JP6730053B2 - Ball launcher for game machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a ball launching device for launching a game ball to a game area in a gaming machine.

In a ball launching device used in a gaming machine such as a pachinko gaming machine, a method of launching a gaming ball is different depending on how to drive a hitting mallet. As a method of launching a game ball, for example, a method of launching a game ball with a hammer that operates using the rotational force of a motor, a method of launching a game ball with a hammer that is connected to the rotary shaft of a rotary solenoid, a plan There is a method of launching a game ball using the expansion and contraction operation of a jar type solenoid.

Further, as an example in which the method of using the solenoid is different from the above-mentioned methods, for example, there is a ball launching device described in Patent Document 1. In this ball launching device, when the coil is energized, the mover is attracted by the magnetic field passing through the stator, and the game ball is hit by the hammer (hit hammer) provided on the mover. Further, a suction recess is formed at one end of the inner iron core arranged in the inner diameter of the coil. When the coil is energized to rotate the mover, the protruding head formed on the mover is inserted into the suction recess. This makes it easier for the mover to be attracted to the stator by the magnetic field passing through the stator when the coil is energized.

JP, 2008-132149, A

However, in Patent Document 1, the gap between the suction concave portion of the stator and the protruding head portion of the mover is not constant in the process of rotating the mover and the hammer. Therefore, the structure of the stator and the mover described in Patent Document 1 is not sufficient in order to further increase the launch strength of the game ball by the hammer.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has been achieved in order to provide a ball launching device for a gaming machine that can effectively increase the launch strength of a game ball with a hammer.

One aspect of the present invention, a ball hammer that rotates around a center of rotation to hit a game ball,
An exciting coil that generates a magnetic flux that attracts the hammer by the energization,
An inner part arranged inside the exciting coil, a pair of outer parts arranged on both outer sides of the exciting coil, and a pair of the outer part and the inner part at a portion facing the end face of the exciting coil. A fixed core for passing the magnetic flux , having a connecting portion for connecting ,
The hitting mallet is provided with a movable core arranged inside the exciting coil when the exciting coil is energized,
An arcuate movable-side facing surface along a circular orbit centered on the center of rotation is formed on substantially the entire outer peripheral portion of the movable core about the center of rotation. ,
The fixed core is formed with an arc-shaped fixed-side facing surface that faces the movable-side facing surface and that follows the circular orbit.
The movable core and the fixed core are configured to face each other only in the movable side facing surface and the fixed side facing surface in the process of rotating the hitting mallet ,
The hitting mallet, a seating portion on which a game ball hit by the hitting mallet sits, and the fixed core are mounted on a soft magnetic base member for passing the magnetic flux,
The base member is attached to the main plate,
The base member has a cutout portion due to the absence of a part of the base member in a rotation range of the movable core when the hitting mallet rotates.
Part of the exciting coil is arranged in the accommodating portion and the notch formed in the main plate,
The base member is formed in a shape including a position facing the pair of outer parts and a position facing the connecting part, excluding the position facing the inner part of the fixed core. On the launcher.

In the ball launching device of the above-mentioned gaming machine, the shapes of the movable core and the fixed core have been devised so that the distance between the movable core and the fixed core becomes constant during the process of rotating the hammer. Specifically, an arcuate movable side facing surface is formed on substantially the entire outer peripheral portion of the movable core, and an arcuate fixed side facing surface facing the movable side facing surface is formed on the fixed core. There is. Then, in the process in which the coil is energized to rotate the hitting mallet, the movable core and the fixed core face each other only in the movable side facing surface and the fixed side facing surface, and the movable side facing surface and the fixed side facing surface. The distance between and is kept constant. As a result, the magnetic attraction force acting between the movable core and the fixed core can be effectively increased, and the launch strength of the game ball by the hammer can be effectively increased.

Therefore, according to the ball launching device of the above-mentioned gaming machine, it is possible to effectively increase the launching strength of the gaming ball by the hammer.

