JP7444419B2 - gaming machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an enclosed ball game machine that plays a game by circulating a predetermined number of game balls in a closed manner without paying out the game balls.

A game is played by firing a predetermined number of game balls sealed in the game machine main body into a game area of a game board using a firing device, and the game balls that have passed through the game area are collected through a circulation path and guided to the firing device to play the game. A so-called enclosed ball game machine that recycles balls has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-187382

However, the gaming machine described in Patent Document 1 has room for improvement.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an enclosed game machine that is an improved version of the conventional game machine.

The present invention
A game board having a game area where game balls flow down;
a main body frame to which the game board is attached;
a door frame that opens and closes with respect to the main body frame;
a ball launcher that launches a game ball toward the game area;
a lifting device for lifting the collected game balls after the game balls fired by the batted ball firing device are collected from the gaming area;
a ball polishing member disposed near the lifting device;
A main control means that executes game processing related to the game based on a detection signal of a game ball that has entered a winning hole arranged in the game area ;
Equipped with
A gaming machine configured to play a game using circulating gaming balls by circulating the gaming balls flowing down the gaming area,
Game balls lifted by the lifting device contact the ball polishing member through an opening provided in the lifting device to perform ball polishing,
The opening is sized so that a game ball cannot pass through,
Equipped with means for determining the number of enclosed balls for determining whether the total number of circulating game balls is an appropriate amount,
Even when the ball polishing member is not attached and the opening is exposed, the game processing by the main control means is executed and it is possible to play a game using the circulating game balls ,
When the ball polishing member is not installed, the game balls being transported by the lifting device are directly visible from the outside of the gaming machine at least when the door frame is open.
It is characterized by
Further, the following means will be disclosed for reference as another invention different from the present invention.
The enclosed game machine according to [Solution Means 1] has a gaming area divided into sections, a prize opening into which a game ball rolling down the gaming area can enter, and a winning opening that rolls down the gaming area, a game board comprising: an output port through which game balls that have not entered the winning slot are collected; a main body frame into which the game board is fitted and housed; a ball launching device that fires game balls into a gaming area; a ball collection device having a collection port that collects together the game balls that have entered the input slot and the game balls that have been collected at the out port; and the ball collection device. a ball conveying device that transports game balls collected by the device toward the batted ball firing device, and the ball transport device transports the batted ball firing device, the gaming area of the game board, and the ball collecting device without paying out game balls. In an enclosed ball game machine in which a game is played by circulating a predetermined number of game balls in a closed manner in a circulation path of the game balls by the device and the ball transport device, the ball firing device is movable with respect to the main body frame. and a position detecting means for detecting that the position of the batted ball firing device is at a normal position with respect to the game board, and a firing control device for controlling the operation of the batting ball firing device, The control means determines whether the number of all enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount, on the condition that the ball launcher is in a normal position with respect to the game board through the position detection means. At least the batted ball firing is performed on the condition that the number of enclosed game balls is determined to be an appropriate amount by the enclosed ball number determination control means that determines whether there is an excess or deficiency, and the number of enclosed game balls is determined to be an appropriate amount. The apparatus is characterized by comprising an operation permitting means for permitting operation of the apparatus.

The enclosed ball game machine according to [Solution Means 2] is the enclosed ball game machine according to [Solution Means 1],
The ball launcher includes a shot ball confirmation means for detecting a game ball placed at a shooting position of the ball launcher, and the enclosed ball number determination control means includes:
By activating at least the batted ball firing device, all the enclosed game balls are fired into the game area;
The present invention is characterized in that the number of shot game balls is counted based on the detection signal of the shot ball confirmation means.

The enclosed ball game machine according to [Solution Means 3] has the following features in the enclosed ball game machine according to [Solution Means 1]:
The game board is
A main control board that performs game control and outputs a prize ball command based on acceptance of the game ball into the input prize hole,
The main body frame is
The number of balls held is connected to the main control board so that bidirectional data communication is possible, and is based on the prize ball command transmitted from the main control board and information on the number of game balls launched by the batted ball launcher. A ball information control board that performs data increase/decrease control, game ball firing control by the batted ball firing device, game ball transport control by the ball transport device, and ball feeding control by the ball feeding device;
The batted ball firing device includes a fired ball confirmation means for detecting a game ball placed at the firing position,
The ball recovery device includes:
a ball holding part that allows the game balls collected through the collection port to be stopped in the downstream path of the game balls;
A ball retention stopper member provided so as to be openable and closable in order to allow the game balls to flow down in the ball retention part in an open state, while blocking the flow of game balls in the closed state to stop the game balls in the ball retention part; ,
Ball retention stopper driving means for opening and closing the ball retention stopper member,
The ball information control board is
the firing control means;
By activating the ball retention stopper driving means to bring the ball retention stopper member into the closed state, the game balls collected into the collection port of the ball collection device via the input/output port are activated. Ball retention control means for causing the ball retention unit to retain the ball in the ball retention unit of the ball recovery device;
Game ball launch control means that fires all enclosed game balls into the game area by activating the ball retention control means and then operating the batted ball launch device and the ball transport device;
a game ball number counting means for counting the number of game balls fired based on a detection signal of the shot ball confirmation means when the game balls are fired by the game ball firing control means;
It is determined whether a predetermined termination condition is satisfied, and when it is determined that the termination condition is satisfied, the counting of the number of game balls by the game ball number counting means is ended, and the counting of the number of game balls by the game ball number counting means is performed. The counted number of game balls is the total number of game balls enclosed, and the total number of game balls is compared with a predetermined appropriate amount to determine whether the total number of game balls is an appropriate amount or not. A means for determining an appropriate number of game balls to be determined;
Equipped with
It is characterized by this.

[effect]
According to the enclosed ball game machine according to [Solution 3], after blocking the flow of game balls by the ball retention stopper member in the ball retention part of the ball collection device, the ball firing device is operated to send the game balls to the game machine. Since the number of game balls fired into the game area is counted based on the detection signal of the shot ball confirmation means while the game balls are being fired, the number of game balls fired into the game area is The balls are collected into the recovery port of the ball recovery device via the winning port or the out port, and are stopped at the ball retention portion of the ball recovery device whose flow is blocked by the ball retention stopper member, so that the balls are collected downstream from the ball retention portion in the circulation route. It does not flow down to the ground. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the game balls that have been counted once from being covered and counted again. As a result, the number of all enclosed game balls can be accurately counted. This makes it possible to visually check the fired game balls and accurately determine whether the number of counted and enclosed game balls is the appropriate amount, excess or deficiency, and the determination results are reliable. You can increase your sexuality.

The enclosed ball game machine according to [Solution Means 4] is the enclosed ball game machine according to [Solution Means 3],
The ball information control board is
When the power is turned on or when the door frame is opened or closed with respect to the main body frame,
Executing the enclosed ball number determination control by the enclosed ball number determination control means;
It is characterized by this.

[effect]
By turning on the power to the game machine, it is possible to count the number of all the game balls enclosed and determine whether the amount is appropriate or not. Further, when the door frame is opened and closed with respect to the main body frame, it is possible to count the number of all enclosed game balls and determine whether the amount is appropriate or not.

The enclosed ball game machine according to [Solution Means 5] is the enclosed ball game machine according to [Solution Means 4],
At least a notification means for notifying whether the number of game balls is appropriate,
The control means for determining the number of enclosed balls is characterized in that, when the appropriate amount determining means for the number of game balls determines that there is an excess or deficiency, an output means outputs a message to the effect that there is an excess or deficiency to the notification means. It is something.

[effect]
According to the enclosed ball game machine according to [Solution Means 5], when it is determined that the number of all enclosed game balls is excessive or insufficient, a notification to the effect that there is an excess or deficiency is output to the notification means. It is possible to identify whether the number of game balls is too large or too small.

The enclosed ball game machine according to [Solution Means 6] has the following features in the enclosed ball game machine according to [Solution Means 1]:
A plurality of game ball detection sensors are arranged in the circulation path to detect the presence or absence of game balls,
The plurality of game ball detection sensors include a first game ball detection sensor that detects the first game ball of all the enclosed game balls, and a first game ball detection sensor that detects the first game ball of all the enclosed game balls, and a first game ball detection sensor that detects the first game ball of all the enclosed game balls. a second game ball detection sensor that detects a game ball that is located, and a third game ball detection sensor that detects a game ball that is located next to the appropriate number,
The number of enclosed game balls determination control means determines whether the number of all enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount or not, based on the detection signals of the first, second, and third game ball detection sensors. It is characterized by determining.

According to the enclosed ball game machine according to [Solution Means 6], it is possible to determine whether the number of all enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount or not.

According to the present invention, a new type of gaming machine can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view showing a pachinko machine that is an embodiment of a gaming machine according to the present invention and a payment machine attached to the pachinko machine. It is a front view of the pachinko machine with the door frame removed. It is a front perspective view showing the main body frame which constitutes a pachinko machine. It is a rear perspective view showing the main body frame which constitutes a pachinko machine. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an upper firing device, a deformed sphere/magnetic sphere ejection unit, and a sphere gathering section. It is a right view showing an upper firing device, a ball supply path member, and a ball lifting device. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the upper firing device and the firing area when looking up at the upper part of the game board from the lower front of the game board. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the upper firing device (launch hammer hitting position). FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the upper firing device viewed from the front left. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the upper firing device viewed from the rear left. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the upper firing device viewed from the rear left with the ball feeding unit cover removed. It is a figure which shows the open state of the upper firing device in a pachinko machine with the door frame removed. It is a right side view showing a longitudinal section of the Pachinko machine with the door frame removed. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a part of a cross-sectional perspective view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the joint portion of the upper firing device with the base plate is in contact with the protruding portion of the panel holder on the game board. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the upper firing device viewed from the front right side. It is a front view showing an upper firing device (launching hammer standby position). FIG. 3 is a right side view showing the upper firing device (the ball feeding solenoid is not energized, the ball feeding member is in the holding position and the return ball blocking position). 11 is a cross-sectional view of the upper firing device taken along the line BB in FIG. 10 (the ball feed solenoid is not energized, the ball feed member is in the holding position and the return ball blocking position). FIG. It is a perspective view showing a ball feeding member, a ball feeding shaft, and a ball feeding sheet metal in the ball feeding device from diagonally backward. FIG. 3 is a right side view showing the upper firing device (ball feed solenoid energized, ball feed member in supply position and allowable position). FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the upper firing device taken along line BB in FIG. 10 (ball feed solenoid energized, ball feed member in supply position and allowable position). FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main body frame cut in the longitudinal direction to show the upper firing device, the ball supply path member, and the ball lifting device. It is a time chart showing the drive timing of a ball feeding solenoid and a firing solenoid. FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the ball outlet opening/closing unit. FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the ball outlet opening/closing unit. It is a perspective view showing the relationship between the upper firing unit and the ball outlet opening/closing unit in the main body frame. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view illustrating a deformed sphere/magnetic sphere ejection unit. FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating the magnetic ball discharge part cover separated and turned over in FIG. 28; FIG. 3 is a plan view of a deformed sphere/magnetic sphere ejection unit. FIG. 3 is a rear view of the irregularly shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a base plate of the irregularly shaped sphere/magnetic sphere ejection unit. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the irregular-shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit separated into an irregular-shaped sphere discharging unit and a magnetic sphere discharging unit. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a path through which irregularly shaped spheres and magnetic spheres are discharged in the irregularly shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit. It is a figure explaining the situation where a magnetic sphere is separated from a circulation route and is discharged. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the magnetic balls have reached the magnetic ball ejection slope. It is a front left perspective view of a ball collection part and a ball lifting device. It is a front view of a ball gathering part and a ball lifting device. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a state in which the ball polishing cartridge is removed from the ball collection section. FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view showing a state in which the case of the ball collecting section and the cover of the ball lifting device are removed. FIG. 41 is an enlarged rear perspective view of the ball gathering portion in FIG. 40; 42 is a further enlarged view of FIG. 41. FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sphere gathering portion with the case removed. FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view showing a state in which an upper gearbox and a lower gearbox are removed. FIG. 2 is a right side view showing the ball lifting device with the cover removed. 46 is an enlarged view of (A) in FIG. 45. FIG. It is a figure showing the state where a screw was disassembled. It is a perspective view showing the upper part of a ball lifting device. It is a figure which shows the fitted/unfitted state of a screw and a fitting member. It is a left side view showing a state where a ball polishing cartridge is installed. It is a perspective view explaining the mechanism which fixes a ball polishing cartridge. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in the middle of installing a ball polishing cartridge. It is a perspective view showing a state in which a game ball and a ball polishing cloth of a ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other. It is a left side view showing a state where the game ball and the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other. FIG. 55 is a left side view showing a state in which the left side cover of the ball polishing cartridge in FIG. 54 is removed. This is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge in FIG. 55. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a ball polishing cartridge is installed. FIG. 58 is a perspective view showing a state in which only the right outer side cover is removed in FIG. 57 for illustrative purposes. FIG. 59 is a top perspective view showing a state in which the right side cover is opened in FIG. 58; It is a perspective view of a ball polishing cartridge. It is a front view of a ball polishing cartridge. It is a side view of a ball polishing cartridge. 63 is a side view showing a state in which the left side cover is removed in FIG. 62. FIG. It is a perspective view of a ball polishing cartridge attachment part. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between a ball polishing cartridge and a ball polishing cartridge mounting part. 40 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge in FIG. 39. FIG. It is a side view which shows the 2nd Example of a lifting slope member. It is a perspective view which shows the 2nd Example of a lifting slope member. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the lifting device with an upper gearbox removed. FIG. 2 is a rear view showing a state in which the lifting section cover of the lifting device is removed. It is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the number of game balls thrown in is less than a predetermined number when game balls are enclosed in an enclosed ball type game machine (pachinko machine). It is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a predetermined number of game balls have been inserted when game balls are enclosed in an enclosed ball type game machine (pachinko machine). FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the behavior of game balls when the number of game balls inserted exceeds a predetermined number when the game balls are enclosed in an enclosed ball type game machine (pachinko machine). It is a perspective view showing a state in which a game ball introducing member in the game panel protrudes. It is a perspective view showing a state in which the game ball introducing member in the game panel is stored. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing essential parts in an embodiment of a main control board installed in an enclosed ball game machine (pachinko machine). FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the main parts of a ball information control board installed in an enclosed ball game machine (pachinko machine). It is a block diagram showing each element connected to a payment machine. 3 is a flowchart showing main control side power-on processing executed by the main control MPU of the main control board. 80 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the main control side power-on processing of FIG. 79; 3 is a flowchart showing main control side timer interrupt processing executed by the main control MPU. It is a flowchart which shows the process at the time of power-on of the ball information control side which is executed by the ball information control MPU of the ball information control board. 83 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the ball information control side power-on processing of FIG. 82; FIG. 84 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the ball information payout control side power-on processing following FIG. 83. It is a flowchart which shows the ball information control power supply cut-off process performed by the ball information control MPU of a ball information control board. It is a flowchart which shows an example of ball information control side timer interruption processing. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the ball rental process which a ball information control MPU performs. 12 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a process for determining whether or not a ball can be hit, which is performed by the ball information control MPU. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the ball count count process performed by ball information control MPU. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the ball feeding and firing drive process performed by the ball information control MPU. This is a continuation of the flowchart in FIG. 90. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the launched ball detection process performed by the ball information control MPU. It is a flow chart which shows the subroutine of the number-of-balls subtraction processing which ball information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the lift drive process which a ball information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of ball jam notification processing performed by ball information control MPU. It is a figure which showed the cushion and following member provided on the back side of the door frame, and the cushion receiving plate provided in the upper firing device. FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the main body frame from the front side (Example 2). FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view from the front side of the main body frame, the game board, and the upper firing device. (A) is a perspective view of the upper guide member seen from below, (B) is a perspective view of the lower guide member seen from above, and (C) is a perspective view of the slider. (A) is a cross-sectional view taken along the II-I line in FIG. 97, and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the II-II line in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view to illustrate operation; (a) is a schematic plan view for explaining the mechanism, and (b) is an enlarged plan view of the main parts. A cross-sectional view schematically showing a connecting part of a game ball supply passage composed of two parts, (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a side view. (A), (B), and (C) are cross-sectional views (side view) showing the state of communication between the ball sending gutter and the lifting communication gutter. The perspective view which showed the game ball supply path part of a ball lifting device and an upper firing device. A schematic diagram showing a dust countermeasure mechanism. It is a block diagram showing a game board and a main body frame connected using a drawer connector. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the upper firing device in an open state with respect to the game board in an embodiment employing a position detection sensor. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the upper firing device in a closed state with respect to the game board in an embodiment employing a position detection sensor. (A) shows a subroutine of the first hit ball determination process performed by the ball information control MPU in an embodiment that employs a position detection sensor that detects whether the upper firing device is set at the correct position with respect to the game board. It is a flowchart. (B) is an example of a display displayed on the touch panel section when the upper firing device is not set in the correct position with respect to the game board. (C) is an example of a display displayed on the touch panel section when the upper firing device is set in the normal position with respect to the game board. It is a front view of the ball collection device in this embodiment in which the enclosed ball number determination control means is provided in the ball information control board. It is a flowchart which shows 1st Embodiment of the subroutine of the enclosed ball number determination control process performed by the ball information control MPU. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting drive process performed by the ball information control MPU. This is a continuation of the flowchart in FIG. 103. FIG. 105(A) is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a shot ball detection process performed by the ball information control MPU, and FIG. 105(B) is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a ball number subtraction process performed by the ball information control MPU. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the appropriate number of pitches determination process which a pitch information control MPU performs. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the determination result of the appropriate number of pitches notified by a touch panel part. This is a part of the flowchart of the power-on processing, which is a continuation of the flowchart of FIG. 82, and shows an example of the case where the ball information control MPU 111 executes the enclosed ball number determination control processing when the power is turned on. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the door frame opening/closing determination process performed by sphere information control MPU. 12 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a ball-hittable/un-hittable determination process performed by a ball information control MPU in an embodiment that employs an enclosed ball number determination control means (executes an enclosed ball number determination control process). It is a flowchart which shows 2nd Embodiment of the subroutine of the enclosed ball number determination control process performed by the ball information control MPU.

[Outline of gaming machine]
Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention will be described below, taking up an enclosed ball type pachinko machine. Note that the present invention can also be implemented in pachinko machines other than the enclosed ball type pachinko machine.
[Example 1]
The pachinko machine 1 according to this embodiment can be installed in the current island equipment in a hall (pachinko game hall), and the game content is the same as that of a well-known pachinko machine. However, this game machine does not use the ball supply mechanism or ball discharge mechanism of the island equipment. That is, in the enclosed ball type pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment, a predetermined number of game balls made of non-magnetic material (for example, stainless steel) are accommodated in the game machine, and the predetermined number of game balls are delivered to the game area by a firing device. A game is played using game balls that have been sealed in the game machine in such a way that the game balls are played by firing them into the game machine, the game balls that have finished the game are collected, and the game balls are guided to the firing device and circulated for use. It looks like this. Game balls can then be fired in accordance with the number of game balls (data on the number of balls held) based on the data on the number of rented balls inputted from a storage medium such as a card via a payment system, etc., and the game balls are fired. Then, data on the number of balls held is subtracted in accordance with the number of game balls fired.

In addition, if the fired game ball enters the winning hole in the gaming area and a prize ball (game ball) is generated, the actual game ball will not be paid out, and the number of prize balls will be included in the data of the number of balls held. is added. Further, when the data of the number of balls held becomes "0", the game ball becomes unable to be fired. In this state, when a numerical value (number of balls rented) is added to the data on the number of balls held based on the amount data and ball storage data stored in a storage medium such as a card, it is possible to fire game balls again. becomes. Further, the fired game balls are collected within the game machine, sent to the firing position again, and circulated within the game machine. That is, the pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment is an enclosed ball type game machine that collects game balls shot into the game area and supplies them again to the game.

First, the main body frame 2 (FIG. 3) and door frame 3 (FIG. 1) that constitute the pachinko machine 1 of the first embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. Note that the pachinko machine 1 in FIG. 1 is also provided with a payment machine 4 as an external device.

The pachinko machine 1 has an outer frame 1a (FIG. 12) that is configured in the shape of a rectangular frame and is installed on an island facility on the hall side, and a game board 5 (FIG. 2) that is pivotally supported by the outer frame 1a so as to be freely openable and closable. It is configured to include a main body frame 2 that can be mounted, and a door frame 3 that is pivotally supported by the main body frame 2 so as to be freely openable and closable.
A decorative cover 6 is attached to the front surface of the outer frame 1a at a position below the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3, so that the front surface of the outer frame 1a is completely closed by the door frame 3 and the decorative cover 6. It has become. In addition, the outer frame 1a, the main body frame 2, and the door frame 3 are arranged so that their upper ends are substantially aligned, and the main body frame 2 is rotatable by a hinge 7 (FIG. 3) provided on the left side of the outer frame 1a. The main body frame 2 is pivoted, and the main body frame 2 can be opened by moving the right side of the main body frame 2 forward with respect to the outer frame 1a. The door frame 3 is rotatably attached to the main body frame 2 with a pin, and is brought into an open state by moving the right side of the door frame 3 forward.

[Door frame 3]
The door frame 3 includes a game window 9 through which the player can visually confirm the game area 8 into which the game ball is hit on the game board 5, and a game window 9 which is arranged below the game window 9 and which allows the player to enter the game area 8 based on the player's operation. It has a ball hitting handle 10 for hitting a game ball. A transparent plate 11 is attached to the game window 9 so that the front surface (play area 8) of the game board 5 mounted on the body frame 2 side can be visually recognized while the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the body frame 2. It is being The batting ball handle 10 drives a firing solenoid 13 (see FIG. 5) of a batting ball firing device (referred to as an upper firing device 12) attached to the upper left of the main body frame 2 based on the rotation operation of the player. A game ball is driven into the game area 8. The ball-hitting handle 10 includes a microswitch (not shown) that turns ON when rotated, a firing stop switch that turns OFF when pressed while the microswitch is turned on, and the ball-striking handle 10. The ball-hitting handle 10 is equipped with a touch switch that detects the player's contact with the ball-hitting handle 10 through conductive plating applied to the outer peripheral surface of the ball-hitting handle 10. The upper firing device 12 will be described later.

Note that the door frame 3 and the main body frame 2 can be opened by inserting a key into a key device placed in the lower right corner of the door frame 3 and rotating it in one direction. is now possible.

[Touch panel section 14]
The door frame 3 is provided with a horizontally elongated touch panel section 14 in the lower part of the game window 9 (a part corresponding to the upper plate of a well-known non-enclosed ball type pachinko machine). The touch panel section 14 displays the remaining power, the number of balls held by the gaming machine, and the number of balls in play.

Here, the number of remaining balls is the value equivalent to the amount stored on the card used in the payment machine 4, and the number of balls held by the player is the number of balls lent to the player by lending balls. This is the total of the number of balls and the number of prize balls won by the player as a result of playing the game.

The touch panel unit 14 displays a ball lending button as a ball lending command input means operable by the player, and a payment button as a payment command input means operable by the player. The ball rental button is used to instruct the player to rent out balls for playing a game. Further, the payment button is used to end the pachinko game and instruct payment.

Further, the touch panel section 14 further displays a number of end balls display button which can be operated by the player and serves as a means for inputting a command to display the number of end balls. Here, the number of odd balls is the number of remaining balls when the number of balls held by the player is divided by the number of balls equivalent to one special prize when exchanging prizes. The touch panel unit 14 can also display a message such as "Do you want to hit only the edge balls?" when the number of edge balls is instructed to be displayed using the edge ball number display button. A message in the form of an interactive question is displayed together with the edge ball count display button, and a YES button and a NO button are displayed, respectively, for the player to input a selection to respond with either yes or no.

[Body frame 2]
The main body frame 2 is box-shaped and includes a frame-shaped fitting frame 15 and a peripheral wall portion 16 so as to fit within the rectangular outer frame 1a (FIGS. 3 and 4). The fitting frame 15 has a rectangular accommodation opening 17 on its front side for fitting and accommodating the game board 5. A projecting wall 18 projecting inward is integrally formed at the back of the accommodation opening 17 (FIGS. 3 and 12). The back is closed with a back cover. When the door frame 3 is closed to the main body frame 2, the front surface (game area 8) of the game board 5 housed in the main body frame 2 can be seen through the game window 9 of the door frame 3.

An irregularly shaped sphere/magnetic sphere ejecting unit housing part 19 is formed below the housing opening 17, and an irregularly shaped sphere/magnetic sphere ejecting unit 20 is disposed in the irregularly shaped sphere/magnetic sphere ejecting unit housing part 19. . As will be explained later, the ejected ball receiving box 234, which accommodates the irregularly shaped balls and magnetic balls that are smaller in diameter than the regular game balls ejected from the irregularly shaped ball/magnetic ball ejecting unit 20, is It can be attached and detached from the front.

Moreover, FIG. 23 is a sectional view of the main body frame cut in the vertical direction to show the upper firing device, the ball supply path member, and the ball lifting device. As seen in FIGS. 3, 5, 6, and 23, the main body frame 2 is provided with an upper firing device 12, a ball gathering section 21, a ball lifting device 22, and a ball supply path member 24. The ball gathering section 21 is a section that receives the game balls that have passed through the irregularly shaped balls/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 and guides them to the base of the ball lifting device 22 (FIG. 5), and is equipped with a ball polishing device and the like.

A ball firing device 29 for firing game balls toward the game area 8 is arranged on one side (left side) of the front and upper part of the main body frame 2 (FIGS. 3 and 23). In addition, the ball feeding device 28 for feeding the game balls arranged and stored in the guide passage (ball feeding guide gutter 69 described later, see FIG. 11) one by one to the firing position of the hitting ball firing device 29 is connected to the hitting ball firing device 29. They are arranged so as to overlap in the front-rear direction behind the (Fig. 6, Fig. 23). In this embodiment, the ball launcher 29 and the ball feeder 28 form the upper launcher 12 as an upper launcher unit.

In this embodiment, the ball lifting device 22 uses a screw 25 driven by a ball lifting motor 150 (see FIG. 24), and the game balls that have reached the base are rotated to reduce the distance between the game balls. It is opened and lifted to the upper part of the main body frame 2 from below. The ball lifting device 22 is attached to the rear surface of the main body frame 2 behind the upper firing device 12, and the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 is arranged above the ball feeding device 28 (Fig. 3, 4, Figure 23).

Between the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 and the upper part of the upper firing device 12, there is a ball supply device extending in the front-rear direction for feeding the game balls lifted by the ball lifting device 22 to the ball feeding device 28 from above. A path member 24 is provided (FIGS. 3, 4, and 23). In addition, in this embodiment, the ball supply path member 24 is formed at the upper end of the ball lifting device 22, and has a gentle downward slope toward the front, so that the ball feeding path member 24 can move the lifted game balls forward from above. It is composed of a ball sending gutter 23 and a lifting communication gutter 65 formed at the rear upper part of the upper firing device 12, connected to the ball sending gutter 23, and sloped gently downward toward the front. Note that the game balls lifted by the ball lifting device 22 are sent out to the ball sending gutter 23. The ball sending gutter 23 of the ball supply path member 24 is provided with a launch standby ball detection switch 26 that detects the presence or absence of game balls flowing down the ball sending gutter 23 (see FIG. 6).

[Top launcher]
FIG. 8 is a front view of the upper firing device, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the upper firing device viewed from the front left. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the upper firing device viewed from the rear left, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the upper firing device viewed from the rear left with the ball feeding unit cover removed.

Further, FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an open state of the upper firing device in the gaming machine shown with the door frame removed, and FIG. 13 is a right side view showing a vertical cross section of the gaming machine shown with the door frame removed. FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically showing a part of a cross-sectional perspective view taken along line AA in FIG. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state in which the joint portion of the upper firing device with the base plate is in contact with the protruding portion of the panel holder on the game board.

The upper firing device 12 includes a metal plate-shaped base plate 39 for attaching and fixing the upper firing device 12 to the main body frame 2, and receives game balls arriving from the ball supply path member 24, and is used for firing by the batted ball firing device 29. A ball feeding device 28 that reliably feeds game balls one by one using a ball feeding solenoid 31 (FIG. 11) and a ball feeding member 32 to the ball firing position of the hammer 30 (FIG. 8), and a ball feeding device 28 that shoots the game balls toward the gaming area 8. (See FIGS. 8 to 11).

The ball sending device 28 receives the game balls arriving from the ball supply path member 24 (FIG. 6), and sends each game ball to the firing position of the firing hammer 30 (FIG. 8) of the ball firing device 29 using the ball sending member 32. This is a device to ensure that each product is sent out one by one.

As shown in FIG. 9, the ball launcher 29 includes a launch hammer 30, a launch solenoid 13, a rail member 33, a launch stopper 34, a return stopper 35, a launch ball confirmation switch 36, an upper launcher hinge 37, and a launch port. It has 38. These members are attached to a base plate 39 (a metal plate in this embodiment) as a substrate. The firing port 38 is formed to face the tip of the firing hammer 30, and the rail member 33 is attached to this portion. The rail member 33 is a member that holds one game ball sent out to the shooting position (ball hitting position) by the ball sending member 32 using the rail portion 332. The game ball fired by the firing hammer 30 is fired into the game area 8 from the firing port 38.

The launched ball confirmation switch 36 is disposed with respect to the rail portion 332 of the rail member 33, and detects the presence or absence of a game ball that is hit by the firing hammer 30, and also changes the detection of a game ball by the launched ball confirmation switch 36 to non-detection. By switching, it is detected that one game ball is fired by the firing hammer 30.

In order to make the upper firing device 12 movable, the base plate 39 is attached to the main body frame 2 so as to be openable and closable with a vertical upper firing device hinge 37 disposed on the front left side of the base plate 39. The base plate 39 can be opened forward about the upper firing device hinge 37 (FIGS. 9 and 12).

In addition, the arrangement position of the hinge 37 for the upper firing device is such that when the game board 5 is attached to and removed from the main body frame 2, the hinge 7 rotatably connects the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3. The upper firing device 12 is at a position where the game board 5 can be opened to an angle that does not interfere with insertion and installation (for example, 120 degrees).

As shown in FIG. 5, the game ball circulation path includes the above-mentioned irregular-shaped ball/magnetic ball ejection unit 20, ball collection section 21, ball lifting device 22, ball supply path member 24, upper firing device 12, and game area 8. It is something to go through. The game balls fired from the upper firing device 12 to the firing area 40 (FIG. 7) of the gaming area 8 flow down the gaming area from above to the bottom, pass through the winning opening 41 or the out opening 42, and reach the irregular-shaped ball/magnetic ball ejection unit 20. Return to

[Game board]
A game board 5 is attached to a fitting frame 15 of the main body frame 2. In this embodiment, the game board 5 has a structure in which a transparent panel plate 44 is attached to a panel holder 43, and a front component 45 is attached to the front surface of the transparent panel plate 44 to fix the transparent panel plate 44 (FIG. 12). This game board 5 does not have anything equivalent to a conventional inner rail, and the upper part of the inner peripheral surface of the front component 45 is used as a game ball running surface 46 (FIG. 7).

The game board 5 is electrically connected to the main body frame 2 using a drawer connector. The game board 5 and the main body frame 2 are each provided with a drawer connector, and by fitting the game board 5 into the main body frame 2, the drawer connector on the game board side is inserted into the drawer connector on the main body frame side, and the electricity is connected. can be connected. This makes it possible to perform electrical communication between the game board 5 and the main body frame 2.

A notch 47 (FIG. 12) is formed in the upper left corner of the game board 5 to match the shape of the upper firing device 12. The notch 47 reaches a part of the transparent panel plate 44 of the gaming area 8 from the front component 45. The opening 38 of the upper firing device 12 faces the cutout of the transparent panel plate 44, and as shown in FIG. The game area 8 is the firing area 40. Therefore, the game ball fired by the firing hammer 30 of the upper firing device 12 is guided to the game ball running surface 46 of the front component 45 in the firing area 40.

In addition, in the notch 47, the notch of the panel holder 43 is smaller than the notch of the front component, and a part of the panel holder 43 becomes a protruding part 48 protruding inside the notch 47 when viewed from the front. (Fig. 12, Fig. 15). A fixture 49 is attached to the base plate 39 of the upper firing device 12 so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction, and the tip of the fixture 49 is connected to the projecting wall 18 of the main body frame 2 when the upper firing device 12 is closed. It is removably attached to the screw receiving member 50 (FIGS. 13, 14, and 15). The fixing device 49 has a screw at the tip and a relatively large head, so that the fixing device 49 can be attached and detached without using a tool (using a simple member such as a coin). is also good). The screw receiving member 50 has, for example, a structure in which a nut is welded to a flat metal plate, and is fixed to the projecting wall 18 with screws or the like.

As shown in FIGS. 13, 14, and 15, when the fixture 49 is attached to the screw receiving member 50 by passing through the upper firing device 12, the game board is fixed to the main body frame 2 by the base plate 39. At this time, the abutting part 39a (FIG. 13) of the base plate 39 abuts the protruding part 48 protruding from the notch 47 of the game board 5, and presses the protruding part 48 toward the main body frame 2 side to fix it. do.

