JP6033616B2 - Lift polishing machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention polishes a game ball (hereinafter referred to as a sphere) that is shot into a non-winning prize opening or a winning opening after being launched toward a game board surface of a gaming machine, for example, a pachinko machine, while lifting it, The present invention relates to a lift polishing apparatus that discharges ground balls for circulation.

  In an open-type game machine in which a part of the moving path of the sphere is open to the outside, the player touches the sphere with his hand, so oil components from his hands, sweat, or dust generated from the passage components adheres to the sphere. Therefore, in order to remove the dirt and to restore the gloss of the sphere, a lift polishing apparatus is used.

  In recent years, the ball circulation path has been sealed from the outside of the gaming machine so that the game can be performed without causing the player to touch the ball, and the number of balls acquired when the launched ball wins (the prize ball acquisition) The number of prize balls acquired is displayed at a predetermined position and subtracted from the number of prize balls acquired each time the ball is fired, and the number of prize balls acquired at the end of the game is recorded on a recording medium and issued. Various non-open gaming machines are known (Patent Documents 1 to 4).

  Even in a non-open game machine, although not as in the case of an open game machine, dirt may adhere to the ball due to static electricity or the like, so that a ball polishing device is still necessary. A gaming machine including a relatively small polishing device that polishes a ball in a ball circulation path in the gaming machine is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

Utility Model Registration No. 2516345 Japanese Patent No. 2799612 JP-A-5-177050 Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-53188

  However, the small polishing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has a pair of rod-shaped ball passage forming members in a circulation path for collecting balls launched on the game board surface of the gaming machine and having a space smaller than the diameter of the balls. A screw conveyor having an axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the ball passage formed by the ball passage forming member is provided so that its head faces the ball passage, and the screw conveyor is driven to rotate in a predetermined direction. A polishing means comprising an abrasive fixed to the mounting plate on the upper side of the spherical passage so as to face the spherical passage, and an elastic member that biases the abrasive toward the spherical passage, The sphere that has entered from the entrance of one end of the sphere passage is transferred through the sphere passage by the screw conveyor, and the sphere is polished by the polishing means until it exits from the exit of the other end of the sphere passage. That.

  Therefore, the abrasive is fixed to the mounting plate, and the mounting plate is fixed to the main body of the gaming machine by fixing means such as a screw. Because of this structure, the effective polishing period of the abrasive is short, and it is not possible to check the degree of contamination of the abrasive during the game hall operation. There was a problem that it took a lot of labor and cost to replace the battery.

In order to solve the above problem, the present applicant has proposed the following lift polishing apparatus in Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-040305.
The lift polishing machine is
(A) It is composed of a ball lifting unit having a ball inlet and a ball outlet, and an abrasive cassette detachably attached to the ball lifting unit. (B) A box-shaped unit main body having a space for accommodating an abrasive cassette, and ball lifting means provided in the unit main body. (C) the ball lifting means has an axis in the unit main body. A screw conveyor provided vertically and rotatably, and formed in a cylindrical shape having a vertically long opening on the entire back side, and concentrically surrounds the screw conveyor and cooperates with the screw conveyor to form the opening. A ball lifting guide that forms a ball lifting path and has the ball inlet connected to the lower end of the ball lifting path and the ball outlet connected to the upper end of the ball lifting path; Screw conveyor is predetermined (D) the abrasive material cassette includes a cassette body fitted into an abrasive material cassette housing space of the ball lifting unit, and an abrasive material of the cassette body. An endless belt-shaped abrasive that is housed in the housing space and is exposed to be movable outside the cassette body between an outlet provided on one side of the cassette body and an inlet provided on the other side; Abrasive material feeding means provided near the entrance of the abrasive material accommodation space and exposed to the outside from the entrance to the abrasive material accommodation space, and the ball lifting between the outlet and the entrance of the cassette body An abrasive that is provided in a recessed groove formed on the back side of the path and is exposed to the outside of the cassette body when the cassette body is fitted into the abrasive cassette housing space of the ball lifting unit. Previous And a pair of flapper resiliently pressed toward the TamaAge sending passage, is characterized in that the polishing region is formed between the pair of flappers said ball lifting sending passage.

  In another aspect, in order to facilitate the exchange of the abrasive, the cassette body of the abrasive cassette is detachably attached to the ball lifting unit, and can be divided into two parts up and down. The abrasive can be loaded or replaced in the state.

  In yet another aspect, in order to improve the polishing performance of the abrasive, the abrasive is moved in the horizontal direction in the polishing area, and the abrasive and the ball that is transported through the ball feeding path are configured to cross. Yes.

  In yet another aspect, the abrasive has a width substantially equal to the length excluding the ball inlet and the ball outlet of the ball lifting guide in order to increase the efficiency of use of the abrasive.

  In still another aspect, the abrasive feed means is arranged to engage with both sides of the abrasive with a force that does not cause permanent deformation of the abrasive in order to extend the effective polishing period of the abrasive. The pair of gears having a length substantially equal to the width of the abrasive and second driving means for applying a rotational force in a predetermined direction to the gears.

  In yet another aspect, the length of the abrasive material is kept so that the abrasive material contained in the abrasive material accommodation space of the cassette body is not packed to the outlet so that the abrasive material can be smoothly fed to the abrasive region. And a play space is provided on the outlet side of the abrasive material accommodation space.

  As described above, the endless belt-shaped abrasive contained in the cassette body is exposed to be movable outside the cassette body between the outlet provided on one side of the cassette body and the inlet provided on the other side. The abrasive material exposed to the outside is elastically pressed toward the ball lifting path by a pair of left and right flappers. Then, when the screw conveyor is rotated in a predetermined direction, the ball is lifted along the ball lifting path, and is lifted while pressing the abrasive against the pair of left and right flappers in the polishing region, and is polished by the abrasive.