Sectional explanatory drawing which shows the ball launching device in which the hitting mallet is in the initial position according to the first embodiment as viewed from the front side of the gaming machine. Sectional explanatory drawing which shows the ball launching device in which the ball hitting mallet is in the ball hitting position according to the first embodiment as viewed from the front side of the gaming machine. Sectional drawing which shows the circumference|surroundings of the rotation center part of a hitting mallet and the circumference|surroundings of an exciting coil concerning Embodiment 1 in the state seen from the side. Explanatory drawing which shows the game machine by which the ball launching device concerning Embodiment 1 is arrange|positioned. Sectional explanatory drawing which shows the ball launching device in which the hitting mallet is in the initial position according to the second embodiment as viewed from the front side of the gaming machine. Explanatory drawing which shows the game machine by which the ball launching device concerning Embodiment 2 is arrange|positioned.

A preferred embodiment of the above-described ball launching device for a gaming machine will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the ball launching device 1 of the gaming machine 6 of the present embodiment rotates about a rotation center 32 and hits a game ball 8 with a ball hammer 3 and by energization, An exciting coil 23 that generates a magnetic field that attracts the hitting mallet 3 and a fixed core 4 that has a portion disposed inside the exciting coil 23 and that allows the magnetic field to pass therethrough are provided.

The hitting mallet 3 is provided with a movable core 34 arranged inside the exciting coil 23 when the exciting coil 23 is energized. An arcuate movable-side facing surface 341 along a circular orbit C having the rotation center 32 as the center is formed on substantially the entire outer peripheral portion of the movable core 34 having the rotation center 32 as the center. ing. The fixed core 4 is formed with an arc-shaped fixed-side facing surface 411 that faces the movable-side facing surface 341 and that follows the circular orbit C.
The ball launching device 1 is configured such that the movable core 34 and the fixed core 4 face each other only in the movable-side facing surface 341 and the fixed-side facing surface 411 in the process in which the hitting mallet 3 rotates. This means that the distance between the movable core 34 and the fixed core 4 is kept constant between the movable side facing surface 341 and the fixed side facing surface 411 during the rotation of the batting mallet 3.

Hereinafter, the ball launching device 1 of the gaming machine 6 of this embodiment will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 4, the gaming machine 6 of this embodiment is a pachinko gaming machine. The game machine 6 includes a game board 62 in which a game area 621 is formed, a main body frame 61 to which the game board 62 is attached, a ball plate 66 attached to the main body frame 61, and the like. On the game board 62, an arc-shaped outer rail 63 for guiding the game ball 8 to the game area 621 and an inner rail 64 for partitioning and forming the game area 621 on the game board 62 together with the outer rail 63 are arranged. ing. The game ball 8 hit by the hitting mallet 3 is launched toward the outer rail 63. Further, behind the ball plate 66, a rectifier is provided which rectifies the game balls 8 flowing down from the ball plate 66 one by one and sends them to the seating portion 5 which will be described later. The ball launching device 1 is arranged below the place where the game board 62 is arranged in the main body frame 61. The ball launching device 1 is arranged near the center of the gaming machine 6 in the left-right direction and behind the ball dish 66.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in the ball launching device 1, the hitting mallet 3, the fixed core 4, and the seating portion 5 on which the game ball 8 hit by the hitting mallet 3 sits are made of a soft magnetic material that allows a magnetic field to pass therethrough. It is mounted on the plate-shaped base member 22. The exciting coil 23 is wound around the outer circumference of the resin bobbin 231 and attached to the fixed core 4. The base member 22 and the main body 31 of the hammer 3 are made of a cold rolled steel plate (SPCC) which is a soft magnetic material, and the movable core 34 and the fixed core 4 are made of an electromagnetic steel plate which is a soft magnetic material. ing. The ball launching device 1 is configured such that a magnetic field formed when the exciting coil 23 is energized passes through the ball hammer 3, the movable core 34, the fixed core 4 and the base member 22 to form a magnetic path J. ing.

The base member 22 is attached to the resin main plate 21. The surface on which the base member 22, the ball hammer 3, the fixed core 4, the seating portion 5, and the like are arranged with respect to the main plate 21 is arranged on the front side in the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 6. The seating portion 5 is provided with a guide member 51 for guiding the game ball 8 hit by the hitting mallet 3 to the seating position 521 of the seating portion 5. In addition, a launch rail 52 that is slidable with respect to the guide member 51 and that can adjust the sitting position 521 of the game ball 8 is attached to the seat portion 5.