As a result, the positional relationship between the launch port 38 of the upper firing device 12 and the game area 8 is fixed without any play, and there is no difference in level between the launch port 38 and the game area 8 that becomes an obstacle when the game ball travels. Does not occur. Furthermore, by removing the fixture 49 from the screw receiving member 50, the base plate 39 can be opened toward the front centering on the upper firing device hinge 37, and when the game board 5 is fitted into the fitting frame 15 of the main body frame 2. Don't get in the way. Furthermore, maintenance work such as ball tampering in the ball feeding device 28 and the ball firing device 29 can be easily performed.

As a method of fixing the upper firing device, it is also possible to arrange a cushion on the back side of the door frame, and to press and fix the game board and the upper firing device when closing the door frame. This will be explained below with reference to FIG.

A cushion 501 is provided at a location on the back side of the door frame 3 that contacts the upper firing device 12, and by closing the door frame 3, the cushion 501 presses against the cushion receiving plate 502 placed on the upper firing device 12, and the main body frame Fix it on the 2nd side. At this time, the plate 39 comes into contact with the protruding part 48 (see FIG. 12) protruding from the notch 47 of the game board 5, and presses the protruding part 48 toward the main body frame 2 side to fix it. As a result, the positional relationship between the firing port 38 of the upper firing device 12 and the gaming area 8 is fixed without play. Further, even if vibration occurs due to the firing operation of the firing hammer 30, the positional relationship between the firing port 38 and the game area 8 can be fixed without wobbling by pressing against the cushion 501.

As described above, by adopting a fixing method using a cushion instead of a screw fixing method, the game board 5 can be easily attached to the main body frame 2. The details will be explained below.

As shown in FIG. 96, the back surface of the door frame 3 and the upper firing device 12 are connected by a follower member 500 (a spring in this embodiment). When the door frame 3 is opened when replacing the game board to install a new machine, the upper firing device 12 connected to the follower member 500 is pulled by the follower member 500 and rotates to follow the door frame 3. do. As a result, the upper firing device 12 moves from the same surface of the game board 5, so a wider space can be taken when the game board 5 is fitted into the main body frame 2, and the game board can be fitted easily. be able to. Furthermore, the possibility of damage to the game board 5 due to collision or the like between the game board 5 and the launch device can be reduced as much as possible.

Furthermore, even if the upper firing device 12 moves following the door frame 3 when the door frame 3 is opened by the following member 500, since the cushion 501 is arranged on the back side of the door frame 3, the force of the following movement will cause the door frame 3 to move. Since there is no collision, damage to the door frame 3 and the following member 500 can be prevented.

In this embodiment, the following member 500 is a spring, but is not limited to this, and may be any member that moves the upper firing device 12 to follow the door frame 3. For example, various methods can be selected, such as elastic rubber (such as a rubber band), a string-like member, and an engaging and pulling member.

The game area 8 of the present embodiment is provided with a large number of obstacle nails (not shown) and various winning holes such as winning holes, and a predetermined number of prize balls are awarded according to winnings in the various winning holes. It looks like this. In addition, since this embodiment is an enclosed ball type game machine, "1" is subtracted from the data of the number of balls held according to the hitting of one game ball, while the number of prize balls corresponding to winnings in various winning holes is subtracted from the data of the number of balls held. is added to the data on the number of balls held, and the corresponding number of balls held is displayed on the touch panel section 14.

Furthermore, since it is an enclosed ball type pachinko machine, prize balls are not paid out, and the number of balls thrown, number of balls entered, number of differential balls, number of balls held, etc. are numerical values based on data rather than the actual number of game balls. That is, the number of game balls actually used is limited to a predetermined number (for example, 50 or 75) that are used cyclically, and the number of balls held is determined by, for example, detecting the game balls fired into the game area 8. The number of balls fired and counted, the number of recovered balls detected and counted by the game balls fired into the game area 8, the number of prize balls in the event of winning, the number of rental balls borrowed from the hall, etc. You can get the number of pitches in, number of pitches out, number of differential pitches, and number of balls held.

That is, unless there is a problem such as the game balls falling out when the door frame 3 is opened, the number of fired balls equals the number of collected balls. Then, the number of pitches entered = number of balls recovered = number of fired balls, number of pitches out = number of awarded pitches (accumulated value) = number of pitches entered - number of pitches lent (number of balls replayed) + number of pitches held, and number of pitches held = number of pitches pitched. Number of pitches (or number of replayed balls) + number of pitches out - number of pitches in, number of pitches out - number of pitches in = number of differential pitches, number of pitches in possession = number of pitches lent (or number of pitches in replay) + number of differential pitches becomes. In this way, games with the pachinko machine 1 are played completely based on numerical data, and there are no errors caused by spilling game balls or leaving game balls on the lower tray or upper tray. It can be reliably managed in integer units. Note that foul balls basically do not occur with the structure of the upper firing device 12, which will be described later.

Further, in the above embodiment, the front component 45, the panel holder, and the transparent panel plate 44 are constructed as separate members, but they may be integrated, for example, by adhesive, or integrally molded to constitute a single member. You can also do that. In this way, when the front component 45, panel holder 43, etc. are integrally formed on the transparent panel plate 44, by providing the notch 47 in the game board 5, the front component 45 and the panel holder 43 have It is possible to prevent structural weakening of these members due to the frame structure (connected on all four sides) being cut.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the upper firing device viewed from the front right side, FIG. 17 is a front view of the upper firing device (launching hammer standby position), and FIG. 18 is a right side view of the upper firing device. It is.

[Battered ball launcher 29]
The ball firing device 29 is capable of driving the game ball supplied from the ball feeding device 28 into the game area 8 of the game board 5 with a force corresponding to the rotational operation of the ball hitting handle 10. The ball launcher 29 includes a firing solenoid 13 attached to the upper rear surface of a base plate 39 so that a rotational drive shaft 60 protrudes forward, and a firing hammer 30 that is rotatably fixed to the rotational drive shaft 60 of the firing solenoid 13. A hammer tip 61 fixed to the tip of the firing hammer 30, a rail member 33 attached to the front surface of the base plate 39 with a predetermined position on the movement locus of the hammer tip 61 as the firing position, and a rail member 33 that sets the firing position to the firing position. A firing stopper 34 that restricts the hammer tip 61 from rotating counterclockwise beyond the ball hitting position where the parked game ball can be hit, and a firing hammer 30 placed in a standby position (initial position) during its rotational movement. a return stopper 35 for regulating the return time, a firing ball confirmation switch 36 for detecting the presence or absence of a game ball parked at the firing position, a hinge 37 for the upper firing device, and a firing ball opening facing the game area 8. and a mouth 38 (see FIGS. 8, 9, 16, and 18).

Although detailed illustration of the firing solenoid 13 in the ball firing device 29 is omitted, a rotary drive shaft 60 rotates back and forth at a strength (speed) corresponding to the rotation angle of the ball hitting handle 10. The firing hammer 30 of the ball launcher 29 has a fixed part 301 fixed to the rotational drive shaft 60 of the firing solenoid 13, and extends from the fixed part 301 in a gentle arc shape, with its tip aligned with the axis of the rotational drive shaft 60. A rod portion 302 faces in the normal direction and has a hammer tip 61 fixed to its tip, and a stopper that extends to the opposite side of the rod portion 302 across the fixing portion 301 and can come into contact with the stopper 34 during firing. A contact portion 303 is provided. The stopper abutting portion 303 of the firing hammer 30 comes into contact with the firing stopper 34, thereby restricting rotation in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the front (see FIG. 8).

Further, a ball supply port 63 formed in a ball feeding unit base (described later) of the ball feeding device 28 is arranged directly above the rail member 33 of the ball firing device 29. The rail member 33 stops one game ball sent out from the ball supply port 63 at the shooting position by the ball sending operation of the ball sending member 32 of the ball sending device 28, which will be described later.

The rail member 33 is formed by bending a metal plate, and includes a mounting plate portion 331 that is attached and fixed to the base plate 39, and a rail portion 332 that is bent forward from the mounting plate portion 331. (See Figure 8). The rail section 332 for setting the firing position has a substantially L-shape inclined 45 degrees to the left when viewed from the front, and has a left rail plate 333 forming the left side of the rail section 332 and a right side of the rail section 332. and a right rail plate 334 (see FIG. 8). A through hole 335 is formed in the left rail plate 333, through which the hammer tip 61 passes when the firing hammer 30 hits a ball (see FIGS. 9 and 21).

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when viewed from the front, a portion of the right side of the ball launcher 29 of the upper launcher 12 from the center in the vertical direction to the lower end is exposed and arranged facing the game area 8. ing. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 16, a firing port decoration member 64 is disposed on the front right side of the base plate 39, and the firing port decoration member 64 is attached to the base plate 39 and a ball feeding unit base 67, which will be described later. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 16, the firing port decoration member 64 is arranged so that the right side portion and the lower side portion thereof face the game area 8 and are exposed. The face part and the lower side part are formed into a ball entry prevention wall 51 that prevents game balls launched into the game area 8 from entering the inside of the ball launcher 29. The launch port 38 is formed in a ball entry prevention wall 51 on the right side of the launch port decoration member 64, and the ball entry prevention wall 51 surrounds the launch port 38 and extends from approximately the same plane as the rear end surface of the game area 8. It has an arch shape that rises toward the front.

As understood with reference to FIGS. 8 and 16, the ejection port 38 is located diagonally above and to the right with respect to the rail portion 332 when viewed from the front. As understood from FIGS. 8 and 17, the distance between the rail portion 332 (launch position) and the launch port 38 is short (about twice the diameter of the game ball P), and therefore, the launch distance is short, It is possible to reliably hit the fired game ball into the game area 8 without generating foul balls.

The launch ball confirmation switch 36 detects the presence or absence of a game ball that is parked at the launch position, and detects whether or not a game ball is detected by the game ball at the launch position being hit by the launch hammer 30 and fired. By switching to , it is detected that one game ball has been fired by the firing hammer 30.

The shot ball confirmation switch 36 is made of a transmission type photosensor, and has a light projecting section and a light receiving section arranged so as to straddle the rail section 332 that sets the shooting position. The shot ball confirmation switch 36 is supported by a photo bracket 361 and positioned relative to the shooting position, and the photo bracket 361 is attached and fixed to the lower front surface of the base plate 39.

The ball launcher 29 includes a stopper cover 62 that covers the front surface of the firing stopper 34 that can restrict the end of rotation of the firing hammer 30 toward the ball hitting position, and a stopper cover 62 that covers the front surface of the firing stopper 34 that can restrict the rotation end of the firing hammer 30 toward the ball hitting position. A return stopper 35 is provided for regulating the rotation end (the rotation end in the clockwise direction when viewed from the front). The surfaces of the stoppers 34 and 35 are covered with rubber, so that they can absorb the impact when the firing hammer 30 comes into contact with them, and can also suppress the generation of noise due to the contact. .

Further, in the batted ball firing device 29, a firing solenoid 13 is driven by a ball information control section (described later) with a drive strength corresponding to the rotational operation of the batting ball handle 10, and a ball feeding device 28 is configured to drive a firing solenoid 13 with a drive strength corresponding to the rotational operation of the batting ball handle 10. The solenoid 31 is driven to perform a ball-hitting operation according to the drive timing described later (see FIG. 24). Specifically, in the ball sending device 28 that supplies game balls to the ball launching device 29, when the ball feeding solenoid 31 is activated (ON), the ball sending member 32 sends the received game ball to the ball launching device 29, and the state is changed. When the drive of the ball feeding solenoid 31 is released (OFF), the ball feeding member 32 receives the game ball.

In the batted ball firing device 29, when the batting ball handle 10 is operated for firing, the firing solenoid 13 is repeatedly energized and disconnected at a voltage corresponding to the amount of the operation. By energizing and de-energizing the firing solenoid 13, the firing hammer 30 rotates from the initial position (FIG. 17) in the firing direction (counterclockwise) to the firing position, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 17. After launching the parked game ball with the mallet tip 61 (FIG. 8), the firing operation of rotating clockwise and returning to the initial position is repeated.

[Ball feeding device 28]
Next, the ball feeding device 28 will be explained. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the ball feeding device 28 is mainly constructed as a unit, and has a ball inlet 66 connected to the front end of the ball feeding gutter 23 of the ball supply path member 24 shown in FIG. The ball feeder is connected to the gutter 65 and the elevating communication gutter 65, and has a ball supply port 63 for supplying the game balls entering from the elevating communication gutter 65 to the batted ball launching device 29, and is open at the rear. A unit base 67, a ball feeding unit cover 68 that closes the rear end of the ball feeding unit base 67 and is open at the front, a ball feeding solenoid 31 disposed at the bottom of the ball feeding unit base 67, and a ball feeding solenoid 31. The ball-feeding member 32 is provided with a ball-feeding member 32 that simultaneously realizes a ball-feeding operation and a return-ball blocking operation, which will be described later, by driving the ball.

The lifting communication gutter 65 is sloped gently downward from the rear end where the ball inlet 66 is formed toward the front end. The ball feeding unit base 67 is attached to the left side of the rear surface of the base plate 39, and the front end of the lifting communication gutter 65 is connected to the right side of the upper part, and is also connected to the front end of the lifting communication gutter 65 when viewed from the rear. A ball feed guide gutter 69 that slopes gently downward from the right side of the upper part to the center in the vertical direction toward the left in the left-right direction, and is bent downward in the middle, and the lower end of the ball feed guide gutter 69. It has a ball supply port 63 penetrating in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 11).

In addition, on the rear surface of the ball feeding unit cover 68, which is below the bent portion of the ball feeding guide gutter 69 and facing the upper portion of the ball supply port 63, there is a space for storing game balls waiting in the ball feeding guiding gutter 69. A launch standby ball detection switch 70 is provided to detect the presence or absence of the ball (see FIG. 10). The launch waiting ball detection switch 70 is composed of a flat type proximity switch that detects a game ball as a metal body by changing the impedance of a detection coil of a high frequency oscillation circuit.

The ball feed solenoid 31 of this embodiment is composed of an electromagnet, and is disposed at the lower part of the ball feed unit base 67 with a suction portion that exerts a suction function by energization facing downward. Further, the ball feeding member 32 is disposed adjacent to the left side of the ball feeding solenoid 31 and below the ball feeding unit base 67. The ball feeding member 32 in this embodiment is placed at an allowable position where the ball is allowed to pass through without interfering with the ball fired from the firing position by the ball hitting operation of the ball firing device 29, by energizing and de-energizing the ball feeding solenoid 31. and a return ball prevention part that is movable between the ball return ball and the return ball prevention position that prevents the return ball returning from the game area 8 to the launch port 38.

[Ball feeding member 32]
The ball feeding member 32 will be explained below. FIG. 18 is a right side view showing the upper firing device 12 (the ball feeding solenoid 31 is de-energized and the ball feeding member 32 is in the holding position and the return ball blocking position), and FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the upper firing device 12 taken along the line B (the ball feeding solenoid 31 is de-energized and the ball feeding member 32 is in the holding position and the return ball blocking position); FIG. It is a perspective view showing the ball feeding member 32, the ball feeding shaft, and the ball feeding sheet metal from diagonally backward.

21 is a right side view showing the upper firing device 12 (the ball feeding solenoid 31 is energized and the ball feeding member is in the supply position and the allowable position), and FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the upper firing device shown broken away along lines (ball feed solenoid 31 is energized, ball feed member 32 is in the supply position and the allowable position).

As shown in FIG. 20, a shaft hole 75 is formed in the middle of the ball feeding member 32 in the vertical direction and extends in the left-right direction. A ball feeding shaft 76 is inserted into the shaft hole 75 with both ends protruding, and both ends of the ball feeding shaft 76 in the left and right direction are supported by a ball feeding unit base 67. Thereby, the ball feeding member 32 is supported so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction with the ball feeding shaft 76 as the rotation center.

Further, an arm portion 77 is formed extending rearward in the middle of the ball feeding member 32, and a lower end of the arm portion 77 is provided with an actuator extending downward from the ball feeding solenoid 31, as shown in FIG. A rod portion 72 is formed, a sheet metal accommodating portion 73 is formed in the operating rod portion 72, and a ball feeding sheet metal 71 made of a metal material that is attracted by a magnet is stored in the sheet metal accommodating portion 73.

A sheet metal locking pawl 78 is formed directly below the sheet metal accommodating portion 73 to protrude rearward and prevent the ball feeding sheet metal 71 from falling off. This prevents the ball feeding sheet metal 71 from falling off from the sheet metal accommodating portion 73.

As shown in FIG. 20, a latching projection 79 is formed at the end of the operating rod portion 72, and one end of the tension spring 52 shown in FIG. 19 is latched to the latching projection 79. Further, the other end of the tension spring 52 is hooked to a spring locking portion 53 formed on the lower bottom surface of the ball feeding unit base 67, as shown in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIG. 20, a roof-shaped ball feeding portion 74 is formed above the shaft hole 75 of the ball feeding member 32 and integrally with the ball feeding member 32 toward the lower edge of the ball supply port 63. There is. The ball feeding part 74 is formed in a mountain shape with the center of the upper surface rising upward, and extends from the center toward the front, that is, in FIG. The ball feeding guide surface 80 is sloped downward toward the lower edge, and the arcuate convex surface extends backward from the center, that is, toward the ball feeding unit cover 68 that closes the rear end of the ball feeding guide gutter 69 in FIG. A ball holding surface 81 is provided with a downward slope. Furthermore, a hanging piece 82 that hangs downward is formed at the rear end of the ball holding surface 81 of the ball sending part 74.

Moreover, the upper part of the ball feeding member 32 in the vertical direction passes through the ball feeding unit base 67 toward the front, and as shown in FIGS. 18, 20, and 21, the rail portion 332 (launching position) A rectangular frame-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 is formed extending toward the ball hitting path from the center of the ball returning ball blocking portion 83, and a ball passing opening 85 having a rectangular opening is formed in the center of the returning ball blocking portion 83.

As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, a frame-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 formed integrally with the ball sending member 32 is arranged adjacent to the firing port 38 in the firing position direction. Further, a ball stopper part 84 is formed on the front side of the frame of the return ball preventer part 83 in the direction of the firing position, the ball stopper part 84 having a horizontal bottom part and protruding in a triangular shape toward the rail part 332. The ball stopping portion 84 is disposed in front of the ball sending portion 74 and facing the ball sending portion 74 at a distance above the firing position.

Further, on the ball feeding unit cover 68, a ball guide protrusion 54 whose longitudinal section is shaped like a dogleg toward the front is formed at a position facing the ball supply port 63 behind the ball supply port 63. A forward guiding surface 55 facing the ball supply port 63 and having an arcuate concave shape is formed on the upper part of the ball guide protrusion 54 facing forward. The lower part of the ball guide protrusion 54 is curved in a convex manner toward the rear, and the ball feed member 32 is rotated about the ball feed shaft 76 in the front-rear direction in a space below the lower part of the ball guide protrusion 54 . In the rotational movement, the ball feeding section 74 is capable of retracting. Further, a stopper piece 56 is formed at the lower end of the ball guide protrusion 54 so as to protrude toward the front.

[Ball feeding operation and return ball blocking operation of ball feeding member 32]
The ball sending operation and return ball preventing operation by the ball sending member 32 of the ball sending device 28 configured as above will be explained. When the ball feed solenoid 31 is in a non-energized state, it is engaged with a locking protrusion 79 at the end of the operating rod portion 72 of the ball feed member 32 and a spring locking portion 53 formed on the lower bottom surface of the ball feed unit base 67. Due to the tensile force of the stopped tension spring 52, the lower end of the ball feeding member 32 is pulled toward the ball feeding unit base 67.

As shown in FIG. 18, in a normal state (when the ball feeding solenoid 31 is in a non-energized state), the ball feeding member 32 is in a rotational posture with the ball feeding shaft 76 as the rotation center. The blocking part 83 assumes a posture tilted toward the rear, and when viewed from the side from the gaming area 8, that is, the ball is immediately ejected from the ejection port 38 on the ball path from the ejection position of the ball ejection device 29 to the ejection port 38. In the position direction side, the portion of the return ball blocking portion 83 located in front of the frame is in a posture that crosses the launch port 38, and the ball passing port 85 is in a position that crosses the launch port 38 in the ball batting path. is shifted to the rear, making it impossible for the ball to pass through the batted ball passage hole 85 on the batted ball path. That is, in this attitude, the return ball blocking portion 83 assumes a return ball blocking position that prevents the return ball returning from the game area 8 to the launch port 38 from entering.

After the ball is fired, the return ball blocking part 83 takes the return ball blocking position, so that the return ball blocking part 83 blocks the game ball shot into the game area 8 from becoming a return ball and entering the launch port 38. Since the ball can be prevented from returning, it is possible to prevent the player from losing interest in the game due to the ball returning.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 19, in the normal state (when the ball feeding solenoid 31 is in a non-energized state), the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feeding section 74 of the ball feeding member 32 is attached to the ball guiding surface of the ball feeding unit cover 68. The hanging piece 82 formed at the lower end of the ball feeding part 74 comes into contact with the stopper piece 56, and the ball feeding member 32 is in a rotating position about the ball feeding shaft 76. , is restricted to the holding position during ball feeding operation.

In the holding position, the ball feeding guide surface 80 of the ball feeding section 74 is located in front of the lower end of the front guiding surface 55 of the ball guide protrusion 54, and is located on an extension line in the tangential direction of the front guiding surface 55. In addition, the ball stopper 84 approaches the ball supply port 63, the game ball P1 fits into the gap between the lower end of the ball supply port 63 and the ball stopper 84, and the game ball P1 remains. becomes.

[Excitation of ball feed solenoid 31]
When the ball feeding solenoid 31 is excited by energizing, the ball feeding sheet metal 71 is attracted upward by the electromagnetic function, and the operating rod portion 72 of the ball feeding member 32 moves upward against the tensile force of the tension spring 52. The ball feeding member 32 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 19 about the ball feeding shaft 76, and as shown in FIGS. Move to a permissible position that allows.

As a result, the ball stopper 84 moves forward from the position close to the ball supply port 63, and at the same time, the ball feeder 74 moves forward and sends out the game ball P1 that has been staying at the holding position to the firing position (Fig. 22 reference).

As shown in FIG. 21, when the ball feed solenoid 31 is in the energized state, the rectangular frame-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 assumes an upright posture in a rotating posture about the ball feeding shaft 76, and the game area 8, that is, in the ball hitting path from the firing position of the ball launching device 29 to the firing port 38, at a position immediately on the firing position direction side of the firing port 38, with respect to the firing port 38 in the ball hitting path. The batted ball passage holes 85 are at the coincident position, and the ball is allowed to pass through the batted ball passage holes 85 on the batted ball path. That is, in this attitude, the return ball blocking portion 83 assumes a permissible position that allows the batted ball to pass without interfering with the batted ball fired from the firing position.

As shown in FIG. 22, when the ball feeding solenoid 31 is in an excited state, the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feeding section 74 is located in front of the ball guide protrusion 54 of the ball feeding unit cover 68 at the supply position in the ball feeding operation. However, the subsequent game ball P2 fits into the gap between the upper end of the ball supply port 63 and the ball holding surface 81 of the ball sending part 74, and the subsequent game ball P2 remains in a state. By the ball feeding operation described above, the ball feeding member 32 feeds the game balls aligned and stored in the ball feeding guide trough 69 one by one to the shooting position of the ball firing device 29.

Moreover, FIG. 24 is a time chart showing the drive timing of the ball feed solenoid 31 and the firing solenoid 13. The firing solenoid 13 is turned on when period A has elapsed from the time the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on, and the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off when period B has elapsed from the time the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, and the ball is fed. The firing solenoid 13 is turned off after a period C has elapsed from the time when the solenoid 31 was turned off.

In this embodiment, period A is 300 ms, period B is 30 ms, and period C is 50 ms. When the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball is sent to the shooting position (rail portion 332) by the ball feeding member 32. That is, the fired ball confirmation switch 36 detects the fired ball. In this embodiment, if a game ball that is stopped at the firing position is detected by the firing ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time (period D is 30 ms), it is determined that there is a firing ball. do.

In this way, when a game ball parked at the firing position is detected by the firing ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that there is a firing ball, so that firing due to noise can be avoided. Erroneous ball counting can be eliminated, and reliability in detecting shot balls can be increased.

According to the driving timing of the ball feeding solenoid 31 and the firing solenoid 13 shown in FIG. 24, operation control is performed by the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control section 118, which will be described later. That is, when the return ball blocking portion 83 of the ball sending member 32 is in the permissible position, the ball firing device 29 is operated to cause the ball firing hammer 30 to perform a ball hitting operation, and the ball firing device 29 is activated in a manner determined in advance from the time of activation of the ball firing device 29. After the specified time (30 ms) has elapsed, the ball sending solenoid 31 is deenergized and the return ball blocking part 83 is moved to the returning ball blocking position, so that the returning ball is blocked by the returning ball blocking part 83. control.

According to this, when the return ball blocking portion 83 takes the permissible position, the ball is allowed to pass without interfering with the ball fired from the firing position, so there is no interference with the fired ball, so the game It is possible to prevent a player from feeling distrustful about hitting a ball at a targeted position, and it is possible to prevent a decline in interest in the game.

After the ball is fired, the return ball blocking part 83 takes the return ball blocking position, so that the return ball blocking part 83 blocks the game ball shot into the game area 8 from becoming a return ball and entering the launch port 38. Since the ball can be prevented from returning, it is possible to prevent the player from losing interest in the game due to the ball returning.

In this embodiment, since the return ball prevention part 83 is formed integrally with the ball sending member 32, the ball is sent to the firing position by energizing and de-energizing one electric drive source (ball feeding solenoid 31). and prevention of ball return can be achieved at the same time. That is, when the ball sending member 32 assumes the supply position, the ball passing port 85 is located on the ball path through which the game balls fired from the firing position pass, while when the ball sending member 32 takes the holding position, the ball passes through the ball path. A frame-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 is provided such that the ball passing opening 85 is located at the retracted position.

When the ball sending member 32 takes the supply position, the return ball blocking part 83 takes the permissible position and does not interfere with the ball fired from the firing position, which prevents the game ball from hitting the target position. It is possible to prevent the player from feeling distrustful, and it is possible to prevent the player from losing interest in the game.

Further, when the ball sending member 32 moves to the holding position, the return ball blocking part 83 simultaneously moves to the return ball blocking position, so that the game ball fired into the game area 8 becomes a return ball and enters the firing port 38. Since the ball can be blocked and the ball can be prevented from returning, it is possible to prevent the return ball from reducing interest in the game.

Furthermore, the gaming machine described in Patent Document 1 mentioned above has a structure in which the ball is forcibly pried open by the ball to prevent a return ball blocking the ball opening, and the ball is shot or pushed out into the game area. For this reason, an electrical drive source to perform the ball-striking action must be of a size and power commensurate with the size and power, and it is necessary to supply a large current to obtain the ball-striking force, which consumes a large amount of power. be.

On the other hand, in the upper firing device 12 of this example, when the firing hammer 30 performs a ball-hitting operation, the return ball blocking portion 83 of the ball sending member 32 is located at the permissible position (the ball passage opening 85) where the ball is allowed to pass through. Since the firing port 38 is in a state in which the ball is aligned with the ball hitting path, and there is no interference with the shot ball, it is sufficient to provide the ball hitting force sufficient to launch the ball into the game area 8, so the power is small. This can be adequately addressed by adopting an electric drive source. Therefore, the electric drive source can be made smaller and thinner, and the power consumption required for driving it can also be kept low.

Further, as shown in FIG. 24, the firing solenoid 13 is energized for a period C from the time when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, and the hammer tip 61 penetrates and protrudes through the through hole 335 of the rail portion 332 (FIG. 9). Therefore, it is possible to prevent the game ball from being stopped on the rail portion 332, and it is possible to prevent the ball from returning and to make the erroneous counting of the fired balls more reliable.

Although the return ball prevention portion 83 of this embodiment is shown as having a rectangular frame shape and having a batted ball passage hole 85 in the center, the shape of the return ball prevention portion 83 is not limited to this, and for example, , may be strip-shaped, or rod-shaped, and may not include the batted ball passage opening 85. That is, on the ball hitting path from the firing position to the firing port 38, the permissible position is provided adjacent to the firing position direction of the firing port 38 and allows the batted ball to pass through without interfering with the batted ball fired from the firing position. and a return ball blocking position that prevents the return ball from entering the firing port 38 from the game area 8.

In the enclosed ball game machine of the present embodiment described above, the ball lifting device 22 is located behind the upper firing device 12 located at the front part of the main body frame 2 and on one side of the upper part of the main body frame 2. The ball lifting device 22 is attached to the rear surface, and the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 is disposed above the ball feeding device 28, and the ball lifting device 22 is installed between the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 and the upper part of the upper firing device 12. A ball supply path member 24 extending in the front-rear direction is provided for feeding the game balls lifted and transported from above to the ball feeding device 28.

With the above-described configuration, the ball supply path member 24 connects various members (movable body, power transmission mechanism for driving the movable body (for example, gear train), left and right) attached to the rear of the game board 5. The ball can be mounted at the rear of the gaming machine without interfering with the slide rail for guiding the direction, the drive motor as the drive source, the position detection sensor for detecting the position of the movable body, the LED board, the relay board, etc. The game ball lifted to the upper part of the main body frame 2 by the lifting device 22 can be smoothly sent to the upper firing device 12.

Furthermore, since the ball supply path member does not obstruct various members attached to the rear of the game board, the space formed at the rear of the upper firing device 12 can be provided at the rear of the game board 5. This can be applied to the placement space of each member.

Further, the upper firing device 12 shown in FIG. 23 employs an electric drive source that is smaller and thinner than the conventional one for the reasons mentioned above. As shown in FIG. 23, the electric drive source (emission solenoid 13) of the batted ball launcher can be made smaller and thinner, so the electric drive source does not protrude behind the upper launcher 12. Accordingly, a wider arrangement space 57 for each member attached to the rear of the game board 5 can be secured.

Further, the upper firing device 12 of this embodiment is supported by the main body frame 2 by the upper firing device hinge 37, and can be removed from the main body frame 2 by removing the fixture 49 and rotating it (FIG. 12). , easy to attach and detach from the main body frame.

In this case, when the upper firing device 12 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2, even if there are game balls remaining in the ball sending gutter 23, the ball sending gutter 23 is installed so that the game balls do not spill out. A spill ball prevention means is provided to shield the game ball supply path by the lifting and conveying gutter 65.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the ball spill prevention means (ball outlet opening/closing unit) will be described. FIG. 25 is a front perspective view of the ball outlet opening/closing unit, and FIG. 26 is a rear perspective view of the ball outlet opening/closing unit. Moreover, FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the upper firing unit and the ball outlet opening/closing unit.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 23, the ball supply path member 24 is formed at the upper end of the ball lifting device 22, and includes a ball sending gutter 23 that sends out the lifted game balls from above to the front, and an upper firing unit. 12 and a lifting communication gutter 65 that is connected to the ball sending gutter 23, and the inside thereof serves as a game ball supply passage as described above. When the upper firing unit 12 is fixed to the main body frame 2, by opening the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery gutter 23, the ball outlet 58 and the ball inlet 66 at the rear end of the lifting communication gutter 65 are connected. Through this communication, game balls can be supplied from the ball outlet 58 to the ball inlet 66.

The ball feeding device of the upper firing device 12 includes an opening/closing actuating piece 426 on the right side of the ball feeding unit cover for operating the opening/closing shutter 412 of the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 (FIG. 27). When the upper firing device 12 is attached from the front to fix it to the main body frame 2, the opening/closing actuating piece 426 comes into contact with the spherical contact portion 424 of the opening/closing crank 413 in the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410. The opening/closing crank 413 is rotated to open the opening/closing shutter 412 to open the game ball supply passage.

[Ball outlet opening/closing unit]
The ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 in the main body frame 2 of this embodiment is attached to the mounting member 407 attached to the lower surface of the ball sending gutter 23 of the ball lifting device 22, and is attached to the mounting member 407 attached to the lower surface of the ball sending gutter 23 of the ball lifting device 22. When the device 12 is opened, the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball sending gutter 23 in the ball lifting device 22 is closed to shield the game ball supply passage, and the balls from the ball lifting device 22 to the upper firing device 12 are closed. It is possible to block the flow of game balls to the feeding device 28.

The ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 includes a shutter base 411 attached to a hanging wall 408 facing in the vertical direction of the mounting member 407, a plate-shaped opening/closing shutter 412 held slidably in the vertical direction by the shutter base 411, and a shutter base 412 that can be opened/closed. It includes an opening/closing crank 413 that slides the shutter 412 in the vertical direction, and an opening/closing spring 414 that urges the opening/closing shutter 412 to rise via the opening/closing crank 413.

