the back side of the game ball receiving portion 41 is provided with rotating shafts 43 and 43 protruding in the left-right direction.
In addition, since the game ball receiving unit 41 also functions as the third passage 35 as described above, the game ball received (induced) by the game ball receiving unit 41 is turned toward the outlet 21. The inner bottom surface 41a is inclined downward toward the delivery port 21 so as to move.

  The rotating shaft 43 is pivotally supported on one side by a sliding hole 19e provided on the body frame facing surface 19b side of the ball feeding case main body 19, and the other side is a front door facing surface 19a of the ball feeding case main body 19. It is slidably supported by a sliding hole 22b provided on the side surface of the ball feeding case lid 22 attached to the side (see FIGS. 8 and 10). Thus, the restricting piece 36 is configured to be movable back and forth around the rotation shafts 43 and 43. Therefore, the metal plate 38 can also be swung in the vertical direction by the back and forth movement of the restricting piece 36.

When the metal plate 38 is positioned on the same plane as the upper end surface 19c region of the ball feed case main body 19, the ball feed lever 37 has a lower end surface portion 41b constituting the game ball receiving portion 41 of the ball feed case main body 19. The ball contact surface portion 40 is in contact with the inner bottom surface 34a of the space portion 34, and is configured to be positioned in parallel with the surface portion 33a of the step portion 33 of the ball passage 29 of the ball feeding case body 19 at a predetermined distance. (See FIG. 12).
The distance L1 formed between the end edge 40a of the ball contact surface portion 40 and the boundary edge portion 33b that is the edge portion of the stepped portion 33 is configured to be smaller than the ball diameter of the game ball. (See FIG. 12).
That is, in this state, the game ball received in the game ball receiving portion 41 is sent to the sending / receiving port, but the subsequent game balls are separated from the edge and the boundary edge of the ball contact surface portion 40. And dammed by the part. Therefore, this position is the release position A2 of the restriction piece 36 in this embodiment.
The restricting piece 36 is normally in the release position A2 due to the weight of the metal plate 38, particularly when the exciting action of the ball feeding drive source 47 does not reach the metal plate 38.

Then, the metal plate 38 swings upward (moves in the counterclockwise direction R1 in FIG. 13), and according to the swing operation, the ball feeding lever 37 is viewed in the counterclockwise direction on the drawing with the shaft support portion as a viewpoint. When moved to R1, the game ball receiving portion 41 functioning as the third passage 35 is shifted from a position communicating with the delivery port 21, and is disposed at a position where the delivery port 21 is closed. The flow of game balls from 20 to the outlet 21 is restricted (see FIG. 13).
Since the entire area of the opening 41c of the game ball receiving portion 41 faces the second passage 32, the subsequent game ball moves into the game ball receiving portion 41 when the restricting piece 36 moves to this position. Then, the movement waiting state to the next release position A2 is entered. Therefore, this position is the restriction position A1 of the restriction piece 36 in this embodiment.

Further, in the present embodiment, the ball feeding lever 37 when in the release position A2 has the lower end surface portion 41b in contact with the inner bottom surface 34a of the space portion 34 of the ball feeding case main body 19, so that the clockwise direction R2 from the position. The movement to is restricted (see FIG. 12).
That is, this makes it possible for the third passage 35 to reliably secure a predetermined position. Further, the surface portion 45 extending from the lower end surface portion 41b in the direction of the rotating shaft 43 is formed with a predetermined curved surface, and is configured not to inhibit the movement in the counterclockwise direction R1 in FIG.

