JP5769536B2 - Game ball guidance mechanism - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention belongs to the technical field of gaming machines such as pachinko machines.

  In the gaming machine described in Patent Document 1, the gaming machine tank and the tank rail are arranged on the upper side of the gaming board, the payout device and the course switching mechanism are arranged on the right side of the gaming board, and are connected side by side downstream of the course switching mechanism. A guide passage and a ball removal mechanism are also arranged on the right side of the game board.

JP-A-2000-79238 (5th page, FIGS. 11 to 14)

However, in the gaming machine described in Patent Document 1, there are many configurations arranged on the right side of the game board, and it is difficult to enlarge the game area by increasing the size of the game board in the left-right direction.
The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to respond to the need to increase the game area by increasing the horizontal size of the game board.

A game ball guiding mechanism according to claim 1 made to solve the above-described problem is as follows.
A receiving port for receiving the game ball supplied from the game ball tank is formed at the upper end, and a payout port for paying out the game ball that has passed through the interior after entering from the receiving port to the ball tray and outside the machine A discharge port for discharging is formed at each lower end, and is arranged along the upper surface and side surface of the game board,
A game ball disposed near the upper portion of the guide rod and having an engagement member that can be engaged with a game ball that has entered the guide rod from the receiving port, and the engagement member is operated to engage the game ball A paying-out part that feeds the inside of the guide rod to the downstream side;
It is arranged near the upper part of the guide rod and is in an engaged state in which the game ball that has entered the guide rod from the receiving port is supported at a position where it engages with the engagement member, and at a position that is separated from the engagement member. A support member that can be changed depending on the supporting separation state;
An opening / closing member that is disposed inside the guide rod and is changeable between a payout state that opens the payout port and closes the discharge port and a discharge state that closes the discharge port and opens the discharge port;
Disposed near the upper portion of the guide rod, operates the support member to change to the engaged state, operates the opening / closing member to change to the payout state, and operates the support member to operate the separation. An operation member capable of executing a discharge operation for changing the state to a state and operating the opening / closing member to change to the discharge state;
It is characterized by providing.

  According to the game ball guiding mechanism of the present invention configured as described above, the payout portion, the support member, and the operation member that are disposed near the upper portion of the guide rod are disposed above the game board, and the guide rod and the opening / closing member are the game. Located on the side of the board. Here, since the opening / closing member is disposed inside the guide rod, the structure disposed on the side of the game board is only the guide rod in appearance.

  Therefore, according to the gaming ball guidance mechanism of the present invention, unlike the gaming machine described in Patent Document 1, there is no configuration arranged side by side on the gaming board, and the size of the gaming board in the left-right direction is increased. Meet the need to expand the gaming area.

  The game ball guiding mechanism according to claim 2 is the game ball guiding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the engaging member is located above or laterally to the game ball that has entered the guide rod from the receiving port. It is possible to engage with each other.

According to the game ball guiding mechanism of the present invention configured as described above, the weight of the game ball in the guide cage does not act on the engagement member of the payout portion, and the engagement member of the payout portion can be operated stably. Can do.
A game ball guiding mechanism according to claim 3 is the game ball guiding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the game ball guiding mechanism is disposed in front of the operation member, and the operation member is moved to the payout operation. And a holding member that holds the discharging operation in an executable manner.

  According to the gaming ball guiding mechanism of the present invention configured as described above, it is difficult to perform an illegal act of destroying the operation member and taking out the gaming ball inside the guiding rod because the holding member becomes an obstacle. Therefore, it is possible to make it difficult to perform an illegal act using the holding member as described above, even if a dedicated part for preventing the illegal act as described above is not provided.

Front view of game ball guidance mechanism 1 Front view of game ball guiding mechanism 1 (when lid member 11b and cover 34 are removed) Side view of game ball guiding mechanism 1 AA sectional view of the game ball guiding mechanism 1 (when paying out) AA cross-sectional view of the game ball guiding mechanism 1 (when transitioning from payout to ball removal) AA sectional view of the game ball guiding mechanism 1 (when the ball is removed)

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to this embodiment, It is possible to implement in various aspects.
[1. Description of the configuration of the game ball guidance mechanism 1]
As shown in FIG. 1, the game ball guiding mechanism 1 of the present embodiment includes a guide rod 10 that guides a game ball supplied from a game ball tank 100, and a payout unit 20 that pays out the game balls in the guide rod 10. And a switching unit 30 that switches the guide rod 10 between a paid-out state and a ball-extracted state. Each configuration of the game ball guiding mechanism 1 will be described in order below.

