JP6010842B2 - Photosensor support member and gaming machine provided with the photosensor support member - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a photosensor support member that supports a photosensor, and a gaming machine including the photosensor support member.

  In a conventional gaming machine, a photo sensor may be used to detect passage of a game ball. The photosensor includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element. The light emitting element and the light receiving element are provided so as to face each other in a separated state. When the game ball passes between the light emitting element and the light receiving element, light emitted from the light emitting element toward the light receiving element is blocked by the game ball. Therefore, the photo sensor can detect the passage of the game ball depending on whether light is received by the light receiving element.

  The gaming machine disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a photosensor support member. The operator can assemble the photosensor to the gaming machine main body by using the photosensor support member.

JP 2009-66077 A

  If all of the light emitted from the light emitting element goes straight to the light receiving element, detection omission is unlikely to occur. However, if light that has diverted without going straight to the light receiving element is bent or reflected and enters the light receiving element, even if a game ball passes between the light emitting element and the light receiving element, the light incident on the light receiving element is blocked. There are cases where it is not done. In this case, detection of passage of the game ball is missed. The photosensor support member may be provided with an opening for allowing light to pass from the light emitting element to the light receiving element. The smaller the opening, the lower the possibility that light will be bent and reflected and enter the light receiving element. However, if the opening is made smaller, the shape of the mold for manufacturing the photosensor becomes complicated, and the manufacturing cost increases. In some cases, a small opening is blocked by dust or the like, resulting in detection failure. Therefore, it has been difficult for the conventional technology to easily manufacture a photosensor support member capable of improving the detection accuracy of the photosensor.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a photosensor support member that can be easily manufactured and that can improve the detection accuracy of the photosensor, and a gaming machine including the photosensor support member.

A photosensor support member according to a first aspect of the present invention is a photosensor support member that supports a photosensor that detects passage of a game ball depending on whether or not a light receiving element receives light emitted by a light emitting element. A flow path having a first wall part and a second wall part disposed opposite to the first wall part, and forming a flow path of a game ball between the first wall part and the second wall part And a fixing portion for fixing the light emitting element and the light receiving element to each of the outside of the first wall portion and the outside of the second wall portion so that the light emitting element and the light receiving element sandwich the flow path. And a first opening that is a long hole that is formed in the first wall and the second wall and opens each of the light emitting element and the light receiving element fixed to the fixing part toward the flow path. And a second opening, and a direct passage that passes through both the light emitting element and the light receiving element. In a direction parallel to said one longitudinal end only of the opening area of the first opening, overlaps the opening area of the longitudinal end portion of the second opening, and the longitudinal direction of the first opening It said opening area of the one end, the opening area of the longitudinal end portion of the second opening is positioned on the straight line, and the straight line, and the deviation center position in the width direction of the flow channel, The second wall portion is positioned below the first wall portion to form a bottom wall of the flow path, and the second opening provided in the second wall portion is formed on the second wall portion. It extends to the position which cross | intersects the said straight line from the edge part near the said straight line among the both ends of the width direction .

  In the photosensor support member according to the present invention, the light emitted from the light emitting element includes an opening area of the first opening (hereinafter referred to as “first opening area”) and an opening area of the second opening (hereinafter, referred to as “first opening area”). And “second aperture region”), the light enters the light receiving element. Even if the light deflected without going straight to the light receiving element is reflected and bent, it is likely to be blocked by the first wall portion and the second wall portion. In the direction parallel to the straight line passing through the light emitting element and the light receiving element, a part of the first opening area overlaps with a part of the second opening area. Therefore, the positions and shapes of the first opening and the second opening can be adjusted without designing the first opening and the second opening (hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as “openings”) to be small. By doing so, the overlapping area can be reduced, and the diverted light can be efficiently blocked. The possibility that the opening is blocked by dust or the like is also low. Therefore, the photosensor support member according to the present invention can be easily manufactured, and the detection accuracy of the photosensor can be improved.

In addition, it is easier to form a long hole using a mold than in the case of forming a small hole, and it is easy to ensure the strength of the mold. Furthermore, if the opening is a long hole, the shape and size of the overlapping region can be easily adjusted as compared with other shapes such as a circle and a polygon.