The fixing member 46 attaches and holds one end (lower end) side to the storage recess 24 provided on the front door facing surface 22a side of the ball feeding case lid 22, and the restriction piece 36 is moved to the release position on the other end (upper end) side. It has a structure that can be fixed to A2.
In the present embodiment, a metal leaf spring integrally formed in an elongated thin flat plate shape is assumed, and a fitting surface 46a provided at the one end (lower end) and capable of fitting into the storage recess 24 is provided. A spring acting surface 46b extending from the fitting surface 46a, a regulation receiving surface 46c extending in the horizontal direction from the spring acting surface 46b and in contact with the regulation piece 36, and a vertical direction from the regulation receiving surface 46c. And a frame receiving surface 46d that comes into contact with a gaming machine member (for example, the case body 50 of the ball feed driving source 47 projecting in the direction of the front door 2) in the process of closing the front door 2. Yes.

As described above, since the metal leaf spring is assumed in the present embodiment, the front door 2 is not energized when the front door 2 is in the open state and the ball feed drive source 47 is in the non-excited state, and the restriction receiving is not performed. The surface 46c contacts the upper surface (outer surface) of the metal plate 38 of the restricting piece 36 and fixes the restricting piece 36 to the release position A2 (the state shown by the phantom line in FIG. 9 and the state shown in FIG. 14).
Then, a case body 50 that encloses a ball feed solenoid 48 to be described later in the process of closing the front door 2 is positioned on the metal plate 38, and the case body 50 and the frame receiving surface 46d come into contact with each other. The body 50 is biased by pressing the frame receiving surface 46d in the direction of the front door 2, the spring acting surface 46b is bent in the direction of the front door 2, and the restriction receiving surface 46c is not in contact with the metal plate 38. It moves to a contact position (a position urged in the direction of the front door 2, that is, a state shown by a solid line in FIG. 9 and a state shown in FIG. 15).
In the present embodiment, the leaf spring provided in the ball feeding case lid 22 has been described as an example, but the design of the fixing member 46 can be changed to other forms within the scope of the present invention. For example, such a leaf spring structure can be provided on the back panel plate 11 of the front door 2.
Further, when the front door 2 is opened, the front door 2 is positioned on the restricting piece 36 to restrict the movement of the restricting piece 36, and is pressed by a predetermined gaming machine member when the front door 2 is closed, and from above the restricting piece 36 to the front door. Any configuration that moves in two directions and does not hinder the movement of the regulating piece 36 is within the scope of the present invention. For example, a fixing member having a predetermined shape that has one end fixed to the rear side of the ball feed case lid 22 or the front door 2 and is biased toward the main body frame 1 via a coil spring or the like is within the scope of the present invention. Can be selected as appropriate.

  In this embodiment, the ball feed drive source 47 is assumed to be a ball feed solenoid 48 that excites the metal plate 38 of the restriction piece 36, and faces the ball feed mechanism 18 and faces the ball feed mechanism 18. When this is done, it is arranged on the main body frame 1 side so that the lower end side (magnet portion 49) is positioned above the ball feeding mechanism 18. The ball feed solenoid 48 has a magnet portion 49, and when the magnet portion 49 is electrically excited, the metal plate 38 is attracted to the magnet portion 49, and the ball feed lever 37 is centered on the rotation shaft 43. It is comprised so that it may rotate. In the present embodiment, a case body 50 for casing the ball feed solenoid 48 is provided.

Specifically, a bracket cover 51 is detachably provided in the vicinity of the launching device 12 disposed on the main body frame 1 side and above the upper firing rail 15 and lower firing rail 16 placement positions. A ball feed solenoid 48 is attached and fixed to the front door facing surface 51a of the bracket cover 51, and the case body 50 is detachably attached to the bracket cover 51 so as to cover the ball feed solenoid 48 from above. In this embodiment, mounting pieces 50a and 50a are projected from the left and right side surfaces of the case body 50, and are attached to the bracket cover 51 with screws 52 and 52 through the mounting pieces 50a and 50a.
In addition, at a predetermined position of the bracket cover 51, a game ball sent from the outlet 21 at a position communicating with the outlet 21 of the ball feeder 17 is transferred to the upper launch rail 15 and the lower launch rail 16. A guide hole 51b that can be guided in front of the hammer 13 of the launching device 12 is formed.

