JP6500321B2 - Ball storage tank for gaming machines - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball storage tank of a gaming machine that supplies gaming balls to a ball payout device.

  According to the invention described in Patent Document 1, the ball tank is provided with a ball receiving surface 10a for receiving pachinko balls and a downstream side thereof for the purpose of providing a ball tank which can flow out without clogging even with a single tank rail. It divides into the surface 10b. The ball receiving surface 10a is a gentle slope where a pachinko ball rolls toward the downstream surface 10b, and the downstream surface 10b is a loose slope facing in a direction perpendicular to the ball receiving surface 10a. A ball outlet 16 for guiding the pachinko ball to the tank rail is provided downstream of the downstream surface 10b. Further, a guiding bridge 19 is provided to separate the ball receiving surface 10a and the downstream surface 10b from the side where the ball outlet 16 is provided to the substantially central position. Furthermore, the ball outlet 16 is provided with a ball leveling ridge 17 which protrudes upward of the ball outlet 16, and even if the pachinko balls overlap two or more layers on the downstream surface 10b, the lower pachinko balls have priority It can be made to flow out from the ball outlet, and the discharge of the game ball by its own weight can be promoted.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2012-24327 gazette

  However, in the invention of Patent Document 1, although the bottom surface of the ball tank is a slope and the induction levee is provided, the game balls are still concentrated at the ball outlet and the ball pressure of the pachinko ball supplied from the replenishment device acts. It was difficult to eliminate the possibility of ball clogging due to these ball pressures. In addition, the passage of the ball supply device of the gaming machine is still small in one-row passage, generally two-row passage, and cost reduction by slimming the tank is also an issue.

According to the present invention, there are provided a discharge passage for discharging game balls, which is disposed on one side along the longitudinal direction, and two valleys formed along the longitudinal direction in a region where the discharge passage is not provided. It includes a land portions, the two lands, respectively, be provided with an inclined surface which is inclined such that the height becomes lower toward the valley, inclined slope is higher than the bottom surface and the bottom of the valley of the discharge passage Each of the slopes is formed at a position, and includes a first slope forming the upper surface of the hill portion and a second slope forming the lower surface of the hill portion, and the slope of the second slope is the first slope By setting the steeper angle than the inclination degree, a step is formed between the first slope and the bottom of the discharge passage and between the first slope and the bottom of the valley, and the second slope has a plan view. in is formed in a substantially L-shape, that the corner portion is formed in an arc shape, the bottom surface and the bottom of the valley of the discharge passage Forming a bottom surface of the shaped, the flow of the game ball flowing from the two lands meet at valley, to become a flow path to flow into the discharge passage, the supply for regulating the supply quantity of game balls into the upper space of the lands A quantity control member is disposed, the supply amount control member covers all or part of the valley, and the supply amount control member is provided with a guide plate on the side surface for restricting the flow of the gaming ball to the discharge passage. It is a ball storage tank of the gaming machine to be

  The supply amount regulating member covers all or part of the valley. As a result, the number of ball games to the valley can be regulated, the flow of stable gaming balls in the valley can be maintained, and the ball biting prevention effect is enhanced.

  It is preferable that the height from the bottom of the supply amount restriction member is set to a height less than three game balls, so that the supply amount restriction member to the valley or hill portion to the game ball Can be supplied smoothly.

  It is preferable that the width of the discharge passage is set to one or more and less than two game balls, whereby a single-row passage can be made, and the tank can be slimmed and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Inclined slope, the first slope forming an upper surface of the lands, and a second inclined surface forming a lower surface of the lands, inclination of the first slope is gentler than the inclination of the second inclined surface. This has the effect that the flow of the game balls becomes a smooth flow using a gentle gradient.

The second inclined surface is formed in a substantially L shape in plan view, and its corner is formed in an arc . Thereby, the ball pressure at the corner can be relaxed.