Further, only by adjusting the positions of the ends of the two openings that are long holes, a small overlapping region can be easily formed to improve detection accuracy.

Further, the second opening provided in the second wall does not cross the center in the width direction of the flow path. Therefore, the game ball passing through the flow path is unlikely to contact the second opening. Therefore, the photosensor support member can reduce the possibility that the game ball stops at the second opening.

  A gaming machine according to a second aspect of the present invention includes the photosensor support member. Therefore, the gaming machine can achieve the same effects as the photo sensor support member.

1 is a front view of a pachinko machine 1. FIG. 4 is a rear view of the support plate 4. FIG. 3 is a rear view of the winning ball processing unit 20. FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the photosensor 23 from diagonally right above. It is the perspective view which looked at the photosensor support member 40 from diagonally upward left. It is the perspective view which looked at the photosensor support member 40 from diagonally right below. 4 is a front view of a photosensor support member 40 that supports a photosensor 23. FIG. It is an AA line arrow directional cross-sectional view in FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram when the vicinity of the first opening 55 is viewed from above in a direction parallel to the straight line T shown in FIG. 8.

  Hereinafter, a photo sensor support member 40 and a pachinko machine 1 including the photo sensor support member 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, a schematic configuration of the pachinko machine 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, the front side, back side, upper side, lower side, left side, and right side of FIG. 1 are respectively the front side (front side), rear side (rear side), upper side, lower side, left side, On the right side.

  A game board 2 is provided in the upper half of the pachinko machine 1. The game board 2 is substantially square in a front view, and the front surface is protected by a front frame 13 holding a transparent glass plate. The back side of the game board 2 is supported by a support plate 4 (see FIG. 2). An upper plate 5 is provided at the lower part of the game board. The upper plate 5 supplies game balls to the launcher and receives prize balls. In the upper center of the upper plate 5, an operation button 9 that is operated by a player is disposed. A lower plate 6 for receiving a prize ball is provided immediately below the upper plate 5. On the right side of the lower plate 6, a launch handle 7 for adjusting the launch of the game ball is provided.

  A substantially circular game area surrounded by the guide rail 3 is formed on the front surface of the game board 2. A display device 10 composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like is disposed in the approximate center of the game area. The display device 10 displays various videos such as moving images and messages. A first special symbol start winning opening 14 is provided below the display device 10. A normal symbol start gate 12 is provided on the right side of the display device 10, and a second special symbol start electric accessory 15 is disposed below the normal symbol start gate 12. A normal attacker 16 is provided on the lower left side of the second special symbol starting electric accessory 15. A V attacker 17 is provided immediately below the first special symbol start winning opening 14.

  The second special symbol starting electric member 15 includes an opening / closing member. When the opening / closing member of the second special symbol starter electric accessory 15 is in an open state, a game ball can be won in the second special symbol starter electric accessory 15. The normal attacker 16 and the V attacker 17 also include an opening / closing member. The game ball can win the normal attacker 16 and the V attacker 17 only when the opening / closing member is opened. Each open / close member is electrically opened and closed by a solenoid.

  In the pachinko machine 1, when the game ball passes through the normal symbol start gate 12, a normal hit determination is performed. As a result, when it is determined that the winning is normal, the second special symbol starting electric accessory 15 is opened. When a game ball wins the first special symbol start winning opening 14 or the second special symbol start electric accessory 15, a big hit determination is performed. As a result, when it is determined that the jackpot is a jackpot game in which the normal attacker 16 and the V attacker 17 are released in a predetermined order. Although not shown, a specific area and a non-specific area are formed in the flow path of the game ball won in the V attacker 17. In the pachinko machine 1, the game ball passing through a specific area in the V-attacker 17 during the jackpot game is a condition for causing a probability variation state after the jackpot game is over. A control unit for controlling the main control of the game, various effects, and the like is provided on the back side of the game board 2.