In the present embodiment, the ball feed drive source 47 is configured so that the magnet portion 49 is positioned above the metal plate 38 of the restricting piece 36 with the front door 2 closed by the body frame 1. The metal plate 38 exposed on the upper surface of the mechanism 18 and the upper end surface of the ball feeding case main body 19 are arranged and set with the same inclined state as the inclined state of the ball feeding case main body 19, and the metal plate 38 is excited and de-excited. The restriction piece 36 is switched between the restriction position A1 and the release position A2.
The ball feed solenoid 48 is a pulse signal output from the firing handle at a predetermined interval (for example, every 0.6 seconds) in accordance with the rotation operation of the firing handle by the player, as in the launching device 12 described above. The ball feeding lever 37 is rotated in a predetermined direction by exciting the magnet portion 49 on the basis of the rising or falling.

  In the present embodiment, a guide member 53 is provided for positioning and guiding the ball feed mechanism 18 and the ball feed drive source 47 to appropriate positions in the process in which the front door 2 is closed to the main body frame 1 (see FIGS. (See FIGS. 8 and 16 to 18.)

  The guide member 53 includes a first guide portion 54 provided on the front door 2 side and a second guide portion 57 provided on the main body frame 1 side.

In the present embodiment, as the first guide portion 54, two positioning convex portions 55, 55 are provided at a predetermined position of the back side panel plate 11 on the back side 2 b of the front door 2 (on the back side of the supply tray 3). Yes.
The positioning protrusions 55 are provided above the positions of the ball feed mechanisms 18 on the back panel 11 so as to be shifted from each other, and around the protrusions 55, a predetermined gap L2 is provided. And a groove 56 formed in a cylindrical shape with a predetermined depth is provided.
In this embodiment, the positioning convex portion 55 is formed so as to slightly protrude from the opening edge 56 a of the groove portion 56 in the direction of the main body frame 1. Moreover, the front-end | tip 55a of the positioning convex part 55 is made into the taper surface so that it may become a tapered shape.

  Further, as the second guide portion 57, when the concave portions 58, 58 fitted to the positioning convex portions 55, 55 are fitted and guided to the positioning convex portion 55, the concave portion 58 is A fitting action portion 62 including a positioning adjustment portion 60 that releases the force in the closing direction of the front door 2 to be received in a predetermined direction is provided on the main body frame 1 side.

In this embodiment, the concave portion 58 is directed inward from an opening 59a of a cylindrical portion 59 provided in a cylindrical shape on the surface (front door facing surface 50b) of the case body 50 casing the ball feed solenoid 48. A hollow portion formed in a hollow shape functions as the concave portion 58.
Then, the positioning convex portion 55 is guided and fitted in the concave portion 58, and the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 59 constituting the concave portion 58 is guided and fitted in the groove portion 56 around the positioning convex portion 55. To do. Accordingly, the guide function is excellent and the positioning is easy.

The positioning adjustment unit 60 is assumed to be an elastic body that can be biased in the direction of the front door 2 in this embodiment.
According to the present embodiment, the left and right attachment pieces 50a, 50a of the case body 50 that casings the ball feed solenoid 48 are attached to the bracket cover 51 by the screws 52 or the like as described above. The case body 50 can be biased in the direction of the front door 2 by interposing the coil spring 61 between the brackets 51 and 50a and the bracket cover 51 and screwing them.
The positioning adjustment unit 60 may be configured to be able to release the force in the closing direction of the front door 2 received by the recess 58 in a predetermined direction by allowing the case body 50 to move in the xyz direction. Other than the elastic body that can be urged in the direction of the front door 2 as in the present embodiment, the design can be changed within the scope of the present invention.