  However, in the lift polishing apparatus according to the previous proposal, the endless belt-shaped abrasive material accommodated in the abrasive material accommodation space of the cassette body is formed between the front wall and the inner wall of the cassette body from the outlet of the cassette body. Abrasive material is stored again from the inlet of the cassette body by the abrasive material feeding means provided in the cassette body, traversing the grinding region of the ball feeding path between the pair of flappers and the outer peripheral surface of the screw conveyor through the guide path Since it is only drawn into the space, the ball that is lifted up the ball lifting path generates an event that raises the abrasive, and as a result, the ball that is subsequently lifted jams into the ball lifting path, It has been found that there is a risk that smooth feeding of the abrasive may be hindered.

  The present invention has been made in view of this point, and the problem to be solved is to be accommodated in the cassette body between the outlet provided on one side of the cassette body and the inlet provided on the other side. When the endless belt-like abrasive that is exposed to be movable outside the cassette body is elastically pressed toward the ball feeding path by a pair of left and right flappers in the polishing region, and the screw conveyor is rotated in a predetermined direction, In a lift polishing apparatus configured such that a sphere is lifted up a ball feed path and is lifted while pressing the abrasive against a pair of left and right flappers in the polishing region, and the abrasive is polished by the abrasive. It is to prevent being raised in the area.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention
(A) a ball lifting unit having a ball inlet and a ball outlet, and an abrasive cassette detachably attached to the ball lifting unit;
(B) The ball lifting unit comprises a box-shaped unit main body having a space for accommodating the abrasive cassette, and a ball lifting means provided in the unit main body,
(C) The ball lifting means is formed in a cylindrical shape having a screw conveyor provided in the unit main body so as to be rotatable with the axis being vertical, and a vertically long opening on the entire back side. Concentrically encircling and forming a ball feeding path extending along the opening in cooperation with the screw conveyor, and the ball inlet and the ball feeding communicated with the lower end of the ball feeding path A ball lifting guide having the ball discharge port communicated with the upper end of the road, and a first driving means for rotating the screw conveyor in a predetermined direction,
(D) The abrasive material cassette is accommodated in the abrasive material cassette housing space of the ball lifting unit, and is accommodated in the abrasive material accommodating space of the cassette body, and a part thereof is one side of the cassette body. An endless belt-shaped abrasive that is movably exposed outside the cassette body between the outlet provided on the other side and the inlet provided on the other side, and provided near the inlet of the abrasive-containing space, Abrasive material feeding means for drawing the exposed abrasive material into the abrasive material accommodation space from the inlet, and provided in a concave groove formed on the back side of the ball feeding path between the outlet and the inlet of the cassette body, When the cassette body is fitted into the abrasive cassette housing space of the ball lifting unit, a pair of left and right elastically pressing the abrasive exposed outside the cassette body toward the ball lifting path Hula And a path, the polishing region is formed between the pair of flapper and the screw conveyor of the sphere lifting sending passage,
(E) The abrasive material guides the abrasive material formed by the front wall and the inner wall of the cassette body between the outlet of the abrasive material accommodation space of the cassette body and the position immediately before the grinding region of the ball feeding path. the polishing region traverses through the guideway, in pumped polishing apparatus using the polishing material cassette configured to be pulled back to the inlet of the abrasive material accommodation space by the abrasive feeding means,
To press the abrasive in the inner wall (f) prior Symbol guided guide path is characterized in that a pressing means for tensioning the abrasive across the polishing region (claim 1).

The pressing means may be a protrusion that is integrally formed at a position corresponding to the end of the guide path on the front wall of the cassette body and presses the abrasive guided along the guide path against the inner wall. Item 2).

State the pressing means, which rotatably mounted on the shaft parallel to the axis around the screw conveyor to the outside of the sphere pumped guide, the cassette body has been fitted to the polishing material cassette accommodation space of the sphere pumped unit It may be constituted by a collar that presses the abrasive guided along the guide path against the inner wall .

The pressing means is provided with a pressing roller that can rotate around a vertical axis on the side of the ball lifting unit, and is engaged with the abrasive feeding means when the cassette body is fitted into the abrasive cassette housing space of the ball lifting unit. and by providing a power transmission means for transmitting a rotational force to the pressing roller, the pressing roller presses the abrasive on the inner wall of the cassette body when the cassette body is fitted to the abrasive cassette accommodating space sphere pumped units The power transmission means may be configured to feed the abrasive at a speed slightly slower than the speed at which the abrasive is pulled by the abrasive feeding means.

Furthermore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention forms a hole in the bottom near the polishing area of the front wall of the cassette body as a curling prevention means, so that the abrasive feeding means is not driven on the ball lifting unit side. A pressing means for pressing the abrasive material against the inner wall of the guide path by entering and leaving the hole is provided (Claim 5).

The pressing means includes a solenoid provided in the ball lifting unit or the cassette body, a pin coupled to a tip of a plunger of the solenoid, and entering and exiting the hole in the front wall of the cassette body, and the solenoid as an abrasive feed means. And a control circuit that operates during the non-driving time (claim 6).

Further, the pressing means includes a solenoid provided in the sphere pumped unit or cassette body is swung by the plunger of the solenoid, a holding lever tip is entered and exit the bore of the front wall of the cassette body, the solenoid And a control circuit that operates during the non-driving time of the abrasive feed means (claim 7).

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided pressing means for pressing the abrasive guided along the guide path against the inner wall and tensioning the abrasive that crosses the polishing region, so that the abrasive is moved up the polishing region. Rukoto is turned by the sphere is prevented. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the polishing performance of the abrasive from being impaired or the smooth feeding of the abrasive from being hindered.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the pressing means is composed of a ridge formed integrally with the front wall of the cassette body, so that the configuration is simple and the manufacture is easy.

According to invention of Claim 3, since a press means is provided in the ball | bowl lifting guide side of a ball | bowl lifting unit, the structure of a cassette main body does not become complicated and manufacture is easy.