  It is preferable to provide a height adjustment member disposed at a predetermined height from the bottom surface at the downstream end of the discharge passage, and to regulate the number of gaming balls flowing in the downstream direction in the height direction, whereby the vertical direction The number of game balls can be limited, and parts of the balls can be provided.

  The predetermined height is preferably set to less than three game balls, and this prevents the game balls from being stacked three or more at the ball outlet of the tank, so the ball balls stacked vertically on the downstream tank rail The effect is that the number can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 1, two hills are formed along the longitudinal direction to separate the valleys, and the two hills are each lowered in height toward the valleys. It has an inclined slope, and the slope is formed at a position higher than the bottom of the discharge passage and the bottom of the valley, and the flow of gaming balls flowing from the two hills merges in the valley and flows to the discharge passage Therefore, it is possible to prevent the biting in the tank and maintain the stable flow of the game balls.

Since the supply amount regulating member for overflow is disposed in the upper space of the hill portion, the number of gaming balls flowing into the tank can be regulated, the flow of stable gaming balls can be maintained, and the ball biting effect is enhanced There is.

It is the top view which remove | eliminated the supply amount control member and the height adjustment member by the ball storage tank of this invention embodiment. It is a perspective view when the left side plate is removed similarly. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along the same longitudinal direction and also longitudinally. It is a disassembled perspective view of the ball storage tank of this invention embodiment. It is also a plan view. It is the top view which similarly removed the amount control member of supply. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the operation | movement of the height adjustment member which cut | disconnects longitudinally along a longitudinal direction similarly. (A)-(d) is a top view of a height adjustment member, a right side view, a bottom view, and a front view, respectively. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the longitudinal direction which shows the flow of the game ball K in the ball | bowl storage tank of this invention embodiment. It is a top view which similarly shows the flow of the game ball K. FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the game machine 100 in which the ball | bowl storage tank 1 of this invention embodiment was attached to the inner frame 102 of the game machine from the back side. It is a rear view of a state where ball storage tank 1 of this invention embodiment was attached to inner frame 102 of a game machine.

  The ball storage tank 1 disposed on one side along the longitudinal direction of the gaming machine 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The ball storage tank 1 is provided with a discharge passage 2 for discharging game balls, and two hills 4 and 5 formed along the longitudinal direction, with the valley 3 separated in the area where the discharge passage 2 is not provided. Is equipped. The two hills 4 and 5 respectively have first slopes 6 and 7 and second slopes 9a and 9b which are inclined so as to lower in height toward the valleys 3. These first slopes 6 7 is formed at a position higher than the bottom surface 2a of the discharge passage 2 and the bottom surface 3a of the valley portion 3, the flow of gaming balls flowing from the two hill portions 4 and 5 merges in the valley portion 3 It becomes a flowing channel. Details will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 11 and 12, the ball storage tank 1 is an elongated box-like body having a bottom and an upper surface opening, and the longitudinal direction thereof is formed to be the width direction of the gaming machine 100. ing. Ball storage tank 1 includes a bottom plate 11 which forms a discharge passage 2, the valleys 3, and land portions 4 and 5, are formed in the long side direction, the right side plate 12, a left side plate 13, positioned on the upstream side The height of the front plate 14, the rear plate 15 located on the downstream side, the mounting convex portion 16 for fixing to the inner frame 102, the mounting groove 17 and the mounting concave portion 18 for inserting the supply amount regulating member 8; A fitting groove 19 for fitting the adjustment member 10 and a metal electrostatic grounding member 20 are provided. The bottom plate 11, the right side plate 12, the left side plate 13, the front plate 14, the back plate 15, the mounting convex portion 16, the mounting groove 17, the mounting concave portion 18, the fitting groove 19, the discharge passage 2, and the hill portion 4, 5 It is integrally molded of resin.

  The bottom plate 11 is inclined downward to the right in the figure, and the height is higher toward the upstream side and the height is lower toward the downstream side, and the discharge passage 2 communicates with the tank rail 101.

