JP5372676B2 - The ball flow mechanism of gaming machines - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ball downflow mechanism of a game machine which is capable of making foul balls stably flow down regardless of the state of storage of game balls in a shot ball supply tray, and capable of the foul balls from adversely affecting the play. <P>SOLUTION: The ball downflow mechanism of the game machine has a main foul ball collecting channel 51 for making the foul balls flow down to the shot ball supply tray or an auxiliary ball receiving tray. A first guide part 511 for making the foul balls from an entrance 514 flow rearward and a second guide part 512 for making the foul balls flowing along the first guide part 511 flow forward are formed in a detour downflow space 510 of the main foul ball collecting channel 51. The detour downflow space also has an exit 515 for making the foul balls flowing along the second guide part 512 flow into the shot ball supply tray 31, and an entrance 521 of a communication channel 52 for making the foul balls flow from the detour downflow space 510 into an overflow channel 4 on the front side of the detour downflow space 510. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball flow down mechanism of a gaming machine having a hitting ball supply tray and an auxiliary ball receiving tray.

  In a game machine such as a pachinko machine, when two upper and lower ball trays are arranged, when the amount of game balls stored in the upper plate (hit ball supply tray) exceeds a certain number, this certain number is exceeded. An overflow channel is provided for allowing the game ball to overflow into the lower tray (auxiliary ball tray). In addition, the main body frame of the gaming machine is provided with a flow path for collecting a foul ball (game ball) that has been launched from the ball launcher and then returns to the ball launcher without reaching the game area of the game board. It has been.

  For example, in the foul ball processing apparatus in the pachinko machine of Patent Document 1, a hitting ball supply tray and a lower ball receiving tray are provided on the front surface of the front frame, and a foul ball falling from a foul ball return port is provided on the front frame. A foul ball passage for guiding the foul ball to the lower ball receiving tray is provided. Moreover, the opening part in which a foul ball falls is provided in the side edge part of the foul ball path. Thereby, when the hitting ball supply tray is not filled with the winning ball, the foul ball falling from the foul ball return port can be returned to the hitting ball supply plate, while when the hitting ball supply tray is filled with the winning ball, the foul ball path The foul ball flowing down can be dropped from the opening to the passage member and flow down to the lower ball tray.

JP-A-10-216307

  However, in Patent Document 1, no particular contrivance is made in the shape of the foul ball passage. Therefore, even when the hitting ball supply tray is not full, the foul ball may fall into the opening by mistake due to vibrations applied to the gaming machine. In Patent Document 1, a foul sphere cannot be stored in the foul sphere passage. Therefore, in order to collect the foul balls more stably, further ingenuity is required.

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and the foul ball can flow down stably regardless of the storage state of the game ball in the hitting ball supply tray, and the foul ball adversely affects the game. It is an object of the present invention to provide a ball flow down mechanism for a gaming machine that can prevent this.

According to the present invention, a hitting ball supply tray for supplying game balls to a ball launching device and an auxiliary ball receiving tray for storing game balls overflowing from the hitting ball supply tray are provided on a main body frame on which a game board is provided. And an overflow flow path for guiding the game ball overflowing from the hitting ball supply tray to the auxiliary ball receiving tray, and returning to the ball launching device without reaching the game area of the game board after being launched from the ball launching device. In a ball flow down mechanism of a gaming machine, which is provided with a foul ball collection flow path for collecting the foul balls coming and flowing the foul balls down to the hitting ball supply tray or the auxiliary ball receiving tray,
The foul ball collection flow path has a detour flow space for the foul ball to flow down,
The detour flow-down space includes a first guide portion that causes the foul sphere flowing in from the inlet portion of the foul ball collection flow path to flow backward, and a foul ball that has flowed down along the first guide portion forward. A foul ball flow path is formed by the two guide portions, and has an outlet for flowing the foul ball flowing down along the second guide portion to the hitting ball supply tray, and in front of the detour flow space. On the side, the ball flow down mechanism of the gaming machine has an inlet portion of a communication flow path for allowing the foul ball to flow down from the bypass flow down space to the overflow flow path (Claim 1).

  In the ball flow down mechanism of the gaming machine according to the present invention, the above-mentioned detour flow down space is provided in the foul ball collection flow path, and the foul ball is flowed down to flow smoothly, regardless of the storage state of the game balls in the hit ball supply tray. To make the foul ball flow down.

