JP5386717B2 - Ball dispenser for gaming machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a ball dispensing device for a gaming machine for dispensing balls fed from an upstream ball tank one by one as prize balls.

A mechanism board is provided on the back surface of the pachinko machine, and a ball tank for storing prize balls is disposed on the upper part of the mechanism board. A ball passageway is connected below the ball tank. Conventionally, there is a ball dispensing device that uses a ball passage device (ball alignment rail) to align (especially align in one step) and then pays out with a ball dispensing device. However, ball biting occurs at the portion that is aligned from the second step to the first step, so the swinging weight is hung on that portion (Patent Document 1) or vibrated (Patent Documents 2 and 3). It was solved. However, there is a problem that the former lacks certainty and the latter requires additional power.
Therefore, it is conceived that the latter power for breaking the ball is covered by the power for dispensing, that is, the ball is unaligned from the ball tank and is directly broken and broken by the ball dispensing device (Patent Document 4). . However, if they are left unaligned, the possibility of arch (tunnel) ball biting as shown in FIG. 8 could not be excluded.

  In addition, even when the ball is prevented from being caught, if the balls are connected and discharged continuously, it is impossible to pass light through a photo sensor, etc., and the balls cannot be individually identified, and the ball count An error will occur and the ball will be paid out. Therefore, it is necessary to pay out with a gap between the front and rear balls.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-031719 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 07-096077 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-141176 JP 2000-189618 A

  In view of the above-described conventional problems, the present invention allows a ball to be accurately counted and paid out by providing a gap between balls, and further, a game that does not bite a ball in a ball dispensing path. It is an object to provide a ball dispensing device for a machine.

A ball dispensing device for a gaming machine according to the present invention, which has been made to solve the above problems, includes a rotating body having a spiral groove for ball feeding, and a housing that supports the rotating shaft of the rotating body in a horizontal state. In the ball dispensing device of the gaming machine provided,
A ball introduction path is provided in the upper interior of the housing, a ball dispensing path having a ball counting sensor is provided in the lower interior of the housing, and the rotating body is disposed between the ball introduction path and the ball dispensing path. The balls flowing into the ball introduction path are sequentially taken into the spiral groove by the rotation of the rotating body, and the balls are transferred in the axial direction of the rotating body so as to be discharged one by one into the ball dispensing path. A ball dispensing device for a gaming machine,
A space where one ball can move horizontally is provided between the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft and the two inner surfaces facing each other, and a ball mount is disposed in the two spaces and temporarily held on the ball mount. The length of the ball payout side of the ball mount on which the ball on the side pushed down by the spiral groove is placed is adjusted so that the spiral groove moves the spiral groove in the axial direction of the rotating shaft. It is characterized in that it is formed shorter than the length of the ball delivery side of the ball mounting table on which the balls ride.

Further, a ball dispensing device for a gaming machine according to the present invention is a ball dispensing device for a gaming machine comprising a rotating body having a spiral groove for ball feeding, and a housing that supports the rotating shaft of the rotating body in a horizontal state.
A ball introduction path is provided in the upper interior of the housing, a ball dispensing path having a ball counting sensor is provided in the lower interior of the housing, and the rotating body is disposed between the ball introduction path and the ball dispensing path. The balls flowing into the ball introduction path are sequentially taken into the spiral groove by the rotation of the rotating body, and the balls are transferred in the axial direction of the rotating body so as to be discharged one by one into the ball dispensing path. A ball dispensing device for a gaming machine,
A space where one ball can move horizontally is provided between the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft and the two inner surfaces facing each other, and a ball mount is disposed in the two spaces and temporarily held on the ball mount. The spiral groove is made to move in the axial direction of the rotating shaft, and a clearance space that accelerates the separation of the ball from the spiral groove is provided only on the ball platform where the ball that is pushed down by the spiral groove is placed. It is characterized by providing.

  In the above-described invention, the rotating body is composed of a coil spring wound with a winding wire and a cylindrical rotating shaft inserted into the coil spring. A spiral groove can be formed as a width that can be entered.

Since the ball dispensing device according to claim 1 has adjusted the length of the ball dispensing side of the two ball receiving shelves, it is possible to pass the counting sensor with a gap between the front and rear balls when dispensing from the rotating body. Since it is possible, the ball can be paid out by accurately counting the balls. Further, since the balls do not overlap with the front and rear balls in the ball dispensing path, it is possible to prevent the balls from being bitten.
The ball dispensing apparatus according to claim 2 has the ball clearance space only on the ball mount side on which the ball to be pushed down by the spiral groove is placed. Can be obtained.
The invention according to claim 3 can provide a rotating body that is inexpensive and excellent in durability.