  The inclination angle of the bottom plate 11 and the inclination angle of the tank rail 101 are generally inclined downward to the right, and are set to similar angles. The inclination angle is preferably set in the range of 3 to 6 degrees (5 degrees in the figure).

  A portion of the left side plate 13 corresponding to the discharge passage 2 is open and communicates with the tank rail 101.

  The discharge passage 2 is a straight passage formed adjacent to the left side plate 13. The width of the discharge passage 2 is set to one or more and less than two game balls and is a so-called one-line passage where one ball of the game ball K can pass but not two, extending in the longitudinal direction It is a recessed groove. The width of the discharge passage 2 is preferably about one and a half (about 15 mm), but is not limited. In addition, the discharge passage 2 is inclined downward to the right so that the height becomes lower in the traveling direction (longitudinal direction). The angle may be in the range of 2 ° to 10 °, but is not limited.

  The valleys 3 extend in a direction substantially perpendicular (longitudinal direction) to the longitudinal direction, but may be formed so as to obliquely intersect the bottom plate 11 with respect to the longitudinal direction. The width of the valley portion 3 is preferably one or more and less than two game balls, and here it is about one game ball, but it is not limited. The valley portion 3 is inclined so as to be lower toward the short side direction and flows into the merging region G. The valley portion 3 breaks the gaming ball K to prevent clogging. The width of the valleys 3 increases toward the merging region G, but may be narrow or parallel. The position of the valley portion 3 is disposed at a position closer to the downstream side than the longitudinal center.

The hills 4, 5 are provided with first slopes 6, 7 forming the upper surface thereof and second slopes 9a, 9b forming the lower surface, and the slopes of the first slopes 6, 7 are the second slope 9a, It is gentler than the slope of 9b. The second oblique surface 9a, the lower end portion of 9b are connected respectively to the ends of the valleys 3 in the bottom 3a. The surface area of the hill portion 4 is set smaller than the surface area of the hill portion 5.

  The supply amount restricting member 8 for restricting the supply of gaming balls is disposed in the upper space of the valley portion 3, and the height of the supply amount restricting member 8 from the bottom surface 2 a of the discharge passage 2 is 3 The height is set to less than one, in this case 1.3 to 2.5, preferably 1.5 to 2.

  In addition to the first slopes 6 and 7, in the two hill portions 4 and 5, second slopes 9a and 9b are formed in the region adjacent to the valley portion 3, respectively. These second slopes 9a and 9b are formed in a substantially L-shape in plan view, with the corner portions facing each other, and the corner portions formed in an arc shape. The width of the second slopes 9 a and 9 b in plan view is set smaller than the discharge passage 2. The second slopes 9a and 9b facing the valley portion 3 face each other, and the width thereof gradually increases. The second slopes 9a and 9b facing the discharge passage 2 are separated via the merging region G and extend parallel to the discharge passage 2, and the width thereof is substantially constant.

A second inclined surface 9a, valleys 3 and ridge lines R ₃ substantially L-shaped is formed between the downstream side of the discharge passage 2, and a second inclined surface 9b, between the valleys 3 and upstream of the exhaust passage 2 ridgeline R ₄ substantially L-shaped is formed, valleys 3 ridgeline R ₅ which are inclined in plan view between the discharge passage 2 is formed, slope becomes gentle at that point. Angle of the first swash surface 6 2 ° to 10 °, the angle of the first swash surface 7 in the range of 2 ° to 10 ° may be cited, but are not limited. The first inclined surface 6 is inclined so that the height toward the valleys 3 in the longitudinal direction is lowered, the angle of the first swash surface 6 the angle of the second swash surface 7 is set to the same However, there may be a difference in the angle, which is not limited. The two hills 4 and 5 are not sloped in the short direction, but may be sloped so as to be lower in height toward the discharge passage 2 as needed. The ridges R ₁ and R ₂ and the ridges R ₃ and R ₄ have rounded corners.