  After being fired from the ball launcher, the foul ball that has returned without reaching the game area of the game board flows down to the entrance portion of the detour flow-down space. Next, the foul sphere that has flowed down to the entrance portion of the detouring flow-down space flows backward in the first guide portion and then flows forward in the second guide portion due to the momentum of the inflow. The foul ball then flows down from the outlet provided in the second guide portion to the hitting ball supply tray. As a result, normally, the foul ball is preferentially supplied to the hitting ball supply tray, and this foul ball can be used quickly as a game ball to be fired again. Further, it is possible to prevent the foul ball from flowing down to the inlet of the communication channel and being discharged to the auxiliary ball tray. Therefore, the troublesome action of moving the foul ball discharged to the auxiliary ball receiving tray to the hitting ball supply tray again by the player can be eliminated.

On the other hand, when playing a pachinko game, if the hitting ball supply tray is filled up with the game ball (maximum storable amount), the game ball overflowing from the hitting ball supply tray will be downstream of the outlet of the bypass flow space. Charged to the side. And since the exit portion of the detouring flow space is blocked by the game ball, the foul ball that has flowed to the entrance portion of the detouring flow space flows down the first guide portion to the second guide portion. Stored.
Thereafter, when the second guide portion is filled with foul balls, the foul balls flow down to the inlet portion of the communication flow path and flow down to the auxiliary ball receiving tray via the overflow flow path.

  Thus, in the present invention, the foul ball can be stably and reliably allowed to flow down from the outlet portion of the detour flow-down space to the hit ball supply tray until the hit ball supply tray is filled with the game ball. On the other hand, when the hitting ball supply tray becomes full, a predetermined amount of foul balls can be stored in the bypass flow-down space, and then the foul balls can be moved from the inlet portion of the communication channel to the overflow flow path and the auxiliary ball receiving tray. Can flow down stably.

Thereby, according to the storage state of the game balls in the hitting ball supply tray, it is possible to stably distribute whether the foul balls flow down to the hitting ball supply tray or to the auxiliary ball receiving tray. Further, the amount of foul spheres stored in the foul sphere recovery flow path can be increased by forming the detour flow-down space.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent the foul ball from overflowing from the foul ball collection flow path and backflowing toward the ball launching device, and to prevent adverse effects on the game ball launched from the ball launching device. it can.

  Therefore, according to the ball flow down mechanism of the gaming machine of the present invention, the foul ball can flow down stably regardless of the storage state of the game ball in the hitting ball supply tray, and the foul ball adversely affects the game. Can be prevented.

The perspective view which shows the game machine of the state which opened the ball tray panel in an Example. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing which shows the suitable location in the game machine in the Example seen from upper direction. The perspective view which shows the front side of the main body frame in an Example. The perspective view which shows the back surface side of the ball tray panel in an Example. The perspective view which shows the periphery of the main foul ball collection flow paths in an Example. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing which shows the periphery of the shutter member in the state which closed the ball tray panel in the Example seen from the side. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing which shows the periphery of the shutter member in the state which opened the ball tray panel in the Example seen from the side. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing which shows the periphery of the ball | bowl paying-out flow path in the Example seen from the side.

A preferred embodiment of the above-described ball flow down mechanism of the gaming machine of the present invention will be described.
In the present invention, the bottom surface of the bypass flow space is formed with a step shape that makes the bottom surface of the second guide part lower than the bottom surface of the first guide part, and the inlet part of the communication channel Is preferably formed on the front side of the first guide portion (claim 2).
In this case, the formation of the step shape can prevent the foul ball that has flowed down to the second guide portion from flowing back to the first guide portion. Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent the foul sphere once flowing down to the second guide part from flowing down to the inlet part of the communication channel formed on the first guide part side by mistake.

In addition, the main body frame is provided with a ball payout passage for guiding game balls to be paid out from the ball payout device to the hitting ball supply tray, and the outlet portion of the bypass flow space flows down the bypass flow space. Open to the side of the ball payout channel at a position rearward of the front surface of the game board so as to join the foul ball to the ball payout flow channel from the left and right directions. The outlet portion of the overflow channel is located at a side portion of the overflow channel at a position rearward of the front surface of the game board so that the foul balls flowing down the communication channel merge with the overflow channel from the left and right directions. It is preferable that it is opened (Claim 3).
In this case, various illegal means such as a wire are inserted from the ball outlet from which the game ball is paid out to the hitting ball supply tray or the ball outlet from which the game ball is paid out to the auxiliary ball receiving tray, and this illegal means can Even if an illegal act is attempted on a gaming device or the like arranged in the game area of the game board via the outlet part or the outlet part of the communication channel, the outlet part of the bypass flow space and the outlet part of the communication channel are not played. It is in a position deeper in the gaming machine than the front side of the board, and since these outlets are opened to the side instead of the front side, it is difficult to perform the act of intruding unauthorized means into the gaming machine can do. Therefore, the crime prevention property of the gaming machine can be improved.