  The structure of the support plate 4 will be described with reference to FIG. The support plate 4 is a plate-like member having a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the back, and supports the game board 2 (see FIG. 1). A first opening hole 18 is formed in the upper half of the support plate 4 for opening the display device 10 (see FIG. 1) of the game board 2 to the front side. A second opening hole 19 for opening the first special symbol start winning opening 14 and the V attacker 17 (see FIG. 1) to the front side is formed in the center of the lower portion of the support plate 4. A winning ball processing unit 20 is mounted on the right side of the second opening hole 19. The winning ball processing unit 20 is located on the back side of the normal attacker 16 (see FIG. 1) and on the right side of the V attacker 17.

  The winning ball processing unit 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The winning ball processing unit 20 discharges (processes) the game ball that has won the normal attacker 16 and the game ball that has won the V attacker 17 and passed through the specific area. The winning ball processing unit 20 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the back, and is attached to the back side of the support plate 4 by screws (not shown). In the upper right part of the winning ball processing unit 20, a normal winning ball processing unit 21 is provided. The normal winning ball processing unit 21 discharges the game ball that has won the normal attacker 16 downward while reducing the speed of flowing down. In the lower left part of the winning ball processing unit 20, a specific area passing ball processing unit 22 is provided.

  The specific area passing ball processing unit 22 detects a game ball that has won the V attacker 17 and passed the specific area, and discharges the detected game ball downward. The specific area passing ball processing unit 22 includes a photosensor 23, a photosensor support member 40, and a sensor fixing cover 34. The photosensor support member 40 includes a flow path 43 (see FIGS. 5 to 9) for a game ball that has passed through a specific area, and supports the photosensor 23. The photosensor support member 40 is fixed to the winning ball processing unit 20 by two screws 41. The sensor fixing cover 34 is a member having a rectangular shape in a rear view, the vertical direction being the longitudinal direction and the lateral width being larger than that of the photosensor 23. The sensor fixing cover 34 is fixed to the photosensor support member 40 from the back side by two screws 35, thereby fixing the photosensor 23 to the photosensor support member 40.

  The photosensor 23 will be described with reference to FIG. The photosensor 23 includes a base 24. The base portion 24 includes a quadrangular prism-shaped portion extending in the vertical direction and a portion protruding forward from the upper end portion. A connection portion 25 for connecting a connector (not shown) is provided at the upper end portion of the base portion 24.

  A prism-shaped first element holding portion 26 protruding forward is provided on the upper portion of the base portion 24. A slit 27 is formed on the bottom surface of the first element holding portion 26. The slit 27 extends straight rearward from the center in the left-right direction at the front side end. A light receiving element (phototransistor in the present embodiment) 28 is held inside the first element holding unit 26. A lower side of the light receiving element 28 is opened by a slit 27. A prismatic second element holding portion 29 that protrudes forward is provided at the lower portion of the base portion 24. On the upper surface of the second element holding portion 29, a slit 30 extending rearward from the center in the left-right direction of the front side end portion is formed. A light emitting element (infrared light emitting diode in the present embodiment) 31 is held inside the second element holding unit 29, and the upper side of the light emitting element 31 is opened by a slit 30. The light emitting element 31 may be held by the first element holding unit 26. In this case, the light receiving element 28 is held in the second element holding portion 29.

  When a substance that blocks light (specifically, a game ball) does not exist between the light emitting element 31 and the light receiving element 28, light emitted from the light emitting element 31 (infrared light) extends upward from the slit 30; The light passes through the slit 27 toward the light receiving element 28. The photosensor 23 detects that there is no game ball between the light emitting element 31 and the light receiving element 28 when the light receiving element 28 receives the light emitted by the light emitting element 31. On the other hand, when the light receiving element 28 does not receive the light emitted by the light emitting element 31, the photosensor 23 detects that a game ball exists between the light emitting element 31 and the light receiving element 28.

  The light emitted from the light emitting element 31 is not all directed to the light receiving element 28 but diffuses. Even when a game ball is present between the light emitting element 31 and the light receiving element 28, when the diffused light is bent and reflected by the flow path of the game ball and enters the light receiving element 28, the photosensor 23 A game ball cannot be detected. Therefore, the detection accuracy of the photosensor 23 can be improved by blocking the diffused light and narrowing the light path that extends straight from the light emitting element 31 to the light receiving element 28.