The second oblique surface 9a, 9b, rather than the first oblique surface 6 is set to an acute angle, 30 ° to 40 °, although a range of 20 ° to 40 ° may be cited, but are not limited . By this angle, a so-called step is formed, and the balance of the power of the game ball K can be broken. The second oblique surface 9a, the height of 9b is not limited but 3~10mm step can be exemplified.

  The discharge passage 2 and the valley portion 3 form a T-shaped bottom surface. A merging area G is formed at these intersections. In the merging area G, the flow of gaming balls K from the discharge passage 2, the flow of gaming balls K from the valleys 3, the flow of gaming balls K from the hills 4, the flow of gaming balls K from the hills 5 The flows of the four game balls K are to merge.

  The supply amount regulating member 8 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is attached to the upper surface portion of the downstream end portion of the ball storage tank 1. The game ball K is replenished from the island of the hole where the pachinko machine is disposed from above the supply amount restricting member 8, and the supply amount restricting member 8 temporarily receives the game ball K, and then the discharge passage 2 and the valley portion. 3 or flow down to hills 4 and 5. The position of the supply amount regulating member 8 is not limited to the downstream end of the tank 3 and may be another place.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the supply amount regulating member 8 has a plate-like or bowl-like structure which can be fitted on and removed from the right side plate 12 and the left side plate 13. The partition plate 81 is formed at an interval smaller than the diameter of the game balls K1. A pair of shafts 82 are formed on both side surfaces of the supply amount regulating member 8, and a pair of pressing plates 83 and an additional pressing plate 84 are introduced. A guide plate 85 is formed which restricts or prevents the flow down. The shaft 82 is respectively fitted in a pair of mounting grooves 17 (see FIG. 1 etc.) formed at corresponding upper end portions of the right side plate 12 and the left side plate 13, and the right side plate 12 and the left side plate 13 are The supply amount regulating member 8 can be fixed. Here, the supply amount regulating member 8 covers the valley portion 3 and the hill portion 4 and further covers the tip portion of the hill portion 5 so as not to flow directly into the valley portion 3. The position of the tip end of the supply amount regulating member 8 is located at the tip end of the hill portion 5, but can be set appropriately, for example, located at the top of the valley portion 3.

The supply amount restricting member 8 reduces the number of game balls K supplied to the valley portion 3 and the hill portions 4 and 5, and the game ball K temporarily stagnates by the supply amount restricting member 8 and then overflows. By doing this, the entire supply amount of the game ball K is prevented from flowing into the tank all at once. The supply amount restricting member 8 is inclined so as to decrease in height toward the upstream side in the longitudinal direction. An outlet tip of the supply amount regulating member 8, the width of the gap in the surface of the first swash surface 7 of the land portions 5, at intervals gaming balls K is capable of passing at least one ball, three, does not enter preferably two are It is preferable to set the upper limit (for example, 1.5). The shape and structure of the supply amount regulating member 8 can be set appropriately according to the shapes and structures of the valley portion 3 and the hill portions 4 and 5.

  The height adjustment member 10 disposed at a predetermined height from the bottom surface 2 a of the discharge passage 2 is provided at the downstream end of the discharge passage 2, and the number of gaming balls K flowing to the downstream tank rail 101 in the height direction Regulate. The height adjustment member 10 is fixed so as to cover the upper space of the discharge passage 2. The height adjustment member 10 can be integrated with the rear plate 15, or can be attached to the inner wall by fitting, adhesion or the like. Furthermore, in addition to the fixing method, height adjustment is possible. The height adjustment member 10 preferably has a height from the bottom surface 2a of the discharge passage 2 of less than 3, for example, 1 to 2, particularly 1 to 1.5, for the number of game balls K. The height adjustment member 10 is a plate-like structure, and is provided with an extension on one side of a flat plate material, but may be another shape or structure having a similar height restriction function.