In the following, an embodiment according to a ball flow down mechanism of a gaming machine of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The gaming machine 1 of the present example stores a ball supply tray 31 for supplying game balls to the ball launcher 26 and game balls overflowing from the ball supply tray 31 with respect to the main body frame 2 on which the game board 28 is disposed. An auxiliary ball tray 32 is provided. The ball flow down mechanism of the gaming machine 1 reaches the game area of the game board 28 after being fired from the overflow flow path 4 for guiding the game ball overflowing from the hitting ball supply tray 31 to the auxiliary ball receiving tray 32 and the ball launching device 26. A foul ball (game ball) that returns to the ball launching device 26 side is collected, and a main foul ball collecting flow path 51 is provided for allowing the foul ball to flow down to the hitting ball supply tray 31 or the auxiliary ball receiving tray 32. .

  The main foul ball collection flow path 51 has a detour flow space 510 where the foul ball flows down. The detour flow-down space 510 includes a first guide portion 511 that causes the foul sphere flowing in from the inlet 514 of the main foul ball collection flow path 51 to flow backward, and the foul sphere that has flowed down along the first guide portion 511 forward. A foul ball flow path is formed by the second guide portion 512 to be flowed down. The detour flow space 510 has an outlet 515 that causes the foul balls flowing down along the second guide portion 512 to flow to the hitting ball supply tray 31, and the front side of the detour flow space 510 (specifically, the first guide portion). 511 in front of the 511, the inlet 521 of the communication channel 52 that allows the foul ball to flow from the bypass flow space 510 to the overflow channel 4.

Hereinafter, the ball flow down mechanism of the gaming machine of this example will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the gaming machine 1 of this example is a pachinko gaming machine. The ball tray panel 3 of this example is provided with a hit ball supply tray 31 and an auxiliary ball tray 32. The ball tray panel 3 is provided integrally with a glass door 30 provided with a glass plate in a state where the game area of the game board 28 can be visually recognized. Further, the main body frame 2 has a ball payout device (not shown) for paying out a predetermined number of game balls according to the winnings, and a ball payout flow for flowing the game balls paid out from the ball payout device to the hitting ball supply tray 31 A path 21 is provided.

The glass door 30 and the ball tray panel 3 are integrally opened and closed with respect to the main body frame 2 around a rotation fulcrum provided at one of the left and right ends (the left end in this example). It is configured.
The ball tray panel 3 provided with the hitting ball supply tray 31 and the auxiliary ball receiving tray 32 can be configured to open and close separately from the glass door 30. Further, the hitting ball supply tray 31 and the auxiliary ball receiving tray 32 can be provided on the ball tray panel 3 that opens and closes separately. Further, the glass door 30 and the hitting ball supply tray 31 can be configured to be opened and closed integrally, and the ball tray panel 3 provided with the auxiliary ball receiving tray 32 can be configured to be opened and closed separately.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the ball payout flow channel 21 causes the game channel flowing down from above to flow forward and the game channel flowing down the front flow channel 211 to flow in the left-right direction. And a bent channel portion 212. The ball payout device of this example is disposed in the vicinity of the left end portion when viewed from the front side of the gaming machine 1, and the bent flow path portion 212 moves the game ball flowing down from the front flow path portion 211 to the right side. It is formed to be bent and flow down.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the overflow channel 4 of the present example includes a main body frame side channel 41 disposed in the main body frame 2 and a ball tray side channel 45 disposed in the ball tray panel 3. . The downstream end 411 in the main body frame side channel 41 is provided with a shutter member 6 that blocks the downstream end 411 when the ball tray panel 3 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2. The ball tray side flow path 45 is provided with a full tank detection unit 7 for stopping the payout of game balls.

As shown in FIG. 8, the main body frame side flow passage 41 in the overflow flow passage 4 has a rear flow passage portion 41 </ b> A formed rearward of the front surface of the main body frame 2. The rear channel portion 41A is formed at the rear and lower sides of the front channel portion 211, receives a game ball from the rear side of the front channel portion 211, flows down, and then moves forward. It is configured to flow down.
The rear-side channel portion 41A is formed by being partitioned from the front channel portion 211 by the partition channel member 43 that forms the front channel portion 211, and the partition channel member 43 is slightly in the middle part in the front-rear direction. A vertex portion C is formed at the rear position, and a front side inclined portion A that forms a bottom surface that slopes downward from the vertex portion C and a rear side inclined portion B that forms a bottom surface that slopes downward from the vertex portion C are provided. doing. Then, the game balls paid out from the ball payout device flow down to the front side inclined portion A of the partition flow path member 43 via the payout upstream flow path 20 by virtue of the flow down (FIG. In FIG. 8, the flow of the game ball is indicated by an arrow I).