  The photosensor support member 40 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the photosensor support member 40 includes a flow path forming portion 42. The flow path forming part 42 forms a flow path 43 for guiding a game ball that has entered from the left to the lower right.

  The flow path forming part 42 includes a first wall part 50, a second wall part 60, and a third wall part 70. The first wall 50 is located on the upper part of the photosensor support member 40. The right side of the first wall 50 is curved in an arc shape downward. As shown in FIG. 5, a first fixing portion 51 that is recessed downward is formed on the left side of the first wall portion 50. The first element holding portion 26 (see FIG. 4) of the photosensor 23 is fixed to the first fixing portion 51.

  The second wall portion 60 is disposed opposite to the first wall portion 50 in the lower portion of the photosensor support member 40. As shown in FIG. 7, the upper surface of the second wall portion 60 is formed as a flat surface and is inclined to the lower right. As shown in FIG. 8, a second fixing portion 61 that fixes the second element holding portion 29 of the photosensor 23 is formed on the outer side (lower side) of the second wall portion 60. That is, the photosensor 23 is fixed to the photosensor support member 40 by the first fixing portion 51 and the second fixing portion 61. The 1st fixing | fixed part 51 and the 2nd fixing | fixed part 61 are examples of the "fixing part" of this invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the third wall portion 70 extends downward from the back side end portion of the first wall portion 50 and is connected to the back side end portion of the second wall portion 60. That is, the first wall 50 forms the upper wall of the flow path 43, the second wall 60 forms the bottom wall of the flow path 43, and the third wall 70 forms the wall on the back side of the flow path 43. To do. The front side of the flow path 43 is closed by the wall surface of the winning ball processing unit 20 (see FIG. 3). The width (width in the front-rear direction) of the flow path 43 formed by the first wall portion 50, the second wall portion 60, the third wall portion 70, and the winning ball processing unit 20 is slightly larger than the diameter of the game ball. . Accordingly, the game ball is discharged to the lower right while rolling in the vicinity of the center portion of the second wall portion 60.

  An insertion hole 45 is provided in the upper right portion of the first wall portion 50 and the lower left portion of the second wall portion 60. A screw 41 (see FIG. 3) for fixing the photosensor support member 40 is inserted into the insertion hole 45. As shown in FIG. 5, a rib 52 extending rearward is formed at the left end portion of the first wall portion 50. An insertion hole 53 through which a screw is inserted is provided in each of the upper part and the lower part of the rear end of the rib 52. The screw inserted through the insertion hole 53 is fastened to the right side surface of the V attacker 17 (see FIG. 1). As a result, the V attacker 17 and the photosensor support member 40 are firmly fixed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a first opening 55 is formed in a portion of the first wall portion 50 where the first fixing portion 51 is provided. The first opening 55 opens the light receiving element 28 (see FIG. 4) of the first element holding part 26 fixed to the first fixing part 51 toward the lower flow path 43. As shown in FIG. 6, the shape of the first opening 55 is a long hole shape whose longitudinal direction is the front-rear direction. Specifically, the rear end portion of the first opening 55 is formed in a semicircular shape (U shape). As shown in FIG. 9, the first opening 55 extends from the vicinity of the front end portion of the first wall portion 50 to slightly rearward from the front-rear direction center. Therefore, when the game ball 47 passes through the flow path 43, the center of the game ball 47 crosses the first opening 55. However, since the first wall 50 is the upper wall of the flow path 43, the game ball 47 does not roll on the wall surface of the first wall 50. Therefore, the game ball 47 does not fit into the first opening 55.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a second opening 65 is formed in a portion of the second wall portion 60 where the second fixing portion 61 is provided. The second opening 65 opens the light emitting element 31 of the second element holding unit 29 fixed to the second fixing unit 61 toward the upper flow path 43. As shown in FIG. 5, the shape of the second opening 65 is a long hole shape whose longitudinal direction is the front-rear direction. Specifically, the front end portion of the second opening 65 is formed in a semicircular shape (U shape). The direction of the semicircular convex is opposite to the convex direction of the first opening 55. In the present embodiment, the width of the second opening 65 in the left-right direction is equal to the width of the first opening 55 in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 9, the second opening 65 extends forward from the front end of the second wall 60 (see FIG. 5 and the like), but does not reach the center in the front-rear direction of the second wall 60. Therefore, the game ball 47 does not fit into the second opening 65 of the second wall 60.