According to the invention of claim 4, the pressing means comprises a pressing roller, and the pressing roller presses the abrasive against the inner wall of the cassette body and rotates in synchronization with the abrasive feeding means, so that the abrasive is transferred. When the presser roller does not interfere with the transfer of the abrasive material, and when the abrasive material is not transferred, the presser roller presses the abrasive material against the inner wall, preventing the abrasive material from being beaten by the ball being lifted up the polishing area. Is done.

  According to the invention of claim 5, since the pressing means presses the abrasive against the inner wall of the guide path during the non-drive time of the abrasive feeding means, the pressing means presses the abrasive against the inner wall when the abrasive is not transferred. Therefore, the abrasive is prevented from being beaten by the ball being moved up the polishing area.

  According to the inventions of claims 6 and 7, since the pressing means reliably presses the abrasive when not transferred to the inner wall, it is possible to prevent the abrasive from being beaten by a ball fed up the polishing area with a simple configuration. can do.

It is a front view of an example of the game machine (small island by 2 units | sets parallel) which attached the raising polishing apparatus used as the premise technique of this invention. It is a rear view of an example of a gaming machine (configured with only one) to which a lifting polishing apparatus as a prerequisite technology of the present invention is attached. It is a perspective view in the use condition of a lifting polishing apparatus. It is a front view of the same lifting polishing apparatus. It is a perspective view of the back side similarly. It is a perspective view of the ball lifting unit after pulling out the abrasive material cassette of the same lifting polishing apparatus. It is a rear view of a ball lifting unit. It is a cross-sectional view of the lower part of the lifting means. It is the perspective view of an abrasive material cassette, (a) is the perspective view seen from the back side, (b) is the perspective view seen from the front side. It is a top view of the state which removed the box body of the upper side of an abrasives cassette. It is a perspective view similarly. It is a rear view of the lower part of the ball lifting unit showing the ball lifting operation by the ball lifting unit. It is a figure which shows the grinding | polishing part of an abrasives cassette, (a) is a perspective view of the principal part which shows a structure and an effect | action, (b) is a figure which shows the preferable shape of a flapper, and its effect | action. It is a transverse cross section of the important section showing one embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows other embodiment of this invention. Similarly it is a cross-sectional view of the main part. It is a perspective view which shows other embodiment of this invention. Similarly it is a cross-sectional view of the main part. It is a perspective view which shows other embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows an example of a pressing means. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the other example of a pressing means.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Recently, the size of the amusement island has been reduced to only one or several units due to the problems of maintenance, such as the load of the lifting and polishing equipment, the complexity of the ball supply control, the labor and cost of changing the abrasive, and the range. A gaming machine has been developed that can successfully reuse a limited number of balls.
In addition, although there are various cases in which only one or a plurality of game islands are adjacent to each other or back to back, a description will be given of a configuration in which two game machines are installed side by side.
FIG. 1 shows a gaming apparatus A, which is an example in the case where it is configured by two adjacent gaming machines 1A and 1B. Note that the two gaming machines 1A and 1B forming the small island have the same configuration, and these two are the falling ball collection function from the gaming machine, the lifting and polishing ability, and the ball supply function to the gaming machine. The game machine is complete.

The gaming machines 1A and 1B are, for example, pachinko machines, and have a glass door 2 and a front plate 3 that are pivotally supported on one side so as to be openable and closable on one side. A game board 4 is provided. The front panel 3 is provided with an operation handle 6 for inputting a ball launch command to a known launcher (not shown) and adjusting the ball launch speed.
In FIG. 1, 16 is an upper plate, 17 is a lower plate, 18 is a funnel, and 19 is a tray. Reference numeral 20 denotes a display unit for displaying the remaining number of balls and the number of winning balls provided on the game board 11.

  The lift polishing apparatus B is shown as an example in the lower part of the gaming apparatus A in FIG. 1, and as another example, in FIG. The lifting and polishing apparatus B includes a ball lifting unit 100 and an abrasive material cassette 200 as shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the ball lifting unit 100 is provided with a ball lifting means at a substantially central position in a unit body 101 formed in a box shape that opens only on the back side. On both sides and the back side, an abrasive cassette housing space 101R in which an abrasive cassette 100 described later can be fitted is provided. As shown in FIG. 7 , the ball lifting means is a vertically long sphere having a U-shaped or arc-shaped horizontal cross section having an opening having a width slightly larger than the diameter of the sphere C. A screw conveyor (hereinafter simply referred to as a conveyor) that is rotatably mounted with the rotary shaft 104a aligned with the center of the ball lifting guide 102 by the lifting guide 102 and the upper and lower support members 103 fixed to the inner surface of the unit body 101. .) 104, a motor 105 for rotating the conveyor, and a rotation detection sensor 106 for detecting the rotation of the conveyor 104. The unit main body 101 is attached with a motor 107 which is one of the constituent elements of the second driving means described later.

Conveyor 104 has an outer diameter of its outer peripheral surface close to the inner surface of the sphere pumped guide 102, the distance between the outer surface and the inner surface of the sphere pumped guide 102 of the rotation shaft 104a of the conveyor 104 of the sphere C It is slightly smaller than the diameter, and the pitch of the screw is set slightly larger than the diameter of the sphere.

As shown in FIGS . 7 and 8 , a lower ball passage forming member is attached to the lower portion of the vertically long opening of the ball lifting guide 102. An example of the spherical passage forming member will be described. A lower cover 108 having an arcuate spherical passage forming portion 108a having a radius of curvature larger than the radius of the sphere C is fixed to the lower cover 108. Covers a part of the outer peripheral surface of the lower part of the conveyor 104. A ball lifting path p1 that is continuous in the vertical direction is formed between the conveyor 104 and the lower cover. In the example of FIG. 6 at the lower end portion of the lower cover 108, one end of a curved ball introduction path 110 is connected to the left side surface, and the ball introduction path 110 communicates with the lower end portion of the ball lifting path p1. . Further, the other end of the sphere introduction path 110 is connected to a sphere inlet 111 formed on the lower front side of the unit main body 101 of the sphere lifting unit 100. The ball inlet 111 is connected to a recovery ball discharge path of the gaming machine. The ball introduction path 110 is slightly inclined downward from the ball inlet 111 to the lower end of the ball transport path p1 so that the ball can easily roll.