Since the ball hammer 3, the fixed core 4 and the seat portion 5 are mounted on the same base member 22, the ball launching device 1 has high rigidity, and the ball hammer 3, the fixed core 4 and the seat portion 5 are The mounting accuracy can be improved. As a result, the accuracy with which the gaming ball 8 is launched by the hitting mallet 3 can be increased. Further, the magnetic field (magnetic flux) formed when the exciting coil 23 is energized passes through not only the fixed core 4 but also the base member 22. Then, by forming a magnetic field in the fixed core 4 and the base member 22, the magnetic attraction force of the movable core 34 by the exciting coil 23 and the fixed core 4 can be increased.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fixed core 4 of the present embodiment is formed in a substantially E shape when viewed from the front-back direction of the ball launching device 1 and the plate thickness direction of the base member 22. The fixed core 4 includes an inner portion 41 arranged inside the exciting coil 23, a pair of outer portions 42A, 42B arranged on both outer sides of the exciting coil 23, and a pair of outer portions 42A, 42B and an inner portion. 41 and a connecting portion 43 that connects the end portion 41 with the end surface of the exciting coil 23.
According to the substantially E-shaped fixed core 4, it is possible to form a magnetic field that passes through the inner portion 41 and the pair of outer portions 42A and 42B. Thereby, the loop-shaped magnetic path J can be formed on both sides of the inner side portion 41, and the magnetic attraction force of the movable core 34 by the exciting coil 23 and the fixed core 4 can be further enhanced.

The inner part 41 is arranged at a substantially half part of the entire space inside the exciting coil 23. The inner portion 41 is formed inside the exciting coil 23 near the outer peripheral side around the rotation center portion 32 of the hitting mallet 3. The fixed-side facing surface 411 is formed in the inner portion 41 as a concave curved surface. The fixed-side facing surface 411 is formed from one outer portion 42A toward the other outer portion 42B. The fixed-side facing surface 411 is formed to have a length that is half or more of the total length in the direction of the central axis X of the exciting coil 23 when projected onto the central axis X of the exciting coil 23.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fixed-side facing surface 411 is formed on substantially the entire inner peripheral portion of the inner portion 41 centering on the rotation center portion 32. A flat bottom surface 412 facing the distal end surface 342 of the movable core 34 is formed in a portion of the inner portion 41 adjacent to the base end side of the fixed-side facing surface 411. The inner part 41, the pair of outer parts 42A and 42B, and the connecting part 43 of the fixed core 4 are arranged from the end surface of the exciting coil 23 opposite to the side facing the ball striking mallet 3. The pair of outer portions 42A and 42B are formed to have a length of at least half of the entire length of the exciting coil 23 in the direction of the central axis X from the end surface of the exciting coil 23.

The base member 22 is formed in a shape including a position facing the pair of outer portions 42A and 42B of the fixed core 4 and a position facing the connecting portion 43. The first portion 221 of the base member 22 provided at a position facing the one outer portion 42A extends to a position where the rotation center portion 32 of the hitting mallet 3 is attached. The second portion 222 of the base member 22 provided at a position facing the other outer portion 42B extends to a position where the seating portion 5 is attached. A part of the base member 22 does not exist in a portion of the base member 22 between the first portion 221 and the second portion 222, which is opposed to the movable core 34 when the hitting mallet 3 rotates. Due to this, a notch 223 is formed.
The movable core 34 does not face the base member 22 when the hitting mallet 3 rotates. As a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the rotation torque and the rotation speed of the batting mallet 3 caused by the magnetic attraction force directly acting between the movable core 34 and the base member 22, and to shoot the game ball 8 with the batting mallet 3. High strength can be maintained.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the movable-side facing surface 341 of the movable core 34, which is located on the outer peripheral side of the rotation center portion 32, is along a circular orbit C having the rotation center portion 32 as the center. It is formed in a convex curved surface. The surface of the movable core 34, which is located on the inner peripheral side of the center of rotation 32, is formed into a linear flat surface. In addition, a tip end surface 342 facing the bottom surface 412 of the inner portion 41 of the fixed core 4 is formed at the tip end portion of the movable core 34. The movable-side facing surface 341 is formed over the entire portion of the movable core 34 on the outer peripheral side around the rotation center portion 32, except for the tip end surface 342 of the movable core 34.
The movable core 34 is inserted inside the exciting coil 23 in a range of a half or more of the entire length of the exciting coil 23 in the direction of the central axis X.