  Then, the hitting ball supply tray 31 becomes full, the game balls overflow from the hitting ball supply tray 31, and the gaming balls reach the front side inclined portion A of the partition channel member 43 forming the front channel portion 211. When stored, the game balls to be paid out thereafter overflow to the rear side inclined portion B of the partition channel member 43, and pass through the main body frame side channel 41 and the ball tray side channel 45 (overflow channel 4). Then, it flows down to the auxiliary ball tray 32.

  As shown in FIG. 3, on the front surface of the main body frame 2, an upper flow opening hole 213 that communicates with the front flow path portion 211 in the ball discharge flow path 21 and a lower flow opening hole 412 that communicates with the rear flow path portion 41 </ b> A. Are formed vertically. An opening hole 421 is formed on the front surface of the overflow flow path member 42 and corresponding to the downstream side of the bent flow path section 212.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the rear surface side of the hitting ball supply tray 31 in the ball tray panel 3 is disposed in the opening hole 421 in a state in which the ball tray panel 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2 and bent. A flow-down guide portion 33 that guides the game ball flowing down along the flow path portion 212 to the hitting ball supply tray 31 is provided. The flow-down guide portion 33 is formed so as to protrude rearward from the ball tray panel 3 and has a right side wall 331 on which a game ball flowing down from the bent flow path portion 212 collides and a rear side wall 332 formed on the rear side. doing. Further, the downstream end portion of the flow guide portion 33 is open to the arrangement site of the hitting ball supply tray 31 as a ball payout outlet (ball inflow port) 333 on the front surface of the ball tray panel 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, in a state where the ball tray panel 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, the game balls flowing down the front flow channel portion 211 and the bent flow channel portion 212 in the ball payout flow channel 21 are flow down guide portions. It is configured to be guided to the front side again by 33 and guided to the hitting ball supply tray 31.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when the ball tray panel 3 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2, the bent flow path portion 212 in the ball payout flow path 21 opens to the main body frame side flow path 41 of the overflow flow path 4. The downstream end portion of the bent flow channel portion 212 is configured to merge from above with the main body frame side flow channel 41 formed in the overflow flow channel member 42. At this time, the game balls flowing down the front flow channel portion 211 and the bent flow channel portion 212 flow down in the left-right direction (right direction in this example) by the bent flow channel portion 212 and merge into the main body frame side flow channel 41. For this reason, even when the ball tray panel 3 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2, the game ball is prevented from falling from the opening hole 421.

As shown in FIG. 5, the main foul ball collection flow path 51 of this example is provided adjacent to the right side of the front flow path section 211 in the ball payout flow path 21.
A foul ball (game ball) that flows down forward along the second guide portion 512 is bent at the front end of the second guide portion 512 in the left-right direction (left direction in this example) and flows down. A bent flow lower wall 516 is provided for merging with the front flow path portion 211 in the discharge flow path 21.
The outlet portion 515 of the detour flow lower space 510 joins the foul sphere flowing down the detour flow lower space 510 by the bent flow lower wall 516 from the left and right direction (right direction in this example) with respect to the front flow channel portion 211 in the ball discharge flow channel 21. It is formed to let you. The outlet portion 515 of the bypass flow-down space 510 is open to a side portion of the front flow path portion 211 in the ball payout flow path 21 at a position rearward of the front surface of the game board 28.

An inlet 521 of a communication flow path 52 that causes the foul sphere to flow down from the bypass flow-down space 510 to the overflow flow path 4 is formed on the front side of the first guide portion 511 in the bypass flow-down space 510. The inlet portion 521 of the communication channel 52 is formed adjacent to the right side of the outlet portion 515 of the bypass flow-down space 510.
The outlet portion 522 of the communication channel 52 is formed so that the foul sphere flowing down the communication channel 52 joins the overflow channel 4 from the left-right direction (right direction in this example). The outlet portion 522 of the communication channel 52 is open to the side portion of the overflow channel 4 at a position on the rear side of the front surface of the game board 28.

The communication flow path 52 is formed to bend to the left from the inlet portion 521 toward the outlet portion 522.
Then, the game ball is filled up to the outlet portion 515 in the hit ball supply tray 31 and the front flow path portion 211, and the outlet portion 515 is blocked by the game ball, so that the front flow path portion 211 of the foul ball is filled. When the foul ball is stored up to the second guide part 512 of the bypass flow space 510 when the outflow to the bypass flow space 510 is restricted, the foul ball that has flowed down to the first guide part 511 of the bypass flow space 510 is in front of the first guide part 511. It is configured to be guided to the auxiliary ball receiving tray 32 through a communication channel 52 formed on the side.