The shutter base 411 of the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 has a pair of slide grooves 415 extending in the vertical direction for holding the opening/closing shutter 412 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction so as to protrude upward from the upper end of the shutter base 411; A rectangular opening 416 that penetrates in the front-back direction between the pair of slide grooves 415, and a crank that is arranged at the front of the left end when viewed from the front and supports the opening/closing crank 413 so as to be rotatable around an axis extending in the front-back direction. It includes a support portion 417 and a spring locking portion 418 that locks one end (upper end) of the opening/closing spring 414. The crank support part 417 of the shutter base 411 is arranged on the left side of the opening 416 when viewed from the front, and the spring locking part 418 is arranged near the upper left side of the center in the left-right direction when seen from the front.

The opening/closing shutter 412 of the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 includes a flat shutter body 419 and a pair of sliding protrusions (not shown) that protrude from the front surface of the shutter body 419 and slide within the sliding groove 415 of the shutter base 411. ), and a horizontally long rectangular drive hole 420 that is disposed between the pair of sliding protrusions and faces from the opening 416 of the shutter base 411 and penetrates in the front-rear direction.

The opening/closing crank 413 of the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 includes a shaft portion 421 that is rotatably supported by a crank support portion 417 of the shutter base 411 around an axis extending in the front-rear direction, and a shaft portion 421 that is rotatably supported by a crank support portion 417 of the shutter base 411, and a shaft portion 421 that is rotatably supported by a crank support portion 417 of a shutter base 411. A driving rod 422 that extends outward and whose tip extends to near the center in the left-right direction of the opening 416, and a driving rod 422 that protrudes rearward from the tip of the driving rod 422 and is slidably inserted into the driving hole 412b of the opening/closing shutter 412. a driving pin 423 that extends downward from the lower outer periphery of the shaft portion 421 when viewed from the front and has a spherical tip; (lower end).

In the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410, when the opening/closing crank 413 rotates around an axis extending in the front-rear direction, the driving pin 423 of the opening/closing crank 413 rotates in an arc shape in the vertical direction, and at the same time, the driving pin 423 is inserted. The opening/closing shutter 412 is configured to slide in the vertical direction through the drive hole 420.

In this ball outlet opening/closing unit 410, when the upper firing device 12 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, the contact portion 424 of the opening/closing crank 413 contacts the opening/closing actuating piece 426 of the upper firing device 12, and the contact portion 424 rotates clockwise when viewed from the front against the biasing force of the opening/closing spring 414, and the drive pin 423 rotates together with the contact portion 424 in the clockwise direction when viewed from the front. , the opening/closing shutter 412 can be lowered to open the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery gutter 23. That is, the ball outlet 58 and the ball inlet 66 at the rear end of the lifting and feeding communication gutter 65 are communicated with each other, so that game balls can be supplied from the ball outlet 58 to the ball inlet 66.

When the upper firing device 12 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2 from this state, the contact portion 424 of the opening/closing crank 413 and the opening/closing actuating piece 426 of the upper firing device 12 are released, and the opening/closing crank 413 is moved by the opening/closing spring. At the same time as the opening/closing shutter 412 is rotated counterclockwise in the front view by the biasing force of the ball 414, the opening/closing shutter 412 is raised to close the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball sending trough 23 (Fig. 27 ).

In this way, the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball sending gutter 23 in the ball lifting device 22 can be automatically opened and closed by the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410 in accordance with the attachment and detachment of the upper firing device 12 to the main body frame 2. Even if the upper firing device 12 is opened with game balls remaining in the ball sending gutter 23, the game balls can be prevented from spilling out from the ball outlet 58.

Here, at the location where the ball outlet 58 of the ball sending gutter 23 and the ball inlet 66 of the lifting and feeding communication gutter 65 are connected, as schematically shown in FIG. 103, the width (d1) of the ball outlet 58 is The width (d2) of the ball inlet 66 is made sufficiently large so that the ball inlet 66 swallows the ball outlet 58. As shown in the figure, the ball outlet 58 is cylindrical and the ball inlet 66 is wax shaped. It is preferable to arrange the gutter 23 side higher and the lifting communication gutter 65 side lower. The game ball sent up by the ball lifting device 22 passes through the ball sending gutter 23 and smoothly moves to the lifting communication gutter 65 side.

Since the level difference at the boundary between the ball outlet 58 and the ball inlet 66 is lower on the side where the slope of the game ball supply path is lower, the movement of the game balls is not hindered due to the level difference at this location. Although it is a simple configuration, when the upper firing device 12 is reattached to the main body frame 2 after inspection etc., the connection between the ball delivery gutter 23 and the lifting communication gutter 65 can be ensured.
The connection between the ball outlet 58 of the ball delivery gutter 23 and the ball inlet 66 of the lift communication gutter 65 was taken up as an example; The present invention can be applied to a wide range of connection points through which game balls pass, such as the connection point between the ball collecting section 21 and the ball lifting device 22, to simplify the work when assembling parts.

At this time, the floor surface 65b of the lifting communication gutter 65 and the floor surface 23g of the ball sending gutter 23 are both inclined toward the firing device 28 side (FIG. 6), and as shown in FIG. The surface 65b is lower than the floor surface 23g, and at the end that becomes the ball outlet 58, the floor surface 23g of the ball delivery gutter 23 is formed in a slanted or arcuate cross section toward the floor surface 65b. For this reason, when the slide shutter 23c is opened and the ball outlet 58 and the ball inlet 66 communicate with each other, the game balls in the ball sending gutter 23 are transferred to the lifting and feeding communication as shown in FIGS. It moves smoothly to the gutter 65.

Furthermore, the ball inlet 66 of the lifting communication gutter 65 is formed larger than the ball outlet 58 of the ball sending gutter 23, so that when the game board 5 is mounted on the main body frame 2, the ball inlet 66 is larger than the ball outlet 58 of the ball sending gutter 23. Even if the ball entrance 66 is slightly deviated in the left-right direction or the vertical direction, the game balls can be reliably delivered. The degree to which the ball inlet 66 is formed larger than the ball outlet 58 is preferably such that the gap created when the ball inlet 66 and the ball outlet 58 communicate with each other is narrower than the diameter of the game ball.

[Irregular sphere/magnetic sphere ejection unit]
FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating the magnetic ball discharge part cover separated from FIG. 28 and turned over. FIG. 30 is a plan view of the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 31 is a rear view of the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating the base plate of the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating the irregular-shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit separated into the irregular-shaped sphere discharging unit and the magnetic sphere discharging unit. FIG. 34 is a diagram illustrating the path through which irregularly shaped spheres and magnetic spheres are discharged in the irregularly shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating a situation in which the magnetic sphere is separated from the circulation path and discharged. FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the magnetic balls have reached the magnetic ball ejection slope.

As shown in FIG. 28, the irregular-shaped sphere/magnetic sphere ejection unit 20 has an irregular-shaped sphere ejection function and a magnetic sphere ejection function. Note that the irregularly shaped ball is a spherical object such as a bearing that has a smaller diameter than a regular game ball. The irregularly shaped ball/magnetic ball ejecting unit 20 is a transparent resin molded product, and is arranged at the lower part of the game machine main body (the irregularly shaped ball/magnetic ball ejecting unit accommodating section 19). It has a configuration in which the sides are covered with a rear plate (ball receiving gutter base 201). At the top, there are out balls that flowed down without winning in various winning holes (special variable winning device, general winning hole, normal variable winning device) and safe balls that entered various winning holes and flowed down the safe ball ejection route. A collection port 202 for collecting game balls is provided. The out ball flows into the collection port 202 via the out port 42 (see FIGS. 2, 3, and 5). The safe ball flows into the collection port 202 via the winning port 41 (see FIG. 5).

A circulation path within the irregular-shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 that communicates with the collection port 202 is formed by meandering left and right inside the irregular-shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 and folding up and down. It is equipped with a detection switch 203, a deformed ball ejection section 204, a magnetic ball ejection section 205, a ball path full detection switch 206, and a ball appropriate amount detection switch 207. The game balls that have flowed into the collection port 202 form a line and move along a circulation path within the irregularly shaped balls/magnetic spheres discharge unit 20, reaching the ball collection section 21 connected to the irregularly shaped balls/magnetic spheres discharge unit 20. However, in order to prevent the irregularly shaped balls and magnetic balls from moving to the ball collecting section 21, they are separated from the regular game ball circulation path within the irregularly shaped balls/magnetic ball ejecting unit 20 and are discharged outside the irregularly shaped balls/magnetic ball discharging unit 20. Ru.

Next, the movement of the game balls collected into the collection port 202 within the odd-shaped ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 will be explained in order. The number of game balls collected in the collection port 202 is counted one by one by a collected ball detection switch 203. The game balls that have passed through the recovered ball detection switch 203 reach the irregularly shaped ball discharge section 204. When the difference between the number of game balls detected by the recovered ball detection switch 203 and the fired ball detection means increases, it can be detected that an abnormality has occurred in the gaming machine.

The irregularly shaped ball ejector 204 includes an irregularly shaped ball ejector base 208 fixed to an irregularly shaped ball ejector base attachment part 212 provided on the ball receiving gutter base 201 and two bases fixed to the irregularly shaped ball ejector base 208. It is composed of deformed sphere separation shafts 209 and 210.

As shown in FIGS. 31 and 32, the irregularly shaped ball ejector base mounting portion 212 is a rectangular opening provided in the ball receiving gutter base 201. As shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 28, the irregularly shaped ball ejector base attachment part 212 is provided at an angle to the ball receiving gutter base 201 so that the side on the collection port 202 side is higher. As a result, the irregularly shaped ball separating shafts 209 and 210 are arranged at an angle, so that the game ball can move from the upstream side 213 (see FIG. 30) toward the downstream side 214.

FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating the irregular-shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharging unit separated into the irregular-shaped sphere discharging unit and the magnetic sphere discharging unit. FIG. 33(a) shows the irregularly shaped ball ejecting section 204. FIG. 33(b) shows the magnetic ball ejecting section 205.

The irregularly shaped ball ejecting unit 204 utilizes the difference in diameter between regular game balls and irregular balls to eliminate irregular balls with a smaller diameter than the regular game balls from the circulation path within the irregularly shaped ball/magnetic ball discharging unit 20. . As shown in FIG. 30, the irregular sphere discharge section 204 includes two irregular sphere separation shafts 209 and 210 having circular cross sections and arranged in parallel from the upstream side 213 to the downstream side 214 of the circulation path. In order to exclude irregularly shaped balls, that is, inert balls with a smaller diameter than regular game balls, from the circulation path in which regular game balls circulate, the gap distance between the two irregularly shaped ball separating shafts 209 and 210 is set on the upstream side 213. The irregularly shaped ball separating shaft is designed so that it is narrower than the diameter of a regular game ball and wider than the diameter of a regular game ball on the downstream side 214, that is, so that the distance between both irregularly shaped ball separating shafts 209, 210 gradually increases. 209 and 210 are fixed to the base 208 of the irregular-shaped ball ejector.

The game balls that flow down one by one into the irregular-shaped ball discharge section 204 via the collection port 202 and the collected-ball detection switch 203 are rolled down as they straddle the two irregular-shaped ball separation shafts 209 and 210. do. On the upstream side, the gap distance between the two irregular ball separation shafts 209, 210 is narrower than the diameter of the regular game balls, so the regular game balls do not fall from between the irregular ball separation shafts 209, 210.

On the other hand, the irregular ball, which is an irregularly shaped ball with a smaller diameter than the regular game ball, falls from between the two irregularly shaped ball separation shafts 209 and 210. The fallen irregular spheres are discharged to the outside of the irregular sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 from the irregular sphere discharge port 216 via the irregular sphere discharge path 215, as shown in FIG. 33(a). The irregular-shaped ball discharge path 215 is formed by the irregular-shaped ball discharge route forming member 217 attached to the front side of the ball receiving gutter base 201 and below the irregular-shaped ball discharge unit base 208. Note that the irregular-shaped ball ejection path forming member 217 is also integrally provided with a communication path 218 that guides balls having the same diameter as regular game balls to the magnetic ball ejection section 205.

A game ball of regular size that rolls down the two irregularly shaped ball separating shafts 209, 210 falls from between the two irregularly shaped ball separating shafts 209, 210 on the downstream side 214, and passes through the communication path 218. Then, it reaches a circulation path 219 formed in the magnetic ball discharge section 205.

The magnetic ball discharge part 205 is fixed to the ball receiving gutter base 201 as shown in FIG. FIG. 33 shows a state in which the magnetic ball ejection part 205 is removed from the ball receiving gutter base 201. A slope 220 connected to the communication path 218 is formed in the magnetic ball ejecting section 205. A falling surface 221 that descends steeply is connected to the downstream side of the slope 220, and a drop surface 221 that descends steeply is connected to the downstream side of the slope 220. , a magnetic ball ejection inclined surface 222 is formed. A gap between the discontinuous portions 223 is provided so that the inclined surface 220 and the magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 222 are not continuous. In the magnetic ball ejecting section 205, a magnet is attached to at least one of the side wall 224 and the ceiling wall 225 on the front surface, the back surface thereof, or the interior thereof.

FIG. 35 shows an example in which a magnet 229 is attached to a magnet housing space 230 on the back side of a ceiling wall 225. The magnet housing space 230 is formed as a space arranged along the back side of the ceiling wall 225 and has a rectangular cross section. The magnet 229 is a flat magnet, and is a permanent magnet having an N pole or an S pole on one side and an S pole or an N pole on the other side. The magnetic force of the magnet is not so strong that the game balls (magnetic balls 232) made of magnetic material are attracted and their rolling is inhibited, but they flow down the area of the slope 220 and fall from the discontinuous portion 223. It is sufficient that the magnetic ball can reach the magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 222. Note that the attached magnet may be a permanent magnet or an electromagnet.

The regular game balls 233 flowing from the communication path 218 roll down the slope 220, and flow down from the slope 220 while rolling on the falling surface 221. The regular non-magnetic game balls 233 fall through the discontinuous portion 223 and pass through the circulation path 219 to reach the ball gathering section 21 connected to the irregular ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20.

On the other hand, the irregular sphere (magnetic sphere 232 ) made of a magnetic material sticks to the inner wall surface of the ceiling wall 225 due to the attractive force of the magnet 229 housed in the magnet housing space 230 , and moves along the circulation path 219 upstream of the inclined surface 220 . It flows down from the side to the downstream side while rolling due to the action of gravity. Then, as shown in FIG. 35, the magnetic balls 232 reach the area of the magnetic ball discharge slope 222 (see FIG. 28) as shown in FIG. 36 without falling from the discontinuous portion 223. Irregular balls made of magnetic material that have reached the region of the magnetic ball ejection slope 222 are ejected to the outside of the irregularly shaped sphere/magnetic ball ejection unit 20 from the magnetic ball ejection port 227 via the magnetic ball ejection path 226 (see FIG. 34). ).

A portion of the ceiling wall 225 above the magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 222 is configured as a magnetic force adjustment section 231. The magnetic force adjustment section 231 is formed such that the distance between the magnet housing space 230 and the magnetic ball ejection path 226 increases as the magnetic ball ejection path 226 goes downstream. In FIG. 35, the magnetic ball ejection path 226 has a curved portion, and this curved portion functions as the magnetic force adjustment section 231. As a result, the distance between the magnetic balls 232 and the magnets 229 becomes longer as it goes downstream of the magnetic ball discharge path 226. Then, the magnetic force (attractive force) of the magnet 229 acting on the magnetic ball 232 gradually decreases. Therefore, the magnetic balls 232 that were stuck to the wall surface of the ceiling wall 225 and were moving in the downstream direction separate from the wall surface of the ceiling wall 225 and fall onto the magnetic ball ejection slope 222. The magnetic ball is then discharged from the magnetic ball discharge port 227 via the magnetic sphere discharge path 226 .

The irregular spheres and the irregular magnetic spheres are discharged to the outside of the irregular sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 from the irregular sphere discharge port 216 and the magnetic sphere discharge port 227, respectively (FIG. 34). The irregularly shaped spheres or magnetic spheres discharged from the irregularly shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 are collected in the discharged ball receiving box 234 (see FIGS. 2, 3, and 5). In this way, by using the irregularly shaped ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20, irregular balls made of irregularly shaped balls and magnetic substances can be removed from the regular game ball circulation path 219. In this embodiment, the configuration can be simplified by using gravity to discharge the irregular shaped spheres and magnetic spheres to the outside of the irregular shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20. The irregular-shaped sphere discharge path 215 is arranged along the side surface of the magnetic sphere discharge section 205, and the irregular-shaped sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 can be configured compactly.

The irregularly shaped ball/magnetic ball ejection unit 20 can remove irregularly shaped balls or irregular balls made of magnetic material from the regular game ball circulation path 219 without stopping the game, thereby preventing a decrease in player interest. On the other hand, it is possible to reduce the chances that game hall employees will be called to each game machine to handle illegal balls and deal with malfunctions of the game machines. Note that the irregularly shaped ball ejecting section 204 and the magnetic ball ejecting section 205 may each be configured independently. That is, when ejecting the irregularly shaped balls is performed by other components within the gaming machine, the magnetic ball ejecting section 205 may be configured alone.

An embodiment of the enclosed ball game machine of the present invention includes a game board in which a game area is partitioned, a main body frame into which the game board is fitted and housed, and a main body frame arranged on the upper part of the main body frame, a batted ball firing device that fires a game ball toward the gaming area; and a batted ball firing device that collects the game balls fired by the batted ball firing device as enclosed balls on the back side of the game board, removes illegal balls, and returns the batted ball firing device to the game board. In order to supply to A ball feeding device that feeds balls one by one to the firing position of the batted ball launching device, a main control board that performs game control processing related to pachinko games, and a main control board that is connected to the main control board so as to be able to perform bidirectional data communication, and the game control processing control to increase or decrease the number of balls held based on a prize ball command transmitted from the main control board and information on the number of launched balls fired by the batted ball launcher; and control to launch game balls by the batted ball launcher. and a ball information control board for controlling feeding of game balls to the shooting position by the ball feeding device, and circulating a predetermined number of game balls in a closed manner without paying out the game balls. The ball firing device is configured to perform a ball hitting operation based on the driving of a firing rail for stopping a game ball at the firing position and an electric drive source, and the ball firing device performs a ball hitting operation based on driving of an electric drive source, The ball information control board includes a firing member that fires a game ball that is parked at the firing position, and a firing ball confirmation device that detects the game ball that is parked at the firing position, and the ball information control board is configured to fire the ball at a predetermined time. The launched ball detection and determination means determines that a launched ball is present when the launched ball confirmation means detects a game ball parked at the firing position, and the launched ball detection and determination means determines that a launched ball is present. Subtracting the number of held balls by determining that the game ball parked at the firing position has been fired and subtracting the number of held balls by one when the game ball is not detected by the fired ball confirmation means, on the condition that the determination has been made. It is composed of means and.

According to the above embodiment, the launched ball detection and determination means determines that there is a launched ball when the launched ball confirmation means detects a game ball that is stationary at the firing position for a predetermined period of time. On the condition that the shot ball detection and determination means has determined that there is a shot ball, if the shot ball confirmation means does not detect a game ball, it is determined that the game ball that was parked at the firing position has been fired, and the number of balls held is determined. is decremented by one, so if noise enters the shot ball confirmation means, it is possible to eliminate incorrect ball counts due to noise, increase the reliability of shot ball detection, and detect irregularly shaped balls. and magnetic balls can be excluded from the circulation path where regular game balls circulate.

[Sphere gathering part 21]
FIG. 37 is a front left perspective view of the ball collecting section and the ball lifting device, FIG. 38 is a front view of the ball collecting section and the ball lifting device, and FIG. 39 is a state in which the ball polishing cartridge is removed from the ball collecting section. FIG. Moreover, FIG. 40 is a rear perspective view showing a state in which the case of the ball collecting section and the cover of the ball lifting device are removed, FIG. 41 is an enlarged rear perspective view of the ball collecting section in FIG. 40, and FIG. is a further enlarged view of FIG. 41, and FIG. 43 is a plan view of the sphere gathering portion with the case removed.

The ball collecting section 21 (FIG. 41) includes a ball feeding passage 275, a ball polishing cartridge 251, a ball polishing cartridge mounting section 273 (FIG. 39), and a lifting/feeding inlet switch 156. The ball feeding passage 275 has a groove structure with walls on both sides disposed at the lower part of the entire ball collecting section 21, and includes a ball receiving port 275a connected to a ball outlet (not shown) of the irregularly shaped ball/magnetic ball ejecting unit 20. It has a ball feeding port 275b that opens into the ball feeding rotating body 350 (described later) (FIGS. 41, 42, and 43).

The ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 273 is an opening provided in the ball collecting portion 21 for attaching and removing a ball polishing cartridge 251, which will be described later (FIG. 39). The ball polishing cartridge 251 is removable from the front side of the gaming machine to the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 273, and a ball polishing cloth 263 is attached to the portion of the ball polishing cartridge 251 that faces the ball lifting device 22, which will be described later. (Figure 41). The lifting/feeding entrance switch 156 is provided on the outside of one wall constituting the ball feeding passage 275, and detects the presence or absence of a game ball passing through the ball feeding passage 275 (FIG. 41).

[Ball lifting device 22]
FIG. 44 is a rear perspective view showing a state in which the upper gearbox and the lower gearbox are removed. FIG. 45 is a right side view showing the ball lifting device with the cover removed, and FIG. 46 is an enlarged view of section (A) in FIG. 45. Moreover, FIG. 47 is a diagram showing the disassembled state of the screw, FIG. 48 is a perspective view showing the upper part of the ball lifting device, and FIG. 49 is a diagram showing the fitted and unfitted states of the screw and the fitting member. FIG.

The ball lifting device 22 includes a screw 25 (FIG. 40), a ball lifting motor 150 (FIGS. 38 and 48), a lifting guide rail 282 (FIGS. 40 and 44), and an upper gear box 356 (FIG. 37). , FIG. 40), the lower gear box 357 (FIGS. 37, 40), the ball feeding rotary body 350 (FIG. 40), the ball feeding inclined section 351 (FIGS. 40, 41), and the lifting section cover 353 ( 37), a spiral base cover 352 (FIG. 37), a lift slope member 354 (FIG. 46), and a ball delivery gutter 23 (FIGS. 44, 46, and 48).

The spiral base cover 352 and the lifting section cover 353 are cover members 368 arranged to surround the screw 25, and are made of transparent resin (acrylic resin). The spiral base cover 352 has an opening 281 diagonally provided in a portion of the ball gathering portion 21 that opposes the ball polishing cartridge 251 (FIG. 39).
Further, the upper surface of the cover member 368 is formed with a protrusion on which the lower surface of an upper gearbox 356 (described later) is installed (FIG. 69).

The screw 25 is disposed vertically inside the rectangular cylindrical cover member 368 from the base to the upper end of the ball lifting device 22. The cover member 368 is arranged so as to surround the screw 25 by assembling the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting section cover 353. The screw 25 is composed of a screw shaft 25a, two small pitch protruding members 25b located above and below, and four large pitch protruding members 25c located in the center (FIG. 45). . These are fitted into the screw shaft 25a.

The small pitch protrusion member 25b is composed of a cylindrical portion 25e and a spiral protrusion 25d (FIG. 45). As shown in FIG. 47, the small pitch protrusion member 25b is assembled by assembling a half-split body 25bR and a half-split body 25bL, which are divided into two on a vertical plane including the screw shaft 25a, with the screw shaft 25a in between. considered to be one. A pair of a concave portion 25g and a convex portion 25h are formed above and below on the cut surface of the cylindrical portion 25e, which is used to assemble the halves 25bR and 25bL on both sides, so that they can be integrated into one body. can.

Further, an upper edge recess 25j that opens upward is formed on the upper edge 25i of the half bodies 25bR and 25bL, and a lower edge convex portion 25m that projects downward is formed on the lower edge 25k. These upper edge concave portion 25j and lower edge convex portion 25m are for vertically connecting the small pitch protruding member 25b and the large pitch protruding member 25c, and transmitting rotation to each other.

The same applies to the large-pitch protruding member 25c, which is given the same reference numeral and a detailed description thereof will be omitted, but the pitch of the spiral protruding member 25d is larger than that of the small-pitch protruding member 25b. Although the pitch changes in the part where the spiral protrusion 25d of the small pitch protrusion member 25b and the spiral protrusion 25d of the large pitch protrusion member 25c are continuous, they are smoothly continuous. The large pitch protrusion member 25c is composed of a half-split body 25cR and a half-split body 25cL.

Note that the pitch is the interval between the spiral protrusions 25d along a straight line. The pitch of the spiral protrusions 25d of the small pitch protrusion member 25b is smaller than that of the helical protrusion 25d of the large pitch protrusion member 25c. For example, the pitch of the small pitch protruding member 25b is 25 mm, and the pitch of the large pitch protruding member 25c is 43.2 mm.

Note that the screw shaft 25a shown in FIG. 47 is a rotating shaft of the screw 25, and as shown in FIG. (spur gear) is fixed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 49, the lower edge convex portion 25m of the small pitch protrusion member 25b at the lower part of the screw 25 is connected to the fitting recess 366a of the fitting member 366 integrally formed with the lower lifting gear 362. They are fitted using concave-convex fitting, and driven and rotated together with the screw shaft 25a and the lower lifting gear 362.

The ball lifting motor 150 is a motor that drives the screw 25, and is attached to the lower surface of the upper gearbox 356 in the ball lifting device 22 (FIGS. 38 and 48).

The upper gear box 356 is arranged at the upper end of the ball lifting device 22, and houses and pivotally supports a ball lifting motor gear 358, an idle gear 359, and an upper lifting gear 360 (FIGS. 40 and 44). . Ball lifting motor gear 358 is fixed to the drive shaft of ball lifting motor 150 and meshes with idle gear 359. The idle gear 359 is a two-stage gear that integrates an upper gear with a large number of teeth and a lower gear with a small number of teeth on the lower surface.The upper gear meshes with the ball lifting motor gear 358, and the lower gear It meshes with the upper lifting gear 360. These gears are spur gears and have a lower vertical dimension in the upper gearbox. The upper lifting gear 360 is fixed to the upper end of the screw shaft 25a. With these gear configurations, the screw 25 is driven and rotated by the ball lifting motor 150.

The lower gear box 357 is disposed from the lower end of the ball lifting device 22 to the lower end of the ball gathering section 21, and houses and pivotally supports a lower lifting gear 362 and a ball feeding rotor gear 363 (Fig. 44). The lower lifting gear 362 is fixed to the lower end of the screw shaft 25a and meshes with the ball feeding rotor gear 363. The gear ratio between the ball feeding rotating body gear 363 and the lower lifting gear 362 is 2:1.

The ball feeding rotating body 350 is fixed to the gear shaft 363a of the ball feeding rotating body gear 363, and the ball feeding rotating body 350 is driven and rotated by the ball feeding rotating body gear 363. The ball feeding rotary body 350 is a low cylindrical member disposed corresponding to the ball feeding port 275b of the ball feeding passage 275 in the ball gathering section 21, and in this embodiment, the ball feeding rotary body 350 is a low cylindrical member, and in this embodiment, the ball feeding rotary body 350 is arranged so as to correspond to the ball feeding port 275b of the ball feeding passage 275 in the ball collecting section 21. A ball engaging recess 350a is provided to accommodate the ball. The ball engaging recess 350a has a depth that accommodates approximately half of the game ball (FIG. 43).

The ball feeding slope portion 351 (FIG. 42) is a member that is formed around the ball feeding rotating body 350 and has a slope for lifting the game ball. The range in which the ball feeding inclined portion 351 exists is such that the ball feeding rotating body 350 screws the game ball from the position of the ball feeding port 275b which is the exit of the ball feeding passage 275 on the ball feeding rotating body side with respect to the rotational direction of the ball feeding rotating body 350. This is the range up to the delivery position to 25.

As described above, this ball feeding inclined portion 351 has an arc shape along the outer periphery of the ball feeding rotating body 350 from the ball feeding port 275b to the delivery position, and extends 7 mm (approximately 5 to 8 mm) upward from the position of the ball feeding port 275b. ) It has a sloped surface 351a that rises to a high delivery position, and a top sloped part 351b that projects from the top toward the screw 25 and slopes downward. The width of the inclined surface 351a is 4 mm (approximately 3 to 5 mm), and the top inclined surface 351b is formed in a range larger than the diameter of the game ball before and after the delivery position in the rotational direction of the ball feeding rotary body 350.

The positional relationship between the ball feeding rotary body 350 and the screw 25 in a plan view is such that the game ball that has fallen from the top inclined surface 351b can be received between the pitches of the spiral protrusion 25d. A cover member 368 (not shown) is disposed along the outer periphery of the ball feeding slope 351 up to the vicinity of the delivery position to prevent the game ball from falling from the slope 351a.

A guide block 365 (FIGS. 42 and 43) is disposed on the upper surface of the lower gear box 357 in close proximity to the lower front side of the screw 25. The guide block 365 has an arcuate spherical guide surface 365a close to the helical protrusion 25d of the screw 25, and a stopper surface 365b following this. The ball guide surface 365a is formed from the vicinity of the top inclined surface 351b to the opening 281 provided in the spiral base cover 352, and the tip thereof becomes a stopper surface 365b (FIG. 43).

Two lifting guide rails 282 are arranged adjacent to each other in parallel with the screw 25, and have a diameter of approximately 5 mm and serve as guides to guide the game balls lifted and transported by the screw 25 upward in a straight line. This is a round bar-shaped guide member. The lifting guide rail 282 is located on the almost opposite side to the ball feeding rotating body 350 with respect to the rotational direction of the screw 25, and extends from a position corresponding to the upper end of the opening 281 (FIG. 39) provided diagonally in the helical base cover 352. It is arranged vertically upward, and its upper end is fixed to the lower surface of the upper gearbox 356. The interval between two adjacent lifting guide rails 282 is such a width that a game ball (diameter 11 mm) cannot pass through (5 to 8 mm at the inner interval of the lifting guide rails 282).
In addition, when the game ball is lifted, it is lifted while being in contact with the guide rail 282, so the lifting guide rail 282 has a low friction coefficient and is a guide from the game ball generated by the rotation of the screw 25. It is assumed that the rail 282 has enough rigidity not to be deformed by the pressure applied to the rail 282. It is preferable to use stainless steel as the material.

The support member 367 is a cushion member that prevents deformation of the lifting guide rail 282 and absorbs vibrations transmitted between the game balls and the lifting guide rail 282 and to the upper firing device 12. 282 in its original position, and has a thickness that is sufficient to fit between the cover member 368 consisting of the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting section cover 353 and the lifting guide rail 282. It is a plate-shaped block member, and has a flat surface on the side that contacts the cover member 368 and a recessed portion on the side that supports the lifting guide rail 282.
The lifting guide rail 282 has enough rigidity to not be deformed by the pressing force from the game balls to the guide rail 282 caused by the rotation of the screw 25, but the pressing force from the game balls is applied over a long period of time. Then, the lifting guide rail 282 gradually deforms in the pressing direction, and there is a risk that the game ball will come off from being guided by the lifting guide rail 282, so the deformation is regulated.

Furthermore, since the screw 25 and the lifting guide rail 282 are designed with clearance in the parts where the game balls mainly pass, the vibrations generated when the ball lifting motor 150 is driven, for example, are 25 and the lifting guide rail 282, and abnormal noise may occur between the lifting guide rail 282 and the game ball.Furthermore, the lifting device 22 has a cover member 368 that prevents the screw 25, the lifting guide rail 282, etc. is surrounded, so if any abnormal noise occurs within the lifting device 22, it will resonate and the sound will become louder. However, by arranging the support member 367, it is possible to absorb the vibrations generated in the game machine and suppress the generation of abnormal noise.
Note that the number of support members 367 is arranged between the cover member 368 and the lifting guide rail 282 so that deformation of the guide rail 282 can be restricted and no abnormal noise is generated due to vibration.

The lifting slope member 354 shown in FIG. 46 is a block member having a slope formed on the lower surface of the upper gear box 356 facing the upper end of the screw 25, and the slope intersects with the path along which the game ball is sent up. The moving direction of the game balls vertically lifted by the screw 25 is turned to the horizontal direction and guided to the ball sending gutter 23.

The ball sending gutter 23 is provided at the upper end of the spiral base cover 352 and is a path having an inclination for feeding the game balls guided from the lifting slope member 354 to the upper firing device 12. Further, a side surface of the ball sending gutter 23 is provided with a ball removing member 355 that discharges the game balls inside the game machine to the outside of the game machine (FIGS. 44 and 48). The ball removal member 355 is a removable lid member, and can be removed from the side wall of the ball delivery gutter 23 by operating a knob at the bottom to open an opening provided in the side wall. The ball sending gutter 23 has a diagonal section, and a ball extracting member 355 is arranged on the wall on the tip side of the diagonal section (FIG. 44).