  Next, an example in which the ball storage tank 1 of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied to the gaming machine 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. The ball storage tank 1 is formed in the upper one side (right side) area of the back surface of the inner frame 102. The ball feeding device is divided into a first ball passage unit A extending in the lateral direction and a second ball passage unit B extending in the longitudinal direction, and the rectangular inner frame 102 is formed such that these continue in an L shape. Attached to the The first ball passage unit A and the second ball passage unit B are formed of a light transmitting synthetic resin material in order to make it easy to visually recognize the flowing state of the gaming ball K. The inner frame 102 has a rectangular opening 103, and is attached to the vertical frame on one side of the rectangular outer frame 105 having the rectangular opening 104 by a hinge 106 so as to be able to open and close. The first ball passage unit A and the second ball passage unit B are attached to the inner frame 102 by screws (not shown).

  The first ball passage unit A is provided on the back side of the inner frame 102, receives the game ball K, temporarily stores it, and connects it to the ball storage tank 1 discharged downstream and the ball storage tank 1 downstream. A tank rail 101 receives the game balls K flowing out of the ball storage tank 1 and aligns and guides them in a row in the longitudinal direction, and a ball leveling member 107 for leveling the game balls K flowing in the tank rail 101.

  The tank rail 101 is a single-strip structure in which one ball flows. At the exit of the tank rail 101 and the entrance of the weir 108, the game ball K is changed by 90 degrees in the longitudinal direction.

  The second ball passage unit B includes a rod 108, a ball payout device 109, and a guiding rod 110 for guiding the gaming ball K paid out from the ball payout device 109 to a ball receptacle (not shown). .

  A ball out switch (not shown) for detecting whether or not the game ball K exists in the bowl 108, and a ball removing mechanism (not shown) for discharging the game ball K out of the machine are provided.

  The ball payout device 109 is provided with a basket for paying out the game ball K (a winning ball, a rental ball), a payout unit, a ball passage sensor, a motor and the like.

  The guiding rod 110 causes the gaming ball K (winning ball) discharged from the ball dispensing device 109 to flow down to the upper plate (not shown). In addition, since the other structure of a pachinko machine is known, the description of the other structure is abbreviate | omitted.

  Next, the operation and effects of the ball storage tank 1 will be described. The game ball K, which has flowed down from the island, is temporarily received by the supply amount control member 8, biased by its own weight, falls on the first slopes 6, 7, and flows in the downstream direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, the gaming ball K once flows down to the valley portion 3 or the hill portion 5. A part of the flow wraps around the hills 4 and these areas are filled with the game balls K and become in a flowing state. The flows of the discharge passage 2, the valleys 3, and the hills 4 and 5 merge at the merging region G. Even if pressure is applied to the game ball K, even if the game ball K is bitten and clogged at the valley portion 3 or the joining area G by the second slopes 9a and 9b of the hill portions 4 and 5, the next game ball K Since the balance of the power of the game ball K is broken by pushing, the game ball K can flow without clogging. Thereby, ball clogging due to biting of the game ball K can be reliably prevented, and a stable and smooth flow of the discharge passage 2 can be formed.

  The height position of the height adjustment member 10 is set such that the height of the discharge passage 2 from the bottom surface 2 a is 1 to 2 times the diameter of the game ball K. By regulating the outflow from the upper side, it is possible to prevent the ball clogging in the one line passage. As a result, since the game balls are not stacked in two or more stages at the ball outlet, the number of balls stacked vertically in the tank rail 101 can be limited to one or at most two.