As shown in FIG. 5, the detour flow-down space 510 has an inlet portion (an inlet portion into which the foul sphere flows) 514 of the main foul ball collection flow channel 51 at the right front end portion.
The first guide part 511 forms an oblique rear wall 511A for causing the foul sphere to flow downward diagonally to the left, and the second guide part 512 forms a side wall 512A for causing the foul sphere to flow forward. Become. The bypass flow-down space 510 is formed to be surrounded by the oblique rear wall 511A and the side wall 512A, the bottom surface of the first guide portion 511 is formed in a substantially triangular shape, and the bottom surface of the second guide portion 512 is The foul sphere is formed in a width that allows it to flow down in a single row.
The shape of the bypass flow space 510 is not limited to the substantially triangular shape as in the present embodiment, and various shapes such as a U-shape and a square shape can be used as long as the foul sphere can be appropriately bypassed. It can be.

The bottom surface of the first guide portion 511 has a slope that becomes slightly lower toward the left front side. The bottom surface of the second guide portion 512 has an inclination that decreases toward the front. On the bottom surface of the bypass flow-down space 510, a stepped portion between the first guide portion 511 and the second guide portion 512 that makes the bottom surface height of the second guide portion 512 lower than the bottom surface height of the first guide portion 511. 513 (step shape) is formed.
By forming the stepped portion 513, it is possible to prevent the foul ball that has flowed down to the second guide portion 512 from flowing back to the first guide portion 511. Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent the foul sphere once flowing down to the second guide part 512 from flowing down to the inlet part 521 of the communication channel 52 formed on the first guide part 511 side by mistake. .

As shown in FIG. 3, most of the foul balls are collected in the main foul ball collecting flow path 51, while when a fire ball (game ball) launched from the ball launcher 26 collides with a foul ball, There is a risk that this launch ball flows back from the ball launcher 26 to the launch rail 22 formed obliquely upward toward the game area of the game board 28 and returns to the seating portion of the launch ball (game ball) in the ball launcher 26. is there.
Therefore, a sub-foul ball collection channel 53 for collecting the foul sphere that has flowed back (returned) to the launch rail 22 and joined to the overflow channel 4 is provided at a portion near the ball launch device 26 in the launch rail 22. It is formed.

  The secondary foul ball collection flow path 53 intersects the launch rail 22 formed to be inclined obliquely upward to the left from the right side, and is formed so that the game ball flows down from the right side to the left side. A space 24 is formed between the launch rail 22 and the ball guide 23 along the arc-shaped outer edge of the game area. In this space 24, the inlet 514 of the main foul ball collection channel 51 is formed. Communicated.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the shutter member 6 of this example has a rotation fulcrum 61 at the lower end and a ball receiving surface 62 for receiving a game ball flowing down from the upstream side at the upper end. The rotation fulcrum portion 61 has a shaft portion arranged in the left-right direction, and the shutter member 6 is rotated forward by an urging member (not shown) such as a spring appropriately disposed near the rotation fulcrum portion 61. It is energized to move. Further, the ball receiving surface 62 is formed in an arc-shaped surface along the circumference centering on the rotation fulcrum 61.

As shown in the figure, when the ball tray panel 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, the shutter member 6 comes into contact with the rear wall portion of the ball tray side flow path 45 and is pushed rearward, whereby the main body frame 2 is housed in the shutter member housing portion 27 formed in 2. Thereby, when the ball tray panel 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2 (normal game state), the overflow flow channel 4 in a state where the main body frame side flow channel 41 and the ball tray side flow channel 45 are connected is formed. It is formed.
As shown in FIG. 7, when the ball tray panel 3 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2, the shutter member 6 receives the urging force of the urging member and rotates forward about the rotation fulcrum 61. The ball receiving surface 62 at the upper end is configured to block (block) the downstream end 411 of the main body frame side channel 41 in the overflow channel 4.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, the shutter member 6 of the present example blocks the downstream end 411 in the main body frame side flow channel 41 when the ball tray panel 3 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2, and The downstream end portion 531 in the foul ball collection passage 53 is also shielded. In FIG. 3, a state 6X in which the shutter member 6 is rotated forward is indicated by a two-dot chain line.
The downstream end 531 of the secondary foul ball collection flow path 53 is in the vicinity of the downstream end 411 of the main body frame side flow path 41 in the state where the ball tray panel 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, that is, the overflow flow. The side surface of the shutter member 6 that is opened to the side (right side in this example) of the ball tray side flow path 45 in the path 4 and rotated forward when the ball tray panel 3 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2. It is configured to be shielded by 63 (right side surface in this example).