  As shown in FIG. 8, T is a straight line that passes through both the light emitting element 31 and the light receiving element 28. As shown in FIG. 9, when the first opening 55 and the second opening 65 are viewed from the direction parallel to the straight line T, the opening area of the first opening 55 (hereinafter referred to as “first opening area”). Part of the opening area of the second opening 65 (hereinafter referred to as “second opening area”) overlaps. An overlapping region where the first opening region and the second opening region overlap is located on the straight line T.

  As shown in FIG. 8, only the light emitted from the light emitting element 31 passes through the second opening area of the second opening 65 and passes through the first opening area of the first opening 55. , Enters the light receiving element 28. That is, the light emitted from the light emitting element 31 enters the light receiving element 28 only when it passes through the overlapping region shown in FIG. Light deviated without directing from the light emitting element 31 to the light receiving element 28 is blocked by the first wall 50 and the second wall 60. Therefore, even if the first opening 55 and the second opening 65 are not designed to be small, the positions, shapes, etc. of the first opening 55 and the second opening 65 are adjusted to reduce the overlapping region, and the light that has diverted. Can be cut off efficiently. The possibility that the first opening 55 and the second opening 65 are blocked by dust or the like is also low. Therefore, the photosensor support member 40 can be easily manufactured and the detection accuracy of the photosensor 23 can be improved. Compared with the case where the first opening 55 and the second opening 65 are designed to be small, the possibility that the detection accuracy is deteriorated due to deformation and manufacturing errors is also reduced.

  As described above, the first opening 55 and the second opening 65 are both long holes. Forming a long hole using a mold is easier than forming a small round hole having the same diameter as the width in the end direction of the long hole, and it is easy to ensure the strength of the mold. . Furthermore, if the first opening 55 and the second opening 65 are elongated holes, the shape and size of the overlapping region can be easily adjusted as compared to other shapes such as a circle and a polygon. Therefore, the detection accuracy of the photosensor 23 can be improved more easily. Even when both the first opening 55 and the second opening 65 are elongated holes, the shape of the overlapping region is the same as long as one of the first opening region and the second opening region overlaps the other region. This may coincide with the shape of the long hole, and detection leakage due to reflection / bending may occur. As exemplified in the present embodiment, the first opening 55 and the second opening 65, which are long holes, are overlapped with each other to adjust the shape and size of the overlapping region and detect the photosensor 23. Accuracy can be improved.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the direction parallel to the straight line T, only the first opening region of the first opening 55 in the longitudinal direction at one end (the end on the rear end side) is the one end in the longitudinal direction of the second opening 65. It overlaps with the second opening area of the part (end part on the front end side). Therefore, only by adjusting the positions of the end portions of the first opening 55 and the second opening 65, a small overlapping region can be easily formed to improve detection accuracy.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the straight line T passes behind the center position of the flow path 43 in the width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 9). That is, the distance D1 from the rear end 54 of the flow path 43 to the straight line T is shorter than the distance D2 from the front end 56 of the flow path 43 to the straight line T. Therefore, the straight line T and the center position in the width direction of the flow path 43 are shifted. And the 2nd opening part 65 provided in the 2nd wall part 60 (refer FIGS. 5-8) is from the edge part 54 near the straight line T among the both ends of the width direction of the 2nd wall part 60, It extends to a position that intersects with the straight line T. Accordingly, the second opening 65 provided in the second wall portion 60 does not cross the center in the width direction of the flow path 43, so the game ball 47 passing through the flow path 43 does not contact the second opening 65. . Therefore, the photosensor support member 40 can reduce the possibility that the game ball 47 stops at the second opening 65.