Furthermore, a launched ball waiting ball detection switch 26 is arranged on the outer surface of the ball sending gutter 23 to detect the presence or absence of game balls (FIG. 45). When the launch standby ball detection switch 26 does not detect a game ball, the screw 25 is driven and new game balls are supplied one by one from the ball lifting device 22 to the upper firing device 12.

[Operation of ball collecting section 21 and ball lifting device 22]
The game balls sent from the odd-shaped ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20 that forms part of the circulation route are sent to the ball sending rotary body 350 in the ball lifting device 22 through the ball sending passage 275 of the ball collecting section 21. It will be done. On the other hand, the screw 25 is rotated by the drive of the ball lifting motor 150 via the gear trains 358, 359, and 360, and the ball feeding rotating body 350 is rotated via the screw shaft 25a and the lower gear trains 362, 363. Since the gear ratio between the lower lifting gear 362 and the ball feeding rotary body gear 363 is 2:1, the ball feeding rotary body 350 rotates once for every two rotations of the screw 25. The ball feeding rotary body 350 receives game balls one by one from the ball feeding passage 275 into the ball engaging recess 350a and rotates counterclockwise (FIG. 43).

Thereafter, by the rotation of the ball feeding rotary body 350, the game ball is engaged with the ball engaging recess 350a and moves, and the remaining outer half moves along the slope 351a of the ball feeding slope 351, and the top slope 351b is reached. Since the top inclined surface 351b is inclined downward, the game ball is sent from that position to the spiral protrusion 25d of the small pitch protrusion member 25b. At this time, the game balls sent in from the top inclined surface 351b, which is slightly higher, have a larger distance from the following game balls, and are reliably separated one by one.
In order to stably feed the game balls, it is conceivable to make the terminal end of the top slope 351b and the game ball delivery position of the small pitch protrusion member 25b approximately at the same height.
Further, when feeding the game ball from the top slope 351b to the small pitch protrusion member 25d, the method is not limited to using a downward slope, but may also be configured to use a rail to guide the game ball to the small pitch protrusion member 25d, for example. .
In addition, if the difference in level between the end of the inclined surface 351a and the small pitch protruding member 25d at the bottom of the screw 25 that receives the game ball is small, the game ball may be dropped directly from the inclined surface 351a to the small pitch protruding member 25d. It is possible.

Next, the game ball moves along the ball guide surface 365a of the guide block 365 as the small pitch protrusion member 25b rotates and collides with the stopper surface 365b. During this time, the game ball rises as the screw 25 rotates and reaches the lower end of the opening 281 provided in the spiral base cover 352. In this case, as described above, the ball feeding rotary body 350 is provided with ball engaging recesses 350a every 180 degrees, and rotates at half the speed of the screw 25, so one ball is rotated every half rotation. Game balls will be supplied to the screw 25. Since one half rotation of the ball feeding rotary body corresponds to one pitch of the small pitch protruding member 25b, the game ball sent from the ball feeding rotating body 350 is always one ball between the pitches of the small pitch protruding member 25b. It is sent one by one and continuously. (Figure 41).
In other words, the game balls are prevented from being tied together in the ball transport device 22.

It comes into contact with the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 through the opening 281 . That is, as the game ball is lifted by the screw 25 of the ball lifting device 22, the game ball is rubbed against the ball polishing cloth 263 through the opening 281, thereby cleaning and polishing the game ball (FIG. 39). By being guided obliquely upward, the area of the ball polishing cloth 263 can be effectively utilized.

After passing through the opening 281, the game ball is lifted to the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 as the screw 25 rotates, but at this time, the game ball is moved to the lifting guide rail 282 arranged in parallel. Guided and moved in a straight line. The guide rail 282 allows the game balls lifted and transported by the screw 25 to move in the vertical direction, and restricts the movement in the left and right directions. During this time, the game ball is lifted and transported relatively slowly due to the small pitch at the lower small pitch protrusion member 25a, so that there is no problem in receiving the ball from the ball feeding rotary body 350. There is. Furthermore, since the pitch of the small pitch protrusion member 25b on the upper part is small, the movement of the game ball is relatively slow, so that there is no problem in feeding the ball to the upper firing device 12.
On the other hand, in the middle part of the screw 25, there is no particular problem even if the lifting speed of the game ball is increased, so a large pitch protrusion member with a large pitch is used. The number of game balls circulated within the ball transport device 22 can be reduced. Furthermore, this makes it possible to reduce the burden caused by the weight of the game ball on the screw 25 (FIG. 45).
Furthermore, the term "lifting" in this embodiment is used to mean that the game balls are continuously carried up from the lower part of the gaming machine to the upper part.

The game ball that has reached the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 contacts the slope of the lifting slope member 354 from below, thereby changing the moving direction of the game ball lifted by the screw 25 from the vertical direction to the approximately horizontal direction. The game balls are turned and smoothly sent from the ball lifting device 22 to the ball sending gutter 23. Then, the game ball sent into the ball sending gutter 23 rolls on the gentle slope of the ball sending gutter 23 and is fed into the upper firing device 12 (FIG. 46).
In this case, when the lifted game ball comes into contact with the slope portion of the lifting slope member 354, it is configured to come off the guide of the lifting guide rail 282 and naturally flow down to the floor surface of the ball sending gutter 23. No ball pressure is applied to the lifting guide rail 282 or the screw 25, making it possible to feed the ball smoothly.

When it is necessary to take out the circulating game balls from the game machine for maintenance or the like, they can be easily ejected from the game machine by operating the ball extracting member 355 provided on the outer surface of the ball sending gutter 23 ( Figure 37, Figure 48).

In this embodiment, the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting section cover 353 are made of transparent resin (acrylic resin), and by using transparent resin in this way, the state inside the ball lifting device 22 can be controlled. This is preferable because it can be easily visually confirmed without disassembling the material, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting section cover 353 may be made of opaque resin, metal, or the like.

Moreover, although the small pitch protruding member 25b and the large pitch protruding member 25c are configured to be joined in half, they may be cylindrical members that are integrally formed from the beginning. Furthermore, by making full use of synthetic resin molding technology, the entire screw 25 except for the screw shaft 25a can be integrally molded.

In addition, the screw 25 and the lifting guide rail 282 are made of materials that have good sliding properties and are rigid enough not to be deformed by the pressing force from the game ball to the lifting guide rail 282 caused by the rotation of the screw 25. Preferably, metal such as aluminum or synthetic resin may be used. Further, it is conceivable that the spiral protrusion 25d is made of a hard silicone material or the like at least in the portion that receives the game ball from the ball feeding rotary body 350. Thereby, the impact generated when the game ball falls onto the spiral protrusion 25d can be absorbed.

Although the lifting guide rail 282 in this embodiment uses two rails to guide the game balls in the vertical direction, the number of rails is not limited to two. For example, the lifting guide rail 282 may be one rail, and the other rail may be The other guide may have a configuration in which the inner wall of the cover member 368 extends parallel to and adjacent to the transport guide rail 282 to guide the game ball.

Further, the support member 367 is disposed between the cover member 368 consisting of the spiral base cover 352 and the lift section cover 353 and the lift guide rail 282, but if the support member 367 is limited to absorbing vibrations, the support member 367 In addition to the member 368, for example, as shown in FIG. 70, a support member 367 may be placed over both ends of the lifting guide rail 282. This eliminates vibrations generated by the operation of movable accessories (not shown) placed on the game board and electric drive sources such as motors, and the player's operation of the touch panel section 14 placed on the door frame 3. Various vibrations that occur in the game machine, such as vibrations caused by the impact that occurs when playing, are absorbed, so there may be situations where the game ball comes off the guide of the guide rail and cannot be lifted, or the game ball is not released due to vibration. It is possible to suppress instability.

In addition, in this embodiment, the game ball is continuously sent out and conveyed one pitch at a time on the spiral protrusion 25d over the entire length of the screw 25, but the game ball is lifted at all pitches of the screw 25. The configuration is not limited to this, as long as the game balls are continuously lifted and transported even if the game balls are not transported.

The lifting slope member 354 may have any structure as long as it can smoothly send the game balls vertically lifted by the screw 25 and the lifting guide rail 282 to the ball sending gutter 23, and it may be molded integrally with the upper gear box 356. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 67 and 68, the upper surface of the ball delivery path 23 may be extended onto the game ball transport path, and a slope may be formed on the lower surface of the extended portion.

In addition, the ball lifting device 22 of the present invention is configured to lift and transport game balls using a screw 25, but if the game ball is lifted by vertically guiding and conveying it, the screw 25 is used. However, various methods can be selected, such as a belt conveyor that can continuously transport game balls.

[Ball polishing device]
Next, a description will be given of a ball polishing device that cleans and polishes game balls enclosed within a game machine. FIG. 38 described earlier is a front view of the ball polishing device with the ball polishing cartridge installed, and FIG. 39 described earlier is a front view of the ball polishing device with the ball polishing cartridge removed. FIG.

Moreover, FIG. 50 is a left side view showing a state in which the ball polishing cartridge is installed, and FIG. 51 is a perspective view illustrating a mechanism for fixing the ball polishing cartridge. FIG. 52 is a perspective view showing the state in the middle of installing the ball polishing cartridge.

53 and 54 are diagrams showing a state in which the game ball and the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other, and FIG. 53 shows a state in which the game ball and the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other. FIG. 54 is a left side view showing a game ball and the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge being pressed against each other, and FIG. 55 is a perspective view of the ball polishing cartridge shown in FIG. 54 with the left side cover removed. FIG. Moreover, FIG. 56 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge in FIG. 55.

Next, FIG. 57 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ball polishing cartridge is installed, and FIG. 58 is a perspective view showing a state in which the right outer side cover is removed for explaining the inside of the right side cover in FIG. 59 is a top perspective view showing a state in which the right side cover is opened in FIG. 58. 60 is a perspective view of the ball polishing cartridge, FIG. 61 is a front view thereof, FIG. 62 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 63 is a side view of FIG. 62 with the left side cover removed.

As shown in FIGS. 38 and 50, a ball collecting section 21 is provided at the lower part of the ball lifting device 22, and a ball polishing cartridge 251 is installed in a ball polishing cartridge mounting section 270 of a part of the ball collecting section 21. is said to be able to be installed. Here, the outside of the ball lifting device 22 is made of a transparent plastic member, so that even if a game ball becomes clogged in the ball lifting device 22, the location where the jam occurs can be easily seen. It looks like this. As shown in FIG. 51, the ball polishing cartridge 251 attached to the ball polishing cartridge mounting section 270 is supported at one end on a shaft and rotating at the other end. By hooking the other end of the ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 271 to the ball polishing cartridge fixing stopper 272 also provided in the ball collecting section 21, the ball polishing cartridge 251 can be pressed inward and leftward. It has a structure. In addition, in FIG. 51, in order to make it easier to understand the movement mode of the ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 271, both the open state and the closed state of the ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 271 are shown.

FIG. 39 is a front view showing a state in which the ball polishing cartridge 251 is removed. As shown in FIG. 39, the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 has a ball polishing cartridge mounting port 273 formed of a hollow portion into which the ball polishing cartridge 251 can be mounted. In addition, in FIG. 39, for ease of viewing, the ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 271, the mounting sensor 291 provided inside the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 and visible from the ball polishing cartridge mounting opening 273, and the drive shaft 290 are shown. Description is omitted.

FIG. 66 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge mounting port 273 in FIG. 39. At the back of the ball polishing cartridge mounting port 273 inside the ball polishing cartridge mounting section 270, and below the right side of the ball polishing cartridge mounting section 270, there is a second drive gear of the ball polishing cartridge 251, which is coaxial with the second drive gear 257 shown in FIG. A drive shaft 290 is provided that fits into the gear shaft 261 of 1, and a mounting sensor 291 provided with a pushable button 292 is provided above the right side surface. As a result of a series of mounting operations for the ball polishing cartridge 251, the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is pressed, and thus mounting of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is detected. Specific aspects of the mounting operation will be described later.

In addition, in the innermost part of the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 facing the ball lifting device 22, the ball lifting device 22 has a long side that is used to advance the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251, which will be described later. An opening 281 having a different angle from the direction is provided. As a result, a deviation occurs between the direction in which the game balls are lifted and the direction in which the ball polishing cloth 263 travels, so that only a part of the ball polishing cloth 263 having a predetermined width in the width direction is not used. It becomes possible to clean and polish game balls by effectively utilizing the width of 263 mm.

Furthermore, the width between the long sides of the opening 281 is such that at least a part of the peripheral edge of the game ball lifted by the ball lifting device 22 can protrude to the outside of the ball lifting device 22 at the opening position. In this embodiment, the width between the long sides of the opening 281 is set to 8.4 mm for the diameter of the game ball of 11 mm. The game ball is configured to protrude from the opening 281 toward the ball polishing cloth 263 by about 1.5 mm.

As a result, during the game period, a part of the peripheral edge of the game ball being lifted in the ball lifting device 22 protrudes outside the ball lifting device 22 at the position of the opening 281, and the ball is polished. The ball polishing cloth 263 of the cartridge 251 and the game ball can come into contact with each other. In particular, if the ball polishing cartridge 251 has an elastic member and is configured to press the ball polishing cloth 263 against the game balls, the ball polishing cloth 263 can be brought into contact with the game balls more reliably, and Reliable ball polishing is possible.

Furthermore, even if the ball polishing cartridge 251 is removed with the game ball remaining in the ball transport device 22 during a time outside the gaming period, the width of the opening 281 will be smaller than the diameter of the game ball. With this structure, the game balls remaining in the ball lifting device 22 will not spill onto the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 273 side of the ball polishing cartridge 251.

FIG. 52 is a perspective view showing a state in the middle of installing the ball polishing cartridge 251 from the state shown in FIG. 39. As can be seen from FIGS. 39 and 52, in this embodiment, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is inserted and mounted from the front of the main body frame 2.

60 is a perspective view of the ball polishing cartridge 251, FIG. 61 is a front view thereof, FIG. 62 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 63 is a side view of FIG. 62 with the left side cover removed. Here, 259 is a take-up roller, 260 is a driven roller, 261 is a first gear shaft, and 262 is a second gear shaft. The second gear shaft 262 is configured to be coaxial with the drive gear 257, and the second gear shaft 262 is configured to be coaxial with the driven roller 260. Further, 268 is a game ball contact trace, and as shown in FIG. Since they are at different angles with respect to the vertical direction, the game ball contact traces 268 are formed with an inclination with respect to the long side direction of the ball polishing cloth 263.

53 and 54 are diagrams showing a state in which the game ball and the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other, and FIG. 53 shows a state in which the game ball and the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other. FIG. 54 is a left side view showing a state in which the game ball and the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other.

As shown in FIGS. 53 and 54, the game balls are lifted by the screw 25 provided in the ball lifting device 22, and the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is connected to the ball lifting device 22. At the opposing location, the game ball comes into contact with the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 through the opening 281 of the ball lifting device 22, and the game ball is lifted by the screw 25 of the ball lifting device 22. As a result, the ball is rubbed with the ball polishing cloth 263, thereby cleaning and polishing the game ball.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 53 and 54, the screw 25 in the ball lifting device 22 has different shapes at the upper and lower portions and at the middle portion. In the upper and lower parts, the inclination angle of the spiral of the screw 25 (the spiral protrusion 25d in FIG. 47) is made smaller to narrow the pitch, whereas in the middle part, the inclination angle of the spiral of the screw is increased to narrow the pitch. It is also wide. Since there is no need to spend time lifting the intermediate part, by increasing the inclination angle of the spiral and increasing the lifting speed, the game balls can be lifted in a short time. It is possible to reduce the number of game balls included in the game machine, and it is possible to reduce the number of game balls enclosed inside the game machine.

In addition, by narrowing the pitch interval at the lower part, the lifting speed of the game ball at the part where the game ball faces the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is reduced, so that the pitch between the game ball and the ball polishing cloth 263 is reduced. To ensure the cleaning and polishing of game balls by increasing the contact time with the ball. Furthermore, by narrowing the pitch interval in the upper part, the lifting speed of game balls at the lifting end of the ball lifting device 22 can be reduced, and the balls are transferred from the ball lifting device 22 to the ball sending gutter 23. It is possible to eliminate troubles such as ball biting during delivery and to smoothly send game balls to the ball sending gutter 23.

Further, as shown in FIG. 54, the ball lifting device 22 is equipped with two guide rails 282 that guide the lifting and feeding of game balls. The spacing between both guide rails is set to be approximately the same as the diameter of the game ball, but adjustments are made to make it somewhat narrower for stability in areas where the movement of the game ball being lifted may be violent. be able to. In this way, the game ball is lifted within the ball lifting device 22 while being supported on both sides by both guide rails.

FIG. 55 is a left side view of the ball polishing cartridge in FIG. 54 with the left side cover removed. Moreover, FIG. 56 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge in FIG. 55. Here, 259 is a take-up roller, and 260 is a driven roller, to which driving force from a ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155, which will be described later, is transmitted. The rotation of the second drive gear 257, which is configured to be coaxial with the take-up roller 259, rotates the take-up roller 259, and the frictional force between the take-up roller 259 and the driven roller 260 causes the ball polishing cloth to rotate. 263 is wound up.

Further, a ball polishing cloth 263 is arranged in a portion of the ball polishing cartridge 251 facing the ball lifting device 22, and a tensioner 267 having a function of pressing down the ball polishing cloth 263 is provided behind the ball polishing cloth 263. Behind the tensioner 267, two coiled ball polishing cloth pressing springs 264 are provided which have the function of pressing the tensioner 267 and the ball polishing cloth 263 against the game ball. Furthermore, a spring presser 266 that supports the ball polishing cloth presser spring 264 is provided behind the ball polishing cloth presser spring 264. Further, a leaf spring 265 is provided at the top of the ball polishing cartridge, and the leaf spring 265 lightly presses and aligns the ball polishing cloth 263, so that the ball polishing cloth 263 is placed in the portion facing the ball lifting device 22. It plays the role of arranging them before sending them in.

Note that the ball polishing cloth 263 wound up by the take-up roller 259 and the driven roller 260 is stored in the ball polishing cartridge 251, but in FIGS. The description of the ball polishing cloth 263 inside the ball polishing cartridge after being wound up is omitted.

FIG. 57 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ball polishing cartridge is installed, and 253 is a right side cover, which is composed of an outer right side cover 253a and an inner right side cover 253b, which are integrated. 258 is a second drive gear case that covers a second drive gear 257, which will be described later. 58 is a perspective view showing a state in which only the right outer side cover 253a of the right side cover 253 is removed in FIG. 57 for explanation, 253b is the right inner side cover, and 155 is a ball polishing ribbon. This is a feed motor and serves as a driving source for winding up the ball polishing cloth 263 in the ball polishing cartridge 251 . Further, the right side cover 253 is provided with a hinge 255 at the rear end thereof that engages with the hinge receiving portion 254, and the right side cover 253 is rotatable about the hinge 255 as a fulcrum. In this embodiment, the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 consists of a stepping motor. A specific driving mode of the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 will be described later.

59 is a top perspective view showing the right side cover 253 in an open state in FIG. 58, and the right side cover 253 is rotatable about the hinge 255 that engages with the hinge receiving portion 254 as a fulcrum. . Between the right outer side cover 253a and the right inner side cover 253b of the right side cover 253, there is a first (not shown) shaft which is coaxial with the rotation axis of the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 and rotated by the drive of the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155. A drive gear is provided, and in this embodiment, a gear with 16 teeth is used. Further, a second drive gear that is coaxial with the drive shaft 290 and meshes with the first drive gear is also provided between the right outer side cover 253a and the right inner side cover 253b, and in this embodiment, the number of teeth is 32. gear is used.

Next, the mounting operation and mounting detection of the ball polishing cartridge 251 will be explained. FIG. 64 is a perspective view of the ball polishing cartridge mounting section 270, and FIG. 65 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the ball polishing cartridge 251 and the ball polishing cartridge mounting section 270. The ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 is configured such that when the right side cover 253 is rotated using the hinge 255 as a fulcrum, the ball polishing cartridge mounting opening 273 expands using the hinge portion as a fulcrum (direction A in FIG. 64). There is.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 65, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is inserted into the ball polishing cartridge mounting port 273 from the front. At the time of insertion, the ball polishing cartridge mounting opening 273 is widened by the rotation of the right side cover 253, so that the drive shaft 290 and the mounting sensor 291 do not get in the way of insertion. After inserting the ball polishing cartridge 251, rotate the ball polishing cartridge 251 in the direction opposite to A in FIG. 271 to the ball polishing cartridge fixing stop 272, the drive shaft 290 engages with the first gear shaft 261 of the ball polishing cartridge 251, the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is pressed, and the ball polishing cartridge 251 is activated. It is detected that it is attached.

When the button 292 of the installation sensor 291 is pressed while the power is being turned on to the game machine, it is detected that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is correctly installed and no notification is made, but when the power is turned on. Nevertheless, when the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is not pressed, a notification is given that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is not properly mounted. The notification can be made by displaying that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is not installed on a display device (not shown) that is normally included in the game machine and displays effects according to the game mode. . In addition, as another notification mode, the notification can be made by lighting or blinking a decorative lamp for presentation or a dedicated lamp indicating the attachment state of the ball polishing cartridge 251 in a predetermined manner.

In addition, in an enclosed ball type game machine like this embodiment, since the game is played by circulating the game balls enclosed in the game machine, the game can be continued for a long time without cleaning the game balls. This may cause dirt to accumulate on the game balls and cause the balls to roll poorly, so it is preferable to clean the game balls using a ball polishing device somewhere along the circulation path of the game balls. However, it is not impossible to play the game without the ball polishing device, so even if it is detected that the ball polishing cartridge is not installed, the display device or lamp will only notify you and you will not be able to continue playing the game. can.

Furthermore, the playing time of the player is detected by a touch switch 87 provided on the handle, and cumulatively measured by a measuring means (not shown). In this embodiment, the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 is moved one step every time the cumulative measurement time by the measuring means reaches one minute. In this embodiment, since the winding roller 259 has a diameter of 25 mm, the circumference length is approximately 78.5 mm (=25 x 3.14), and the first drive gear 256 and the second drive gear 257 Considering that the gear ratio of is 1/2, the feed amount of the ball polishing cloth 263 per step is 0.11 mm (=78.5/360/2).

In this embodiment, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is pressed down and fixed by hanging the lever on the stopper, but the method of fixing is not limited to this method, and other fixing methods can be used. A method can also be used.
In addition, in this embodiment, a coiled ball polishing cloth pressing spring 264 is used as a means for pressing the ball polishing cloth 263 against the game ball, but the pressing means is not limited to this. It is also possible to use shaped springs or other elastic members.

In this embodiment, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is placed at the bottom of the game machine, but the position of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is not limited to this position, and may be placed in the middle or upper part of the game machine. It can also be placed. In that case, the opening provided in the portion of the ball lifting device 22 facing the ball polishing cartridge 251 may also be changed to a location corresponding to the arrangement position of the ball polishing cartridge 251.

In addition, in this embodiment, as a method of differentiating the direction in which the game balls are lifted by the ball lifting device 22 and the direction in which the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is wound, the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is The game balls are conveyed in the vertical direction, and the lifting direction of the ball lifting device 22 in the portion facing the ball polishing cloth 263 is tilted from the vertical direction. However, the conveyance direction of the game balls of the ball lifting device 22 may be vertical, and the conveyance direction of the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 may be tilted from the vertical direction, or both may be tilted. Various methods can be selected, such as the direction.

Further, in this embodiment, a pushable button 292 is provided as the mounting sensor 291 of the ball polishing cartridge 251, and when the button 292 is pushed in by the mounting operation of the ball polishing cartridge 251, the mounting of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is detected. However, the mounting sensor 291 is not limited to these sensors, and other types of sensors such as an optical sensor or a magnetic sensor can also be used.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, even if the mounting sensor 291 detects that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is not correctly mounted, the game can be continued by simply providing a notification. If it is detected that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is not installed correctly, it is also possible to disable the game.

[Game ball enclosing operation]
Next, we will explain the filling operation of enclosing a predetermined number of game balls into a sealed ball game machine, such as when a new sealed ball game machine is installed or when dirty game balls are taken out and cleaned. do. The enclosing operation is performed while the enclosed ball game machine is not powered on. Therefore, the ball lifting device 22 and various sensors in the enclosed ball game machine are not operating.

In the enclosed ball type game machine, the game ball is fired into the game area by the firing device, and after rolling around the game area, it either enters the winning device or is collected from the outlet 42, and the collected game ball is It is transported again to the firing device, where it is fired again into the game area, and a game is played. In other words, a circulation path for game balls is formed as a whole.
To introduce the game ball in the enclosing operation, the game ball may be introduced into this circulation path, and in this embodiment, the game ball is introduced from the outlet 42. Thereby, there is no need to separately provide a charging port for encapsulating game balls in the sealed ball game machine, and the configuration of the sealed ball game machine can be simplified. Further, instead of the out port 42, the game balls may be introduced through the winning port 41 of the winning device. The game ball that entered the winning opening 41 of the winning device also merges with the gaming ball that entered the out opening 42, and is then conveyed to the firing device, so the game ball enters the winning opening 41 of the winning device. Even if a game ball is introduced into the outlet 42, the game ball can be put into the circulation path in the same way as when the game ball is introduced into the outlet 42. In either case, when introducing the game ball, care must be taken to prevent the game ball, hand, or other objects from hitting the nail. When introducing a game ball into the out port 42, by providing a game ball introduction member 427, which will be described later, it is possible to prevent the game ball from hitting a nail during insertion. In addition, the out opening 42 and the winning opening 41 correspond to a game ball collection opening.

FIG. 71 is a schematic diagram showing a state where the number of game balls is less than a predetermined number when the game balls are enclosed in the enclosed ball type game machine. As described above, during the game ball loading operation, the ball lifting device 22 is not driven because the power is not yet turned on to the sealed ball game machine. Therefore, the game balls thrown in from the out port 42 or the winning port 41 enter from the collection port 202, and after passing through the irregularly shaped ball/magnetic ball discharge unit 20, are lined up with the front of the ball lifting device 22 at the head.

FIG. 72 shows a state in which game balls are further thrown in from the state shown in FIG. 71 and a predetermined number of game balls has been reached. As shown in FIG. 72, when a predetermined number of game balls are enclosed, the last game ball 233 inserted is located at a discontinuous portion 222 where the magnetic ball ejection path 226 and the regular game ball path diverge. and is configured to seal off the discontinuous portion 223.

FIG. 73 shows a state in which more game balls have been thrown in from the state shown in FIG. 72, and more than a predetermined number of game balls have been thrown in. As mentioned above, when a predetermined number of game balls have been sealed, the last game ball 233 thrown in is configured to close off the discontinuous portion 223, so that the game balls 233 that are further thrown in are sealed in a predetermined number. The game ball 235 exceeds the normal game ball 233 from the discontinuous portion 223, and is guided to the magnetic ball discharge chest 227 from the magnetic ball discharge path 226 and collected.

In addition, in this embodiment, in the magnetic ball ejecting section, the discontinuous portion 223 to which the regular game balls 233 are guided when a predetermined number of game balls are enclosed is sealed, and a predetermined number or more of game balls are removed from the magnetic balls. Although it is configured to be collected at the discharge section, similarly, in the irregular ball discharge route, when a predetermined number of game balls are enclosed, the path through which the regular game balls 233 are guided is blocked, and the irregular shaped ball discharge route is collected. You can also do it like this.

In addition, in order to improve efficiency when throwing game balls into the out port 42, a game ball introducing member 427 is provided on the rail portion of the front component 45 located at the lower edge of the out port 42 (Fig. 74, 75). Since the structure is such that when a game ball is placed on the upper surface of the game ball introduction member 427, the game ball is poured toward the out port 42, the game ball can be efficiently enclosed. Moreover, the game ball can be thrown in without hitting a nearby nail.

FIG. 74 is a perspective view showing a state in which the game ball introducing member 427 is projected. The game ball introduction member 427 can be projected by opening the door frame 3 and sliding it toward you.

FIG. 75 is a perspective view showing a state in which the game ball introducing member 427 is stored. Since it can be stored by pushing the game ball introduction member 427 deep from the state shown in FIG. 74, it does not interfere with the game.

In addition, in this embodiment, the game ball introduction member 427 has a structure that allows it to move forward and backward by manually sliding it, but the method is not limited to the above method. Various methods can be selected, such as automatically moving forward and backward by opening and closing 3.

FIG. 105 shows another example of the ball outlet opening/closing unit 410, and in this example, the upper firing device 12 moves in the left and right direction with respect to the ball lifting device 22, and is separated and connected. be.

A ball lifting device 22 is arranged on the left side of the back side of the main body frame 2 (FIG. 97, FIG. 5), and is configured to transport game balls from the ball collection section 21 at the bottom to the ball supply path member 24 at the top. It has become. As described above, the ball supply path member 24 (FIG. 6) consists of the lifting communication gutter 65 on the upper firing device 12 side and the ball sending gutter 23 on the ball lifting device 22 side, and the game board 5 is attached to the main body frame 2. In this state, the ball outlet 58 (FIG. 27) of the ball sending gutter 23 and the ball inlet 66 (FIG. 27) of the lifting communication gutter 65 are connected, and the ball passes through the inside of these gutter to the ball lifting device 22 side. The game ball can be moved from the top to the upper firing device 12 side.

At this time, the ball outlet 58 of the ball sending gutter 23 is provided with a receiving portion 23b on the outside in the left-right direction, and a slide shutter 23c is disposed thereon so as to be slidable in the left-right direction. The slide shutter 23c has a guide piece 23d on the lower surface side, which is fitted into a guide slit provided in the receiving portion 23b and guided in the left-right direction. A spring (not shown) is attached to the guide piece 23d so as to bias the guide piece 23d to the right between the guide piece 23d and the receiving portion 23. When the guide piece 23d moves the guide slit to the left end with the movement of the upper firing device 12, the slide shutter 23c retreats to the left from the position of the ball outlet 58 of the ball sending gutter 23 and opens the ball outlet 58. do.

When the lifting communication gutter 65 moves to the right from the ball sending gutter 23 due to the movement of the upper firing device 12, the slide shutter 23c slides to the right end on the receiving part 23b due to the spring and blocks the ball outlet 58. The slide shutter 23c corresponds to the opening/closing shutter 412 in the ball exit opening/closing unit 410 (FIG. 27) of the first embodiment.
Note that the lower side (bottom surface) of the ball inlet 66 of the lifting communication gutter 65 on the upper firing device 12 side is at approximately the same height as the upper surface of the receiving portion 23b on the ball lifting device 22 side.

[Dust countermeasures for pachinko machines]
As described above, the pachinko gaming machine 1 includes an outer frame 1a (FIG. 12) that is configured in a rectangular frame shape and is installed in an island facility on the hall side, and a game board that is pivotally supported by the outer frame 1a so as to be openable and closable. 5 (FIG. 2), and a door frame 3 pivotally supported by the main body frame 2 so as to be freely openable and closable. Conventionally, the back side of the main body frame 2 is covered with a rear cover body that can be opened and closed, but it does not have a sealed structure, but rather protects the back side of the main control board 100 and peripheral control board 130 mounted on the back side of the game board 5. The main purpose is Therefore, outside air flows inside the main body frame 2 from the back side of the pachinko game machine 1, and dust in the hall enters.

The dust wraps around to the front side of the game panel through the opening for displaying the liquid crystal screen for presentation provided on the game panel (transparent panel board 44) of the game board 5 attached to the main body frame 2, the winning opening 41, and the out opening 42. Even if the door frame 3 is closed, it adheres to the game balls and the front of the game panel. For this reason, a trajectory may appear on the path of the game ball, albeit slightly. In enclosed type pachinko game machines, the cleaning of the game balls is not as easy as in the case of island equipment, and since the enclosed game balls are not replaced for a certain period of time, contamination by dust is easily noticeable. In addition, dust accumulates on the decorative parts on the front of the panel and the storage box that houses the control board on the back. Since the storage box described above takes air into the box and exhausts it for heat dissipation, dust tends to accumulate there.

FIG. 106 is an example of an enclosed type pachinko machine 1 that has taken measures against dust.
This pachinko machine 1 includes an outer frame 1a, a main body frame 2, a door frame 3, and a game board 5, similar to the pachinko game machine 1 described above. These forms and structures are the same as those described above, but the main body frame 2 is a container type with no through holes including the back side, and the main body frame base 2a (Figs. 2 and 3) on the front side It's just open. A synthetic rubber tight material 2b (FIG. 101) for airtightness is attached to the front side of the main body frame base 2a, that is, to the front side of the edge frame portion that is on the same plane and partitions the opening into squares. Therefore, when the door frame 3 is closed, the interior of the main body frame 2 is maintained almost airtight.

On the other hand, the lower part of the outer frame 1a is partitioned by a horizontal reinforcing metal fitting 812, and is divided into an upper part into which the main body frame 2 is fitted, and a lower space 800 covered with a lower decorative cover 6 (FIG. 2). The lower space 800 is provided for replacing the game board 5 with respect to the main body frame and for opening and closing the door frame 3, but in this embodiment, an intake device 801 and an exhaust device 802 are arranged in the lower space 800. There is.
The air intake device 801 is for taking outside air into the pachinko game machine, and includes a fan 804 driven by a motor 803, a filter 805 downstream of the fan 804, and a simple accumulator 806 (pressure accumulation section). The exhaust device 802 is composed of an outlet passage 807 and an outward opening valve 808, and communicates the inside of the sealed body frame 2 with the outside of the gaming machine.