The fitting action part 62 only needs to be provided on either the first guide part 54 or the second guide part 57. For example, the positioning convex part 55 is swung on the back panel plate 11 of the front door 2. If configured to be movable, the force in the closing direction of the front door 2 received by the recess 58 can be released in a predetermined direction, and is within the scope of the present invention. For example, the positioning convex portion 55 may be provided on a plate member having a predetermined shape, and the plate member may be attached to the back panel plate 11 so as to be swingable by an elastic member or the like.
Moreover, it is also possible to employ | adopt the structure which equips the body frame 1 side with the positioning convex part 55, and equips the recessed part 58 with the front door 2 side, and is in the scope of the present invention.

  Note that the recess 58 can also be configured as shown in FIG. That is, in order to smoothly perform the fitting guidance of the positioning convex portion 55, the tip region of the opening 59a of the cylindrical portion 59 can be expanded outward. If comprised in this way, the positioning convex part 55 will be slidably guided along the taper surface inclined downward in the direction of the concave part 58.

  Here, the operation of the ball feeder 17 of the gaming machine of this embodiment will be described.

Since the front door 2 is closed when a game is being performed, the ball feed mechanism 18 on the front door 2 side is positioned below the ball feed drive source 47 on the main body frame 1 side at this time. Then, a signal is sent to the launching device 12 by the rotation operation of the launching handle of the player, and the hammer 13 is driven back and forth to launch the game ball sent forward in the game area direction. The operation of the ball feeding device 17 at this time will be described.
First, a game ball is guided from the supply tray 3 through the receiving port 20 into the ball feeding mechanism 18. The game ball rolls down from the first passage 30 to the second passage 32 and is blocked by the edge 40 a of the ball contact surface portion 40 of the ball feeding lever 37 and the boundary edge 33 b of the ball passage 29. Rolling down to the position (release position A2).

  Next, based on the pulse signal output in response to the rotation operation of the firing handle, when the magnet portion 49 is excited, the metal plate 38 is attracted to the magnet portion 49, and the ball feeding lever 37 moves the rotation shaft 43. As a center, it is rotationally moved (moved in the counterclockwise direction R1 in FIG. 13) so as to be positioned closer to the ball feed solenoid 48 (regulation position A1).

  When the ball feed lever 37 is rotated and moved so as to be positioned closer to the ball feed solenoid 48, the interval L3 formed by the end edge 40a of the ball contact surface portion 40 of the ball feed lever 37 and the boundary edge portion 33b of the ball passage 29 is increased. The game ball that has become larger and has been blocked by the release position A2 flows down onto the game ball receiving portion 41.

Next, when the magnet portion 49 is in a non-excited state, the attracting action of the metal plate 38 by the magnet portion 49 is lost, so the metal plate 38 is separated from the magnet portion 49, and the weight of the metal plate 38 and the game ball receiving portion 41. Due to the weight of the game ball guided inward, the ball feeding lever 37 rotates in the clockwise direction R2 in FIG. 12 and returns to the release position A2.
At this time, the game ball guided in the game ball receiving portion 41 rolls down toward the delivery port 21 and is sent to the front of the launching device 12. Then, the subsequent game ball is blocked by the end edge 40a of the ball contact surface portion 40 of the ball feeding lever 37 at the release position A2 and the boundary edge portion 33b of the ball passage 29.

  In this way, the game in which the magnet portion 49 is guided from the supply tray 3 to the ball feeder 17 by repeating the excitation state and the non-excitation state at predetermined intervals based on the pulse signal output from the launch handle. The balls are supplied one by one in front of the hammer 13 of the launching device 12 in synchronization with the launching operation of the game balls by the launching device 12.