As shown in FIG. 4, the full tank detector 7 provided in the ball tray side flow channel 45 in the overflow flow channel 4 receives the ball pressure of the game ball in the ball tray side flow channel 45 so as to operate. It consists of a full tank operation part 71 provided in the path 45 and a full tank operation detection part 72 configured to detect the operation of the full tank operation part 71.
The full tank operation detection unit 72 includes a contact type switch. When the detection unit of the switch is pushed in by the full tank operation unit 71, the full tank operation detection state (a state in which the maximum storage capacity is reached) is detected. It is configured. The full tank operating part 71 constitutes a part of the side wall of the ball tray channel part and is configured to operate upon receiving the ball pressure of the game ball in the ball dish side channel 45. The full tank operation part 71 has a rotation fulcrum part 711 at the upper end, and is configured to rotate by receiving the ball pressure of the game ball and push in the detection part of the switch constituting the full tank operation detection part 72. It is.
Further, the full tank operation unit 71 is located at a position where the detection unit of the full tank operation detection unit 72 is not pushed in in a state where the tank is not full (normal state).

Next, the operation when the ball tray panel 3 is opened for the purpose of collecting the foul ball, the overflow mechanism at the time of overflow, full tank detection, maintenance, etc. in the gaming machine 1 of this example, and the effects by these will be described. .
In a state in which the ball tray panel 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2 (normal game state), when a pachinko game is performed and a winning is made, the ball payout device passes a predetermined number of game balls to the ball payout channel 21 as a prize ball. Pay out. At this time, the game balls flow down through the front flow path portion 211 and the bent flow path portion 212 in the ball discharge flow path 21 and flow down to the flow down guide section 33, and are discharged from the flow down guide section 33 to the hitting ball supply tray 31.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the foul balls that have been launched from the ball launching device 26 and then returned without reaching the game area of the game board 28 are usually the main foul ball collection channel 51 (the detour flow space 510). ). In the figure, the flow of the foul sphere is indicated by an arrow F.
Then, the foul sphere that has flowed down to the inlet portion 514 of the detour flow-down space 510 flows backward against the inclination (left front inclination) of the bottom surface of the first guide portion 511 due to the momentum of the inflow. At that time, first, it flows down diagonally left rearward along the oblique rear wall 511A forming the first guide part 511, and then descends to the second guide part 512 by the step part 513, and then the second guide part 512 is formed. It flows down along the side wall 512A. Next, the foul sphere is bent and flows down toward the front channel portion 211 in the ball discharge channel 21 by the bent flow lower wall 516, and merges from the outlet portion 515 to the front channel portion 211. Thereafter, the ball is returned to the hitting ball supply tray 31 via the front flow channel portion 211, the bent flow channel portion 212, and the flow guide portion 33.

  In this way, the foul ball that has flowed down from the first guide part 511 is received by the side wall 512 </ b> A of the second guide part 512 and is caused to flow down to the front of the second guide part 512. Thereby, the spherical pressure generated by the falling of the foul sphere can be appropriately reduced by the side wall 512A. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately prevent an inappropriate flow of a game ball that may be generated by a ball pressure or a ball clogging.

  At this time, the foul sphere discharged from the outlet portion 515 of the bypass flow space 510 to the front flow path portion 211 collides with the game ball paid out from the ball payout device, and the like, and thus the bypass flow space 510 from the outlet portion 515. Even if it flows backward, the wall portion of the bent flow lower wall 516 is arranged so as to partition the upstream portion of the outlet portion 515 and the inlet portion 521 of the communication channel 52, so that the reversed foul sphere is erroneously Thus, it is possible to appropriately prevent the fluid from flowing down to the inlet portion 521 of the communication channel 52. Moreover, since the step part 513 is provided in the partition part of the 1st guide part 511 and the 2nd guide part 512, it is appropriate that a foul ball flows backward from the 2nd guide part 512 to the 1st guide part 511. Can be prevented.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 8, when playing the pachinko game, the hitting ball supply tray 31 overflows from the hitting ball supply tray 31 when the hitting ball supply tray 31 becomes full (maximum storable amount). The game ball is filled into the flow guide part 33, the bent flow path part 212, and the front flow path part 211. When the game ball fills the front side inclined portion A of the partition flow path member 43, the game ball gets over the apex C and passes from the rear side inclined portion B of the partition flow path member 43 to the main body frame side flow path 41. To the rear channel portion 41A (in FIG. 8, the flow of the game ball is indicated by an arrow J). Thereby, the game ball is guided to the auxiliary ball receiving tray 32 via the ball tray side flow path 45.

  In addition, when the hitting ball supply tray 31 is filled with game balls, the game ball overflowing from the hitting ball supply tray 31 fills the front-side flow channel portion 211 and closes the outlet portion 515. The foul sphere that has flowed down into the foul ball collection flow path 51 flows down through the first guide portion 511 and is stored in the second guide portion 512. Thereafter, when the second guide portion 512 is filled with foul balls, the foul balls are guided to the auxiliary ball tray 32 via the communication channel 52 communicating with the first guide portion 511. In FIG. 5, the flow of the foul ball when the hitting ball supply tray 31 is in a full tank state is indicated by an arrow O.