It is sectional drawing of the front of a ball dispensing apparatus. It is sectional drawing of the side surface of a ball dispensing apparatus. It is sectional drawing of the plane of a ball dispensing apparatus. It is sectional drawing of the front which shows the structure of a housing | casing. It is sectional drawing of the front which shows the structure of a rotary body. It is a front view of a ball passage device. It is a top view of a ball passage device. It is sectional drawing of the ball passage cage which shows an arch-shaped clogged state.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
1 to 5 are views showing a ball dispensing apparatus according to the present invention. The ball dispensing apparatus 4 is a housing that supports a rotating body 5 rotated by a motor M and a rotating shaft 7 of the rotating body 5 in a horizontal state. It consists of a body 6. The rotating body 5 includes a columnar rotating shaft 7 connected to the shaft of the motor M and a coil spring 8 in which the rotating shaft 7 is inserted.

  The housing 6 has a ball entrance 61 for taking in the balls from the ball passage cage 3 in the upper portion and a ball introduction passage 68 communicating with the ball entrance 61, and a ball dispensing passage 63 having a ball counting sensor 62 in the lower portion. 6 is formed close to one side surface (FIG. 1). Reference numeral 64 denotes a ball removal passage for removing balls in the pachinko machine for maintenance or the like, and is not used during the game. When the ball is removed, the motor M is rotated in the reverse direction.

  The rotating shaft 7 includes a proximal end side shaft portion 71 attached to the rotating shaft M1 of the motor M and a distal end side shaft portion 72 connected thereto. The distal end side shaft portion 72 has a snap fit portion 73 at one end, and the snap fit portion 73 is fitted into a small diameter portion 74 formed on the proximal end side shaft portion 71 and is integrally configured. The rotating shaft 7 is inserted into the coil spring 8. One end of the coil spring 8 is hooked on the flange portion 75 of the proximal end side shaft portion 71, and the other end presses the flange portion 76 of the distal end side shaft portion 72. The ball spring 75 is urged by the elastic force of the coil spring 8 in an expanding direction, and the proximal end shaft portion 71, the distal end side shaft portion 72, and the coil spring 8 have a screw structure. The rotating body 5 is used. A spiral groove 81 capable of transferring balls is formed between the coiled portions of the coil spring 8.

The rotating shaft 7 of the rotating body 5 is stretched horizontally in a lower part of the ball introduction path 68 in the housing 6 above the ball removal passage 64 and the ball dispensing passage 63. Accordingly, since no thrust force is applied to the bearing 9 facing the rotating shaft M1 of the motor M, the load applied to the motor M can be reduced and the balls can be discharged smoothly.

  The ball entrance 61 of the housing 6 has both a width and a height of more than two balls and less than three balls, and prevents clogging with two balls. The ball introduction path 68 has a square or rectangular cross-sectional shape, and its width and height (or length) is the same as that of the ball entrance 61 to prevent clogging with more than 2 balls and less than 3 balls. is there.

Between the outer peripheral surface 77 of the rotating shaft 7 and the two opposing inner side surfaces 67a and 67b of the housing 6, spaces 70a and 70b in which one ball can continuously move horizontally are provided (FIG. 2). . Ball mounts 65a and 65b are provided on both sides of the rotary shaft 7 in these two spaces, and the balls taken in from the ball entrance 61 fall onto the ball mounts 65a and 65b and temporarily. Retained. The balls temporarily held on the ball mounts 65 a and 65 b are transferred in the axial direction of the rotary shaft 7 by the spiral groove 81. At this time, the ball on the side (65a side) that receives the force in the diagonally upward direction from the spiral groove 81 by the rotation of the rotating body 7 is accelerated by the shape effect of the spiral groove 81. On the other hand, the ball on the side (65b side) that receives the diagonally downward force from the spiral groove 81 is similarly delayed by the shape effect. Accordingly, the interval (L1) from when the ball from the 65a side is detected by the ball counting sensor 62 until the ball from the 65b side is detected, and the ball from the 65a side after detecting the ball from the 65b side. Comparing with the interval (L2) until detection, L1> L2 when the ball payout sides 65a, 65b have the same length on the ball payout side, so that when L2, the ball from the 65b side and 65a There is a possibility that a ball from the side may bite the ball in the ball dispensing passage 63. Furthermore, in the case of the payout of a predetermined number (e.g. 10 balls), when stopping the rotating body 5 detects balls in the ball counting sensor 62 as 10 balls th from 65b side, already helical groove ball from 65a side There is a possibility that it is not possible to pay out accurately because it has been separated from 81 and one extra ball is paid out. Therefore, the length of the ball mounting base 65b is shorter than the length of the other ball mounting base 65a on the ball paying side (X portion in FIG. 3) to expedite the fall of the ball. . By doing so, a gap can be provided between the following balls and the number of balls can be accurately counted without causing the balls to be caught in the ball dispensing passage 63.

Furthermore, it is desirable that X is such that L1 and L2 are the same and the payout can be performed at a constant interval.
For example, L1 when the motor M is S (step / rotation), the pitch of the coil spring 8 is P (mm), and the ball payout sides of both ball mounts 65a and 65b are the same length is t ( Step).
At this time, the distance that the ball is transferred in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 7 in 1 (step) is:
P / S (mm / step) (1)
Since L1 = L2 = S / 2 (step),
X = t−S / 2 (step) (2)
Therefore, from (1) and (2),
X = P / S (t−S / 2) (mm)
Thus, by shortening the length of the ball mount 65b on the ball payout side by this X, payout can be performed at regular intervals.