[1.1. Description of the structure of the guide rod 10]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the guide rod 10 is made of a synthetic resin, and is attached to a long middle rod 11, an upper collar 12 attached to the upper end of the middle collar 11, and a lower end of the middle collar 11. And lower arm 13.

  The intermediate rod 11 has a U-shaped cross-section with the front open, and has a configuration in which the opening of the long rod member 11a is closed with a long and plate-shaped lid member 11b. At the time of mounting, it is arranged along the right side surface of the game board in a posture in which the longitudinal direction coincides with the vertical direction. In addition, the upper part of the intermediate collar 11 has a shape that is bent rearward in a crank shape. The lid member 11b is movable in the vertical direction. Furthermore, three guide grooves 11c are formed in the upper, middle, and lower portions of the back surface of the lid member 11b so as to be inclined obliquely upward to the right and guide the moving plate 32 in the left-right direction. When the cover plate 11b is moved downward, the movable plate 32 engaged with the guide groove 11c is moved to the left. 11 is moved rightward. Further, a projection 11d protrudes forward from the upper end of the lid member 11b, and this projection 11d is inserted into a locking portion 33c of the operation lever 33 described later.

  The upper cage 12 has a configuration in which the front of the casing 12a is opened in the horizontal direction and has a structure in which the opening of the housing 12a is closed with a lid member, and when the guide cage 10 is attached to the gaming machine, the longitudinal direction is the horizontal direction. Arranged along the upper surface of the game board in a matching posture. The left side of the upper bowl 12 is connected to the right end of the game ball tank 100 so that the game ball of the game ball tank 100 flows into the upper bowl 12 from the opening (receiving port 12b). Further, the lower right portion of the upper rod 12 is connected to the upper portion of the middle rod 11 so that a game ball inside the upper rod 12 flows into the middle rod 11. Further, the upper collar 12 incorporates a screw member 21 of the payout unit 20 and a rotating plate 31 of the switching unit 30 described later.

  The lower rod 13 has a configuration in which two cylindrical extending portions 13b and 13c extend rearward from the lower portion of the cylindrical housing 13a, and together with the middle rod 11 when the guide rod 10 is mounted on a gaming machine. Arranged along the right side of the game board. Further, the housing 13a of the lower rod 13 is connected to the lower portion of the middle rod 11, so that a game ball inside the middle rod 11 flows into the housing 13a. The left extension 13b has a rear end connected to a ball extraction passage (not shown) on the gaming machine side, and a housing formed through an opening (ball outlet 13d) formed at the boundary with the housing 13a. The game ball that has flowed in from the body 13a is guided to the ball passage. The right extension 13c has a rear end connected to a payout passage (not shown) on the gaming machine side, and the housing 13a through an opening (payout port 13e) formed at the boundary with the housing 13a. The game ball that has flowed in from the player is guided to the payout passage.

[1.2. Description of configuration of payout unit 20]
The payout unit 20 includes a screw member 21 and a motor 22.
The screw member 21 has a configuration in which a single blade 21b is formed in a spiral shape around a cylindrical shaft member 21a, and the shaft member 21a can be rotated in a posture in which the extending direction of the shaft member 21 is along the left-right direction of the gaming machine. It attaches to the upper part in the upper cage | basket 12, and it engages with the game ball in the upper cage | basket 12 from upper direction. The screw member 21 corresponds to an engaging member.

The motor 22 is attached to the right part of the upper collar 12, and its output shaft is attached to the right end of the screw member 21, and rotates the output shaft to drive the screw member 21 to rotate.
[1.3. Description of configuration of switching unit 30]
The switching unit 30 includes a rotating plate 31, a moving plate 32, an operation lever 33, and a cover 34.

  The rotating plate 31 is a plate-like member, and is arranged so that the upper surface thereof is opposed to the lower surface of the screw member 21 in the upper rod 12 and rotates through the vicinity of the rear end (left end) along the front-rear direction of the gaming machine. It can be rotated around the shaft 31a. Further, a protrusion 31 b protrudes forward from the tip (right end) of the rotating plate 31, and this protrusion 31 b is inserted into the locking portion 33 b of the operation lever 33. The rotating plate 31 corresponds to a support member.