The intake device 801 enters the body frame 2 from the accumulator 806 through a thin resin main tube 809, and branches into various parts within the closed space of the body frame 2 as shown in the figure, and the tip of each branch tube 810. refers to each member configured within the main body frame, for example, the members constituting the irregular-shaped ball/magnetic sphere ejection unit 20, the members constituting the ball collecting section 21, the members constituting the ball lifting device 22, and the upper firing device 12. It is connected to the hollow part of the member that constitutes the. Each hollow portion is provided with an opening 811 that is open to the sealed space of the main body frame 2. A large number of openings 811 will be provided, and they are arranged near the ball outlet 58 of the ball delivery gutter 23 and in the lifting communication gutter 65, like the ball supply path member 24 from the ball lifting device 22 to the upper firing device 12. The tip of the branch tube 810 is connected near a joint between members, a step, or a bend as an internal space, such as near the ball inlet 66, and the opening 811 Place. In other words, air from the accumulator is supplied to key points inside a member having a space, such as a ball supply passage, to create an air flow around the key points inside to prevent dust from adhering.
The air blown into the sealed space of the main body frame 2 from the numerous openings 811 increases the air pressure inside the main body frame 2, circulates inside the main body frame 2, and is then exhausted to the outside through the outlet passage 807 of the exhaust device 802. Ru. The outward opening valve 808 of the outlet passage 807 prevents outside air from flowing backward and entering the inside of the pachinko game machine.

With such a mechanism, the clean air taken in from the intake device 801 and obtained through the filter 805 is sent directly to areas where dust is likely to adhere through the main tube 809 and the branch tube 810, and then into the internal space of the main body frame 2. released. As a result, the internal air pressure of the main body frame 2 is always higher than that outside, and external dust does not enter the inside of the pachinko game machine 1.
Note that the accumulated pressure inside the accumulator 806 only needs to be higher than the outside pressure at the tip of the branch tube 810, and does not need to be so high. This can also be achieved by wind pressure from the fan 104.

Next, an outline of control of the pachinko machine 1 and the payment machine 4 as an external device arranged adjacent to one side thereof will be explained. FIG. 76 is a block diagram showing essential parts in an embodiment of a main control board equipped with an RTC and installed in an enclosed ball type pachinko machine. The control of the pachinko machine 1 is broadly divided into a main board group and a peripheral board group. Of these, the main board group controls the game operations, and the peripheral board group controls the production operations (liquid crystal display panel, lamps, etc.). , body frame lamp, door frame lamp, sound). The main board group is made up of a main control board 100 and a sphere information control board 110, and the peripheral board group is made up of a peripheral control board 130.

[Main control board 100]
The main control board 100 controls the pachinko game. The main control board 100 and a ball information control board 110, which will be described later, are connected to enable bidirectional data communication. As shown in FIG. 76, the main control board 100 that controls the progress of the game includes a main control MPU 101, which is a microprocessor that has a built-in ROM that stores various processing programs and commands, and a RAM that temporarily stores data. , a main control I/O port 102 as an input/output device (I/O device), a main control input circuit 103 into which detection signals from various detection switches are input, and a main control solenoid for driving various solenoids. It includes a drive circuit 104 and a RAM clear switch 105 for completely erasing information stored in a RAM built into the main control MPU 101 (hereinafter referred to as "main control built-in RAM").

In addition to its built-in ROM (hereinafter referred to as "main control built-in ROM") and main control built-in RAM, the main control MPU 101 also has a watchdog timer to monitor its operation (system) and a watchdog timer to prevent fraud. It also has built-in functions. In addition, the main control MPU 101 has a built-in non-volatile RAM, and this non-volatile RAM contains a unique code (a code that exists only once in the world) to identify the individual by the manufacturer that manufactured the main control MPU 101. ) is stored in advance. This ID code once assigned is stored in non-volatile RAM and cannot be rewritten even using an external device. The main control MPU 101 can retrieve the ID code from the nonvolatile RAM and refer to it.

[RTC control unit]
Further, the main control MPU 101 of the embodiment includes an external real-time clock (hereinafter referred to as "RTC") 107 that is capable of acquiring time information as a time information acquisition means. Although not shown, the RTC 107 includes a register circuit, a clock input circuit, a clock output circuit, an interrupt output circuit, a data input/output circuit, and a control circuit.

The RTC 107 has a clock/calendar function. The clock/calendar function is a timekeeping function that counts the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second. Moreover, if necessary, a device that counts the days of the week may be used. The RTC control unit 106 is provided with an RTC 107 and a battery 108 for driving the RTC 107. By including the battery 108, the RTC 107 does not interrupt its timekeeping and calendar functions even when the power to a power supply board (not shown) is cut off.

The battery 108 may be a primary battery (for example, a button battery) or a rechargeable secondary battery, which eliminates the need to provide a backup power source and avoids complicating the configuration of the main control board 100. I can do it. Note that the battery 108 is also used as a backup power source for the RAM 109.

By including the RTC 107, the main control MPU 101 has a function of specifying the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second (calendar information and time information). The main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 acquires time information (hours, minutes, seconds) from the RTC 107 when the gaming machine is powered on.

An upper starting hole detection switch 90 arranged in the gaming area 8 of the game board 5 detects a winning game ball in the upper starting hole (not shown), and detects a winning game ball in the lower starting hole (not shown). Detection signals from the lower starting hole detection switch 91 and the general winning hole detection switch 93 that detects a game ball that has won a general winning hole (not shown) are first input to the main control input circuit 103, and are input to the main control input circuit 103. It is input to the main control MPU 101 via the O port 102.

In addition, a gate switch 92 that detects game balls that have passed through a gate section (not shown), a general winning hole detection switch 94 that detects game balls that have entered a general winning hole (not shown), and a grand winning hole (not shown). The detection signal from the count switch 98 that detects winning game balls is first input to the main control input circuit 103 via the panel relay terminal board 140 attached to the game board 5, and then sent to the main control I/O port. It is input to the main control MPU 101 via 102.

The main control MPU 101 outputs a control signal from the main control I/O port 102 to the main control solenoid drive circuit 104 based on these detection signals, thereby controlling the starting port solenoid 96 and the main control via the panel relay terminal board 140. A drive signal is output to the winning opening solenoid 97, and the upper special symbol display 142, the lower special symbol display 143, and the upper special symbol are output from the main control I/O port 102 to the panel relay terminal board 140 and the function display board 141. A drive signal is output to the symbol memory display 144, the lower special symbol memory display 145, the normal symbol display 146, the normal symbol memory display 147, the game status display 148, and the round display 149.

In addition, the main control MPU 101 serially transmits various information related to games (gaming information) and various commands related to prize balls according to winnings to the ball information control board 110, and controls the pachinko game from this ball information control board 110. Various commands regarding the status of the machine 1 are received in a serial manner. In addition, the main control MPU 101 transmits various commands related to control of game performance and various commands related to the status of the pachinko machine 1 to the peripheral control board 130. When the peripheral control board 130 receives the control command transmitted from the main control board 100, the peripheral control board 130 creates various effects (for example, a decorative pattern on the display panel of the liquid crystal display device 1400 to notify the result of the judgment) according to the received control command. It performs control related to the fluctuating display of rows, accompanying performance displays, lamps, sounds, movements of movable decorative objects for performance, etc.).

[Sphere information control board 110]
FIG. 77 is a block diagram mainly showing the main parts of the ball information control board 110 installed in the enclosed ball type pachinko machine. The ball information control board 110 includes a ball information control section 118 that performs various controls related to the management of held balls, the ball lifting device 22, the firing solenoid 13, the ball feeding solenoid 31, the ball polishing ribbon feeding motor 155, and the like. Further, the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 are connected to enable bidirectional data communication.

[Sphere information control unit 118]
As shown in FIG. 77, the ball information control unit 118 includes a ball information control MPU 111, which is a microprocessor that has a built-in ROM that stores various processing programs and various commands, a RAM that temporarily stores data, and the like, and an I/ A ball information control I/O port 112 as an O device, an external watchdog timer 116 (hereinafter referred to as "external WDT 116") for monitoring whether or not the ball information control MPU 111 is operating normally. , a ball lifting motor drive circuit 114 for outputting a drive signal to the ball lifting motor 150 of the ball lifting device 22 that carries out ball lifting, and a ball information control input circuit into which detection signals from various detection switches are input. 113, a CR unit input/output circuit 115 for exchanging various signals with the payment machine 4, a ball polishing ribbon feed motor drive circuit 119 for outputting a drive signal to the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155, and a ball polishing ribbon feed motor drive circuit 119 to be described later. A ball retention stopper solenoid drive circuit 245 is provided for outputting a drive signal to the retention stopper solenoid 244. The ball information control MPU 111 has a built-in ROM (hereinafter referred to as "ball information control built-in ROM") and a RAM (hereinafter referred to as "ball information control built-in RAM").

The ball information control MPU 111 receives various information regarding games (gaming information) and various commands regarding prize balls from the main control board 100 via the ball information control I/O port 112 in a serial manner. An operation signal (detection signal) of the RAM clear switch 105 is inputted via the ball information control I/O port 112.

Detection signals from the door frame release switch 131 that detects the opening of the door frame 3 with respect to the main body frame 2 and the main body frame release switch 132 that detects the release of the main body frame 2 with respect to the outer frame are first input to the sphere information control input circuit 113. and is input to the ball information control MPU 111 via the ball information control I/O port 112. Furthermore, a touch detection signal (on signal) from the touch switch 87 that detects whether or not the palm or fingers are touching the ball hitting handle 10 is input to the ball information control board 110 via the handle relay terminal board 123, and The detection signal is input to the ball information control MPU 111 via the ball information control I/O port 112.

Further, the ball information control MPU 111 is connected to the firing solenoid 13 through the firing solenoid drive circuit 120, and to the ball feeding solenoid 31 through the ball feeding solenoid driving circuit 122, and the firing solenoid 13 is connected to the ball feeding solenoid 31 through the ball feeding solenoid driving circuit 122. and the ball feeding solenoid 31 are driven. Also, the presence/absence of game balls supplied to the launch standby ball detection switches 26, 70, the launch ball confirmation switch 36, the recovered ball detection switch 203, the ball path full detection switch 206, the appropriate ball amount detection switch 207, and the ball lifting device 22. A lifting inlet switch 156 for detecting the rotation speed of the ball lifting motor 150, a lifting motor sensor (photo sensor) 157 for detecting the rotation speed of the ball lifting motor 150, and a ball polishing cartridge containing a ball polishing cloth ribbon are installed. A detection signal from the cassette detection switch 158 for detecting is input to the ball information control input circuit 113 via the sensor relay board 124, and is input to the ball information control MPU 111 via the ball information control I/O port 112. There is. The ball information control MPU 111 transmits drive signals for driving a ball lifting motor 150, a ball polishing ribbon feeding motor 155, a ball retaining stopper solenoid 244, a firing solenoid 13, and a ball feeding solenoid 31, which will be described later, to the ball information control I/O. It outputs to each drive element via port 112.

Further, a touch panel section 14 is connected to the ball information control MPU 111 so as to be displayable by control output from the ball information control I/O port 112. In addition to relaying electrical connections between the main control board 100 and the external terminal board 133, the ball information control board 110 also connects the door frame release switch 131, the main body frame release switch 132, and the external terminal board 133. It relays electrical connections between Note that the external terminal board 133 is electrically connected to a hall computer installed in a game hall (hall).

Detection signals from a touch switch 87 that detects whether the palm or fingers are touching the ball hitting handle 10, and a firing stop switch 86 that detects whether or not the firing of the game ball is forcibly stopped according to the player's will. is first input to the ball information control input circuit 113 via the handle relay terminal board 123. Further, when the payment machine 4 and the ball information control board 110 are electrically connected, the signal is input to the CR unit input/output circuit 115 as a CR connection signal.

Note that DC power +24V, +12V, and +5.2V are supplied to the ball information control board 110 from a power supply board (not shown). Further, DC power supplies +24V, +12V, and +5.2V are supplied to the main control board 100 via the ball information control board 110.

The power outage monitoring circuit 117 compares and monitors the voltage V1 based on +24V and the reference voltage, and the voltage V2 based on +12V and the reference voltage, and when a sign of a power outage or instantaneous power outage is detected, that is, the voltage V1 or V2 becomes the reference voltage. When the voltage becomes lower than the voltage, a power outage warning signal is output as a power outage warning. The power outage warning signal output from the power outage monitoring circuit 117 is supplied to the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 as well as to the main control MPU 101. Although not shown, the power outage warning signal is also input to the peripheral control board 130.

[Payment machine 4]
FIG. 78 is a block diagram mainly showing each element connected to the payment machine 4. As shown in FIG. The payment machine 4 and the ball information control board 110 are connected to enable bidirectional data communication. Although not shown, the control unit of the payment machine 4 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an input/output interface, a communication interface, and the like.

The adjustment machine 4 is connected to the operation input signals of the ball rental button and the adjustment button provided on the touch panel section 14 of the enclosed ball game machine 1 so that they can be inputted, for example, through an interface. Further, a remaining power display section and an operable notification lamp provided on the touch panel section 14 of the enclosed ball type Pachinko machine 1 are connected so as to be displayable by the control output from the payment machine 4. Further, the payment machine 4 is provided with a card processing machine 402 at the back of the card insertion slot shown in FIG.

[Card 403]
The card 403 used in the embodiment is composed of, for example, a magnetic card or an IC card, and is issued by a card issuing machine (not shown) and provided to the player when the player pays a predetermined amount of money. In FIG. 78, the data structure stored in the card 403 is shown.

The card 403 includes an ID storage unit 404 that stores an ID number (hereinafter simply referred to as ID) as identification information individually assigned to the card 403, which corresponds to the amount paid when purchasing the card 403. A remaining number storage unit 305 stores the remaining number of balls as valuable information to be played, and a number-of-balls storage unit 406 stores the number of balls held by the player (number of balls held by the gaming machine) obtained by the player as a result of playing a game. is set. Note that when the card 403 is issued, the ID is stored in the ID storage section 404, and the remaining points corresponding to the amount paid when purchasing the card 403 are stored in the remaining points storage section 405 (for example, the amount paid is 5000 yen). In this case, "5000" is stored as the remaining power, but "0" is stored in the ball count storage section 406 as the initial value of the number of balls held.

The card processing machine 402 is conventionally known, and includes a card sensor that detects the card 403, a card reader/writer that reads data stored in the card 403 and writes data to the card 403, and a card reader/writer that reads data from the card 403. A card conveying means is provided for feeding the card 403 to the writing position and ejecting the card 403 to the card insertion slot. When the card 403 is inserted into the card insertion slot, the card processing machine 402 sends the card 403 to a predetermined data reading/writing position, and uses the card reader/writer to read the stored data, i.e., ID, remaining power, and remaining power. The number of pitches is read and output to the payment machine 4. In addition, in response to a write command from the payment machine 4, the ID, remaining power, and number of balls held are written (stored) in each of the aforementioned storage sections.

The payment machine 4 stores in the RAM the ID, remaining power, and number of balls that are read from the card 403 through the card processing machine 402.

[Ball lending using card 403]
When the payment machine 4 reads the data on the card 403, it displays the remaining points stored in the RAM on the remaining points display section. If the card 403 can be used, the payment machine 4 lends balls in response to the operation of the ball lending button. In this ball rental, for example, 125 balls (ball unit price: 4 yen) will be loaned for each operation of the ball rental button. In addition, when renting balls, if the number of balls held is less than 125, the total number of balls held is set as the number of balls loaned. The payment machine 4 transmits the number of rental balls to the ball information control board 110. In addition, the adjustment machine 4 calculates the compensation for renting balls by multiplying the set ball unit price by the number of pitches rented, and subtracts the determined compensation (the compensation corresponding to renting balls as the remaining score) from the current remaining score. Furthermore, if there is a number of balls in hand and balls are lent from the number of balls in hand, the number of balls to be lent is subtracted from the current number of balls in hand. The payment machine 4 displays this result on the remaining power display section. Further, the remaining power is written in the remaining power storage section 405 of the card 403.

[Start of game]
When the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 receives the number of rental balls transmitted from the adjustment machine 4, it adds it to the number of balls held by the gaming machine, and displays the addition result on the touch panel section 14. The upper firing device 12 is made ready to fire and the game becomes possible.

[While playing]
When the player operates the batting ball handle 10, the batting ball firing device 29 is activated, and when the game ball at the ball firing position is launched into the game area 8 by the firing hammer 30, this causes the ball detection switch 36 to detect the ball. Based on this, the hitting of each game ball into the game area 8 is detected. Then, the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 sequentially calculates "1" from the game machine ball number data stored in the game machine ball number storage area in response to the detection of hitting each game ball one by one. is subtracted, and the number of balls held is displayed on the touch panel section 14.

On the other hand, the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 controls a gate switch 92 arranged at a gate (not shown) through which a game ball can enter and pass through on the 5th side of the game board, and a normal winning opening (not shown). General winning opening detection switches 93 and 94 arranged for the big winning opening (not shown), a count switch 98 arranged for the big winning opening (not shown), and a starting opening (not shown) arranged for the upper starting opening. In addition, processing related to the game is performed based on the detection signals from the lower starting port detection switches 90 and 91, and commands and signals as processing results are sent to the ball information control board 110, peripheral control board 130, upper and lower special symbols. It outputs to displays 142, 143, upper and lower special symbol memory displays 144, 145, normal symbol display 146, normal symbol memory display 147, starting opening solenoid 96, big winning opening solenoid 97, etc.

When the game ball launched by the upper firing device 12 enters any of the various winning holes (starting prize hole, big winning hole, etc.) in the gaming area 8, the game ball enters various winning detection switches provided for each winning hole. (Upper starting opening detection switch 90, lower starting opening detection switch 91, general winning opening detection switch 93, general winning opening detection switch 94, count switch 98).

The main control MPU 101 responds to detection signals from detection switches provided for each winning opening (general winning opening detection switches 93 and 94, count switch 98, and upper and lower starting opening detection switches 90 and 91 correspond). , outputs a prize ball command to the ball information control board 110 as necessary, instructing the number of prize balls set according to the winning hole in which the game ball has won.

Further, the main control MPU 101 periodically outputs a gaming state signal (status) indicating the type of the current gaming state to the peripheral control board 130. The gaming state is, for example, when a winning/losing lottery is performed due to winnings in the starting slot and the starting opening, and a special symbol is displayed variably based on the lottery result, the symbols are stopped, and the lottery result is a winning/losing lottery. In the case of the first type pachinko gaming machine, which shifts to a special gaming state (jackpot gaming state) in the case of , the normal gaming state (the probability of winning by lottery is normal probability, and the variable display time of normal symbols is normal), and the time saving Game state (state where the variable display time of normal symbols is shorter than usual, time saving information output signal), jackpot game state (15 round jackpot information output signal or 2 round jackpot information output signal), high probability game state (state where the probability of winning by lottery is higher than usual, probability changing information output signal), special symbol is changing (special symbol display information output signal), state where there is reservation based on starting opening winning (starting There is a winning information output signal), etc.

Note that the peripheral control board 130 controls a liquid crystal display panel (not shown), an accessory decoration board (not shown), a board decoration board (not shown), and a frame decoration based on commands output from the main control board 100. By outputting a control signal to a board (not shown), the lighting display of various decorative LEDs is controlled, and the sound (voice, sound, sound effect, etc.) output from a speaker (not shown) is controlled. , controls the symbols to be displayed on a liquid crystal display panel (not shown).

The ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 displays the firing solenoid 13, the ball feeding solenoid 31, the ball lifting motor 150, the ball polishing ribbon feeding motor 155, and the number of balls held on the touch panel section 14 based on various input signals. and outputs a signal to the payment machine 4.

The ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 receives the game status signal and prize ball command output from the main control board 100.

In response to receiving such a prize ball command, the ball information control MPU 111 adds the value of the number of prize balls preset for each winning opening to the game machine ball number data stored in the game machine ball number storage area. are added and displayed on the touch panel section 14.

[End of game, payment]
Thereafter, when the player operates the payment button to end the game, the payment machine 4 transmits a game end command to the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110.

When the payment machine 4 sends a game end command to the ball information control MPU 111 in response to the operation of the payment button, the ball information control MPU 111 receives the game end command sent from the payment machine 4, and the ball information control The MPU 111 transmits “end possible” to the payment machine 4. Next, the ball information control MPU 111 stops the firing solenoid 13 and the ball feeding solenoid 31 to stop the game. The current number of balls held by the game machine stored in the storage area for the number of balls held by the game machine is transmitted to the adjustment machine 4.

Then, when the processing of the payment machine 4 corresponding to the number of balls held by the game machine transmitted from the ball information control MPU 111 is completed, the payment machine 4 sends a notification that the processing has ended, so the ball information control MPU 111 receives the notification that the processing has completed. Then, the memory area for the number of balls held by the gaming machine in the RAM is cleared to 0, and the process ends.

On the other hand, after the payment machine 4 receives "end possible" as a reply regarding the end state to the game end command, the ball information control MPU 111 transmits the number of balls held by the game machine to the payment machine 4, so that the payment machine 4 When the number of balls held by the game machine is received, the received number of balls held by the game machine is added to the number of balls held by the payment machine stored in the RAM when the card is inserted, and the addition result is stored as the number of balls held by the payment machine. As a result, the total number of balls held by the player as a result of the game is stored as the number of balls held by the adjustment machine. Then, it transmits the completion of the process to the ball information control MPU 111, writes the number of balls held by the adjustment machine in the number of balls held memory section 406 of the card 403, ejects the card 403 from the card insertion slot, and ends the process. As a result, the card 403, which has been rewritten with the number of balls held by the gaming machine as a game result added thereto, is returned to the player.

[Various control processing of main control board]
First, various control processes performed by the main control board 100 shown in FIG. 76 in accordance with the progress of the game of the pachinko machine 1 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 79 to 81. FIG. 79 is a flowchart showing the main control side power-on process executed by the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100, FIG. 80 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the main control side power-on process of FIG. 79, and FIG. is a flowchart showing the main control side timer interrupt processing executed by the main control MPU 101.

[Main control side power-on processing]
When the power is turned on to the pachinko machine 1, the main control MPU 101 (hereinafter simply referred to as main control MPU) of the main control board 100 performs the main control side power-on processing as shown in FIGS. 79 and 80. When this main control side power-on process is started, the main control MPU sets a stack pointer (step S10). For example, the stack pointer can indicate an address placed on the stack to temporarily store the contents of a storage element (register) in use, or it can temporarily indicate the return address of this routine when returning to this routine after exiting a subroutine. It indicates the address loaded onto the stack for storage, and the stack pointer advances each time the stack is loaded. In step S10, an initial address is set in the stack pointer, and the register contents, return address, etc. are stacked on the stack from this initial address. The stack pointer returns to the initial address by sequentially reading from the stack stacked last to the stack stacked first.

Following step S10, wait timer processing 1 is performed (step S12), and it is determined whether a power outage warning signal has been input (step S14). The voltage does not rise immediately from when the power is turned on until it reaches the predetermined voltage. On the other hand, in the event of a power outage or instantaneous power outage (a phenomenon in which the supply of power suddenly stops temporarily), the voltage drops and when it becomes lower than the power outage warning voltage, the power outage monitoring circuit 117 of the bulb information control board 110 issues a power outage warning as a power outage warning. A signal is output and input to the main control MPU. Similarly, if the voltage becomes lower than the power failure warning voltage during the period from when the power is turned on until the voltage rises to a predetermined voltage, a power failure warning signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 of the bulb information control board 110.

Therefore, the wait timer process 1 in step S12 is a process for waiting after the power is turned on until the voltage becomes higher than the power failure warning voltage and becomes stable. In this embodiment, the wait time (wait timer) is 200 milliseconds ( ms) is set. The determination in step S14 is made based on the power outage warning signal from the power outage monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110. After the power is turned on, when the voltage becomes higher than the power failure warning voltage and becomes stable, the power failure warning signal from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 is not output, and the main control MPU proceeds to step S16.

Proceeding to step S16, the main control MPU determines whether the RAM clear switch 105 (FIG. 76) is operated (step S16). This determination is made based on whether the RAM clear switch 105 of the main control board 100 is operated and the operation signal (detection signal) is input to the main control MPU. When the detection signal is input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is being operated, while when the detection signal is not being input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is not being operated.

When it is determined in step S16 that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated, the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is set to the value 1 (step S18), and the process moves to step S30, while the RAM clear switch 105 is operated in step S16. If it is determined that the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG has not been operated, the value 0 is set to the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG (step S19), and the process moves to step S30.

This RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is used for games related to probability fluctuations, unpaid prize balls, etc. stored in the RAM built in the main control MPU 101 (hereinafter referred to as "main control built-in RAM"). This is a flag indicating whether or not to erase information, and is set to a value of 1 when gaming information is to be erased, and is set to a value of 0 when gaming information is not to be erased. Note that the value of the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG set in steps S18 and S19 is stored in a general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register) of the main control MPU.

When the main control MPU moves to step S30, it performs wait timer processing 2 (step S30). In this wait timer processing 2, the system waits until the liquid crystal control section of the peripheral control board 130 starts up (boots) a system that controls drawing of a liquid crystal display device (not shown). In this embodiment, 2 seconds (s) is set as the time until booting (boot timer).

Following step S30, it is determined whether the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is 0 (step S32). As described above, the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is set to the value 1 when the gaming information is to be erased, and to the value 0 when the gaming information is not to be erased. If it is determined in step S32 that the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is 0, that is, if the gaming information is not to be erased, a checksum is calculated (step S34). This checksum is calculated by considering the game information stored in the main control built-in RAM as a numerical value and calculating the total thereof.

Following step S34, whether or not the calculated checksum value (sum value) matches the checksum value (sum value) stored in the main control side power-off processing (power-off) described later. (Step S36). If they match, it is determined whether the backup flag BK-FLG is 1 (step S38). This backup flag BK-FLG stores and holds backup information such as game information, checksum value (sum value), and backup flag BK-FLG value in the main control built-in RAM in the main control side power-off processing described later. This flag is set to a value of 1 when the main control side power-off processing is normally completed, and is set to a value of 0 when the main control-side power-off processing is not normally completed.

When the backup flag BK-FLG has a value of 1 in step S38, that is, when the main control side power-off processing is normally completed, a work area of the main control built-in RAM is set for when the power is restored (step S40). In addition to setting the backup flag BK-FLG to a value of 0, this setting reads out power recovery information from the ROM built in the main control MPU (hereinafter referred to as "main control built-in ROM"), and Set the time information in the work area of the main control built-in RAM. In addition, "power restoration" refers to not only the state where the power is turned on from a state where the power was cut off, but also the state where power is restored after a power outage or momentary power outage, and the state where high frequency radiation is detected and reset. It also includes the state of return after that.

Following step S40, a power-on command creation process is performed (step S42). In this power-on command generation process, gaming information is read from the backup information and various commands corresponding to this gaming information are stored in a predetermined storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S32 that the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is not 0 (value 1), that is, when erasing gaming information, or if the checksum values (sum values) match in step S36, If the backup flag BK-FLG is not 1 (value 0) in step S38, that is, if the main control side power-off processing has not been completed normally, the main control built-in RAM is The entire area is cleared (step S44). Specifically, this is done by writing the value 0 to the main control built-in RAM (note that a predetermined value may be read from the main control built-in ROM and set as the initial value). In addition, the random number for determining the initial value for jackpot determination used for determining the initial value of the random number for determining jackpot is used when the RAM clear switch 105 is operated to erase gaming information, when the sum values do not match, or when the RAM clear switch 105 is operated to erase gaming information. If the main control side power-off processing has not been completed normally, the unique ID code stored in advance in the non-volatile RAM of the main control MPU is retrieved, and the random number for jackpot determination is updated based on the retrieved ID code. An initial value derivation process is executed to always derive the same fixed value from the fixed numerical value range of the counter, and this fixed value is set as the initial value.

Following step S44, the work area of the main control built-in RAM is set as an initial setting (step S46). For this setting, initial information is read from the main control built-in ROM and this initial information is set in the work area of the main control built-in RAM.

Following step S46, RAM clear notification and test command creation processing are performed (step S48). In this RAM clear notification and test command creation process, a power-on command classified as power-on to notify that the main control built-in RAM has been cleared and initial settings have been performed is created, and various types of peripheral control board 130 are Test commands classified into test-related items for performing inspections are created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

Following step S42 or step S48, interrupt initialization is performed (step S50). This setting sets the interrupt cycle when main control side timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, is performed. In this embodiment, it is set to 4ms.

Following step S50, interrupt permission settings are performed. (Step S52). With this setting, the main control side timer interrupt processing is repeatedly performed at the interrupt cycle set in step S50, that is, every 4 ms. Note that the processing from step S10 to step S52 is referred to as "main control side power-on processing".

Following step S52, a value A is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S54). The watchdog timer is cleared by sequentially setting value A, value B, and value C in this watchdog timer clear register WCL.

Following step S54, it is determined whether a power outage warning signal has been input (step S56). As described above, when the power to the pachinko game machine 1 is cut off or there is a power outage or instantaneous power outage, if the voltage falls below the power outage warning voltage, a power outage warning signal is sent to the power outage monitoring circuit of the ball information control board 110 as a power outage warning. It is input from 117. The determination in step S56 is made based on this power outage warning signal.

If no power outage warning signal is input in step S56, a non-winning random number update process is performed (step S58). In this non-winning/losing random number updating process, for example, the random numbers for reach determination, the random numbers for variable display patterns, the random numbers for determining initial values for jackpot symbols, the random numbers for determining initial values for small winning symbols, etc. are updated. In this way, in the non-winning random number updating process, random numbers that are not related to winning/losing determination (jackpot determining) are updated. In addition, the random number for normal symbol hit determination, the random number for determining the initial value for normal symbol hit determination, the random number for normal symbol fluctuation display pattern, etc. are also updated by this non-winning random number update process.

Following step S58, the process returns to step S54 again to set the value A in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, and in step S56 it is determined whether or not a power outage warning signal is input. For example, a non-winning random number update process is performed in step S58, and steps S54 to S58 are repeatedly performed. Note that the processing from step S54 to step S58 is referred to as "main control side main loop processing."

On the other hand, when a power outage warning signal is input in step S56, interrupt prohibition is set (step S60). This setting prevents the main control side timer interrupt processing, which will be described later, from being performed, prevents writing to the main control built-in RAM, and protects game information from being rewritten.

Following step S60, the starting opening solenoid 96, big winning opening solenoid 97, upper special symbol display 142, lower special symbol display 143, upper special symbol memory display 144, and lower special symbol memory display are shown in FIG. The driving signals output to the machine 145, the normal symbol display 146, the normal symbol memory display 147, the game status display 148, the round display 149, etc. are stopped (step S62).

Following step S62, a checksum is calculated and the calculated value is stored (step S64). This checksum is calculated by considering the game information in the work area of the main control built-in RAM as a numerical value, excluding the storage area for the above-mentioned checksum value (sum value) and backup flag BK-FLG value.

Following step S64, the backup flag BK-FLG is set to the value 1 (step S66). This completes storage of the backup information.

Following step S66, the watchdog timer is cleared (step S68). This clear setting is performed by sequentially setting value A, value B, and value C in watchdog timer clear register WCL, as described above.

Following step S68, a loop process is entered in which a state in which nothing is executed is repeated. Note that the processing from step S60 to step S68 and the loop processing are referred to as "main control side power-off processing." In this loop process, the watchdog timer is not cleared and set because the value A, value B, and value C are not sequentially set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL. Therefore, the watchdog timer times out and outputs a timeout signal, and the timeout signal causes the main control MPU to be reset, and then the main control MPU performs the main control side power-on process again from the beginning.

The pachinko machine 1 (main control MPU 101) is reset when there is a power outage or instantaneous power outage, and after the power is restored, the main control side power-on process is performed.

In addition, in step S36, it is checked whether the backup information stored in the main control built-in RAM is normal or not, and then in step S38, it is checked whether the main control side power-off processing has been completed normally. It is being inspected. In this way, by double checking the backup information stored in the main control built-in RAM, it is verified whether the backup information has been stored by fraudulent activity.

[Main control side timer interrupt processing]
Next, the main control side timer interrupt processing will be explained. This main control side timer interrupt process is repeatedly performed at every interrupt period (4 ms in this embodiment) set in the main control side power-on process shown in FIGS. 79 and 80.

When the main control side timer interrupt processing is started, the main control MPU of the main control board 100 sets the value B in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, as shown in FIG. 81 (step S70). At this time, the value B is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL following the value A set in step S54 of the main control side main loop processing.