  The payout operation of the game ball K by the ball payout device 109 will be described. When the player operates the firing handle (not shown) to fire the game ball K onto the board surface of the game board (not shown) and the game ball K enters the winning opening (not shown) etc, the payout control board (shown) While the ball payout device 109 is activated and the game ball K is paid out from the ball payout device 109, the game ball K is the ball storage tank 1, the tank rail 101, and The ball is delivered to the ball dispenser 109 through the bowl 108 and dispensed from the ball dispenser 109 to the upper plate (not shown) through the induction rod 110, and the number of payouts is counted to be dispensed according to the type of winning. And the dispensing operation of the ball dispensing device 109 is stopped. In addition, when the player presses the lending button (not shown) on the upper tray (not shown), the payout control board (not shown) operates the ball payout device 109 to lower the gaming ball K to the upper tray (not shown). Pay out.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and modifications and the like can be added without departing from the technical concept of the present invention, and modifications, equivalents and the like of the present invention are also possible. Included in the technical scope of It is needless to say that those skilled in the art can make many modifications, alterations, substitutions, deletions, additions, and the like without departing from the scope of the present invention in light of the disclosure of the present invention.

  For example, although the application to a pachinko machine has been described as an example of a game machine, the present invention may be applied to other game machines such as a ball game machine or an arrange ball game machine.

For example, the shapes and structures of the valleys 3 and the hills 4 and 5 are not limited to those of the embodiment, and the shapes and structures of the hills 4 and 5, in particular, the first slopes 6 and 7, the second oblique surface 9a, 9b slope of the area, the shape and the like without being limited to the illustrated, can be changed in an appropriate range.

  For example, in the embodiment, the supply amount regulating member 8 is provided at a position covering the valley portion 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The supply amount regulating member 8 may be shifted back and forth, right and left. is there. Furthermore, the supply amount control member 8 may be eliminated.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ball storage tank 2 ... Discharge passage 2a ... Bottom face 3 ... Valley part 3a ... Bottom face 4, 5 ... Hill part 6, 7 ... First slope 8 ... Supply amount regulating members 9a, 9b: second slope 11: bottom plate 12: right side plate 13: left side plate 14: front plate 15: back plate 16: mounting convex portion 17 ... mounting groove 18 ... mounting recess 10 ... height adjusting member 19 ... fitting groove 20 ... electrostatic grounding member R _{1, R} 2 ... ridgeline _{R 3, R} 4 ·· · ridgeline _R 5 ... ridge 81 ... partition plate 82 ... shaft 83 ... holding plate 84 ... holding plate 85 ... guide plate 100 ... gaming machine 101 ... tank rails 102 ... inner frame 103, 104 ... opening 105 ... outer frame 106 ... hinge 107 ... ball leveling member 108 ... ball 109 ... ball dispensing device 110 · · · Induced gutter A · · · first ball passage unit B · · · second ball passage unit G · · · confluence region K · · · game ball

Claims (1)

A discharge passage for discharging game balls, disposed on one side along the longitudinal direction;
In a region where the discharge passage is not provided, two hills are formed along the longitudinal direction, separating valleys,
Each of the two hills is provided with an inclined surface which is inclined so as to decrease in height toward the valley;
The inclined surface is formed at a position higher than the bottom surface of the discharge passage and the bottom surface of the valley portion,
Each of the slopes includes a first slope forming an upper surface of the hill portion and a second slope forming a lower surface of the hill portion, and the slope of the second slope is the slope of the first slope. By setting the steeper angle, a step is formed between the first slope and the bottom of the discharge passage and between the first slope and the bottom of the valley.
The second inclined surface is formed in a substantially L shape in a plan view, and a corner of the second inclined surface is formed in an arc.
The bottom surface of the discharge passage and the bottom surface of the valley form a T-shaped bottom surface, and the flow of gaming balls flowing from the two hills merges at the valley and becomes a flow passage flowing to the discharge passage. ,
A supply amount restriction member for restricting the supply number of gaming balls is disposed in the upper space of the hill portion, the supply amount restriction member covers all or a part of the valley portion, and the supply amount restriction member is on the side Providing a guiding plate for restricting the flow of gaming balls into the discharge passage;
Ball storage tank of the gaming machine characterized by.

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