Next, the operation of the ball feeding device 17 when opening and closing the front door 2 will be described.
When the front door 2 is opened, since the player basically releases his hand from the launch handle, the magnet portion 49 of the ball feed drive source 47 is in a non-excited state. That is, the magnet portion 49 and the metal plate 38 of the restriction piece 36 of the ball feeding mechanism 18 are separated from each other.
When the front door 2 is opened in this state, the ball feed mechanism 18 is disengaged from the position below the ball feed drive source 47 in the process of opening the front door 2.
At this time, when the front door 2 is closed, the upper end (frame receiving surface) of the fixing member (plate spring) 46 that is urged in the direction of the front door 2 by the case body 50 of the ball feed drive source 47 and has been detached from the metal plate 38. 46d and the regulation receiving surface 46c) side are released from the urging force toward the front door 2 during the opening process of the front door 2, so that the fixing member (plate spring) is restored by the restoring force of the fixing member (plate spring) 46. The upper end (frame receiving surface 46d and restriction receiving surface 46c) side of 46 moves onto the metal plate 38 of the restriction piece 36, and the restriction receiving surface 46c is on the upper surface (outer surface) of the metal plate 38 of the restriction piece 36. Contact is made to fix the regulating piece 36 at the release position A2 (the rotational movement of the regulating piece 36 is regulated).

  Therefore, when the front door 2 is opened, the restriction piece 36 of the ball feeding mechanism 18 is fixed to the release position A2 by the fixing member 46, so that the game balls supplied from the supply tray 3 are dammed at the release position A2. It can be stopped. Therefore, there is no inadvertent fall of game balls.

Next, the operation of the ball feeding device 17 in the process of closing the front door 2 will be described.
When the front door 2 is closed to the main body frame 1, the ball feed mechanism 18 also moves in the main body frame 1 direction as the front door 2 moves in the main body frame 1 direction. Then, in the closing process of the front door 2, the ball feeding mechanism 18 enters below the case body 50 of the ball feeding drive source 47 arranged on the main body frame 1 side, and a magnet portion 49 of the ball feeding drive source 47. Is located on the metal plate 38. At this time, when the case body 50 and the frame receiving surface 46 d come into contact with each other, the case body 50 presses and urges the frame receiving surface 46 d toward the front door 2, and the restriction receiving surface 46 c is in contact with the metal plate 38. It moves from a contact position to a non-contact position (a position urged in the direction of the front door 2, that is, a state shown by a solid line in FIG. 9 and a state shown in FIG. 15).
Thereby, the restriction piece 36 whose movement is restricted by the restriction receiving surface 46 c of the fixing member 46 is released from the restriction, and can be rotated by the excitation / non-excitation action of the ball feed drive source 47.

Further, according to the present embodiment, in the process in which the front door 2 is closed to the main body frame 1, the positioning convex portion 55 provided on the ball feed mechanism 18 side, that is, on the back side of the front door 2 is the ball feed drive source 47. Therefore, the ball feed mechanism 18 and the ball feed drive source 47 are guided to appropriate positions (see FIGS. 16 and 17).
Further, even if the positions of the positioning convex portion 55 and the concave portion 58 are slightly shifted, the case body 50 having the concave portion 58 is urged in the direction of the front door 2 via the positioning adjusting portion 60 including the coil spring 61. Therefore, the force in the closing direction of the front door 2 received by the recess 58 can be released in a predetermined direction, and positioning adjustment is possible.
Therefore, even when the ball feeding mechanism 18 and the ball feeding drive source 47 are provided separately on the front door 2 and the main body frame 1, obstacles such as ball feeding, ball leakage, and ball clogging do not occur.

  Furthermore, this embodiment is also characterized in that the following configuration is adopted (see FIGS. 19 to 21).

The front door 2 is pivotally attached to the front side of the side surface of the main body frame 1 so as to be openable and closable. However, a foreign matter such as a wire is formed from this pivotal portion B, that is, a slight gap between the main body frame 1 and the front door 2. Some illegal players try to cheat by inserting Alternatively, there are some illegal players who try to force open the front door 2 by inserting a bar or the like into the gap.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the following foreign matter intrusion prevention mechanism 70 that can prevent foreign matter from being inserted from the gap between the main body frame 1 and the front door 2 is employed. A specific configuration will be described below.