Following step S70, the interrupt flag is cleared (step S72). By clearing this interrupt flag, the interrupt cycle is initialized, and the next interrupt cycle is counted from the initial value.

Following step S72, switch input processing is performed (step S74). In this switch input processing, various signals input to the input terminal of the main control I/O port 102 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

Following step S74, timer subtraction processing is performed (step S76). In this timer subtraction processing, for example, the time during which the upper special symbol display 142 and the lower special symbol display 143 are lit according to the variable display pattern determined by the special symbol and special electric accessory control processing described later, the normal symbol and In addition to the time when the normal symbol display 146 lights up according to the normal symbol fluctuation display pattern determined by the normal electric accessory control process, the ball information control board 110 receives various commands sent by the main control board 100 (main control MPU). Time management is performed such as the ACK signal input determination time set as a determination condition when determining whether or not a ball information main ACK signal indicating normal reception has been input. Specifically, when the fluctuation time of the fluctuation display pattern or the normal symbol fluctuation display pattern is 5 seconds, the timer interrupt cycle is set to 4ms, so every time this timer subtraction process is performed, the fluctuation time is subtracted by 4ms. However, when the result of the subtraction becomes 0, the fluctuation time of the fluctuation display pattern or the normal symbol fluctuation display pattern is accurately measured.

In this embodiment, the ACK signal input determination time is set to 100 ms. Each time this timer subtraction process is performed, the ACK signal input determination time is subtracted by 4 ms, and the ACK signal input determination time is accurately measured when the subtraction result becomes 0. Note that these various times and ACK signal input determination time are stored as time management information in the time management information storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

Following step S76, a winning/losing random number update process is performed (step S78). In this win/loss random number update process, the above-mentioned random numbers for jackpot determination, random numbers for jackpot symbols, and random numbers for small win symbols are updated. In addition to these random numbers, a random number for determining the initial value for the jackpot symbol, which is updated in the non-winning random number update process of step S58 in the main control side power-on process (main control side main process) shown in FIG. And the random number for determining the initial value for small winning symbols is also updated. These random numbers for determining the initial value for the jackpot symbol and the random number for determining the initial value for the small winning symbol are updated in the main control side main processing and this main control side timer interrupt processing to further enhance randomness. . On the other hand, the random numbers for jackpot determination, the random numbers for jackpot symbols, and the random numbers for small win symbols are random numbers related to win/loss determination (jackpot determination), so each counter is updated only every time this win/loss random number update process is performed. counts up. For example, the counter that updates the random numbers for jackpot determination is, as mentioned above, an initial value update type counter, and has a predetermined fixed numerical range from the minimum value to the maximum value (in this embodiment, the minimum value is the value 0 to the maximum value (32767), and the range from this minimum value to the maximum value is counted up by adding 1 each time this main control side timer interrupt processing is performed. The random number for determining the initial value for jackpot determination is counted up toward the maximum value (value 32767), and then it is counted up from the minimum value (value 0) toward the random number for determining the initial value for jackpot determination. When the counter for updating the random number for jackpot determination finishes counting up the range from the minimum value to the maximum value of the random number for jackpot determination, the random number for determining the initial value for jackpot determination is updated by this win/loss random number update process. At this time, the updated value is always the same from the fixed numerical range of the counter where the main control MPU retrieves the ID code from its built-in non-volatile RAM and updates the random number for jackpot determination based on the retrieved ID code. Initial value derivation processing is executed to derive a fixed value of , and this derived fixed value is set as the initial value. That is, the random number for determining the initial value for jackpot determination is always overwritten and updated as the initial value with the same fixed value derived based on the ID code by executing the initial value derivation process. In addition, the above-mentioned random numbers for normal symbol hit determination and initial value determination random numbers for normal symbol hit determination are also updated by this win/loss random number update process. The random numbers for normal symbol hit determination, etc. are the same as the method of updating the random numbers for jackpot determination described above, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

Following step S78, prize ball control processing is performed (step S80). In this prize ball control process, input information is read from the input information storage area mentioned above, and based on this input information, a prize ball command is created to be sent to the ball information control board 110, and the ball information is communicated with the main control board 100. A self-check command for checking the connection state between the control board 110 and the board is created. The created prize ball command and self-check command are then transmitted to the ball information control board 110 as main ball information serial data. For example, when one game ball enters the big prize opening, a prize ball command representing 15 balls as the number of prize balls is created and sent to the ball information control board 110, or this prize ball command is sent to the ball information control board 110. If the ball information main ACK signal indicating that the ball information control board 110 has been successfully received is not input within a predetermined time, a self-check command is created to check the connection state between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110. It is also transmitted to the ball information control board 110.

Following step S80, frame command reception processing is performed (step S82). The ball information control board 110 transmits various 1-byte (8-bit) commands divided into status displays. In the frame command reception process of step S82, when these various commands are normally received as ball information main serial data, information that informs the ball information control board 110 to that effect is stored as output information in the output information storage area of the main control built-in RAM. Remember. Further, the command normally received as the ball information main serial data is formatted into a 2-byte (16-bit) command and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

Following step S82, fraud detection processing is performed (step S84). In this fraud detection process, an abnormal state regarding the prize ball is checked. For example, when input information is read from the above-mentioned input information storage area and the detection signal from the count switch 98 is input when the jackpot game state is not (when a game ball enters the jackpot hole), etc. A winning abnormality display command that is classified as a notification display as an abnormal state is created and stored in the transmission information storage area described above as transmission information.

Following step S84, special symbol and special electric accessory control processing is performed (step S86). In this special symbol and special electric accessory control process, the value of the counter that updates the random number for jackpot determination described above is taken out, and it is determined whether it matches the jackpot determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM (jackpot It determines whether or not to generate a gaming state (referred to as a "special lottery"), takes out the value of the counter that updates the random number for the jackpot symbol, and uses it as the probability variable hit determination value that is stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM. Determine whether or not they match (determine whether or not a probability fluctuation is generated). Here, "probability fluctuation" means that the probability of hitting the jackpot changes to a high probability (when the probability changes) that is set higher than when it is normal (low probability). In this embodiment, the above-mentioned jackpot judgment value range (jackpot judgment range) is set to a value of 32,668 to 32,767 for low probability, and is read from the normal judgment table, whereas for high probability, the value is 32,438. ~ value 32767 is set and read from the probability change time determination table. In this way, in the special symbol and special electric accessory control process of step S86, it is determined whether the value of the counter that updates the random number for jackpot judgment matches the jackpot judgment value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM. The determination is made based on whether the value of the counter that updates the jackpot determination random number is included in the jackpot determination range.

If these determination results are based on the upper starting port detection switch 90, various commands related to the special figure 1 synchronization effect are created, while if the lottery results are based on the lower starting port detection switch 91, special commands are created. Figure 2 Various commands related to synchronized production are created and stored in the transmission information storage area as transmission information, and the upper special symbol display 142 or the lower special symbol display 143 is turned on according to the variable display pattern of the determined special symbol. The output of the lighting signal to the upper special symbol display 142 or the lower special symbol display 143 is set and stored as output information in the output information storage area mentioned above.

In addition, depending on the gaming state to be generated, for example, when it becomes a jackpot gaming state, various commands classified as jackpot-related are created and stored in the transmission information storage area as transmission information, or commands such as commands to open and close the opening/closing member are created. If the output of the drive signal to the winning hole solenoid 97 is set and stored in the output information storage area as output information, or if the number of times (round) that the big winning hole changes from the closed state to the open state is 2, the round display is displayed. The output of the lighting signal to the 2nd round indicator lamp is set to light up the 2nd round indicator lamp of the round indicator 149, and is stored as output information in the output information storage area, and when the number of rounds is 15, the output of the lighting signal to the 2nd round indicator lamp of the round indicator 149 is set. Set the output of a lighting signal to the 15th round indicator lamp so that the 15th round indicator lamp lights up, store it in the output information storage area as output information, or set the game state to turn on the 15th round indicator lamp in a predetermined color to indicate whether a probability change has occurred. It sets the output of a lighting signal to the display 148 and stores it in the output information storage area as output information.

Following step S86, normal symbol and normal electric accessory control processing is performed (step S88). In this normal symbol and normal electric accessory control process, input information is read from the above-mentioned input information storage area and gate winning processing is performed based on this input information. In this gate winning process, it is determined from the input information whether the detection signal from the gate switch 92 has been input to the input terminal. Based on this determination result, when the detection signal is input to the input terminal, the value of the counter for updating the above-mentioned normal symbol hit determination random number is extracted and used as gate information in the gate information storage area of the main control built-in RAM. to be memorized.

Following step S88, port output processing is performed (step S90). In this port output processing, output information is read from the output information storage area mentioned above from the output terminal of the main control I/O port 102, and various signals are output based on this output information. For example, when various commands from the ball information control board 110 are successfully received from the output terminal of the main control I/O port 102 based on the output information, a main ball information ACK signal is output to the ball information control board 110. When in the jackpot game state, it outputs a drive signal to the big winning opening solenoid 97 that opens and closes the opening and closing member of the big winning opening, and outputs a driving signal to the starting opening solenoid 96 that opens and closes the movable piece. In addition, 15 round jackpot information output signal, 2 round jackpot information output signal, probability fluctuation information output signal, special symbol display information output signal, normal symbol display information output signal, time saving information output information, starting opening winning information output signal Various information (game information) signals related to games such as the following are outputted to the ball information control board 110.

Following step S90, peripheral control board command transmission processing is performed (step S92). In this peripheral control board command transmission process, transmission information is read from the transmission information storage area described above and is transmitted to the peripheral control board 130 as main serial data. This transmission information includes various commands classified as related to special figure 1 synchronized performance, various commands classified as related to special figure 2 synchronized performance, and various commands classified as related to jackpot created in the main control side timer interrupt process which is this routine. various commands categorized as power-on, various commands categorized as related to general figure synchronization effects, various commands categorized as related to ordinary electric role effects, various commands categorized as notification displays, various commands categorized as status display. Various commands that are classified, various commands that are classified as test-related, and various commands that are classified as others are stored. One packet of the main cycle serial data is composed of 3 bytes.

Specifically, the main cycle serial data includes a status that indicates the type of command that has a storage capacity of 1 byte (8 bits), a mode that indicates a variation of the effect that has a storage capacity of 1 byte (8 bits), and a status. and a sum value calculated by considering the mode as a numerical value and calculating the sum value, and this sum value is created at the time of transmission. Note that the processing from step S74 to step S92 will be referred to as "gaming control processing".

Following step S92, a value C is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S94). By setting the value C in the watchdog timer clear register WCL in step S94, the value C is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL following the value B set in step S70. As a result, value A, value B, and value C are set in order in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, and the watchdog timer is cleared.

Following step S94, register switching (return) is performed (step S96), and this routine ends. Here, when the main control side timer interrupt processing, which is this routine, is started, the main control MPU stacks and saves the contents of the general-purpose register on the stack using hardware. This prevents the contents of the general-purpose registers used in the main processing on the main control side from being destroyed. In step S96, the contents saved on the stack are read and written to the original register. Note that the main control MPU sets interrupt permission after returning in step S96.

[Various control processing of the ball information control board]
Next, various control processes performed by the ball information control board 110 shown in FIG. 77 will be described with reference to FIGS. 81 to 86. FIG. 82 is a flowchart showing the ball information control side power-on processing executed by the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110, and FIG. 83 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the ball information control side power-on processing of FIG. 84 is a flowchart showing the continuation of the ball information control side power-on processing following FIG. 83, and FIG. 85 is a flowchart showing the ball information control power-off processing executed by the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110. FIG. 86 is a flowchart showing an example of ball information control side timer interrupt processing.

[Processing when power is turned on on the ball information control side]
When the power is turned on to the pachinko gaming machine 1, the ball information control MPU 111 (hereinafter simply referred to as ball information control MPU) of the ball information control section 118 in the ball information control board 110, as shown in FIGS. 82 and 83, Performs power-on processing on the ball information control side. When this ball information control side power-on process is started, the ball information control MPU sets an interrupt mode (step S500). This interrupt mode sets the interrupt priority of the ball information control MPU. In this embodiment, the ball information control unit timer interrupt process, which will be described later, is set as the highest priority, and when an interrupt of this ball information control unit timer interrupt process occurs, that process is performed preferentially.

Following step S500, input/output settings (I/O input/output settings) are performed (step S502). In this I/O input/output setting, input/output settings of the I/O port of the ball information control MPU, etc. are performed.

Following step S502, output of a power outage clear signal to the power outage monitoring circuit 117 shown in FIG. 77 is started (step S504). This power failure monitoring circuit 117 is composed of a voltage comparison circuit and a D-type flip-flop IC. The voltage comparison circuit compares the voltages between +24V and the reference voltage, or compares the voltages between +12V and the reference voltage, and outputs the comparison results. If a power outage or instantaneous power outage does not occur, the result of this comparison becomes HI and is input to the PR terminal, which is the preset terminal of the D-type flip-flop. The logic becomes LOW and is input to the PR terminal, which is the preset terminal of the D-type flip-flop. In step S504, output of a power failure clear signal is started to the CLR terminal, which is the clear terminal of this D-type flip-flop. This power failure clear signal is input to the clear terminal via the ball information control I/O port 112 of the ball information control unit 118 with its logic set to LOW. As a result, the sphere information control MPU can release the latched state of the D-type flip-flop, and invert the logic input to the PR terminal, which is the preset terminal of the D-type flip-flop, until the latched state is set. It is possible to output from the 1Q terminal which is the output terminal, and the signal from the 1Q terminal can be monitored.

Following step S504, wait timer processing 1 is performed (step S506), and it is determined whether a power outage warning signal has been input (step S508). The voltage does not rise immediately from when the power is turned on until it reaches the predetermined voltage. On the other hand, in the event of a power outage or instantaneous power outage (a phenomenon in which power supply is suddenly temporarily stopped), the voltage drops and becomes lower than the power outage warning voltage, and a power outage warning signal is input from the power outage monitoring circuit 117 as a power outage warning. Similarly, when the voltage becomes lower than the power failure warning voltage during the period from when the power is turned on until the voltage rises to a predetermined voltage, a power failure warning signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117. Therefore, the wait timer process 1 in step S506 is a process for waiting after the power is turned on until the voltage becomes higher than the power failure warning voltage and becomes stable. In this embodiment, the wait time (wait timer) is 200 milliseconds ( ms) is set. In the determination at step S508, it is determined whether the power outage warning signal has been input. This determination is made based on the signal output from the 1Q terminal, which is the output terminal of the above-mentioned D type flip-flop, as the power outage warning signal.

Following step S508, the output of the power failure clear signal to the CLR terminal, which is the clear terminal of the D-type flip-flop, is stopped (step S510). By stopping the output of this power outage clear signal, its logic becomes HI and is input to the CLR terminal, which is a clear terminal, via the ball information control I/O port 112. Thereby, the ball information control MPU can set the D type flip-flop to the latched state. When the D type flip-flop latches a state in which the logic is LOW and is input to its preset terminal PR terminal, it outputs a power outage warning signal from its output terminal 1Q terminal.

Following step S510, it is determined whether the RAM clear switch 105 is being operated (step S512). This determination is made based on whether the RAM clear switch 105 of the main control board 100 is operated and the operation signal (detection signal) is input to the ball information control MPU. When the detection signal is input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is being operated, while when the detection signal is not being input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is not being operated.

If it is determined in step S512 that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated, the ball information RAM clear flag is set to a value of 1 (step S514), and the process proceeds to step S518, while the RAM clear switch 105 is operated in step S512. If it is determined that the ball information RAM is not cleared, a value of 0 is set in the ball information RAM clear (step S516), and the process proceeds to step S518.

This ball information RAM clear flag is stored in, for example, various flags and various information storage areas stored in the RAM built into the ball information control MPU (hereinafter referred to as "ball information control built-in RAM"). This is a flag indicating whether or not to delete various kinds of ball information.It is set to a value of 1 when the ball information is to be deleted, and to a value of 0 when the ball information is not to be deleted. Note that the ball information RAM clear flag set in steps S514 and S516 is stored in a general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register) of the ball information control MPU.

Following step S514 or step S516, settings are made to permit access to the ball information control built-in RAM (step S518). With this setting, the ball information control built-in RAM can be accessed, and, for example, ball information can be written (stored) or read.

Following step S518, a stack pointer is set (step S520). For example, the stack pointer can indicate an address placed on the stack to temporarily store the contents of a storage element (register) in use, or it can temporarily indicate the return address of this routine when returning to this routine after exiting a subroutine. It indicates the address loaded onto the stack for storage, and the stack pointer advances each time the stack is loaded. In step S520, an initial address is set in the stack pointer, and the register contents, return address, etc. are stacked on the stack from this initial address. The stack pointer returns to the initial address by sequentially reading from the stack stacked last to the stack stacked first.

Following step S520, the ball information control MPU proceeds to step S527. In step S527, it is determined whether the ball information RAM clear flag has a value of 0 (step S527). As described above, the ball information RAM clear flag is set to the value 1 when the ball information is to be deleted, and to the value 0 when the ball information is not to be deleted.

When the ball information RAM clear flag is 0 in step S527, that is, when the ball information is not to be deleted, a checksum is calculated (step S528). This checksum is calculated by considering the ball information stored in the ball information control built-in RAM as a numerical value and calculating the sum thereof.

Following step S528, it is determined whether the calculated checksum value matches the checksum value stored in the ball information control unit power-off processing (power-off time) described later (step S530). ). If they match, it is determined whether the ball information backup flag has a value of 1 (step S532). This ball information backup flag is a flag indicating whether or not ball information backup information such as ball information and checksum value has been stored and retained in the ball information control built-in RAM in the ball information control section power-off processing described later. It is set to a value of 1 when the ball information control unit power-off process is completed normally, and is set to a value of 0 when the ball information control unit power-off process is not completed normally.

When the ball information backup flag has a value of 1 in step S532, that is, when the ball information control section power-off processing has been successfully completed, a work area of the ball information control built-in RAM is set for when the power is restored (step S534). In addition to setting the ball information backup flag to a value of 0, this setting reads the power recovery information from the ROM built into the ball information control MPU (hereinafter referred to as "ball information control built-in ROM"), and Set power restoration information in the work area of the ball information control built-in RAM. As a result, information used for various processes is set based on various flags, various information stored in various information storage areas, etc., which are the above-mentioned ball information backup information stored in the ball information control built-in RAM. . Note that "power restoration" includes not only the state where the power is turned on after being cut off, but also the state where the power is restored after a power outage or instantaneous power outage.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S527 that the ball information RAM clear flag is not 0 (value 1), or if the checksum values do not match in step S530, or if the ball information backup flag is determined to be a value 1 in step S532, When it is determined that it is not 1 (the value is 0), that is, when the ball information control section power-off processing has not been completed normally, the entire area of the ball information control built-in RAM is cleared (step S536). As a result, the ball information backup information stored in the ball information control built-in RAM is cleared.

Following step S536, the work area of the ball information control built-in RAM is set as an initial setting (step S538). For this setting, initial information is read from the ball information control built-in ROM and this initial information is set in the work area of the ball information control built-in RAM.

Following step S534 or step S538, interrupt initialization is performed (step S540). This setting is for setting the interrupt cycle when the ball information control unit timer interrupt process, which will be described later, is performed. In this embodiment, it is set to 2ms.

Following step S540, interrupt permission settings are performed (step S542). With this setting, the ball information control unit timer interrupt process is repeatedly performed at the interrupt cycle set in step S540, that is, every 2 ms.

Following step S542, it is determined whether a power outage warning signal has been input (step S544). As described above, when the power to the pachinko game machine 1 is cut off, or there is a power outage or instantaneous power outage, if the voltage falls below the power outage warning voltage, a power outage warning signal is input from the power outage monitoring circuit 117 as a power outage warning. The determination in step S540 is made based on this power outage warning signal.

If no power outage warning signal is input in step S544, it is determined whether the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is 1 (step S546). This 2ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is a flag that measures 2ms in the ball information control unit timer interrupt processing that is processed every 2ms, which will be described later.It takes a value of 1 when 2ms have elapsed, and a value of 0 when 2ms have not elapsed. Each is set.

If it is determined in step S546 that the 2 ms elapse flag HT-FLG is 0, that is, if 2 ms has not elapsed, the process returns to step S544, and it is determined whether a power outage warning signal has been input.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S546 that the 2ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is 1, that is, when 2ms have elapsed, the 2ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is set to 0 (step S547), and the process proceeds to step S550. , outputs an external WDT clear signal to the external watchdog timer (external WDT) 116 (turns ON, step S550). This external WDT 116 monitors the operation (system) of the ball information control MPU, and sends a reset signal to the ball information control MPU and ball information control I/O port 112 when the external WDT clear signal is not stopped within the clear signal release time. (The ball information control MPU system is periodically diagnosed to see if it is out of control.)

Following step S550, port output processing is performed (step S552). In this port output processing, various types of information are read from the output information storage area of the ball information control built-in RAM, and various signals are outputted from the output terminal of the ball information control I/O port 112 based on the various types of information.

The output information storage area includes, for example, ball information main ACK information that indicates that various commands related to prize balls (prize ball commands and self-check commands) have been successfully received from the main control board 100, and information to the ball transport device 22. Various information such as drive information for drive control is stored, and when a prize ball command from the main control board 100 is normally received from the output terminal of the ball information control I/O port 112 based on this output information. It outputs a ball information main ACK signal to the main control board 100 and outputs a drive signal to the firing solenoid 13.

Following step S552, port input processing is performed (step S554). In this port input processing, various signals input to the input terminal of the ball information control I/O port 112 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the ball information control built-in RAM. For example, door frame release switch 131, main body frame release switch 132, launch standby ball detection switches 26, 70, launch ball confirmation switch 36, recovered ball detection switch 203, ball path full detection switch 206, ball appropriate amount detection switch 207, Lifting and feeding inlet switch 156, lifting motor sensor (photo sensor) 157, cassette detection switch 158, firing stop switch 86, touch switch 87, BRQ signal, BRDY signal and CR connection signal from the payment machine 4, command transmission processing to be described later The main ball information ACK signal etc. from the main control board 100 that informs that the main control board 100 has successfully received the various commands sent by the controller 100 are read and stored in the input information storage area as input information.

Following step S554, timer update processing is performed (step S556). The various judgment times are stored as time management information in the time management information storage area of the ball information control built-in RAM. In the timer update process, it is determined whether or not the timer values of various timers are set, and if the timer values are set, the timer values are subtracted by 1. For example, if "1000" is set in the timer as a value equivalent to 2 seconds (2000ms), the timer interrupt cycle is set to 2ms, so each time the timer subtraction process is performed at the 2ms cycle, the timer value increases by 1. When the subtraction result becomes 0, the time is up and the time is accurately measured.

Following step S556, payment machine communication processing is performed (step S558). In the payment machine communication process, input information is read from the above-mentioned input information storage area, and based on this input information, it is determined whether various signals (BRQ signal, BRDY signal, and CR connection signal) from the payment machine 4 are being input. Determine. Based on various signals from the payment machine 4, the ball information control MPU exchanges various signals with the payment machine 4. For example, when the ball information control MPU receives the number of rental balls transmitted from the adjustment machine 4, it adds the number of rental balls to the gaming machine ball number data.

Following step S558, command reception processing is performed (step S560). In this command reception process, various commands regarding prize balls (prize ball commands and self-check commands) are received from the main control board 100. When these various commands are received normally, ball information main ACK information that conveys the fact is stored in the output information storage area mentioned above. On the other hand, when the various commands cannot be received normally, the connection indicates that there is an abnormality in the connection between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 (an abnormality has occurred in the various command signals). Abnormality information is stored in the status information storage area mentioned above.

Following step S560, command analysis processing is performed (step S562). In this command analysis process, the command received in step S562 is analyzed, and the analyzed command is stored as received command information in the received command information storage area of the ball information control built-in RAM.

Following step S562, main operation setting processing is performed (step S564). In this main operation setting process, the ball information control MPU performs operation settings of the firing solenoid 13, the ball feeding solenoid 31, the ball lifting device 22 (ball lifting motor 150), the ball polishing ribbon feeding motor 155, etc. In addition, the ball information control MPU sequentially updates the game machine ball count data stored in the game machine ball count storage area with “1 ” is subtracted. Further, when a prize ball command is stored in the received command information storage area, the number of prize balls corresponding to this prize ball command is added to the game machine ball number data stored in the game machine ball number storage area.

Following step S564, LED display data creation processing is performed (step S566). In this LED display data creation process, for example, the data on the number of balls held by the gaming machine stored in the above-mentioned storage area for the number of balls held by the gaming machine is read out, display data for displaying the number of balls held on the touch panel section 14 is created, and the LED display data is read out. It is stored in the output information storage area mentioned above as display information.

Following step S566, command transmission processing is performed (step S568). In this command transmission process, various types of information are read from the above-mentioned status information storage area, and based on the various types of information, various commands classified into status displays are created and transmitted to the main control board 100.

Following step S568, the output of the external WDT clear signal to the external watchdog timer (external WDT) 116 is stopped (turned OFF, step S570). This clears the external WDT 116 and prevents the ball information control MPU and ball information control I/O port 112 from being reset. Furthermore, when the output of the external WDT clear signal is stopped, the external WDT 116 starts measuring the clear signal release time.

Following step S570, the process returns to step S544 again, and it is determined whether or not a power outage warning signal has been input. If this power outage warning signal has not been input, the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is set to the value 1 in step S546. If the 2ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is 1, that is, 2ms have elapsed, the 2ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is set to 0 in step S547, and the external WDT 4120c is set to 0 in step S550. The WDT clear signal is output (ON), port output processing is performed in step S552, port input processing is performed in step S554, timer update processing is performed in step S556, payment machine communication processing is performed in step S558, and in step S560 Command reception processing is performed, command analysis processing is performed in step S562, main operation setting processing is performed in step S564, LED display data creation processing is performed in step S566, command transmission processing is performed in step S568, and external WDT 116 is performed in step S570. Then, the output of the external WDT clear signal is stopped (OFF), and steps S544 to S570 are repeated. Note that the processing from step S544 to step S570 is referred to as "ball information control main processing."

On the other hand, when a power outage warning signal is input in step S544, interrupt prohibition is set (step S572). With this setting, the ball information control section timer interrupt processing described later is not performed, preventing writing to the ball information control built-in RAM, and protecting the above-mentioned ball information from being rewritten.

Following step S572, a power failure clear signal is output to the CLR terminal, which is the clear terminal of the D-type flip-flop of the power failure monitoring circuit 117, via the sphere information control I/O port 112 (step S574). Thereby, the D type flip-flop can release the latched state by outputting the power failure clear signal.

Following step S574, the output of the drive signal to the firing solenoid 13 is stopped (step S576). This stops the game ball from being launched. Following step S576, the output of the drive signal to the ball feed solenoid 31 is stopped (step S578). As a result, feeding of game balls to the batted ball firing device 29 side is stopped.

Following step S578, an external WDT clear signal is output to the external WDT 116 and its output is stopped (ON/OFF, step S580). This clears the external WDT 116. Following step S580, a checksum is calculated and the calculated value is stored (step S582). This checksum is calculated by considering the ball information in the work area of the built-in RAM for ball information control as a numerical value, excluding the storage area for the checksum value calculated in step S528 and the value of the ball information backup flag HBK-FLG. do. Following step S582, the ball information backup flag is set to a value of 1 (step S584). This completes the storage of the ball information backup information. Following step S584, prohibition of access to the ball information control built-in RAM is set (step S586). This setting prohibits access to the RAM with built-in ball information control, making writing and reading impossible, and protecting the ball information backup information stored in the RAM with built-in ball information control.

Following step S586, a loop process is entered in which a state of doing nothing is repeated. In this loop processing, a clear signal is not turned ON/OFF to the external WDT 116. Therefore, the external WDT 116 outputs a reset signal to the ball information control MPU and the ball information control I/O port 112 to reset them. Thereafter, the ball information control MPU performs the ball information control side power-on process again from the beginning. Note that the processing from step S572 to step S586 and the loop processing are referred to as "ball information control power-off processing."

The pachinko machine 1 (ball information control MPU) is reset when there is a power outage or instantaneous power outage, and after the power is restored, the ball information control side power-on process is performed.

In addition, in step S530, it is checked whether the ball information backup information stored in the built-in RAM for ball information control is normal or not, and then in step S532, the ball information control section power-off processing is normally completed. We are checking to see if it is true or not. In this way, by double checking the ball information backup information stored in the ball information control built-in RAM, it is examined whether or not the ball information backup information has been stored by fraudulent activity.

[Sphere information control side timer interrupt processing]
Next, the ball information control side timer interrupt processing will be explained. This ball information control side timer interrupt process is repeatedly performed at every interrupt period (2 ms in this embodiment) set in step S540 of the ball information control side power-on process shown in FIG.

When the timer interrupt processing on the ball information control side is started, the ball information control MPU of the ball information control unit 118 in the ball information control board 110 sets the timer interrupt to disabled and switches the register ( evacuation) (step S590). Here, the general-purpose memory element (general-purpose register) used in the above-mentioned ball information control section main processing is switched to the auxiliary register. By using this auxiliary register in the ball information control side timer interrupt processing, the value of the general-purpose register will not be overwritten. This prevents the contents of the general-purpose register used in the main processing on the ball information control side from being destroyed.

Following step S590, the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is set to a value of 1 (step S592). This 2ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is a flag that measures 2ms each time this ball information control section timer interrupt processing is performed, that is, every 2ms, and the value is 1 when 2ms have passed, and the value is 0 when 2ms have not passed. are set respectively. Following step S592, register switching (return) is performed (step S594). In this return, the auxiliary register used in the ball information control side timer interrupt processing is switched to a general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register). By using this general-purpose register in the ball information control side main processing, the value of the auxiliary register will not be overwritten. This prevents the contents of the auxiliary register used in the ball information control section timer interrupt processing from being destroyed. Following step S594, interrupt permission is set (step S596), and this routine ends.

[Each process executed in the ball information control main process]
Next, each process executed by the ball information control MPU of the ball information control board 110 every 2 ms in the ball information control main process of FIG. 84 will be described. First, the ball lending process will be explained, followed by the process of determining whether or not a ball can be hit, the process of counting the number of held balls, the process of feeding/launching a ball, the process of detecting a fired ball, and the process of subtracting the number of balls held. Note that the process of determining whether or not to hit a ball, the process of counting the number of balls held, the ball feeding/launch drive process, the shot ball detection process, the process of subtracting the number of balls held, and the lifting drive process are one of the main operation setting processes in step S564. The process is executed in the following order: determining whether or not to hit a ball, counting the number of balls held, ball feeding/launching drive processing, shot ball detection processing, subtracting the number of balls held, and lifting drive process.

When the player inserts the card 403 into the card insertion slot, the payment machine 4 detects the insertion of the card 403, and the card processing machine 402 reads the data stored on the card 403. That is, the ID stored in the ID storage section 404 of the card 403 in FIG. is stored in a predetermined storage area (ID storage area, remaining power storage area, number of balls held storage area).

Next, the payment machine 4 determines whether the inserted card 403 can be used or not. In this embodiment, when the read remaining power is 0 and the read number of balls held is 0, it is determined that the card 403 cannot be used, and the card 403 is ejected from the card insertion slot. Therefore, if it is determined that the card 403 is unusable, the processes of counting the number of held balls, ball feeding/ejection driving process, and subtracting the number of held balls, which will be described below, are not executed.

On the other hand, if the read remaining power is not 0, or if the read remaining power is 0 but the read number of balls is not 0, the payment machine 4 determines that the card is usable and the ball information is Card usability information is transmitted to the control board 110.

When a player presses the ball rental button to play a game, an operation signal of the ball rental button is input to the payment machine 4. In response to the operation signal from the ball rental button, the payment machine 4 performs ball rental processing, for example, transmits the specified number of rental balls to the ball information control MPU of the ball information control board 110, and then sends the ball information control MPU to the ball information control MPU. Wait until you receive the sent ball rental end message.

[Ball rental processing]
Here, the ball rental process executed by the ball information control MPU will be described. FIG. 87 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of ball rental processing performed by the ball information control MPU. Note that the ball rental process is executed as one of the payment machine communication processes in step S558 that are executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

When starting the ball rental process, the ball information control MPU determines whether or not the card usable information transmitted from the payment machine 4 is received (step S600). In step S600, if the card usage information transmitted from the payment machine 4 is received, the process advances to step S601, where the number of balls held counter (game machine The pitch count storage area) is cleared to 0 (step S601), and the process advances to step S602. On the other hand, if the card usability information transmitted from the payment machine 4 is not received in step S600, the process directly moves to step S602. Note that the initial value of the number-of-balls-held counter is set to "0" by setting the RAM work area at the time of power restoration in step S534.

Proceeding to step S602, the ball information control MPU determines whether or not the number of rental balls transmitted from the payment machine 4 is received (step S602). In step S602, if the number of rented balls transmitted from the payment machine 4 is received, the process advances to step S603, where the received number of rented balls is added to the value of the number of balls held counter (step S603), and The end of rental is transmitted to the payment machine 4 (step S604), and the ball rental processing subroutine is exited.