  Thereafter, when the auxiliary ball receiving tray 32 is filled with game balls, the subsequent game balls are stored in the ball tray side flow path 45, and the full operation section 71 is rotated by the ball pressure of the stored game balls, The detection unit in the full tank operation detection unit 72 is pushed in, and a full tank state (maximum storable amount) is detected. At this time, the control device of the gaming machine 1 stops paying out the game balls by the ball payout device.

  Thus, in the gaming machine 1 of this example, until the hitting ball supply tray 31 is filled with game balls, the foul ball is stably transferred from the outlet portion 515 of the bypass flow-down space 510 to the hitting ball supply tray 31. Can flow down. On the other hand, when the hitting ball supply tray 31 becomes full, a predetermined amount of foul balls can be stored in the bypass flow-down space 510, and thereafter, the foul balls are transferred from the inlet portion 521 of the communication flow channel 52 to the overflow flow channel. 4 and the auxiliary ball receiving tray 32 can be stably flowed down.

Thereby, according to the storage state of the game balls in the hit ball supply tray 31, it is possible to stably distribute whether the foul balls flow down to the hit ball supply tray 31 or to the auxiliary ball receiving tray 32. Further, it is possible to prevent the foul balls from overflowing from the main foul ball collection flow path 51 and backflowing to the ball launching device 26 side, and adversely affecting the game balls launched from the ball launching device 26. Can be prevented.
Further, the formation of the detour flow-down space 510 can increase the amount of foul spheres stored in the main foul sphere recovery flow path 51.

  Therefore, according to the ball flow down mechanism of the gaming machine 1 of this example, the foul ball can flow down stably regardless of the storage state of the game ball in the hitting ball supply tray 31, and the foul ball has an adverse effect on the game. Can be prevented.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when a ball launched from the ball launcher 26 (game ball) and a foul ball collide, the ball launched from the ball launcher 26 toward the game area of the game board 28. It may flow backward to the firing rail 22 formed obliquely upward. At this time, the launch ball flows down from the launch rail 22 to the secondary foul ball collection flow path 53. Then, the fired ball is collected into the auxiliary ball receiving tray 32 via the ball tray side channel 45 in the overflow channel 4. In the drawing, the flow of the game ball to the secondary foul ball collection flow path 53 is indicated by an arrow G.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when the ball tray panel 3 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2 for the purpose of maintenance or the like, the flow-down guide portion 33 protruding rearward of the ball tray panel 3 is provided with the overflow channel member 42. Is extracted from the opening hole 421. At this time, when game balls are present in the front flow path portion 211 and the bent flow path portion 212, the game balls flow down to the right by the bent flow path portion 212 as shown in FIG. The main body frame side flow passage 41 formed in the path member 42 can flow down so as to join from above. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the game ball from falling from the opening hole 421. In FIG. 3, the flow of the game ball flowing down to the right by the bent flow path portion 212 is indicated by an arrow H.

  Thus, in the gaming machine 1 of this example, it is not necessary to provide a separate shutter member in the vicinity of the opening hole 421 that is opened in order to pay out and supply gaming balls to the hitting ball supply tray 31, and it is assumed that the hitting ball supply tray Even when the ball tray panel 3 is opened while the game ball is paid out to the game ball 31, it is possible to prevent the game ball from falling from the opening hole 421.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when the ball tray panel 3 is opened, the shutter member 6 receives the urging force of the urging member and rotates forward.
Thereby, the downstream end 411 of the main body frame side flow path 41 is shielded by the ball receiving surface 62 of the shutter member 6, and the game ball is prevented from spilling from the downstream end 411 of the main body frame side flow path 41. Can do. Further, the downstream end portion 531 of the secondary foul ball collection flow path 53 is shielded by the side surface 63 of the shutter member 6, and it is possible to prevent the game balls from falling from the secondary foul ball collection flow path 53. Therefore, when the ball tray panel 3 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2, the same shutter member 6 causes the downstream end portion 411 of the main body frame side flow channel 41 and the downstream end portion 531 of the sub-fault ball collection flow channel 53. The game ball can be prevented from falling down, and the space occupied by the shutter member 6 can be reduced.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the ball tray side channel 45 is provided with the full tank detecting portion 7 for stopping the payout of the game ball as described above. When the game ball stored in the auxiliary ball receiving tray 32 becomes full, the full tank detection unit 7 operates to stop paying out the game ball. Thereby, the game ball is not stored up to the part of the ball tray side flow path 45 and the main body frame side flow path 41 located on the upstream side of the full tank detection unit 7. Therefore, when the ball tray panel 3 is opened, when the downstream end 411 in the main body frame side flow path 41 is blocked by the shutter member 6, the shutter member 6 does not break between a large number of game balls. And the load added to the shutter member 6 when moving the shutter member 6 can be reduced, and it can prevent stably that a game ball spills by the shutter member 6. FIG.