An upper cover 112 similar to the lower cover 108 is fixed to the upper portion of the vertically long opening of the ball lifting guide 102 as a ball passage forming member, and the upper cover 112 is a part of the outer peripheral surface of the upper portion of the conveyor 104. Shielding. A ball transport path p3 (not shown) similar to the ball transport path p1 is formed between the conveyor 104 and the upper cover 112 in the vertical direction. In the example of FIG. 6 at the upper end of the upper cover 112, one end of a curved sphere lead-out path 113 is connected to the right side surface, and the other end of the sphere lead-out path 113 is connected to the unit main body 101 of the ball lifting unit 100. Is connected to a ball discharge port 114 formed on the upper front side of the. The ball lead-out path 113 is slightly inclined downward from the upper end of the ball transport path p3 to the ball discharge port 114 so that the ball can easily roll.

  A gear 115 fixed to the lower end portion of the rotating shaft 104a of the conveyor 104 and a gear 116 fixed to the rotating shaft of the motor 105 are engaged with each other. The motor 105 and the gears 115 and 116 constitute first driving means for driving the ball lifting means.

  As an example, the rotation detection sensor 106 includes a known photoelectric sensor 106a attached to the unit main body 101, and an encoder 106b fixed to an upper extension portion of the rotation shaft 104a of the conveyor 104. The rotation detection sensor 106 is used to count the number of balls discharged from the ball discharge port 114 based on the rotation angle of the conveyor 104. The sensor for counting the number of balls may have another configuration or may be provided at another position.

  Then, the ball lifting unit 100 is housed in the gaming machine with the open surface of the unit body 101 facing the back direction of the gaming machine as shown in FIG. 2, and the mounting piece 101a provided integrally with the unit body 101 ˜101e is detachably attached by fixing means such as screwing. Therefore, the lift polishing apparatus A can be easily attached to the gaming machine.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5, 9, and 10, the abrasive material cassette 200 is formed in a substantially horizontally long box shape, and is accommodated in the cassette body 201 having the abrasive material accommodation space 202 therein, and the abrasive material accommodation space 202 , An endless belt-like abrasive 203, a part of which is exposed to the outside of the cassette body 201, for example, an abrasive cloth, and an abrasive feed means 204 that is provided in a part of the abrasive accommodating space 202 and sends the abrasive in a predetermined direction. have. 10 and 11, a part of the abrasive is omitted.

The cassette body 201 is formed with a hole 205 that opens in the front side and in the up-down direction substantially at the center in the width direction, and is provided with a recess 206 that opens in the front side and is recessed in the rear direction inside the hole. Further, the upper surface plate 2011 and the lower surface plate 2012 of the cassette body 201 are formed with a recess 206 and a hole 207 communicating in the vertical direction. The concave portion 206 and the upper and lower holes 207 form a concave groove that is open in the front direction and the vertical direction. A pair of left and right flappers 208 and 208 are provided in the concave groove so as to be continuous in the vertical direction and disposed on opposite sides of the concave portion 206. The inner wall 209 forming the recess 206 is extended to the left and right sides at the closest position inside the front wall of the cassette body 201, and both ends thereof will be described later in cooperation with the front wall 210 or the side wall 211 of the cassette body 201. An abrasive inlet 212 and outlet 213 are formed. An abrasive feeding means 204 is provided at a position near the inlet 212 of the abrasive accommodating space 202 . The abrasive material feeding means 204 includes a pair of gears 204a and 204b and an elastic pressing member 204c. The pair of gears 204a and 204b are engaged with each other, and one gear 204a is urged by the pressing member 204c to the other gear 204b.

The flappers 208 and 208 are arranged in a C shape on the extension of the ball passage forming portion 108a of the lower cover 108 of the ball lifting unit 100. That is, the pair of flappers 208 and 208 is also a member that forms a spherical passage similarly to the upper and lower covers 108 and 112. Further, the flappers 208 and 208 are U-shaped, in which upper and lower ends are fixed to the upper surface plate 2011 and the lower surface plate 2012 of the cassette body 201 by supporting shafts 208a projecting in the vertical direction at the proximal end portions on the side closer to each other. It is inserted into a hole (not shown) provided in the mounting plate 214 and is supported so as to be swingable about its support shaft 208a.

  Then, in the vicinity of the upper and lower ends of the pair of flappers 208, 208, an urging member 215 such as a leaf spring formed by bending a thin steel plate so that the planar shape is a shallow bowl shape is provided on the side of the mounting plate 214. The pair of flappers 208 and 208 are fixedly attached to the free sides of the pair of flappers 208 and 208, and the free ends of the pair of flappers 208 and 208 are urged toward each other. The free ends of the pair of flappers 208 and 208 exist in the vicinity of the hole 205 at the center of the front side of the cassette body 201.

A guide path 216 is formed between the front wall 210 and the inner wall 209 of the cassette body 201, and is on the outer side of a straight line connecting the free ends of the flappers 208 and 208 in the guide path 216, and has an inlet 212. Guide rollers 217 and 218 are provided at positions close to the outlet 213.
Further, the guide roller 219 having a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the sphere C in the center of the rear side of the flat path 208, 208 in the recess 206, rotatably supported anchored axis above and below the mounting plate 214 Has been.

  Then, the abrasive 203 drawn into the one guide path 216 from the outlet 213 of the cassette body 201 is half-turned to the guide roller 218 on one side, and then passes through the free end of one flapper 208 to the guide roller 219. Next, after passing through the other guide path 216 through the free end of the other flapper 208 and half-turned to the guide roller 217 on the other side, it is drawn into the inlet 212 from the guide path 216. . As a result, a polishing region is formed between the opposing surfaces of the pair of flappers 208, 208 where the abrasive 203 faces each other in a divergent shape toward the hole 205. The interval between the polishing regions changes with the opening and closing of the free ends of the flappers 208 and 208, and is set so as to be larger than the diameter of the sphere C when fully opened and smaller than the diameter of the sphere C when fully closed. Has been.