On the other hand, if the number of rental balls transmitted from the adjustment machine 4 is not received in step S602, the process does not proceed to steps S603 and S604 and directly exits the ball rental processing subroutine.

In this way, card usability information is transmitted to the ball information control board 110 only when a new usable card 303 is inserted into the payment machine 4. In addition, only when a ball rental button operation signal is input to the payment machine 4 after the card usage information is received, the number of rental balls is transmitted to the ball information control MPU. Then, when the number of pitches to be lent is received, the number of pitches to be lent is added to the value of the number-of-balls-held counter and stored for the first time.

[Ball hitability determination process]
Next, a description will be given of the ball hitting/unballing determination process executed by the ball information control MPU. FIG. 88 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of ball hitting/unball determination processing performed by the ball information control MPU. It should be noted that the ball-hittable/impossible-to-hit determination process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564, which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

When the ball information control MPU starts the process of determining whether or not a ball can be hit, it determines whether the number of balls held is 0, that is, whether the value of the number of balls held counter is 0 (step S710). If it is determined in step S710 that the value of the number of balls held counter is not 0, that is, if the determination in step S710 is NO, the process moves to step S711, and the firing waiting ball detection switch 70 (see FIG. 10) ) is on, that is, whether there is a waiting ball in the ball feeding device 28 (step S711).

If it is determined in step S711 that the firing standby ball detection switch 70 (see FIG. 10) is on, the firing flag is set to 1 (launching possible) (step S712), and the ball hitting determination process is performed. Exit the subroutine. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S710 that the value of the held balls counter is 0, and if it is determined in step S711 that the launch standby ball detection switch 70 is not on (off), The possible flag is set to 0 (unable to shoot) (step S713), and the process exits from the subroutine for determining whether or not the ball can be hit.

In this way, when the value of the held ball number counter is not 0 and there is a waiting ball in the ball feeding device 28, the firing solenoid 13 and the ball feeding solenoid 31 can be driven, and the ball feeding area 8 of the game ball is substantially The game is in a playable state where you can type into the game. Further, when the value of the held ball number counter is 0 or when there is no waiting ball in the ball feeding device 28, the firing solenoid 13 cannot be driven, and the ball is not actually driven into the game area 8. You are in a state where you cannot play the game. At the same time, the ball feed solenoid 31 cannot be driven.

[Counting the number of balls held]
Next, a process for counting the number of balls held, which corresponds to ball information processing during a game, will be explained assuming that the game has become substantially possible. FIG. 89 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for counting the number of balls held by the ball information control MPU. Note that the held ball count process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564, which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

When the ball information control MPU starts the process of counting the number of balls held, it determines whether or not there is a prize ball command analyzed in the command analysis process of step S562 (step S720). That is, it is determined whether or not the prize ball command is stored in the received command information storage area. If the prize ball command is stored, step S720 is determined to be yes, and the number of prize balls corresponding to the prize ball command stored in the received command information storage area is added and stored to the value of the number of balls held counter (step S722 ), the subroutine for counting the number of balls held is exited. On the other hand, if there is no memory of the prize ball command, step S720 is determined to be none, and the process exits from the subroutine for counting the number of balls held.

For example, if a winning occurs in a winning slot set to the number of prize balls "4", the number of prize balls "4" is added to the value of the number of balls held counter and stored, and for example, the number of prize balls "15" is added. When a prize is won in the winning hole (big winning hole) set to , the number of prize balls "15" is added and stored to the value of the number of balls held counter.

[Ball feeding/launch drive processing]
Next, the ball feeding/shooting drive process will be explained. FIGS. 90 and 91 are flowcharts showing an example of a subroutine of ball feeding/emission drive processing performed by the ball information control MPU. Note that the ball feeding/launching drive process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564, which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

Moreover, FIG. 24 is a time chart showing the drive timing of the ball feed solenoid 31 and the firing solenoid 13. The firing solenoid 13 is turned on when period A has elapsed from the time the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on, and the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off when period B has elapsed from the time the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, and the ball is fed. The firing solenoid 13 is turned off after a period C has elapsed from the time when the solenoid 31 was turned off.

In this embodiment, period A is 300 ms, period B is 30 ms, and period C is 50 ms. When the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball is sent to the shooting position (rail portion 332) by the ball feeding member 32. That is, the shot ball is detected by the shot ball confirmation switch 36. In this embodiment, if a game ball that is stopped at the firing position is detected by the firing ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time (period D is 30 ms), it is determined that there is a firing ball. do.

In this way, when a game ball parked at the firing position is detected by the firing ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that there is a firing ball, so that firing due to noise can be avoided. Erroneous ball counting can be eliminated, and reliability in detecting shot balls can be increased.

When the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, the game ball held at the firing position is launched into the game area 8 by the firing hammer 30, and the firing ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. This reduces the number of balls held by -1.

When the ball information control MPU starts the ball feeding/shooting drive process, it first determines whether or not the shooting enable flag is 1 (shooting possible) (step S730). When it is determined that the ball can be fired in the hittable/unavailable determination process described above, the firing flag is set to 1 (shottable). If it is determined in step S730 that the firing flag is not 1 (firing possible), that is, if the firing flag is 0 (firing not possible), the process exits from the subroutine of the ball feeding/firing drive process. In this case, the ball feeding/shooting driving process is not actually executed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S730 that the firing flag is 1 (fireable), the process moves to step S731, and it is determined whether the processing flag is 0 (step S731).

Here, the processing flag is a flag for identifying whether the ball information control MPU branches to any one of the processes in the ball feeding/launching drive process described below.In other words, the control in the ball feeding/launching drive It is a flag for identifying the state, and "0" means initial setting, and "1" defines the period from turning on the ball feed solenoid 31 until turning on the firing solenoid 13. Yes, "2" defines the period from when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on until the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off, and when "3" is set, the firing solenoid 13 is turned off after the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned off. This stipulates the period until.

At the time when the ball feeding/shooting drive process is started, the value of the process flag is set to 0. Therefore, it is determined YES in step S731, the process proceeds to step S732, a timer value corresponding to period A (see FIG. 24, 300 ms) is set in the timer (step S732), and the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned on (step S733). , sets the processing flag to 1 (step S734), and exits from the subroutine of ball feeding/shooting drive processing. Note that the timer value set in the timer is subtracted by 1 at a 2 ms cycle in the timer update process of step S556 in FIG.

The next processing cycle of the ball feeding/shooting drive processing will be 2 ms later. As a result of the processing flag being set to 1, in the next cycle of ball feeding/ejection drive processing, it is determined YES in step S730, NO is determined in step S731, and the process moves to step S735. In step S735, it is determined whether the value of the processing flag is 1 (step S735). In this case, since the processing flag is set to 1, it is determined YES in step S735, and the process proceeds to step S736, where it is determined whether the timer has timed up (step S736). If the timer has not timed up, the determination in step S736 is NO, and the process exits from the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting drive process.

Thereafter, until the timer that has set period A times up, based on the value 1 of the processing flag, step S730 is determined as YES, step S731 is determined as NO, step S735 is determined as YES, and step The processing routine in which S736 is determined to be NO is repeated.

Then, when the timer times out, it is determined as YES in step S736, and it is assumed that period A has elapsed, and the process proceeds to step S737, where a timer value corresponding to period B (see FIG. 26, 30 ms) is set in the timer. (Step S737), the firing solenoid 13 is turned on (Step S738), the processing flag is set to 2 (Step S739), and the subroutine of the ball feeding and firing drive processing is exited.

As a result of the processing flag being set to 2, in the next cycle of ball feeding/shooting drive processing, step S730 is determined to be YES, step S731 is determined to be NO, step S735 is determined to be NO, and the process proceeds to step S740. . In step S740, it is determined whether the value of the processing flag is 2 (step S740). In this case, since the processing flag is set to 2, it is determined as YES in step S740, and the process proceeds to step S741, where it is determined whether the timer has timed up (step S741). If the timer has not timed up, the determination in step S741 is NO, and the process exits from the subroutine of ball feeding and firing drive processing.

Thereafter, until the timer that set period B times up, step S730 is determined to be YES, step S731 is determined to be NO, step S735 is determined to be NO, and step S730 is determined to be YES, step S731 is determined to be NO, and step The processing routine of determining YES in S740 and NO in step S741 is repeated.

Then, when the timer times out, the determination in step S741 is YES, and it is assumed that period B has elapsed, and the process proceeds to step S742, where a timer value corresponding to period C (see FIG. 24, 50 ms) is set in the timer. (Step S742), the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned off (Step S743), the processing flag is set to 3 (Step S744), and the subroutine of ball feeding/ejection drive processing is exited.

As a result of the processing flag being set to 3, in the next cycle of ball feeding and firing drive processing, step S730 is determined to be YES, step S731 is determined to be NO, step S735 is determined to be NO, and step S740 is determined to be NO. It is determined, and the process moves to step S745. In step S745, it is determined whether the timer has timed up (step S745). If the timer has not timed up, the determination in step S745 is NO, and the process exits from the ball feeding/shooting drive process subroutine.

Thereafter, until the timer that set the period C times up, based on the value 3 of the processing flag, step S730 is determined as YES, step S731 is determined as NO, step S735 is determined as NO, and step The processing routine of determining NO in step S740 and NO in step S745 is repeated.

Then, when the timer times up, it is determined as YES in step S745, and the process proceeds to step S746 assuming that period C has elapsed.The firing solenoid 13 is turned off (step S746), and the processing flag is set to 0. It returns to the initial value (step S747) and exits from the subroutine for ball feeding and firing drive processing.

[Projected ball detection processing]
Next, the shot ball detection process will be explained. FIG. 92 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the launched ball detection process performed by the ball information control MPU. Note that the launched ball detection process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564, which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

When the ball information control MPU starts the shot ball detection process, it first determines whether the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is on (step S750). As described above, when the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball is sent to the shooting position (rail portion 332) by the ball sending member 32. That is, the fired ball confirmation switch 36 detects the fired ball.

If it is determined that the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is on, the value of the time counter, which is a counter for counting the time the ball is on, is incremented by 1 (step S751), and the process proceeds to step S753.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is not on, that is, if the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is off, the time counter is set to 0 (step S752), and the process proceeds to step S753.

Proceeding to step S753, it is determined whether the value of the time counter has reached a predetermined specified time D (30 ms in this example) (step S753). If the value of the time counter has not reached the predetermined time D, the determination in step S753 is NO, and the process exits from the subroutine of the shot ball detection process.

Since the firing ball detection process is executed every 2 ms, if the game ball that is stopped at the firing position by the firing ball confirmation switch 36 continues to be detected for a predetermined period D, the timing counter will be activated every 2 ms. The value increases by 1 until the value of the time counter reaches a predetermined specified time D (in this example, 30 ms, count value 15). In this case, it is determined YES in step S753, it is assumed that a shot ball has been detected, the shot ball detection flag is set to 1 (detected) (step S754), and the subroutine of the shot ball detection process is exited.

On the other hand, when noise enters the launched ball confirmation switch 36, the launched ball confirmation switch 36 is momentarily turned on, but then the launched ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. Therefore, since the value of the time counter is set to 0 in response to the firing ball confirmation switch 36 being turned off, the value of the time counter is set to a predetermined period D (in this example, 30 ms, count value 15). will never reach.

In this way, when a game ball parked at the firing position is detected by the firing ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that there is a firing ball, so that firing due to noise can be avoided. Erroneous ball counting can be eliminated, and reliability in detecting shot balls can be increased.

[Ball count subtraction process]
Next, the process of subtracting the number of balls held will be explained. FIG. 93 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for subtracting the number of balls held by the ball information control MPU. Note that the holding ball number subtraction process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564, which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

When the ball information control MPU starts the ball count subtraction process, it first determines whether the shot ball detection flag is 1 (detected) (step S760). If it is determined that the launched ball detection flag is not 1 (detected), that is, if the determination in step S760 is NO, the process exits from the subroutine for subtracting the number of balls held. In this case, the number of balls held is not subtracted.

If it is determined in step S760 that the launched ball detection flag is 1 (detected), that is, if it is determined as YES in step S760, the process proceeds to step S761, and whether the launched ball confirmation switch 36 is off or not is determined. It is determined whether or not (step S761). If it is determined in step S761 that the launched ball confirmation switch 36 is not off, that is, if the determination in step S761 is NO, the subroutine for subtracting the number of balls held is exited.

As described above, when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, the game ball parked at the firing position is launched into the game area 8 by the firing hammer 30, and the firing ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. This reduces the number of balls held by -1. In step S761, if it is determined that the launched ball confirmation switch 36 is off, that is, if it is determined as YES in step S761, the value of the number of held balls counter is -1 (step S762), and the value of the launched ball detection flag is set. 0 (no detection) is set (step S763), and the subroutine for subtracting the number of balls held is exited.

In this way, when a game ball that is stopped at the firing position is detected by the firing ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that there is a firing ball, and it is determined that there is a firing ball. If the game ball is not detected by the shot ball confirmation switch 36 under the condition that the game ball is not detected by the shot ball confirmation switch 36, it is determined that the game ball that was parked at the shooting position has been fired, and the number of balls held is reduced by one. 36, it is possible to eliminate incorrect ball counts of shot balls due to the noise, and it is possible to increase the reliability in detecting shot balls.

[Ball lifting drive processing]
Next, the lifting drive process will be explained. FIG. 94 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the lifting drive process performed by the ball information control MPU. Note that the lifting drive process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564, which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

When the ball information control MPU starts the transport drive process, it first determines whether or not the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is on (step S770). If it is determined in step S770 that the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is OFF, that is, if it is determined NO in step S770, the process proceeds to step S771, and it is determined whether or not the lifting/feeding inlet switch 156 is ON. (Step S771). In step S771, if it is determined that the lifting entrance switch 156 is on, that is, if it is determined as YES in step S771, the ball lifting motor 150 is driven (step S772), and the subroutine of the lifting drive process is performed. Go through.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S770 that the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is on, that is, if it is determined as YES in step S770, the ball lifting motor 150 is stopped (step S773), and the lifting drive process is started. Exit the subroutine.
Also, if it is determined in step S771 that the lifting inlet switch 156 is off, that is, if it is determined NO in step S771, the ball lifting motor 150 is stopped (step S773), and the lifting drive process is started. Exit the subroutine.

In this way, when no game ball is detected by the launch standby ball detection switch 26, it is determined that the required number of game balls is not present in the ball supply path member 24, and the ball feeding path When game balls waiting in line are detected in the ball supply path member 275, the ball lifting motor is driven and the ball feeding motor is activated to send the balls into the ball supply path member 24 by the launch waiting ball detection switch 26. On the condition that game balls waiting in line are detected, the driving of the ball lifting device 22 is stopped and the lifting of game balls is stopped. This can prevent ball clogging from occurring. As a result, since the game balls are lifted and transported, the game balls can be sent to the ball supply path member 24 in just the right amount.

Furthermore, compared to the game ball firing cycle of the batted ball firing device 29 in the upper firing unit 12 and the ball feeding cycle of the game balls of the ball feeding device 28, the game ball feeding frequency of the ball feeding device 22 to the ball supply path member 24 is The ball delivery cycle is set short. In this embodiment, the game ball firing cycle of the batted ball firing device 29 and the game ball feeding cycle of the ball feeding device 28 are 600 ms (100 shots per minute), and the ball feeding path member by the ball lifting device 22 The sending cycle of game balls to 24 is 384 ms.
As a result, during a game, the operation of the upper firing unit 12 causes the ball launcher 29 to launch the game ball into the gaming area, and the ball feeder 28 to send the game ball to the launch position. In addition, since the cycle of feeding the game balls to the ball supply path member 24 by the ball lifting device 22 is shorter than the cycle of feeding the game balls to the firing position, the ball is placed on standby before being lifted by the lifting/feeding inlet switch 156. If the state where the number of game balls is sufficient is maintained, the game balls in the ball supply path member 24 are no longer detected by the launch standby ball detection switch 26 while the game balls are being driven. Then, the ball lifting device 22 is driven to start lifting and transporting game balls, and the game balls are sent out to the ball supply path member 24 at a faster pace than the driving pace of the game balls. When the detection switch 26 detects the game balls waiting in line within the ball supply path member 24, the ball lifting device 22 stops driving, and the lifting of the game balls is stopped. In other words, during the game, the ball lifting and feeding operation of the ball lifting device 22 is performed intermittently, which prevents ball clogging from occurring and also allows the game to be carried out efficiently and stably. To efficiently supply a stable number of game balls to an upper firing unit.

In this embodiment, the game ball firing cycle of the batted ball firing device 29 and the game ball feeding cycle of the ball feeding device 28 are 600 ms (100 shots per minute), and the ball feeding device 22 has a ball feeding cycle of 600 ms (100 shots per minute). Although the feeding period of the game ball to the path member 24 is 384 ms, the method is not limited to this, and the shooting period of the game ball, the ball feeding period, and the feeding period of the game ball to the ball supply path member 24 are set as 384 ms. Various methods can be selected, such as setting the times to be 600 ms from each other.

[Ball jam notification process]
Next, the ball jamming notification process will be explained. FIG. 95 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of ball jam notification processing performed by the ball information control MPU. The ball jamming notification process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564, which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process. Further, the ball jam notification process is performed after the ball hitting/unball determination process shown in FIG. 88. Note that the launch standby ball detection switch 26 corresponds to a first launch standby ball detection means, and the launch standby ball detection switch 70 corresponds to a second launch standby ball detection means.

When the ball information control MPU 111 starts the ball jam notification process, it first determines whether or not the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is on (step S780). If it is determined in step S780 that the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is on, that is, if it is determined as YES in step S780, the ball lifting motor 150 is stopped (step S782), and the process proceeds to step S786, where the launch standby is performed. It is determined whether the ball detection switch is on (step S786). If it is determined in step S786 that the launch standby ball detection switch 70 is off, that is, if it is determined NO in step S786, the abnormality detection flag is set to 1 (step S788), and the notification means is turned on. (Step S789) The process exits from the subroutine for ball jamming notification processing.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S786 that the launch standby ball detection switch 70 is on, that is, if it is determined as YES in step S786, the process advances to step S787, and it is determined whether the abnormality detection flag is 1 ( Step S787). When the abnormality detection flag is determined to be 1 in step S787, that is, when it is determined as YES in step S787, the abnormality detection flag is cleared to 0 (step S790), the abnormality notification means is turned off (step S792), and the recovery notification means is turned on (step S794), and the subroutine of the ball jamming notification process is exited.

Further, if it is determined in step S780 that the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is off, that is, if it is determined NO in step S780, the ball lifting motor 150 is driven (step S784), and the abnormality detection flag is set. It is determined whether or not it is 1 (step S787). When it is determined that the abnormality detection flag is 0 in step S787, that is, when it is determined that step S787 is NO, the subroutine of the ball clogging notification process is exited.

In this way, the ball supply path member 24 and the ball feeding device 28 are equipped with sensors for detecting game balls, so that the game balls in the ball feeding path member 24 are detected, and the game balls in the ball feeding device 28 are detected. On the condition that the ball is not jammed, it is determined that the abnormal state is due to ball clogging, and an abnormality notification means (not particularly shown, but for example, by displaying a message to the effect of ball clogging on the touch panel part 14) is used to notify. Thereby, for example, it is possible to reliably notify the staff at the game hall that the balls are jammed.

In addition, the upper firing device 12 of this embodiment can be rotated by the upper firing device hinge 37 and can be opened and closed with respect to the main body frame 2 (Fig. 12), so that the staff member who receives the notification of ball jamming can After opening the door frame 3, the state of the upper firing device 12 can be immediately grasped, and ball jamming can be easily cleared. When the ball jam is cleared, the abnormality detection flag is cleared to 0 and the abnormality notification means stops. After that, the recovery notification means will notify you (for example, by displaying on the touch panel 14 to the extent that the game hall staff can recognize that the ball has recovered from the jammed ball condition (for example, 5 to 10 seconds)), so It can be recognized that the ball blockage has been cleared.

Further, the firing standby ball detection switch 70 is installed so as to detect a game ball near the firing position on the path of the ball feeding device 28, but it detects a game ball passing through the path of the ball feeding device 28. Various arrangement positions can be selected as long as it is possible to do so.

[Example 2]
In the pachinko machine 1 of the first embodiment, the upper firing device 12 is opened and closed following the opening and closing of the door frame 3 in order to avoid collision between the game board 5 and the upper firing device 12 when the game board 5 is attached to and removed from the main body frame 2. However, in the second embodiment, unlike this, the upper firing device 12 is fixed to the main body frame 2, and the structure related to the attachment/detachment operation of the game board 5 is improved, and the upper firing device 12 is connected to the game board 5. A structure is adopted to avoid collision with 12. The upper firing device 12 is one of the game ball firing devices disposed on either side of the front surface of the main body frame in the left and right direction, and is for firing game balls into the game area of the game board 5.

In the second embodiment, the upper firing device 12 is fixed to the upper left part of the main body frame 2 when viewed from the front of the gaming machine 1 (FIG. 97). Therefore, the game board 5 has a rectangular notch 47 in this embodiment at the upper left corner when viewed from the front (FIG. 98). That is, when the game board 5 is housed in the main body frame 2, the upper firing device 12 fits into the square notch 47. Further, when removing the game board 5 from the main body frame 2, the removal operation is started from this state.
In such a situation, the following configuration is adopted to prevent the game board 5 from colliding with the upper firing device 12 when the game board 5 is attached to and removed from the main body frame 2.
Note that the other configurations are not particularly different from the first embodiment, so the description of the first embodiment will be referred to.

[Body frame 2]
The main body frame 2 is box-shaped and includes a frame-shaped fitting frame 15 and a peripheral wall portion 16 so as to fit within the rectangular frame-shaped outer frame 1a (FIG. 97). Although the main body frame 2 has already been explained in detail using FIGS. 3 and 4, FIGS. 97 and 98 will be used again to make the main points of the second embodiment easier to understand. The fitting frame 15 has a rectangular accommodation opening 17 on its front side for fitting and accommodating the game board 5. The part on the lower side of the front side of the housing opening 17 that has a constant width in the front-rear direction is the lower front edge 600b of the main body frame 2, and the part on the upper side opposite to this that has a constant width in the front-rear direction is the main body frame. 12 upper front edge 600a.

Further, an upper firing device 12 is disposed on either side of the front surface of the main body frame 2 in the left-right direction (in this embodiment, the upper left side). The upper firing device 12 is a game ball firing device that fires game balls into the game area of the game board 5.

A lower guide member 601b is attached to the lower front edge 600b, and slider A and slider B are attached to this so as to be movable in the left-right direction. Slider A is placed to the left of slider B. Further, an upper guide member 601a is attached to the upper front edge 600a, and a slider C is attached to this so as to be movable in the left-right direction (indicated by a broken line in FIG. 97).

In this embodiment, the upper and lower guide members 601a and 601b are strong members (FIG. 99A) made of molded steel plates and basically have a C-channel-shaped cross section. It is composed of rear rising portions 603a, 603b and front and rear ribs 604a, 604b which are folded back in opposite directions from the upper ends of these rising portions 603a, 603b (FIGS. 99B and 100).

The lower guide member 601b has approximately the same length as the lower front edge 600b of the housing opening 17 of the main body frame 2, and the upper guide member 601a is located on the left side of the left peripheral wall of the main body frame 2 than the upper front edge 600a. It is smaller from the inner surface by a distance d1, which is slightly larger than the right end of the upper firing device 12 (FIG. 97). Furthermore, stoppers 605a and 605b are attached to both the upper and lower guide members 601a and 601b at positions slightly to the right of the distance d1. The stoppers 605a, 605b are fixed to the front ribs 604a of the upper and lower guide members 601a, 601b, and in this position, the game board 5 is gradually moved as shown as a-1, a-2, etc. in FIG. The arrangement is such that the tip of the game board 5 cannot be passed toward the left peripheral wall unless it is rotated in a direction parallel to the front surface of the main body frame 2 (clockwise in the figure).

As shown in FIG. 99, sliders A, B, and C are all piece members, and are fitted between the front and rear rising walls 603a and 603b of the guide members 601a and 601b. The sliders A, B, and C are prevented from falling off the guide members 601a and 601b by front and rear ribs 604a and 604b (FIG. 100B) having a width d2, and can slide left and right on the guide members 601a and 601b. will be installed on the The width d2 is a dimension that can prevent the slider A from slipping out of the guide member 601b even when, for example, a large force is applied in the direction in which the slider A slips upward due to the weight of the game board 5. As shown in FIGS. 100(a) and 100(b), sliders A, B, and C are all equipped with sliding legs 606 to make sliding easier, and also have sliding legs 606 that are connected to the bottoms 602 of guide members 601a and 601b. A space 607 is provided in between. In order to make the sliding movement lighter, sliders A, B, and C should be made of synthetic resin that slides easily on steel surfaces, or sliders A, B, and C should be in contact with the bottoms 602 of guide members 601a and 601b. For example, install roller bearings to

A receiving hole 609 (FIG. 99B) is provided in the center of the slider A to receive a pivot shaft 608 (FIG. 98) provided at the lower front portion of the game board 5. The depth of the receiving hole 609 from the surface of the slider A is d3 (FIG. 100A). Engaging protrusions 610b and 610a are formed on the upper surface of the slider B and the lower surface of the slider C in the upper guide member 601a, respectively. The engaging protrusions 610b and 610a, as shown in FIG. 100(b), are bolt-shaped and made sturdy with a head 610c projecting rearward. Relief recesses are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the game board 5 so that these heads 610c can be accommodated and do not interfere with the rotation of the game board 5.

The aforementioned pivot shaft 608 is fixed to the front part of the bottom surface of the game board 5 (FIGS. 98 and 102A), and one end of the lower lever 611b is horizontally rotated about a shaft 612b at a distance of a dimension d4 (approximately 100 mm) from this. (Fig. 102b). The length of the pivot shaft 608 is shorter than the depth d3 of the receiving hole 609 (FIG. 100). Further, a washer 608a having a thickness slightly larger than the thickness dimension d5 of the upper and lower levers 611a and 611b is fixed to the base of the pivot shaft 608. This is to create a gap of dimension d5 between the upper surface of the lower guide member 601b and the lower surface of the game board. The lower lever 611b has a hook recess 613b opened laterally at the other end, and the dimension between the center of the shaft 612b and the hook recess 613b is approximately equal to the dimension d4.

A shaft 612a is attached to the upper surface of the game board 5 at a position corresponding to the shaft 612b on the lower surface, and one end of the upper lever 611a is attached to the shaft 612a so as to be horizontally rotatable. The upper lever 611a has a hook recess 613a opened laterally at the other end, and the dimension between the center of the shaft 612a and the hook recess 613a is approximately equal to the dimension d4.

[Accommodating game boards]
The door frame 3 is opened to expose the front side of the main body frame 2.
A rectangular housing opening 17 is visible on the front surface of the main body frame 2, and a lower guide member 601b is attached to its lower front edge 600b, and an upper guide member 601a is attached to its upper front edge 600a. Lift up the game board 5, maintain the board surface vertically, and vertically rotate it clockwise so that the left end of the game board 5 is at the rear, to take the a-1 position in FIG. 101. First, the left pivot shaft 608 is inserted into the receiving hole 609 of the slider A, and the load on the left side of the game board is supported by the main body frame 2 through the slider A. The length of the pivot shaft 608 is shorter than the dimension d3 from the upper surface of the front and rear ribs 604a, 604b to the upper surface of the bottom portion 602 of the lower guide member 601b, and the lower end does not reach the bottom portion 602 of the guide member. The slider A is moved to the right side of the lower guide member 601b in advance.

The game board 5 is rotated slightly to the left around the pivot shaft 608, and the right end of the game board 5 is brought closer to the main body frame 2 to take the a-2 posture in FIG. 101. Then, the lower lever 611b on the lower surface of the game board 5 is rotated to engage the hook recess 613b at the tip with the engagement protrusion 610b of the slider B. Similarly, the upper lever 611a on the upper surface of the game board 5 is rotated to engage the hook recess 613a at the tip with the engagement protrusion 610a of the slider C on the upper guide member 601a.

As a result, most of the load of the game board 5 is supported by the main body frame 2, so the operator, while supporting the right end of the game board 5, moves the pivot shaft 608 so that the left end of the game board 5 approaches the upper firing device 12. Move slider A to the upper firing device 12 side.

At this time, since the heads 610c and 610c (FIG. 100B) of the engaging protrusions 610b and 610a protrude rearward as described above, the front end sides of the lower lever 611b and upper lever 611a that engage with these are the game board. Even if the hook recess 613b and hook recess 613a of the lower lever 611b and upper lever 611a are pushed downward by the weight of It does not easily come off from the heads 610c, 610c, and the game board 5 can be moved stably.

Returning to the above, use the pivot shaft 608 to move the slider A toward the upper firing device 12 so that the left end of the game board 5 approaches the upper firing device 12, and at the same time push the right end of the game board 5 toward the main body frame 2 side. do. The degree of pushing is such that when the game board 5 rotates to the left around the pivot shaft 608, the control board box etc. attached to the back side of the game board 5 protrudes from the edge of the housing opening 17 of the main body frame 2. This is done while moving the pivot shaft 608 to the left along the lower guide member 601b in combination with rotation so as not to collide with the lower guide member 601b. When the game board 5 moves along the upper and lower guide members 601a and 601b, the sliders A, B and C move the guide members 601a and 601b in the same direction, and when the game board 5 is rotated to the left, the sliders A, B and C move the guide members 601a and 601b in the same direction. The distance between A and B increases. That is, the triangle ABD changes to become flat, with the axis 612b of the lower lever 611b being the point D.

In addition, in order to move the game board 5 to the left, the game board 5 can be moved with the right end facing forward (for example, a-1) until the game board 5 contacts the stoppers 605a and 605b. . However, after the game board 5 comes into contact with the stoppers 605a, 605b, it is not possible to move the game board 5 in that position. It is necessary to move by combining movement and rotation to the left.

Finally, as shown in a-3 of FIG. 101, the front surface of the game board 5 is brought into a position parallel to the front surface of the main body frame 2, and is pushed to the left. The lower lever 611b fits into the gap between the game board 5 and the lower guide member 601b, and the upper lever 611a fits into the gap between the game board 5 and the upper guide member 601a.

The game board 5 pushed leftward is connected to the connector on the main body frame 2 side by a drawer type connector provided on the left side surface. The accommodated game board 5 is maintained in the accommodated state by a fixture 614 attached to the main body frame 2 side.

In this manner, when the game board 5 is housed in the main body frame 2, the lower part of the game board 5 on the upper firing device 12 side is supported by the lower front edge of the main body frame 2 so as to be movable in the left and right direction and horizontally rotated. Most of the weight of the game board 5 is supported by the main body frame 2, and the operator can easily move the game board 5 relative to the main body frame 2 using the slider and pivot, so the game board 5 can be accommodated comfortably. Can be performed carefully and under control.

In addition, since the stoppers 605a and 605b are provided, even if the game board 5 moves while not being parallel to the front surface of the main body frame 2, it comes into contact with the stoppers 605a and 605b and is prevented from moving, and the upper firing device 12 There will be no conflict. Furthermore, since the game board 5 cannot pass through the positions of these stoppers 605a and 605b unless its posture is rotated in a direction parallel to the front surface of the main body frame 2, the game board 5 must be accommodated in the correct arrangement. Ru.

[Removal of game board]
The door frame 3 is opened to expose the front side of the main body frame 2. The fixture 614 is operated to release the game board 5 from being fixed to the main body frame 2. First pull out the game board 5 to the right to separate the drawer connector from the main body frame 2 side, then pull out the right side of the game board 5 toward you and rotate it to the right around the pivot shaft 608 to remove the game board 5. Pull it out from the main body frame 2. In this state, the hook recesses 613a, 613b at the tips of the upper and lower levers 611a, 611b are removed from the engagement protrusions 610a, 610b. Then, after moving the lower end of the game board 5 to the right along the guide member 601b, the game board 5 is lifted and the pivot shaft 608 is pulled out from the slider A. Thereby, the game board 5 can be separated from the main body frame 2 and taken out.

In this case as well, the game board 5 is separated from the upper firing device 12 by sliding the stored game board 5 to the right once and pulling it out, and then the game board 5 is rotated to the right and left around the pivot shaft 608. Since the drawer connector can be removed without damaging the drawer connector with the main body frame 2, collision between the upper firing device 12 and the game board 5 can be avoided.

The second embodiment has been described above using a game machine equipped with the upper firing device 12 as an example, but in this invention, the firing device is not limited to the upper part, but can be placed on either side of the front surface of the main body frame in the left or right direction. It can be applied if it is placed.