  Further, in a space 70b where the ball is pushed downward by the rotation of the spiral groove 81, a ball escape space 69 is provided adjacent to the ball mount 65b. By letting the ball escape to the escape space 6.9, the ball can be released at an early stage to obtain the same effect as when 65b is shortened, and the ball can be prevented from being connected to the following ball and falling.

  The ball dispensing device as described above can be disposed at the downstream end of the ball passage cage 3 as shown in FIGS. The ball passageway 3 is formed in a concave shape and has a lateral width of more than 2 balls to less than 3 balls (more than 22 mm to less than 33 mm when the ball diameter is 11 mm). The bottom surface of the ball passageway 3 is formed with a mountain-shaped ridge 31 which is high in the center and extends in the longitudinal direction, and both sides thereof are ball guide grooves 32. Further, the height of the side surface 33 is set to be more than two balls and less than three balls, and this height is secured even when the lid 34 is applied. Thus, since the width and height of the ball passageway 3 are made larger than two balls, it is possible to completely prevent clogging caused by two balls arranged side by side in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction.

  In the structure configured as described above, the ball passageway 3 is arranged in a state of 2 steps 2 rows or more and less than 3 steps 3 rows and flows downstream. Then, the balls flow from the ball entrance 61 into the housing 6. In the ball dispensing state, the ball train is broken while being agitated by the rotation of the rotating body 5, so that it is necessary that the ball introduction path 68 has a play space that is not completely filled with the balls and that can be agitated and moved. It is. The balls enter between the winding portions of the coil spring 8 by the rotation of the rotating body 5. The ball that has entered falls on the ball mounts 65 a and 65 b provided on both sides of the rotating shaft 7, and is transferred in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 7 by the coil spring 8 having a spiral structure.

The balls on the left and right ball mounts 65a and 65b of the rotating shaft 5 are shifted from the ball mounts 65a and 65b to the ball dispensing passage 63 alternately because the positions of the balls on which the winding lines are spirally wound are shifted. . When falling, the ball is adjusted with a clearance for counting by the length of the ball mounts 65a and 65b and the clearance timing of the ball according to the clearance space 69. Can do. Therefore, the ball counting sensor 62 can accurately count the number of balls that have passed, and when the predetermined number is reached, the rotation of the rotating body 5 is stopped and the dispensing of the ball ends.

5 rotating body, 6 housing, 7 rotating shaft, 8 coil spring, 62 ball counting sensor, 63 ball payout passage, 68 ball introducing passage

Claims (3)

In a ball dispenser of a gaming machine comprising a rotating body having a spiral groove for ball feeding and a housing that supports the rotating shaft of the rotating body in a horizontal state,
A ball introduction path is provided in the upper interior of the housing, a ball dispensing path having a ball counting sensor is provided in the lower interior of the housing, and the rotating body is disposed between the ball introduction path and the ball dispensing path. The balls flowing into the ball introduction path are sequentially taken into the spiral groove by the rotation of the rotating body, and the balls are transferred in the axial direction of the rotating body so as to be discharged one by one into the ball dispensing path. A ball dispensing device for a gaming machine,
A space where one ball can move horizontally is provided between the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft and the two inner surfaces facing each other, and a ball mount is disposed in the two spaces and temporarily held on the ball mount. The length of the ball payout side of the ball mount on which the ball on the side pushed down by the spiral groove is placed is adjusted so that the spiral groove moves the spiral groove in the axial direction of the rotating shaft. A ball dispensing apparatus for a gaming machine, characterized in that it is formed shorter than the length of a ball dispensing side of a ball mount on which a ball is placed. In a ball dispenser of a gaming machine comprising a rotating body having a spiral groove for ball feeding and a housing that supports the rotating shaft of the rotating body in a horizontal state,
A ball introduction path is provided in the upper interior of the housing, a ball dispensing path having a ball counting sensor is provided in the lower interior of the housing, and the rotating body is disposed between the ball introduction path and the ball dispensing path. The balls flowing into the ball introduction path are sequentially taken into the spiral groove by the rotation of the rotating body, and the balls are transferred in the axial direction of the rotating body so as to be discharged one by one into the ball dispensing path. A ball dispensing device for a gaming machine,
A space where one ball can move horizontally is provided between the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft and the two inner surfaces facing each other, and a ball mount is disposed in the two spaces and temporarily held on the ball mount. The spiral groove is made to move in the axial direction of the rotating shaft, and a clearance space that accelerates the separation of the ball from the spiral groove is provided only on the ball platform where the ball that is pushed down by the spiral groove is placed. A ball dispenser for a gaming machine characterized by being provided.   The rotating body is composed of a coil spring in which a winding line is wound and a cylindrical rotating shaft inserted into the coil spring, and the space between the winding lines is set to a width that allows balls to enter. The ball dispensing device for a gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a spiral groove is formed.

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