  A drive shaft (not shown) fixed to the gear 204b of the abrasive material feeding means 204 passes through a hole provided in the upper surface plate 2011 of the cassette body 201 and extends to the upper side thereof. It is fixed (see FIG. 5).

  The cassette body 201 is divided into upper and lower boxes 201a and 201b at an almost intermediate position in the height direction, and the peripheral edges of the upper and lower boxes are abutted and joined by screws 221 as shown in FIG. Can be united. Then, the abrasive 203 can be exchanged in the two-divided state. Therefore, the abrasive can be easily replaced.

  The abrasive material cassette 200 having the shape and configuration described above has a back surface shape substantially the same as the back surface shape of the cassette body 201 of the abrasive material cassette 200 formed at an intermediate position of the unit body 101 of the ball lifting unit 100. The abrasive cassette housing space 101R can be tightly fitted and housed.

  When the abrasive cassette 200 is fitted in the abrasive cassette housing space 101R, the lifting guide 102 and the conveyor 104 of the ball lifting unit 100 enter the recess 206 of the cassette body 201 of the abrasive cassette 200, and the conveyor 104 The portion protruding from the opening of the feed guide 102 between the upper and lower covers 108 and 112 enters the hole 207 in the bottom wall of the cassette body 201 of the abrasive cassette 200 and enters the hole 207. The upper and lower ball feeding paths p1, p3 formed between the upper and lower covers 108, 112 of the ball lifting unit 100 and the conveyor 104 between the portion of the conveyor 104 and the pair of flappers 208, 208 A communicating ball transport path p2 is formed.

  The abrasive material cassette 200 accommodated in a predetermined position in the ball lifting unit 100 has a plurality of protrusions 222 provided on the front side of the cassette body 201 so that the front plate of the unit body 101 of the ball lifting unit 100 is It fits into a plurality of holes 117 formed at corresponding positions, and the outer peripheral surface of the cassette main body 201 of the abrasive cassette 200 is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the accommodation space 101R of the unit main body 101 of the ball lifting unit 100. It is fixed in contact and stable.

At that time, the transmission gear 220 of the abrasive cassette 200 is dynamically coupled to the transmission means of the motor 107 of the ball lifting unit 100. The transmission means is not limited to this, but can be constituted by, for example, a bevel gear (not shown) fixed to the rotating shaft of the motor 107, and a spur gear 118 that meshes with the bevel gear and the transmission gear 220. .

  Thus, when the lifting and polishing apparatus A is installed in a gaming machine, the ball inlet 111 is provided at the end of the merging passage 12 connected to the out ball passage 10 and the prize ball passage 11 of the gaming machine. 13 and the ball discharge port 114 is connected to the start end of the launch ball passage 14 connected to the ball launch position.

  Then, the effect | action by the said structure is demonstrated. When a command to supply a ball to the firing ball passage 14 is given from a management device (not shown) to a control device (not shown) of a specific gaming machine, the control device rotates the drive motor 105 in a predetermined direction. As a result, the conveyor 104 is rotated in a predetermined direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 12) via the gears 116 and 115, which are transmission means, so that the ball inlet 111 shown in FIG. The ball C1 that has entered the downwardly inclined ball introduction path 110 rolls into the ball transport path p1 of the lower cover 108, and the ball C2 that rolls into the ball transport path p1 is It is conveyed by the conveyor 104. As shown in FIG. 11, the ball C3 to be transported continues to a ball transport path p1 formed between a pair of flappers 208 and 208 existing on the upper side of the lower cover 108. The ball lifting path p2 is transported by the conveyor 104. As shown in FIG. 13 (a), the ball C4 lifted along the ball lifting path p2 is supported by the flappers 208, 208 and is urged in a direction approaching each other by the urging member 215. Polished by the material 203.

In this case, as a preferred embodiment, the pair of flappers 208 and 208 is configured so that one of a pair of flappers having the same shape with both front and back surfaces formed in a waveform with a constant period is shown in FIG. By arranging them symmetrically upside down, a meandering ball feeding path p2 is formed. Thus, the meandering while the ball C4 is pumped to TamaAge sending passage p2, the effect of spherical C4 are polished evenly effectively by the abrasive 203 is obtained.

  11 and 13, 208 b is a protrusion provided at the free end of the flappers 208 and 208. If this projection 208b is not provided, the biasing force of the biasing member 215 causes the free ends of the pair of flappers 208 and 208 to approach too much, narrowing the ball transport path p2 and causing the ball C to travel to the ball transport path. Although there is a risk that entry into p2 may be hindered or an excessive load is applied to the abrasive 203, if this projection 208b is provided, the projection will stop against the edge of the hole 207 of the abrasive cassette 200. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ball transport path p2 from being narrowed and an excessive load on the abrasive.

  Then, the balls polished and lifted in the ball feeding path p2 of the abrasive cassette 200 are further fed by the conveyor 104 along the ball feeding path p3 of the upper cover 112, and from the upper end of the ball feeding path p3. It is discharged from the ball discharge port 114 through the ball lead-out path 113. The number of balls supplied from the ball discharge port 114 to the firing ball passage 14 is counted based on a detection signal given from the rotation detection sensor 106 to the control device. When the count value reaches a predetermined value, the control device stops the rotation of the drive motor 105.

  The number of winning balls acquired when the launched ball wins, the accumulation of winning balls and the display processing on the display unit 7 are performed in the same manner as in the prior art.

  Among the above components, the ball lifting means for lifting the sphere introduced from the sphere inlet by the lifting guide 102, the conveyor 104, and the upper and lower covers 108, 112 to the sphere outlet along a predetermined sphere path The motor 105 and the transmission gears 115 and 116 constitute a first driving means for driving the ball lifting means, and are fixed to the rotating shafts of the gears 204a and 204b and the gear 204b that sandwich the abrasive 203 in the cassette body 201. The transmission gear 220 constitutes an abrasive feed means for transferring the abrasive in a predetermined direction, and the motor 107 and the transmission gear 220 constitute a second drive means for driving the abrasive feed means.