  The shapes of the light emitting element 31 and the light receiving element 28 when viewed from a direction parallel to the straight line T are circular. In the present embodiment, since the rear end portion of the first opening 55 and the front end portion of the second opening 65 are both semicircular, the shape of the overlapping region is circular. Therefore, compared with the case where the shape of the overlapping region is another shape, it is possible to more efficiently block the light that deviates without going from the light emitting element 31 to the light receiving element 28.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described in detail above, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the first opening 55 and the second opening 65 in the above embodiment are both long holes. Therefore, the shape and size of the overlapping region can be easily adjusted. However, the shapes of the first opening 55 and the second opening 65 can be changed. For example, the first opening 55 and the second opening 65 may be circular, square, or the like. Even if the shapes of the first opening 55 and the second opening 65 are changed, a part of the first opening region and a part of the second opening region are overlapped in a direction parallel to the straight line T. The detection accuracy of 23 is improved.

  In the above embodiment, the first wall portion 50 forms the upper wall of the flow path 43, and the second wall portion 60 forms the bottom wall of the flow path 43. However, the 1st wall part 50 and the 2nd wall part 60 should just be opposingly arranged. Therefore, even when the first wall 50 and the second wall 60 form both side walls of the flow path 43, the present invention can be realized.

  In the above embodiment, the region of the rear end portion of the first opening 55 and the region of the front end portion of the second opening 65 overlap. Therefore, it is possible to easily form a small overlapping region only by adjusting the positions of the ends of the two openings 55 and 65. However, the present invention can be realized without overlapping the ends of the two openings 55 and 65. For example, the two openings 55 and 65 may be arranged so that the center of the first opening 55 that is a long hole and the center of the second opening 65 intersect in a direction parallel to the straight line T. In this case, although the shape of the overlapping region is a quadrangle, the overlapping region can be easily reduced as in the above embodiment. In the above embodiment, the two openings 55 and 65 both have the longitudinal direction as the longitudinal direction. However, the longitudinal directions of the two openings 55 and 65 do not have to be parallel.

  In the above embodiment, the shape of the rear end of the first opening 55 and the shape of the front end of the second opening 65 are both semicircular (U-shaped). Therefore, the shape of the overlapping region becomes circular, and the detection accuracy of the photosensor 23 can be improved more efficiently. However, even if the shapes of the ends of the two openings 55 and 65 are changed, the detection accuracy of the photosensor 23 is improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pachinko machine 23 Photosensor 26 First element holding part 28 Light receiving element 29 Second element holding part 31 Light emitting element 40 Photosensor support member 42 Flow path forming part 43 Channel 50 First wall part 51 First fixing part 54 End part 55 1st opening part 60 2nd wall part 61 2nd fixing | fixed part 65 2nd opening part

Claims (2)

A photosensor support member that supports a photosensor that detects the passage of a game ball depending on whether or not the light receiving element receives light emitted by the light emitting element;
A flow path formation having a first wall part and a second wall part disposed opposite to the first wall part, and forming a flow path of a game ball between the first wall part and the second wall part And
A fixing part for fixing the light emitting element and the light receiving element to each of the outside of the first wall part and the outside of the second wall part so that the light emitting element and the light receiving element sandwich the flow path;
A first opening and a first opening which are elongated holes formed in the first wall and the second wall and opening each of the light emitting element and the light receiving element fixed to the fixing part toward the flow path. With two openings,
Duplicate the light emitting element and the light receiving element in a direction parallel to a straight line both passing through, only the opening area of the longitudinal end portion of the first opening, the opening area of the longitudinal end portion of the second opening and, and, and the opening area of the longitudinal end portion of the first opening, the opening area of the longitudinal end portion of the second opening is positioned on the straight line,
The straight line is shifted from the center position in the width direction of the flow path,
The second wall portion is positioned below the first wall portion to form a bottom wall of the flow path,
The second opening provided in the second wall portion extends from an end portion closer to the straight line to a position intersecting the straight line among both end portions in the width direction of the second wall portion. A photosensor support member. A gaming machine comprising the photosensor support member according to claim 1 .

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