The foreign matter intrusion prevention mechanism 70 is disposed in the rear region on the pivoted portion B side of the front door 2 by combining a plurality of prevention members, and closes the gap between the main body frame 1.
Specifically, for example, the structure shown in FIGS. 19 to 20 can be adopted, and in the illustrated example, an embodiment including a first prevention member 71 and a second prevention member 75 is assumed.

  The first prevention member 71 is provided on the back surface of the front door 2 near the door frame 2c. For example, the main body 72 formed in an elongated flat plate having a length approximately the same as the door frame 2c, and a predetermined position of the main body 72, in this embodiment, cut into three places with a predetermined interval in the length direction. Engagement pieces 73, 73, 73 provided by being raised and attachment piece portions 74, 74 extending in the horizontal direction at the upper and lower ends in the length direction.

  The second prevention member 75 is provided on the back surface 72 a side of the first prevention member 71 so as to overlap the first prevention member 71. For example, a main body 78 formed in a substantially L shape in a sectional view with an outer surface plate 76 and an inner surface plate 77 formed in an elongated flat plate having a height direction length substantially the same as the door frame 2c, and a predetermined position of the main body 78 In this embodiment, when the first preventive member 71 is overlapped and combined, the cutout portions 79, 79, which are formed at three positions at positions corresponding to the engagement pieces 73, 73, 73 are formed. 79 and mounting piece portions 80, 80 extending in the horizontal direction at the upper and lower ends in the length direction.

With this configuration, first, the first prevention member 71 is attached and fixed to the pivot portion B side of the door frame 2c via the upper and lower attachment pieces 74 and 74. At this time, it attaches so that the engagement piece 73 may face the back side (side facing the second prevention member 75).
Next, an inner surface plate 77 is arranged along the back surface 72a side of the first prevention member 71, and the three engagement pieces 73, 73, 73 are arranged at three notch portions. When protruding from 79, 79, 79, the engaging piece 73 extends along the back surface 77 a side of the inner surface plate 77. At this time, the side surface 72b of the first prevention member 71 is set to abut against and closely contact the inner surface 76a of the outer surface plate 76 of the second prevention member 75.
Therefore, the first prevention member 71 and the second prevention member 75 are overlapped and integrated on the pivoted portion B side of the front door 2 in this way, so that the space between the front door 2 and the main body frame 1 is increased. Are not only closed, but a plurality of complex labyrinths 90, 90... As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20 are formed, so that foreign matter enters between the front door 2 and the main body frame 1. It becomes extremely difficult and can prevent fraud and illegal games.