  Regarding the timing of transferring the abrasive material by the abrasive material feeding means, since the frequency and degree of contamination of the balls in the non-open game machine is relatively small, it is not necessary to frequently transfer the abrasive material. Therefore, the rotational speed of the second drive means (cloth drive motor 107) may be decelerated by the speed reduction means and continuously transferred little by little, or the second drive means may be driven at regular intervals and intermittently. It may be transferred.

  For the gears 204a and 204b constituting the abrasive material feeding means of the cassette body 201, for example, an involute gear or the like in which the pitch and groove depth are appropriately set in consideration of the waist strength of the abrasive material, etc. is used. By appropriately setting the elasticity of the urging member 204c, permanent deformation (tooth profile) does not occur in the abrasive bitten between the gears 204a and 204b, and a reliable feed force is applied.

  When permanent deformation (biting mark) is generated in the abrasive 203 bited between the gears 204a and 204b, the abrasive 203 fed into the abrasive receiving space 202 from between the gears 204a and 204b is a short distance along the tooth profile. Since it will meander, it will be difficult to orderly accommodate in the abrasive accommodating space 202, and the serpentine abrasive will fall in the abrasive accommodating space 202, or it will be easily clogged when pulled out from the outlet 213, This is not preferable because the abrasive load is increased.

  On the other hand, when gears 204a and 204b meshing with a force that does not cause permanent deformation (tooth profile) of the abrasive material are used, the abrasive material can be reliably pulled into the abrasive material accommodation space 202 without sliding. At the same time, since the abrasive drawn from the inlet 212 moves in the direction of the outlet 213 while meandering to the left and right accurately, the abrasive is stored in an orderly manner. Accordingly, the stored abrasive is smoothly pulled out from the outlet 213. Further, the meshing of the pair of gears ensures that the abrasive 203 is pulled into the cassette body in a tensioned state, so that the abrasive is prevented from being scraped in the polishing region.

  In the preferred embodiment, an idle space in which the abrasive is not stuffed is provided at a position near the outlet 213 of the abrasive accommodating space 202 by appropriately setting the length of the abrasive. Therefore, the abrasive drawn from the outlet 213 can be moved to the polishing area more smoothly without being loaded at the outlet.

  Further, since the ball C is lifted upward by the lifting means, and the abrasive 203 is moved in a direction perpendicular to the lifting direction, that is, in the horizontal direction at a slow speed or intermittently, high polishing performance is exhibited. . Further, since the abrasive 203 has a width equal to the height of the portion excluding the range shielded by the upper and lower covers 108 and 112 of the ball lifting guide, the abrasive is used with high efficiency.

  The installation position of the lifting and polishing apparatus A with respect to the gaming machine 1 is not limited to the back side (see FIG. 2) in the gaming machine as in the above example, but the upper or lower part in the gaming machine or the upper side of the gaming machine or The lower side (see FIG. 1) is optional.

  When the lifting / polishing apparatus A is installed on the back side, upper part or lower part of the gaming machine, the abrasive cassette 200 is mounted, taken out, and the abrasives are exchanged. (Front side) can be opened with the door on the front (facing side) of the gaming machine open, and when the back side of the ball lifting unit 100 is oriented toward the back side of the gaming machine This can be done by pulling out the entire gaming machine and opening the back side.

  In the lift polishing apparatus B according to the above-mentioned proposal, the width of the guide path 216 formed between the front wall 210 and the inner wall 209 of the cassette body 201 is as shown in FIGS. When there is too much room compared with the thickness of the abrasive 203, the conveyor 104 lifts between the abrasives 203 biased toward each other by the pair of flappers 208 and 208 in the polishing region. Since the ball C applies an upward force to the abrasive, there is a risk that the abrasive, particularly the abrasive upstream of the polishing area, may be scooped up (including the case where it is scraped upward). As described above, there is a concern that the polishing performance of the sphere may be impaired or the smooth transfer of the abrasive is hindered.

  Therefore, the present invention newly adds a means for preventing the abrasive from being beaten by the ball being lifted in the polishing region. Next, the curling prevention means will be described with reference to FIG. 14 and subsequent drawings. Since the components other than the newly added twist preventing means are the same as those described above, the same reference numerals are used, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

In the present invention, in order to prevent curling, the abrasive 203 fed through the guide path 216 is formed on the inner wall 209 forming the guide path 216 between the outlet 213 of the abrasive accommodating space 202 and the polishing area of the ball lifting path. A pressing means is provided for pressing, and the abrasive 203 is pressed against the inner wall 209 by the pressing means, whereby the abrasive 203 drawn into the inlet 212 of the abrasive accommodating space 202 by the abrasive feeding means 204 is tensioned in the polishing region. It is characterized in that the the like.
FIG. 14 shows that the polishing material 203 is formed by the front wall 210 and the inner wall 209 of the cassette body between the outlet 213 of the polishing material accommodation space 202 of the cassette body 201 and the position immediately before the polishing area of the ball feeding path. Crossing the polishing area between the pair of flappers 208, 208 and the surface of the screw conveyor 104 through the guide path 216 for guiding the material, the material is again drawn into the inlet 212 of the abrasive material receiving space 202 by the abrasive material feeding means 204. In the lift polishing apparatus using the abrasive cassette configured as described above, as the pressing means, a protrusion 310 that presses against the inner wall 209 forming the guide path 216 is integrally formed on the inside of the front end portion of the front wall 210 of the cassette body 201. An example is shown. Since the abrasive material 203 is brought into contact with the inner wall 209 without a gap by the protrusion 310, the abrasive material 203 is prevented from being beaten by the ball C being lifted up the polishing region.