The hitting mallet 3 of the ball launching device 1 of this example has a flapper solenoid structure for hitting the game ball 8 by being magnetically attracted by the excitation of the exciting coil 23.
As shown in FIG. 1, when the exciting coil 23 is not energized, the ball hitting mallet 3 has an initial position 301 in which the ball hitting portion 33 is located below the center of rotation 32 due to its own weight, and as shown in FIG. When the exciting coil 23 is energized, the magnetic attraction force of the exciting coil 23 allows the hitting portion 33 to rotate to the hitting position 302 that is moved obliquely downward with respect to the rotation center portion 32.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the hitting mallet 3 is rotatably arranged with respect to the base member 22 via a rotation center portion 32 and bearings 25A and 25B. The hitting portion 33 is formed of a resin member having a flat surface that collides with the game ball 8, and is provided at the end of the main body 31 of the hitting mallet 3. The movable core 34 is attached to an intermediate position between the center of rotation 32 and the hitting portion 33 of the hitting mallet 3.

The main plate 21 has an initial position stopper 24A with which the ball hammer 3 returned to the initial position 301 by its own weight contacts, and a ball hitting position stopper 24B with which the ball hammer 3 rotated to the ball hitting position 302 by the excitation of the exciting coil 23 contacts. Are arranged.
The back surface of the hitting portion 33 of the hitting mallet 3 contacts the initial position stopper 24A. An arm protrusion 311 provided on the opposite end of the main body 31 of the hitting mallet 3 with the center of rotation 32 from the hitting portion 33 contacts the hitting position stopper 24B.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the hammer 3 is in the initial position 301, the tip of the movable core 34 is arranged inside the exciting coil 23. Thereby, the magnetic field generated when the exciting coil 23 is energized easily passes through the movable core 34, and the force for driving the batting mallet 3 from the initial position 301 to the batting position 302 can be increased.

As shown in FIG. 3, the center of rotation 32 of the hammer 3 is formed by a shaft member whose both ends are supported by a pair of bearings 25A and 25B arranged on the base member 22 and the like. The bearing 25A on the back side (left side in the drawing) is supported (embedded) in the through hole 224 provided in the base member 22, and the bearing 25B on the front side (right side in the drawing) is attached to the base member 22. It is supported by the support member 26. Here, this figure shows the periphery of the rotation center portion 32 of the hammer 3 and the periphery of the excitation coil 23 as the same sectional view.

A part of the exciting coil 23 is arranged in the housing portion 211 formed in the main plate 21 and the cutout portion 223 formed in the base member 22. A part of the exciting coil 23 is arranged in the housing portion 211 and the notch portion 223, and the bearing 25A on the back side is supported by the through hole 224 of the base member 22, so that the ball hammer 3 is attached to the surface of the base member 22. By arranging them in a close position, the thickness of the ball launching device 1 in the front-back direction D can be reduced.
The rotation center portion 32 as a shaft member is fitted into a fitting hole 312 provided in the main body 31 of the ball striking mallet 3, and the ball striking mallet 3 is biased by the spring 27 (indicated by an arrow F in FIG. 3). .), the position in the front-rear direction D is fixed.

In the ball launching device 1 of the gaming machine 6 of this embodiment, the shapes of the movable core 34 and the fixed core 4 are devised so that the distance between the movable core 34 and the fixed core 4 is constant in the process of the ball hammer 3 rotating. I am trying to become. Specifically, an arc-shaped movable-side facing surface 341 is formed on substantially the entire outer peripheral side portion of the movable core 34, and the fixed core 4 has an arc-shaped fixed-side facing surface facing the movable-side facing surface 341. 411 is formed. Then, in the process in which the exciting coil 23 is energized and the hitting mallet 3 rotates from the initial position 301 to the hitting position 302, the movable core 34 and the fixed core 4 are moved to the movable side facing surface 341 and the fixed side facing surface 411. Only, the distance between the movable-side facing surface 341 and the fixed-side facing surface 411 is maintained constant. Thereby, the magnetic attraction force acting between the movable core 34 and the fixed core 4 can be effectively increased, and the launch strength of the game ball 8 by the hitting mallet 3 can be effectively increased.

When the hitting portion 33 rotates from the initial position 301 to the hitting position 302, the tip surface 342 of the movable core 34 faces the bottom surface 412 of the inner portion 41 of the fixed core 4. Since the bottom surface 412 and the tip end surface 342 are opposed to each other only when the batting mallet 3 rotates to the batting position 302, the movable core 34 in the process of the batting mallet 3 rotating from the initial position 301 to the batting position 302. Is not included in the opposing of the fixed core 4 and the fixed core 4.