  The moving plate 32 is a long member having a substantially L-shaped cross section. The moving plate 32 is bent in the horizontal direction from the long portion 32a, which is a long plate member, and the lower end of the long portion 32a, and the upper surface side becomes a curved surface. And the bent portion 32b. Further, the upper portion of the long portion 32 a of the moving plate 32 is bent in accordance with the shape of the intermediate collar 11. Further, the moving plate 32 is arranged in the middle saddle 11 in a posture in which both sides of the long portion 32a face the left and right direction of the gaming machine, and three protrusions that protrude forward from the upper portion, the center, and the lower portion of the long portion 32a. 32c is inserted into the three guide grooves 11c of the lid member 11b of the intermediate collar 11, respectively. The moving plate 32 is guided by the three guide grooves 11c of the lid member 11b in accordance with the vertical movement of the lid member 11b of the middle rod 11, and moves inside the middle rod 11 in the left-right direction of the gaming machine. It is supposed to be. The moving plate 32 corresponds to an opening / closing member.

  The operation lever 33 is a flat plate-like member, is disposed inside a cover 34 attached to the front portion of the upper basket 12, and is guided by the cover 34 so as to be movable in the vertical direction of the gaming machine. In addition, a grip portion 33 a is formed so as to protrude forward from the upper end of the operation lever 33. Further, at the lower end of the operating lever 33, a ring-shaped locking portion 33b for locking the protrusion 31b at the tip of the rotating plate 31 is formed on the left side, and the upper end of the lid member 11c of the intermediate collar 11 is formed. A ring-shaped locking portion 33c for locking the protrusion 11d is formed on the right side. The operation lever 33 corresponds to an operation member, and the cover 34 corresponds to a holding member.

[2. Explanation of the operation of the game ball guidance mechanism 1]
Next, the operation of the game ball guiding mechanism 1 will be described.
(1) Dispensing First, when the operating lever 33 is pulled up and moved upward (dispensing operation), the protrusion 31b and the engaging portion at the tip of the rotating plate 31 engaged with the engaging portion 33b at the lower end of the operating lever 33 The protrusion 11d at the upper end of the lid member 11b locked to 33c moves upward.

  When the protrusion 31 b of the rotation plate 31 moves upward, the rotation plate 31 rotates and the space between the projection member 10 and the screw member 21 is narrowed, and the game ball in the middle rod 11 of the guide rod 10 is engaged with the screw member 21. It will be in a state (engagement state, see FIG. 4).

  Further, when the projection 11d of the lid member 11b moves upward, the lid member 11b moves upward, and is guided by the guide groove 11c of the lid member 11b that moves upward, and the moving plate 32 moves to the left and moves. The long portion 32a of the plate 32 contacts the inner wall surface 11e on the left side of the middle rod 11, the bent portion 32b enters the extended portion 13b of the lower rod 13, closes the ball outlet 13d, and opens the payout port 13e. (A payout state, see FIG. 4).

Here, when the motor 22 is operated, the game balls with which the screw member 21 rotates and engages are sent one by one to the downstream side (the middle rod 11 and the lower rod 13) inside the guide rod 10. Then, the delivered game ball passes through the middle spear 11 and enters the payout passage from the payout outlet 13e through the extending portion 13b of the lower spear 13.
(2) Ball removal On the other hand, when the operation lever 33 is pulled down and moved downward (discharge operation), the protrusion 31b and the engagement portion 33c at the tip of the rotating plate 31 engaged with the engagement portion 33b of the operation lever 33 are provided. The protrusion 11d at the upper end of the lid member 11b that is locked to the upper part moves downward.

  When the protrusion 31b of the rotating plate 31 moves downward, the rotating plate 31 rotates (see FIG. 5), the rotating plate 31 and the screw member 21 are separated from each other, and the game ball in the middle lid 11 is moved. The screw member 21 is not engaged (separated state, see FIG. 6).

  Further, when the projection 11d of the lid member 11b moves downward, the lid member 11b moves downward, and is guided by the guide groove 11c of the lid member 11b that moves downward, and the moving plate 32 moves to the right (see FIG. 5), the long portion 32a of the moving plate 32 comes into contact with the inner wall surface 11f on the right side of the middle rod 11, the bent portion 32b enters the extending portion 13c of the lower rod 13 and closes the payout opening 13e. The opening 13d is opened (the ball is pulled out, see FIG. 6). Then, the game ball in the middle bowl 11 passes through the middle bowl 11 and enters the ball passage from the ball outlet 13d through the extension 13c of the lower bowl 13.