In the example of FIG. 14, the pressing means is provided on the cassette body 201 side, while FIGS. 15 and 16 are examples in which the pressing means is provided on the ball lifting unit 100 side. That is, a pressing means for pressing the abrasive 203 against the inner wall 209 is attached to the outside of the ball lifting guide 102 so as to be rotatable around an axis parallel to the axis of the screw conveyor 104, and the cassette body 201 is attached to the ball lifting unit 100. The collar 320 is configured to press against the inner wall 209 when fitted in the abrasive cassette housing space 101R. Reference numeral 321 denotes an arm that rotatably supports the collar.

17 and 18 are examples in which a presser roller 330 that is rotatable around a vertical axis is provided on the side of the ball lifting unit 100 as the pressing means. In this example, the presser roller 330 presses the abrasive 203 through the guide path 216 of the inner wall 209 against the inner wall 209 when the cassette body 201 is fitted into the abrasive cassette housing space 101R of the ball lifting unit 100. And a power transmission means that engages with the abrasive feeding means 204 when the cassette body 201 is fitted into the abrasive cassette housing space 101R of the ball lifting unit 100, such as a roller 331, a pulley 332, and a power transmission belt 333. And transmitting the rotational force of the motor 107 constituting the abrasive feed means 204 to the press roller 330 via the power transmission means , thereby moving the press roller 330 in the same direction as the transfer direction of the abrasive 203. It is configured to send at a slightly lower speed than the pull-in speed of 204.
As a result, when the abrasive is not transferred, the presser roller 330 presses the abrasive against the inner wall 209. Also, when the abrasive is transferred, the presser roller 330 is driven by the pulling speed of the abrasive feed means 204. However, since the polishing material in the polishing region is always maintained in a tension state because the material is fed at a slightly lower speed, it is effectively prevented that the polishing material is lifted up by the ball that is moved up the polishing region.

More pressing means, in some such abrasive 203 length or the upper and lower ends in the height direction, although the abrasive material 203 is intended to or abut in close proximity to the inner wall 209, the embodiment shown in FIG. 19 form, a hole 340 is formed in the bottom near the polishing region of the front wall 210 of the cassette body 201, the abrasive enters and exit holes 340 in the non-driving time of the abrasive feeding unit 204 to the ball pumped unit side By providing the pressing means 350 that presses against the inner wall 209 of the guide path 216, the same curling prevention effect can be obtained.

As shown in FIG. 20, the pressing means 350 is coupled to a solenoid 351 provided on the ball lifting unit 100 or the cassette body 201 and a tip of a plunger 352 of the solenoid, and is inserted into a hole 340 in the front wall 210 of the cassette body. a pin 353 that is entering and exit can be configured from a control circuit for operating the non-driving time of the abrasive feeding unit solenoid (not shown).

Further, as shown in FIG. 21, the pressing means 350 is swung around a fulcrum 354 by a solenoid 351 provided in the ball lifting unit or the cassette body and a plunger 352 of the solenoid, and the tip thereof is the cassette body. A self-returning type presser lever 355 that enters and leaves the hole 340 of the front wall 210 and a control circuit (not shown) that operates the solenoid during the non-drive time of the abrasive material feeding means.
In any case, it is possible to prevent the abrasive from being beaten by the sphere being moved up the polishing region with a simple configuration.

  In FIG. 21, the fulcrum 354 is provided at a position where the tip of the presser lever 355 can return to the outside of the hole 340 when the solenoid 351 is OFF. Reference numeral 356 denotes a holder for guiding the swing of the lever 355. The holder 356 includes a stopper 357 for maintaining the returned presser lever at an angle at which the plunger 352 hits the slope of the presser lever 355 when the solenoid 351 is turned on. Yes.

  In FIG. 1, the upper plate 16 and the lower plate 17 can see through from the outside the balls contained therein, but the player cannot touch the balls. That is, FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a non-open gaming device. However, the upper plate 16 and the lower plate 17 may be those that allow the player to touch the ball. That is, the present invention can also be applied to an open type gaming machine.

Claims (7)