Further, the fixed-side facing surface 411 is formed on the inner portion 41 of the substantially E-shaped fixed core 4, and when the exciting coil 23 is energized, the magnetic path J is formed also by using the base member 22. It Thereby, the magnetic attraction force acting between the movable core 34 and the exciting coil 23 and the fixed core 4 can be further effectively increased, and the launch strength of the game ball 8 by the hitting mallet 3 can be further effectively increased. You can

Therefore, according to the ball launching device 1 of the gaming machine 6 of the present embodiment, the launch strength of the game ball 8 by the hitting mallet 3 can be effectively increased.

(Embodiment 2)
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the ball launching device 1 of the present embodiment is used for an enclosed game machine 6 in which a game ball 8 is circulated and used in the game machine 6. The ball launching device 1 is arranged at the upper left corner when the gaming machine 6 is viewed from the front. Then, the ball launching device 1 of the present embodiment does not need to increase the launch strength of the game ball 8 so much, and the fixed core 4 is connected to the inner portion 41 arranged inside the exciting coil 23 and the inner portion 41 to be excited. It is formed by the end surface portion 44 arranged on the end surface of the coil 23. Further, the soft magnetic base member 22 for passing the magnetic field passing through the fixed core 4 is not used.

The movable core 34 is attached to an end portion of the hitting mallet 3 which is located on the opposite side to the tip end portion where the hitting portion 33 is provided with respect to the rotation center portion 32. The hitting mallet 3 is formed in a shape in which a portion provided with the hitting portion 33 and a portion provided with the movable core 34 are bent at a substantially right angle with the rotation center portion 32 interposed therebetween. The fixed core 4 and the exciting coil 23 are arranged above the center of rotation 32 of the hammer 3.

The hitting mallet 3, the fixed core 4, the guide member 51, and the launch rail 52 are attached to the resin main plate 21. The initial position stopper 24A and the hitting ball position stopper 24B are formed integrally with the guide member 51, and are arranged at the inner position of the bending of the hitting mallet 3 which bends at a substantially right angle. Then, by arranging the excitation coil 23, the ball hammer 3, the fixed core 4 and the guide member 51 on the main plate 21 in the left-right direction at small locations, the horizontal dimension of the ball launching device 1 can be reduced.

Also in the present embodiment, the other configurations and the constituent elements indicated by the reference numerals in the drawing are the same as those in the first embodiment, and it is possible to obtain the same effects as the first embodiment.
The present invention is not limited to each embodiment, and further different embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ball launching device 22 Base member 223 Notch part 23 Excitation coil 3 Hitting mallet 32 Rotation center part 34 Movable core 341 Movable side facing surface 4 Fixed core 41 Inner part 411 Fixed side facing surface 42A, 42B Outer part 43 Connecting part 5 Seat 6 game machine

Claims (1)

A ball hammer that rotates around the center of rotation and hits a game ball,
An exciting coil that generates a magnetic flux that attracts the hammer by the energization,
An inner part arranged inside the exciting coil, a pair of outer parts arranged on both outer sides of the exciting coil, and a pair of the outer part and the inner part at a portion facing the end face of the exciting coil. A fixed core for passing the magnetic flux , having a connecting portion for connecting ,
The hitting mallet is provided with a movable core arranged inside the exciting coil when the exciting coil is energized,
An arcuate movable-side facing surface along a circular orbit centered on the center of rotation is formed on substantially the entire outer peripheral portion of the movable core about the center of rotation. ,
The fixed core is formed with an arc-shaped fixed-side facing surface that faces the movable-side facing surface and that follows the circular orbit.
The movable core and the fixed core are configured to face each other only in the movable side facing surface and the fixed side facing surface in the process of rotating the hitting mallet ,
The hitting mallet, a seating portion on which a game ball hit by the hitting mallet sits, and the fixed core are mounted on a soft magnetic base member for passing the magnetic flux,
The base member is attached to the main plate,
The base member has a cutout portion due to the absence of a part of the base member in a rotation range of the movable core when the hitting mallet rotates.
Part of the exciting coil is arranged in the accommodating portion and the notch formed in the main plate,
The base member is formed in a shape including a position facing the pair of outer parts and a position facing the connecting part, excluding the position facing the inner part of the fixed core. Launcher.

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