It is a schematic front perspective view which shows an example of a gaming machine. It is a schematic perspective view of the state which looked at the front door from the back side. The schematic rear view of a front door shows the state where the solenoid of the ball feed drive source with which the main body frame side is equipped is virtually provided. It is a schematic back view which shows the positional relationship of a supply tray (top plate) and a ball | bowl feeding mechanism, omitting the back side panel board of a front door. It is a perspective view which expands and shows roughly the launching device and ball feed drive source which are provided in the main body frame side. FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view schematically showing a launching device and a ball feed driving source provided on the main body frame side. FIG. 2 is a front view schematically showing an enlarged launching device and a ball feed driving source provided on the main body frame side, and a case body of the ball feeding drive source is omitted. It is a schematic perspective view of the rear surface of the front door showing the ball feeding mechanism and the positioning convex portion in an enlarged manner. It is a schematic perspective view of the ball | bowl feeding mechanism which shows the state seen from the surface which contact | connects the back side of a front door. It is a schematic rear view of the ball feeding mechanism showing a state viewed from the surface in contact with the back side of the front door. It is a schematic perspective view of the ball | bowl feeding mechanism which shows the state which removed the ball | bowl feeding case cover. It is the schematic which shows the state which has a control piece in a cancellation | release position in the non-excitation state of a ball | bowl feed drive source. It is the schematic which shows the state which has a control piece in a control position in the excitation state of a ball | bowl feed drive source. It is the schematic which shows the relationship between a ball | bowl feed drive source, a control piece, and a fixing member, and shows the state by which the control piece is being fixed by the fixing member in the non-excitation state. Schematic showing the relationship between the ball feed drive source, the regulating piece and the fixed member, in an excited state and the fixed member being pressed by the ball feed drive source and moving in the direction of the front door and coming off the regulating piece Indicates. It is a schematic sectional drawing which expands and shows a part of relationship of a guide member, and shows the state which the front door is moving to the main body frame direction (door closing). It is a schematic sectional drawing which expands and shows a part of relation of a guide member, and shows the state where a front door is closed to a body frame and a convex part and a crevice of a guide member are fitted. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the other form of a recessed part. It is a schematic sectional drawing which expands and shows partially the arrangement | positioning state of a foreign material approach prevention mechanism, and shows in cross section in places other than an engaging part. It is a schematic sectional drawing which expands and shows the arrangement state of a foreign substance approach prevention mechanism, and shows a section in an engagement part. It is the schematic which shows the whole of the 1st prevention member and 2nd prevention member which comprise a foreign material approach prevention mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body frame 2 Front door 2b Rear side 3 Supply tray 12 Launching device 17 Ball feeding device 18 Ball feeding mechanism 20 Entrance 21 Delivery port 36 Restriction piece 38 Metal plate 46 Fixing member 46c Restriction receiving surface 46d Frame receiving surface 47 Ball feeding drive Source 48 Ball feed solenoid 50 Case body 53 Guide member 55 Positioning convex part 58 Concave part 60 Positioning adjustment part 61 Coil spring (elastic member)
62 Fitting action part A1 Restriction position A2 Release position

Claims (4)

A main body frame including a game board having a game area in which a game ball rolls down;
A launching device that is provided in the main body frame and launches a game ball toward the game board;
A front door attached to the body frame so as to be openable and closable;
A supply tray that is provided in the front door and stores a supplied game ball;
A ball feeding device for delivering the game ball of the supply tray to the launching device,
The ball feeder is
An entrance for receiving game balls from the supply tray;
A delivery port for sending out the game ball received from the reception port to the launching device;
A restriction position for restricting the flow of the game ball from the receiving port to the sending / receiving port, a restriction on the flow of the game ball, and a game ball subsequent to the game ball on which the restriction has been released A ball-feeding mechanism provided on the back surface of the supply tray in the front door, including a regulating piece configured to be switchable to a release position that is dammed at a position;
A ball feed drive source that is provided in the main body frame and that acts on the restricting piece in a state where the front door is closed to the main body frame to switch the restricting piece between the restricting position and the release position;
Including a fixing member capable of fixing the restriction piece to the release position;
The fixing member has a restriction receiving surface that comes into contact with the restriction piece, and a frame receiving surface that comes into contact with the gaming machine member in the process of closing the front door, and is configured to be movable.
The fixing member has the front door in an open state, the restriction receiving surface comes into contact with the restriction piece and fixes the restriction piece in the release position, and the gaming machine member and the frame receiving surface come into contact with each other during the closing process of the front door. Thus, the regulation receiving surface moves from a contact position with the regulation piece to a non-contact position. The restricting piece includes a ball feeding lever that can be switched between the restriction position and the release position, and a metal plate that is connected to the ball feeding lever and is swingably attached.
The ball feed drive source includes a solenoid that excites the metal plate,
2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein when the front door is opened and the ball feed drive source is in a non-excited state, the restriction receiving surface of the fixing member contacts the metal plate of the restriction piece. The ball feeding mechanism is provided on the back side of the supply tray of the front door,
The gaming machine according to claim 2, wherein the ball feed driving source is provided on the main body frame side so as to face the ball feeding mechanism. The fixing member consists of a leaf spring,
The ball feed mechanism is housed in the case member and provided on the back side of the supply tray of the front door,
The gaming machine according to claim 3, wherein the case member includes an accommodation recess that opens upward and accommodates one end of a fixing member made of the leaf spring.

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