(A) a ball lifting unit having a ball inlet and a ball outlet, and an abrasive cassette detachably attached to the ball lifting unit;
(B) The ball lifting unit comprises a box-shaped unit main body having a space for accommodating the abrasive cassette, and a ball lifting means provided in the unit main body,
(C) The ball lifting means is formed in a cylindrical shape having a screw conveyor provided in the unit main body so as to be rotatable with the axis being vertical, and a vertically long opening on the back side. The ball inflow path and the ball transfer path which communicate with the lower end of the ball transfer path and form a ball transfer path extending along the opening in cooperation with the screw conveyor A ball lifting guide having the ball discharge port communicated with the upper end of the first and second driving means for rotating the screw conveyor in a predetermined direction,
(D) The abrasive material cassette is accommodated in the abrasive material cassette housing space of the ball lifting unit, and is accommodated in the abrasive material accommodating space of the cassette body, and a part thereof is one side of the cassette body. An endless belt-shaped abrasive that is movably exposed outside the cassette body between the outlet provided on the other side and the inlet provided on the other side, and provided near the inlet of the abrasive-containing space, Abrasive material feeding means for drawing the exposed abrasive material into the abrasive material accommodation space from the inlet, and provided in a concave groove formed on the back side of the ball feeding path between the outlet and the inlet of the cassette body, When the cassette body is fitted into the abrasive cassette housing space of the ball lifting unit, a pair of left and right elastically pressing the abrasive exposed outside the cassette body toward the ball lifting path Hula And a path, the polishing region is formed between the pair of flapper and the screw conveyor of the sphere lifting sending passage,
(E) The abrasive material guides the abrasive material formed by the front wall and the inner wall of the cassette body between the outlet of the abrasive material accommodation space of the cassette body and the position immediately before the grinding region of the ball feeding path. the polishing region traverses through the guideway, in pumped polishing apparatus using the polishing material cassette configured to be pulled back to the inlet of the abrasive material accommodation space by the abrasive feeding means,
(f) to a pre-Symbol abrasive guided a guide path provided with a pressing means for tensioning the abrasive across the polishing area is pressed against the inner wall,
Lifting and polishing apparatus characterized by Said pressing means includes a wherein said integrally formed at a position corresponding to the end of the guide path of the front wall of the cassette body, a protrusion for pressing the abrasive material to be guided the guide path to the inner wall The lift polishing apparatus according to claim 1. State the pressing means, which rotatably mounted on the shaft parallel to the axis around the screw conveyor to the outside of the sphere pumped guide, the cassette body has been fitted to the polishing material cassette accommodation space of the sphere pumped unit The lift polishing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a collar that presses an abrasive guided along the guide path against the inner wall . (A) a ball lifting unit having a ball inlet and a ball outlet, and an abrasive cassette detachably attached to the ball lifting unit;
(B) The ball lifting unit comprises a box-shaped unit main body having a space for accommodating the abrasive cassette, and a ball lifting means provided in the unit main body,
(C) The ball lifting means is formed in a cylindrical shape having a screw conveyor provided in the unit main body so as to be rotatable with the axis being vertical, and a vertically long opening on the back side. The ball inflow path and the ball transfer path which communicate with the lower end of the ball transfer path and form a ball transfer path extending along the opening in cooperation with the screw conveyor A ball lifting guide having the ball discharge port communicated with the upper end of the first and second driving means for rotating the screw conveyor in a predetermined direction,
(D) The abrasive material cassette is accommodated in the abrasive material cassette housing space of the ball lifting unit, and is accommodated in the abrasive material accommodating space of the cassette body, and a part thereof is one side of the cassette body. An endless belt-shaped abrasive that is movably exposed outside the cassette body between the outlet provided on the other side and the inlet provided on the other side, and provided near the inlet of the abrasive-containing space, Abrasive material feeding means for drawing the exposed abrasive material into the abrasive material accommodation space from the inlet, and provided in a concave groove formed on the back side of the ball feeding path between the outlet and the inlet of the cassette body, When the cassette body is fitted into the abrasive cassette housing space of the ball lifting unit, a pair of left and right elastically pressing the abrasive exposed outside the cassette body toward the ball lifting path Hula And a path, the polishing region is formed between said ball lifting sending passage pair of flapper and the surface of the screw conveyor,
(E) The abrasive material guides the abrasive material formed by the front wall and the inner wall of the cassette body between the outlet of the abrasive material accommodation space of the cassette body and the position immediately before the grinding region of the ball feeding path. the polishing region traverses through the guideway, in pumped polishing apparatus using the polishing material cassette configured to be pulled back to the inlet of the abrasive material accommodation space by the abrasive feeding means,
As (g) turning prevention means, provided with a rotatable press roller about the vertical axis to the ball pumped unit side, the said cassette body when fitted abrasive cassette accommodation space of the sphere pumped unit engages the abrasive feeding means is provided a power transmission means for transmitting a rotational force to the pressing roller, the pressing roller is the when fitted the cassette body abrasive cassette accommodation space of the sphere pumped unit the abrasive was pressed against the inner wall of the cassette body, the power transmission means, characterized in that it is configured to send said abrasive slightly slower rate than draw the abrasive material by the abrasive feed means Lifting polishing equipment. (A) a ball lifting unit having a ball inlet and a ball outlet, and an abrasive cassette detachably attached to the ball lifting unit;
(B) The ball lifting unit comprises a box-shaped unit main body having a space for accommodating the abrasive cassette, and a ball lifting means provided in the unit main body,
(C) The ball lifting means is formed in a cylindrical shape that is open on the back side over the entire length excluding the upper and lower ends, and a screw conveyor that is rotatably provided with the axis in the unit body vertical. Formed, concentrically surrounding the range excluding the lower end and the upper end of the screw conveyor, forming a ball feeding path together with the groove of the screw conveyor, and communicating with the lower end of the ball conveying path A ball lifting guide having a ball inlet and the ball discharge port communicated with the upper end of the ball lifting path, and a first driving means for rotating the screw conveyor in a predetermined direction,
(D) The abrasive material cassette is accommodated in the abrasive material cassette housing space of the ball lifting unit, and is accommodated in the abrasive material accommodating space of the cassette body, and a part thereof is one side of the cassette body. and abrasive endless belt the outside of the cassette body between the to the inlet provided on the other side is exposed to be movable from an outlet provided in provided in the vicinity of the inlet of the abrasive material accommodation space, the outer and abrasive feeding means to draw the abrasive material accommodation space exposed the abrasive material, provided in the sphere lifting sending passage of the rear side formed in the groove between the outlet and the inlet of the cassette body, when fitted to the cassette body in the abrasive cassette accommodation space of the sphere pumped unit, pressing the abrasive is exposed to the outside of the cassette body resiliently toward the opening of the ball pumped guide Do And a right pair of flapper, polishing region between said ball lift sending passage to said pair of flapper and the surface of the screw conveyor is formed,
(E) the abrasive material formed by the front wall and the inner wall of the cassette body between the outlet of the abrasive polishing material accommodating space of the cassette body to a position immediately before the polishing region of the TamaAge sending passage through the guide path for guiding across the polishing region, the pumped polishing apparatus using the polishing material cassette configured to be pulled back to the inlet of the abrasive material accommodation space by the abrasive feeding means,
As (h) turning prevention means, the bottom hole is formed closer to the polishing area of the front wall of the cassette body, enters and exit into the hole in the non-driving time of the abrasive feed means to said ball pumped unit side pumped polishing apparatus characterized in that a pressing means for pressing the abrasive on an inner wall of the guide path and. Said pressing means includes a solenoid provided in the sphere pumped unit or the cassette body is coupled to the tip of the plunger of the solenoid, a pin is entering and exit the bore of the front wall of the cassette body, the solenoid pumped polishing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that it consists of a control circuit for operating the non-driving time of the abrasive feeding unit. Said pressing means includes a solenoid provided in the sphere pumped unit or the cassette body is swung by the plunger of the solenoid, a holding lever tip is entered and exit the bore of the front wall of the cassette body, pumped polishing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that it consists of a control circuit for operating said solenoid in a non-driving time of the abrasive feeding unit.

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