[3. Effects of the embodiment]
(1) As described above, according to the game ball guiding mechanism 1 of the present embodiment, the following operational effects can be obtained. That is, with respect to the guide rod 10 constituting the game ball guiding mechanism 1, the middle rod 11 is arranged along the right side surface of the game board, the upper rod 12 is arranged along the upper surface of the game board, and the lower rod 13 is arranged. It is arranged along the side surface on the right side of the game board together with the middle bowl 11. That is, the guide rod 10 has a substantially L-shape, but the upper rod 12 is disposed above the game board, and the middle rod 11 and the lower rod 13 are disposed on the side of the game board. . Further, with respect to the payout portion 20 constituting the game ball guiding mechanism 1, a screw member 21 is built in the upper rod 12, and a motor 22 is attached to the right portion of the upper rod 12. Further, with respect to the switching unit 30 constituting the game ball guiding mechanism 1, the rotating plate 31 is built in the upper rod 12, the moving plate 32 is disposed inside the middle rod 11, and the operation lever 33 and the cover 34 are disposed on the upper rod. 12 is arranged in front of. Therefore, the configuration arranged on the side of the game board is only the middle bowl 11 and the lower bowl 13 in appearance. Therefore, according to the gaming ball guiding mechanism 1 of the present embodiment, unlike the gaming machine described in Patent Document 1, there is no configuration arranged side by side on the gaming board, and the size of the gaming board in the left-right direction is increased. It can meet the need to expand the game area.

  (2) Also, according to the game ball guiding mechanism 1 of the present embodiment, the screw member 21 is adapted to engage with the game ball in the upper rod 12 from above, so that the upper rod 12 The weight of the game ball inside does not act, and the screw member 21 can be operated stably.

  Even if the screw member 21 is engaged from the side of the game ball, the weight of the game ball in the upper rod 12 does not act on the screw member 21, and the screw member 21 can be operated stably. it can.

  (3) Also, according to the game ball guiding mechanism 1 of the present embodiment, the operation lever 33 is disposed inside the cover 34 attached to the front portion of the upper arm 12 and is guided by the cover 34 to Since it can be moved in the vertical direction, it is difficult for the cover 34 to obstruct the illegal act of destroying the operation lever 33 and taking out the game ball inside the guide rod 10. Therefore, it is possible to make it difficult to perform an illegal act using the cover 34 as described above, even without providing a dedicated part for preventing the illegal act as described above.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Game ball guide mechanism, 10 ... Guide rod, 11 ... Middle rod, 11a ... Rod member, 11b ... Cover member, 11c ... Guide groove, 11d ... Projection, 11e, 11f ... Inner wall surface, 12 ... Upper rod, 12a ... Enclosure, 12b ... receiving port, 13 ... lower arm, 13a ... enclosure, 13b, 13c ... extending portion, 13d ... ball outlet, 13e ... payout port, 20 ... payout portion, 21 ... screw member, 21a ... shaft 21b ... blade, 22 ... motor, 30 ... switching part, 31 ... rotating plate, 31a ... rotating shaft, 31b ... protrusion, 32 ... moving plate, 32a ... long part, 32b ... bent part, 32c ... protrusion 33 ... Operating lever, 33a ... Holding part, 33b, 33c ... Locking part, 34 ... Cover, 100 ... Game ball tank

Claims (3)

A receiving port for receiving the game ball supplied from the game ball tank is formed at the upper end, and a payout port for paying out the game ball that has passed through the interior after entering from the receiving port to the ball tray and outside the machine A discharge port for discharging is formed at each lower end, and is arranged along the upper surface and side surface of the game board,
A game ball disposed near the upper portion of the guide rod and having an engagement member that can be engaged with a game ball that has entered the guide rod from the receiving port, and the engagement member is operated to engage the game ball A paying-out part that feeds the inside of the guide rod to the downstream side;
It is arranged near the upper part of the guide rod and is in an engaged state in which the game ball that has entered the guide rod from the receiving port is supported at a position where it engages with the engagement member, and at a position that is separated from the engagement member. A support member that can be changed depending on the supporting separation state;
An opening / closing member that is disposed inside the guide rod and is changeable between a payout state that opens the payout port and closes the discharge port and a discharge state that closes the discharge port and opens the discharge port;
Disposed near the upper portion of the guide rod, operates the support member to change to the engaged state, operates the opening / closing member to change to the payout state, and operates the support member to operate the separation. An operation member capable of executing a discharge operation for changing the state to a state and operating the opening / closing member to change to the discharge state;
A game ball guidance mechanism comprising: The game ball guiding mechanism according to claim 1,
The game ball guiding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the engagement member is capable of engaging with a game ball that has entered the inside of the guide rod from the receiving port from above or from the side. In the gaming ball guiding mechanism according to any one of claims 1 and 2,
A game ball guidance mechanism comprising a holding member that is disposed in front of the operation member and holds the operation member so that the payout operation and the discharge operation can be performed.