  Therefore, according to the ball flow-down mechanism of the gaming machine 1 of the present example, the single-shutter member 6 shields the downstream ends 411 and 531 of the plurality of flow paths 41 and 53 and opens the ball tray panel 3. It is possible to prevent the game ball from spilling and the load from the game ball on the shutter member 6 can be prevented.

  Further, as described above, in the gaming machine 1 of the present example, the outlet portion 515 of the bypass flow-down space 510 is open to the side portion of the front flow path portion 211 at a position on the rear side from the front surface of the game board 28. The outlet portion 522 of the communication channel 52 is open to the side portion of the overflow channel 4 at a position on the rear side of the front surface of the game board 28. As a result, various illegal means such as a wire are inserted from the ball payout outlet 333 in the hitting ball supply tray 31 or the ball payout outlet in the auxiliary ball receiving tray 32, and the outlet 515 or the communication flow path 52 of the bypass flow-down space 510 is inserted by this illegal means. Even if an illegal act is performed on a gaming device or the like arranged in the game area of the game board 28 via the outlet portion 522, the outlet portion 515 of the bypass flow space 510 and the outlet portion 522 of the communication flow path 52 are played. Since the game machine is located behind the front surface of the board 28 in the back of the game machine, and the outlets 515 and 522 are open to the side instead of the front, illegal means can be placed inside the game machine 1. It is possible to make it difficult to perform an intruding action. Therefore, the crime prevention property of the gaming machine 1 can be improved.

  Further, in the overflow passage member 42, a security metal plate 422 is disposed on the upper surface and the side surface located on the ball launching device 26 side. By disposing the sheet metal 422, various illegal means such as heat rays are inserted from the ball payout outlet 333 in the hitting ball supply tray 31 and the ball payout outlet in the auxiliary ball receiving tray 32, and the resin member in the main body frame 2 including the overflow passage member 42 is obtained. Even if an attempt is made to cheat on a gaming device placed in the game area of the game board 28 using the hole, the punching action is prevented by the sheet metal 422. Actions can be prevented.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Game machine 2 Main body frame 21 Ball delivery flow path 26 Ball launching device 3 Ball tray panel 31 Hitting ball supply tray 32 Auxiliary ball receiving tray 4 Overflow flow path 51 Main foul ball collection flow path 510 Detour flow lowering space 511 First guide part 512 Second Guide part 513 Step part 514 Inlet part 515 Outlet part 52 Communication channel 521 Inlet part

Claims (3)

A hitting ball supply tray for supplying game balls to the ball launcher and an auxiliary ball receiving tray for storing game balls overflowing from the hit ball supply tray are disposed on the main body frame on which the game board is disposed. An overflow flow path for guiding the game ball overflowing from the supply tray to the auxiliary ball tray, and a foul ball that is launched from the ball launcher and then returns to the ball launcher without reaching the game area of the game board In a ball flow down mechanism of a gaming machine provided with a foul ball collection flow path that causes the foul ball to flow down to the hitting ball supply tray or the auxiliary ball receiving tray,
The foul ball collection flow path has a detour flow space for the foul ball to flow down,
The detour flow-down space includes a first guide portion that causes the foul sphere flowing in from the inlet portion of the foul ball collection flow path to flow backward, and a foul ball that has flowed down along the first guide portion forward. A foul ball flow path is formed by the two guide portions, and has an outlet for flowing the foul ball flowing down along the second guide portion to the hitting ball supply tray, and in front of the detour flow space. A ball flow down mechanism for a gaming machine, further comprising an inlet portion of a communication flow path for causing a foul ball to flow down from the bypass flow down space to the overflow flow path. In claim 1, a stepped shape is formed on the bottom surface of the bypass flow-down space to make the bottom surface height of the second guide portion lower than the bottom surface height of the first guide portion,
An inlet portion of the communication channel is formed on the front side of the first guide portion. In claim 1 or 2, the main body frame is provided with a ball payout passage for guiding a game ball paid out from the ball payout device to the hitting ball supply tray,
The outlet portion of the bypass flow space is provided with the ball payout at a position rearward of the front surface of the game board so as to join the foul balls flowing down the bypass flow space from the left and right directions with respect to the ball discharge flow path. Open to the side of the channel,
The outlet portion of the communication channel is located at a position rearward of the front surface of the game board so that the foul sphere flowing down the communication channel joins the overflow channel from the left and right directions. A ball flow down mechanism of a gaming machine, characterized in that it is open to the side.

Images