[Electrical connection between game board 5 and main body frame 2]
The electrical connection of the game board 5 to the main body frame 2 will be explained using FIG. 107. FIG. 107 is a block diagram showing a game board and main body frame connected using a drawer connector. Mechanical and electrical connections between the game board 5 and the main body frame 2 are made using drawer connectors. The game board 5 is provided with a main drawer connector on the game board side and a sub drawer connector on the game board side, and the main body frame 2 is provided with a main drawer connector on the main body frame side and a sub drawer connector on the main body frame side. There is. By fitting the game board 5 into the main body frame 2, the main drawer connector on the game board side and the main drawer connector on the main body frame side, the secondary drawer connector on the game board side and the secondary drawer connector on the main body frame side are connected, and the game board 5 and the main body frame 2 are connected mechanically and at the same time electrically. This makes it possible to perform electrical communication between the game board 5 and the main body frame 2.

[Authentication of main control board 100 and ball information control board 110]
When it becomes possible to perform electrical communication between the game board 5 and the main body frame 2 as described above, mutual authentication between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 is performed when the power is turned on. The authentication functions of the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 will be explained using FIG. 107.

Although it has been explained that the ID code is stored in advance in the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 described above, the ID code described above is also stored in advance in the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110. Hereinafter, the ID code stored in advance in the main control MPU 101 will be referred to as a first MPU recognition number, and the ID code stored in advance in the ball information control MPU 111 will be referred to as a second MPU recognition number.

An example of wording in this embodiment will be presented. The main control board 100 corresponds to the first control board, the ball information control board 110 corresponds to the second control board, the main control MPU 101 corresponds to the first MPU, and the ball information control MPU 111 corresponds to the second MPU.

The main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 in this embodiment are capable of two-way data communication, and by performing authentication processing between the boards when the power is turned on, each MPU is verified to be a genuine one. The configuration is such that it can be determined whether or not it exists. The details will be explained below.

The main control board 100 includes at least a main control MPU 101, and the main control MPU 101 includes a first MPU identification number storage section 101a in which a first MPU identification number stored in advance is stored, and whether the second MPU identification number is appropriate. A first authentication unit 162 that performs authentication processing, and a main encrypted communication unit 160 that encrypts information sent to the ball information control MPU 111 and decrypts information sent from the ball information control MPU 111, Furthermore, the first authentication section 162 includes a second MPU identification number storage section 161 that stores a second MPU identification number.

Further, the ball information control board 110 includes at least a ball information control MPU 111, and the ball information control MPU 111 includes a second MPU identification number storage section 111a in which a second MPU identification number stored in advance is stored, and a second MPU identification number storage section 111a in which a second MPU identification number stored in advance is stored. A second authentication unit 167 performs authentication processing to determine whether the information is proper, and a sphere information encryption communication unit 165 encrypts information transmitted to the main control MPU 101 and decrypts information transmitted from the main control MPU 101. The second authentication section 167 further includes a first MPU identification number storage section 166 that stores the first MPU identification number.

When the gaming machine is powered on, the first MPU identification number is encrypted by the main encryption communication unit 160 from the first MPU identification number storage unit 101a through bidirectional communication between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110. The second MPU identification number from the ball information control MPU 111 is encrypted by the ball information encryption communication unit 165 and then transmitted to the main encryption communication unit 160.

Next, the main control MPU 101 decrypts the second MPU identification number transmitted from the ball information encryption communication section 165 from the ball information control MPU 111 using the main encryption communication section 160, and then decrypts the second MPU identification number transmitted from the ball information encryption communication section 165 from the ball information control MPU 111 using the main encryption communication section 160. The ball information control MPU 111 decrypts the first MPU identification number transmitted from the main control MPU 101 using the ball information encryption communication section 165 and then stores it in the second MPU identification number storage section 161 . 1MPU identification number storage unit 166.

Next, the main control MPU 101 performs authentication processing in the first authentication section 162 based on the second MPU identification number stored in the second MPU identification number storage section 161, and determines whether the second MPU identification number is appropriate. do.

On the other hand, the ball information control MPU 111 performs authentication processing in the second authentication section 167 based on the first MPU identification number stored in the first MPU identification number storage section 166, and determines that the first MPU identification number is appropriate. to judge.

If it is determined that the main control MPU 101 and the ball control MPU 111 are appropriate based on the results of authentication by the first authentication section 162 and the second authentication section 167, when the main control side power is turned on in FIG. Processing and ball information The start of the control-side power-on process shown in FIG. The start of the control-side power-on process is not permitted, making it impossible to play games.

With these configurations, mutual authentication processing is performed between the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111, and if the authentication processing is not performed properly, the game is not played. It becomes possible to effectively prevent fraudulent acts such as replacing the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111 with counterfeit chips.

As described above, when it is determined that the mutual authentication results are appropriate in the mutual authentication processing performed between the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111, the main control side power-on processing and the diagram of FIG. The start of the ball information control side power-on processing of 82 is permitted. In other words, the game board 5 is properly attached to the main body frame 2 on the condition that the mutual authentication results are determined to be appropriate in the mutual authentication process performed between the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111. It is guaranteed that the game board 5 is present in the main body frame 2.

[Position of upper firing device 12 with respect to game board 5]
As described above, in the upper firing device 12 of this embodiment, the base plate 39 is arranged on the front left side of the base plate 39 with respect to the main body frame 2 in order to make the upper firing device 12 movable. It is attached so that it can be opened and closed using a hinge 37. The base plate 39 can be opened forward about the upper firing device hinge 37 (FIGS. 9, 12, and 96). After fitting the game board 5 into the main body frame 2, the upper firing device 12 is moved to the original position, thereby completing the work of fitting the game board 5 into the main body frame 2.

However, when the upper firing device 12 is returned to its original position, if the positional relationship between the upper firing device 12 and the game board 5 is not in the correct position (referred to as the normal position), for example, the upper firing device 12 and the game board If there is any misalignment at the boundary between the upper firing device 12 and the firing port 38, this will impede the travel of the ball hit from the firing port 38 of the upper firing device 12, and the player may not be able to reach the game area 8 divided on the game board 5 as intended. There is a risk that the ball will not be hit properly in the area where the ball is being hit. In that case, the player's interest in playing the game will be lost.

[Position detection sensor]
Therefore, in this embodiment, in a game machine in which the firing device (upper firing device 12) is movably arranged at the upper part of the main body frame 2, the upper firing device 12 is placed in the correct position (referred to as the normal position) with respect to the game board 5. A position detection sensor 180 is provided to detect whether it is set. FIG. 108 is a perspective view showing the upper firing device 12 in an open state with respect to the game board 5, and FIG. 109 is a perspective view showing the upper firing device 12 in a closed state with respect to the game board 5.

In this embodiment, the position detection sensor 180 includes a light emitting element 181 and a light receiving element 182. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 108, a light projecting element 181 is arranged on the side surface of the protruding portion 48 of the panel holder 43 of the game board 5. In addition, when the upper firing device 12 is in a closed state with respect to the main body frame 2, the position corresponding to the light projecting element 181 arranged on the game board 5, that is, the position of the upper firing device 12 corresponding to the light projecting element 181 is A light receiving element 182 is arranged on the open side.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 107, when the game board 5 and the main body frame 2 are connected mechanically and electrically at the same time, power is supplied from the main body frame side to the game board side. A predetermined voltage generated by a power supply circuit (not shown) provided in the game board 5 is applied to the light projecting element 181, and the light projecting element 181 emits light (for example, It is designed to emit infrared rays.

Further, as shown in FIG. 107, the light receiving element 182 is electrically connected to the sphere information control board 110. Note that the detection signal from the light receiving element 182 is input to the ball information control MPU 111 through the ball information control I/O port 112 (see FIG. 77).

When the upper firing device 12 is in an open state with respect to the main body frame 2 (FIG. 108), or even when the upper firing device 12 is in a closed state with respect to the main body frame 2, it is not in the normal position with respect to the game board 5. When there is no light, the light projected from the light projecting element 181 arranged on the game board 5 side is not received by the light receiving element 182 arranged on the upper emitting device 12 side, and the light receiving element 182 is turned off.

On the other hand, when the upper firing device 12 is in a closed state with respect to the main body frame 2 and is in a normal position with respect to the game board 5, light is projected from the light projecting element 181 arranged on the game board 5 side. However, the light is received by the light receiving element 182 disposed on the side of the upper emitting device 12, and the light receiving element 182 is turned on.

In this embodiment, on the condition that the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 detects that the upper firing device 12 is in the normal position with respect to the game board via the position detection sensor 180, in other words, Then, on the condition that the detection state of the light receiving element 182 of the position detection sensor 180 is on, it is configured to determine whether the number of all the enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount or not. ing. Note that the determination of whether the number of all enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount will be described later.

[Launcher set position determination process]
FIG. 110 shows a subroutine of a firing device set position determination process performed by the ball information control MPU in an embodiment that employs a position detection sensor 180 that detects whether the upper firing device 12 is set at a normal position with respect to the game board 5. It is a flowchart which shows.

In this embodiment, the firing device set position determination process is performed when the power is turned on and when there is a possibility that the upper firing device 12 has been moved from its normal position with respect to the game board 5. It is executed when the door frame 3 is opened or closed.

Furthermore, when the door frame 3 is opened and closed with respect to the main body frame 2, the firing device set position determination process is executed. This is because when a malfunction occurs in the launcher 12, the store clerk first opens and closes the door frame 3 in order to investigate and resolve the cause of the malfunction (the door frame 3 is left open relative to the main body frame 2). Otherwise, the structure is such that the upper firing device 12 cannot be touched).

When the ball information control MPU starts the firing device set position determination process, it determines whether the position detection sensor is on (step S700). That is, it is determined whether the upper firing device 12 is in a closed state with respect to the main body frame 2 and in a normal position with respect to the game board 5.

If it is determined in step S700 that the position detection sensor is on, this means that the upper firing device 12 is in a closed state with respect to the main body frame 2 and is in a normal position with respect to the game board 5. , the determination in step S700 is YES, and the process proceeds to step S701. In other words, on the condition that the upper firing device 12 is detected to be in the correct position with respect to the game board 5 via the position detection sensor 180, whether or not the number of all enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount. Allow judgment of. In this case, there is no step or the like that would be an obstacle when the game ball travels between the launch port 38 of the upper launch device 12 and the game area 8 of the game board 5.

Proceeding to step S701, the ball information control MPU displays on the touch panel unit 14 (an example of a notification means) that the upper firing device 12 is set at the normal position (step S701), for about 2 to 3 seconds. The subroutine for determining the firing device set position is exited.

FIG. 110(C) is an example of a display displayed on the touch panel unit 14 when the upper firing device 12 is set at the normal position with respect to the game board. FIG. 110(C) shows that the touch panel unit 14 is informed by, for example, text "The firing device has been set in the correct position." This allows the store clerk to confirm that the upper firing device 12 is set in the correct position.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S700 that the position detection sensor is not on (if the position detection sensor is off), even if the upper firing device 12 is in a closed state with respect to the main body frame 2, This means that the position is deviated from the normal position with respect to the game board 5, so the determination in step S700 is NO and the process proceeds to step S702.

Proceeding to step S702, the ball information control MPU displays on the touch panel unit 14 (an example of a notification means) that the upper firing device 12 is not set at the normal position (step S702), and returns to step S700. Therefore, until the position detection sensor is turned on, in other words, until the upper firing device 12 is set to the normal position, the ball information control MPU determines NO in step S700 and repeats the processing loop of performing step S702.

Thereby, when the position detection sensor is off, that is, when the upper firing device 12 is not set at the normal position, the ball information control MPU does not exit the subroutine of the firing device set position determination process.

In other words, if it is not detected that the upper firing device 12 is in the normal position with respect to the game board 5 via the position detection sensor 180, the firing device set position determination process enters a standby state by the processing loop described above, and each subsequent stage The process does not proceed, and the process stops without proceeding to a process for determining whether the number of all enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount or whether there is an excess or deficiency.

FIG. 110(B) is an example of a display displayed on the touch panel unit 14 when the upper firing device is not set in the correct position with respect to the game board. FIG. 110(B) shows that the touch panel unit 14 is informed by text, for example, "The firing device is not set in the correct position." Thereby, the store clerk can understand that the upper firing device 12 is not set in the normal position, and performs the work to set the upper firing device 12 in the normal position again.

When the upper firing device 12 is set to the normal position by this operation, the position detection sensor is turned on, and the ball information control MPU determines YES in step S700, and in step S701, the upper firing device 12 A message indicating that is set at the normal position is displayed (step S701), for example, for about 2 to 3 seconds, and the subroutine for determining the firing device set position is exited.

In this way, according to the enclosed ball game machine of the embodiment described above, since the position detection sensor 180 that detects that the position of the upper firing device 12 is in the normal position with respect to the game board 5 is provided, the main body It is possible to detect whether the upper firing device 12 movably arranged in the upper part of the frame 2 is set at the correct position with respect to the game board 5 fitted into the main body frame 2.

Further, the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 that controls the operation of the upper firing device 12 detects that the upper firing device 12 is at the normal position with respect to the game board 5 via the position detection sensor 180 (light receiving element 182). On the condition that this is detected, it is configured to determine whether the number of all enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount or whether there is an excess or deficiency.

Therefore, if the positional relationship between the upper firing device 12 and the game board 5 is not in the correct position (regular position), for example, if there is a misalignment at the boundary between the upper firing device 12 and the game board 5. Since the above processing loop puts the player in a standby state in the firing device set position determination process, the process does not proceed to each process required to fire the game ball, and as a result, the ball is not fired, so the game itself is not performed. This prevents the player from losing interest in the game due to the ball not being properly hit at the player's intended location on the game area 8 divided on the game board 5. can.

[About all enclosed game balls]
By the way, the enclosed ball game machine described in the above embodiment is of a type that does not include a storage unit that collectively stores all the enclosed balls that are used cyclically. In this type of enclosed ball game machine, it is not easy to accurately detect and manage the number of all game balls enclosed within the gaming machine main body.

For example, the game balls enclosed in the game machine are transported through a ball feeding path upstream of the batted ball launching device 29 disposed at the upper part of the main body frame 2 [for example, a ball feeding guide gutter 69 or a lifting communication gutter 65 (FIG. 11). ], or are collected on the back side of the game board 5 via the out port 42 or winning port 41 provided in the game area 8, and are sent to the ball transport device 22. The circulation path of game balls may be in a standby state inside the magnetic ball discharge unit 20 or inside the ball collecting section 21, or inside the ball lifting device 22 that lifts the game balls upward. It exists in several locations.

If the number of all the game balls enclosed in the game machine body is not the appropriate amount (30 balls as an example), for example, if the number of all the game balls enclosed is greater than the appropriate amount (referred to as too many game balls), the circulation path The ball is more likely to get jammed somewhere. Further, for example, if the number of all enclosed game balls is less than the appropriate amount (referred to as a shortage of game balls), there is a concern that there will be a shortage of shot balls during the game. In particular, if a shortage of balls occurs during a jackpot game, there is a risk that a serious situation will occur in which the players will be inconvenienced because they will not be able to hit the balls into the game area.

In addition, if the number of game balls enclosed in the game machine body is not the appropriate amount, there will be an imbalance in the number of game balls that can be used when comparing machines of the same model, and the number of game balls given to players will be A problem arises in that the principle of ensuring fairness is disrupted.

In addition, a game ball hit into the game area 8 during a game can get caught between a large number of obstacle nails forming a gauge in the game area 8, and prevent the subsequent balls from flowing down the game area 8. , a phenomenon in which a large number of game balls hit into the game area 8 overlap one after another to create a lump, so-called "grape", may occur.

If such a problem occurs, call the hall clerk using a call lamp or the like, inform the clerk of the problem, and the clerk will take care of the problem. That is, when the clerk inserts the key into the cylinder lock and rotates it in one direction, the hook cover of the door frame 3 disengages from the hook part of the sliding rod for the door frame of the main body frame 2, and the door frame 3 is removed. The door frame 3 can be opened from the main body frame 2 by pulling it toward the front side.

The clerk removes all the game balls from the area where grapes are occurring in the game area, throws them into the outlet 42, and then closes the door frame 3 against the main body frame 2 to complete the elimination work. However, while trying to remove the game ball from the area where the grapes are occurring, the game ball may be accidentally spilled outside the machine and lost. In this way, even if a lost game ball cannot be returned to the game machine when the door frame 3 is opened or closed, the number of game balls sealed inside the game machine body is not the appropriate amount, and a ball shortage occurs. state.

[Judging the appropriate amount of all enclosed game balls]
Therefore, in this embodiment, there is an enclosed ball type game machine in which a game is played by circulating a predetermined number of game balls in a closed manner, and it is possible to check whether the number of all the enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount. The ball information control board 110 is provided with a control means for determining the number of enclosed balls (hereinafter also referred to as determining the appropriate amount of balls).

[Ball recovery device]
As mentioned earlier, the collection port 202 provided at the top of the irregularly shaped ball/magnetic ball ejection unit 20 shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the deformed sphere/magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 functions as a sphere recovery device (FIG. 5).

FIG. 111 is a front view of the ball recovery device 240 in this embodiment. A recovery port 202 that opens upward is formed at the top of the ball recovery device 240 . The out ball flows into the collection port 202 via the out port 42 (see FIGS. 2, 3, and 5). The safe ball flows into the collection port 202 via the winning port 41 (see FIG. 5).

A substantially hopper-shaped ball retaining portion 241 is formed that communicates with the edge of the ball receiving gutter base 201 forming the collection port 202 and extends downward to one side. A ball discharge gutter 242 is bent at the lower part of the ball retaining part 241 and allows the game balls in the ball retaining part 241 to flow down toward the irregularly shaped ball discharge part 204, and a recovered ball detection switch is installed in the upper part of the ball discharge gutter 242. 203 is arranged.

Above the recovered ball detection switch 203, a ball retaining stopper member 243 that opens or blocks the lower part of the ball retaining portion 241 is provided so as to be openable and closable in the front and rear directions. The ball retention stopper member 243 allows the game ball to flow down in the ball retention part 241 in an open state in which it retreats backward from the lower part of the ball retention part 241, and in a closed state in which it enters forward into the lower part of the ball retention part 241. The game ball can be stopped in the ball holding part 241 by blocking the game ball from flowing down.

A ball retaining stopper solenoid 244 is provided on the back surface of the ball receiving gutter base 201 as a ball retaining stopper driving means for opening and closing the ball retaining stopper member 243 shown in broken lines. A plunger biased rearward by a spring or the like (not shown) is inserted into and out of the ball retaining stopper solenoid 244, and an operating rod (not shown) is engaged with the tip of the plunger. A ball stopper member 243 is engaged with the operating rod.

As a result, when the ball retaining stopper solenoid 244 is in a non-energized state, the plunger assumes an extended state due to the bias of the spring, moves the operating rod rearward, and is engaged with the operating rod. The ball retaining stopper member 243 assumes a rearward position. That is, the ball retention stopper member 243 takes an open state in which it retreats backward from the lower part of the ball retention part 241, and the game ball is allowed to flow down in the ball retention part 241.

On the other hand, when the ball retaining stopper solenoid 244 is in an energized state, the plunger is attracted against the bias of the spring and the operating rod moves forward, causing the ball engaged with the operating rod to move forward. The stopper member 243 assumes a forwardly moved position. That is, the ball retention stopper member 243 enters the lower part of the ball retention part 241 in a closed state, and the flow of game balls in the ball retention part 241 is blocked. Therefore, the game balls that have flowed into the collection port 202 are stopped in the ball holding section 241.

[Control means for determining the number of enclosed balls that determines the appropriate amount of pitches]
Next, the enclosed ball number determination control process (enclosed pitch number determination control means) executed by the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 will be described. In this embodiment, the enclosed ball number determination control process is generally performed by activating the ball retention stopper driving means (ball retention stopper solenoid 244) to close the ball retention stopper member 243, so that the ball retention stopper member 243 is closed. A ball retention control process that causes game balls collected via the opening 42 to the collection port 202 of the ball collection device 240 to be retained in the ball retention portion 241 of the ball collection device 240, a ball firing device 29 (launching solenoid 13), and balls. By operating the conveyance device (ball feeding rotary body 350 and ball lifting motor 150 that drives the ball lifting device 22) and the ball feeding device 28 (ball feeding solenoid 31), all enclosed game balls are moved to the gaming area. When the game ball is being fired by executing the game ball firing control process and the game ball firing control process to be fired at 8, based on the detection signal of the fired ball confirmation means (launched ball confirmation switch 36), it is determined whether or not the game ball has been fired. A game ball count process that counts the number of game balls, and a determination as to whether a predetermined termination condition has been met.If it is determined that the termination condition has been met, the game ball count process is performed to count the number of game balls. After completion of the process, the number of game balls counted by the game ball number counting process is taken as the total number of game balls enclosed, and the total number of game balls is compared with a predetermined appropriate amount, and the total number of game balls is calculated. The method includes a process for determining an appropriate amount of game balls, which determines whether or not the number of game balls is an appropriate amount.

Further, in this embodiment, the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 is configured to execute the enclosed ball number determination control process when the power is turned on or when the door frame 3 is opened or closed with respect to the main body frame 2. ing.

The enclosed ball game machine of the embodiment includes at least a notification means for notifying whether or not the number of game balls is appropriate. In this example, the touch panel section 14 is used as the notification means, for example. Further, when it is determined that there is an excess or deficiency in the appropriate number of game balls determination process, a message to the effect that there is an excess or deficiency is output to the touch panel unit 14.

This embodiment has a door frame release switch 131 (see FIG. 77) that detects the opening of the door frame 3 with respect to the main body frame 2, and the sphere information control MPU 111 of the sphere information control board 110 detects the door frame release switch 131. Based on the signal, the door frame 3 is opened and closed, which means that the door frame 3 has transitioned from a state in which it is open to the main body frame 2 to a state in which the door frame 3 is closed to the main body frame 2. If it is determined in the door frame opening/closing determination process that the door frame 3 has been opened or closed, a control process for determining the number of enclosed balls is executed.

[Number of enclosed balls determination control process]
FIG. 112 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment of a subroutine for controlling the number of enclosed balls determined by the ball information control MPU 111 (hereinafter simply referred to as the ball information control MPU). When the ball information control MPU starts the enclosed ball number determination control process, it first sets an initial value of 0 to a ball number counter for counting all the game balls enclosed in the gaming machine (step S900). . Next, in order to stop the game balls collected in the collection port 202 of the ball collection device 240 via the winning port 41 or the out port 42 in the ball storage portion 241 of the ball collection device 240, the ball retention stopper solenoid 244 is activated. It is turned on (step S902).

In step S902, the ball retaining stopper member 243 assumes a position in which it has moved forward, and the ball retaining stopper member 243 enters the lower part of the ball retaining portion 241 in a closed state, thereby blocking the flow of game balls in the ball retaining portion 241. be done. Therefore, regarding the circulation path of the enclosed game balls, the game balls that exist downstream of the ball retention stopper member 243 are controlled by the ball feeding rotary body 350 shown in FIG. The ball is transported toward the ball feeding device 28 located above by the ball transporting operation.

Next, the ball information control MPU drives the ball lifting motor 150 (FIG. 44) in order to transport the game balls present downstream from the ball retaining stopper member 243 toward the ball feeding device 28 (step S904). Note that the process of step S905 will be described later.

Then, the initial value 0 is set to the processing flag related to the ball feeding/shooting drive process in step S908 (step S906), and the process proceeds to the ball feeding/shooting drive process (step S908). Note that the processing flag will be described later.

The ball feeding and firing drive process in step S908 is basically the same process as the ball feeding and firing drive process shown in FIGS. 90 and 91, but the ball feeding and firing drive process shown in FIGS. Since this process is executed in the ball information control main process (see FIG. 84) that is executed every 2 ms, time management for the process is performed in the timer update process in step S556.

On the other hand, the ball feeding/emission drive process in step S908 is performed as a process before the enclosed ball number determination control process is performed in the power-on process (step S542), or the door frame When door frame 2 is opened or closed (of course, this includes when door frame 2 is opened or closed during the game), the process is executed with interruptions prohibited, so time management for processing can be performed using timer update processing. It turns out you can't do it. Therefore, the difference is that time management in processing is performed based on the timer value by reading the timer value of the external WDT 116 in FIG.

The ball feeding and firing drive process in step S908 is a process of turning on and off the ball feeding solenoid 31 and the firing solenoid 13 at the drive timing shown in the time chart of FIG. Note that the ball feeding/shooting drive process in step S908 will be described later.

The ball information control MPU sequentially performs a launched ball detection process (step S910) and a ball count process (step S912) following the ball feeding/emission drive process in step S908. The launched ball detection process is a process for detecting game balls on the rail section 332 (launching position), and the ball count process is a process for detecting the number of game balls fired from the firing position by the firing hammer 30 of the ball launcher 29. This is a process of counting. Note that the launched ball detection process in step S910 and the ball count process in step S912 will be described later.

When the ball information control MPU exits the ball number counting process in step S912, it determines whether a counting end condition is satisfied (step S914). Note that the determination as to whether the termination condition is satisfied is made, for example, if the number of times the firing solenoid 13 is turned on exceeds a specified number of times [not limited to the appropriate number (for example, 30 balls), but may be greater than the appropriate number)]. or, for example, when the execution time from the start of the ball feeding/shooting drive process reaches a predetermined end condition, it is determined that the counting end condition is satisfied.

Note that the following may be considered as an example of the above specified number of times. The number of balls that can be fired by the ball launcher 29 per minute is 100. That is, when converted into time, the time required to launch one ball by the ball-striking action of the firing hammer 30 is 0.6 seconds. From this, the number of times the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, which is sufficient to shoot out all the enclosed balls, ie, the specified number of times, is set to 100.

Further, the end condition for the execution time from the start of the ball feeding/shooting drive process may be, for example, one minute.

Furthermore, if all the enclosed balls are launched into the game area 8, the game balls cannot be delivered to the launch position. In this case, there is a missed shot detection means for detecting a state in which the ball hitting operation of the firing hammer 30 results in a missed shot by turning on the firing solenoid 13, and the number of times the missed shot state is detected by the missed shot detection means reaches a predetermined number of times. In this case, the counting end condition may be satisfied.

According to the time chart of FIG. 24, the missed swing state is such that during period A, when the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on and the ball is being fed, the shot ball detection flag is 0 (no shot ball), and period B begins. Then, by turning on the firing solenoid 13 while the firing ball detection flag is 0 (no firing ball), the firing hammer 30 misses the ball hitting operation. Count the number of such misses. Then, in step S914, when the counted number of missed shots reaches a predetermined number of ending times, it is determined that the counting ending condition is satisfied. Processing for detecting a missed swing state will be described later.

When the ball information control MPU determines that the counting end condition is not satisfied (NO in step S914), the ball information control MPU returns to the ball feeding/emission drive process in step S908. Thereafter, the process of looping steps S908 to S914 is repeated until it is determined that the counting end condition is satisfied.

When all the enclosed balls are launched into the game area 8, all the game balls pass through the winning hole 41 or the out hole 42. On the other hand, since the ball retention stopper member 243 enters the lower part of the ball retention part 241 and is in the closed state, and the flow of game balls in the ball retention part 241 is blocked, the ball retention of the ball collection device 240 is first stopped. Game balls are kept in the part 241, and when the ball holding part 241 is full of game balls, balls are collected from the collection port 202 of the ball collection device 240 into a gutter (not shown) formed on the back side of the game board 5. Accumulate.

If it is determined in step S914 that the counting end condition is satisfied (YES in step S914), the ball retaining stopper solenoid 244 is turned off (step S916). By turning off the ball retaining stopper solenoid 244, the ball retaining stopper member 243 assumes a rearwardly moved position, and the ball retaining stopper member 243 takes an open state in which it retreats backward from the lower part of the ball retaining portion 241, and the ball retains The game ball is allowed to flow down in the section 241.

Following step S916, the ball information control MPU executes a process for determining the appropriate number of balls (step S918), and when the process for determining the appropriate amount of balls is completed, ends the control process for determining the number of enclosed balls.

[Ball feeding/launch drive processing]
Next, the ball feeding/shooting drive process will be explained. FIGS. 113 and 114 are flowcharts showing an example of a subroutine of ball feeding/emission drive processing performed by the ball information control MPU.

Moreover, FIG. 24 is a time chart showing the drive timing of the ball feed solenoid 31 and the firing solenoid 13. The firing solenoid 13 is turned on when period A has elapsed from the time the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on, and the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off when period B has elapsed from the time the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, and the ball is fed. The firing solenoid 13 is turned off after a period C has elapsed from the time when the solenoid 31 was turned off.

In this embodiment, period A is 300 ms, period B is 30 ms, and period C is 50 ms. When the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball is sent to the shooting position (rail portion 332) by the ball feeding member 32. That is, the fired ball confirmation switch 36 detects the fired ball.

In addition, in this embodiment, when a game ball that is stopped at the firing position is detected by the firing ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time (period D is 30 ms), it is determined that there is a firing ball. It is determined that

In this way, when a game ball parked at the firing position is detected by the firing ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that there is a firing ball, so that firing due to noise can be avoided. Erroneous ball counting can be eliminated, and reliability in detecting shot balls can be increased.

When the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, the game ball held at the firing position is launched into the game area 8 by the firing hammer 30, and the firing ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off.

When the ball information control MPU starts the ball feeding/emission drive process, first, in step S930, it determines whether or not the processing flag is 0 (step S930). Here, the processing flag is a flag for identifying whether the ball information control MPU branches to any one of the processes in the ball feeding/launching drive process described below.In other words, the control in the ball feeding/launching drive It is a flag for identifying the state, and "0" means initial setting, and "1" defines the period from turning on the ball feed solenoid 31 until turning on the firing solenoid 13. Yes, "2" defines the period from when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on until the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off, and when "3" is set, the firing solenoid 13 is turned off after the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned off. This stipulates the period until.

At the time when the ball feeding/shooting drive process is started, the value of the process flag is set to 0 (according to step S906). Therefore, it is determined YES in step S930, and the process proceeds to step S931, where the timer value of the external WDT 116 is read and stored in the storage area X1 set in the RAM (step S931), and the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on (step S932). , sets the processing flag to 1 (step S933), and exits from the subroutine of ball feeding/launch drive processing.

In the next processing cycle of the ball feeding/shooting drive processing, as a result of the processing flag being set to 1, it is determined NO in step S930, and the process moves to step S934. In step S934, it is determined whether the value of the processing flag is 1 (step S934). In this case, as a result of the processing flag being set to 1, it is determined YES in step S934, and the process proceeds to step S935, where the timer value of the external WDT 116 is read and stored in the storage area X2 set in the RAM (step S935). , the elapsed time is calculated by subtracting the timer value stored in the storage area X1 from the timer value stored in the storage area X2 (step S936), and the process proceeds to step S937, where the calculated elapsed time is set to period A (see FIG. 24, 300 ms). It is determined whether it has reached (step S937). If the calculated elapsed time has not reached the period A, the determination in step S937 is NO, and the process exits from the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting drive process.

Thereafter, until the elapsed time calculated in step S936 reaches period A, based on the value 1 of the processing flag, step S930 is determined as NO, step S934 is determined as YES, steps S935 to S936, The processing routine in which the determination in step S937 is NO is repeated.

Then, when the elapsed time calculated in step S936 reaches period A, it is determined as YES in step S937, and it is assumed that period A has elapsed, and if a missed swing state of the firing hammer 30 is detected, step The processes of S953 and S954 are performed. Further, if the firing hammer 30 is not detected to be in a miss-swing state, the process advances to step S938.

Proceeding to step S938, the timer value of the external WDT 116 is read and stored in the storage area X1 set in the RAM (step S938), the firing solenoid 13 is turned on (step S939), and the processing flag is set to 2 (step S938). S940), the subroutine for ball feeding/ejection drive processing is exited.

In step S939, the ball launcher 29 is activated and the game ball placed at the launch position is launched toward the game area 8. Note that the game balls are automatically fired at a preset firing intensity (by applying a predetermined voltage to the firing solenoid 13). Further, at the end of the enclosed ball number determination control process, the firing intensity is switched to the normal gaming state so that it becomes a voltage corresponding to the operation amount of the ball hitting handle 10.

As a result of the process flag being set to 2, in the next cycle of ball feeding/emission drive processing, step S930 is determined as NO, step S934 is determined as NO, and the process moves to step S941. In step S941, it is determined whether the value of the processing flag is 2 (step S941). In this case, as a result of the processing flag being set to 2, step S941 is determined as YES, and the process proceeds to step S942, where the timer value of the external WDT 116 is read and stored in the storage area X2 set in the RAM (step S942). , the elapsed time is calculated by subtracting the timer value stored in the storage area X1 from the timer value stored in the storage area X2 (step S943), and the process proceeds to step S934, where the calculated elapsed time is set to period B (see FIG. 24, 30ms). It is determined whether it has reached (step S944). If the calculated elapsed time has not reached period B, the determination in step S944 is NO, and the process exits from the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting drive process.

Thereafter, until the elapsed time calculated in step S943 reaches period B, based on the value 2 of the processing flag, step S930 is determined as NO, step S934 is determined as NO, and step S941 is determined as YES. Then, the processing routine in which NO is determined in steps S942 to S943 and step S944 is repeated.

Then, when the elapsed time calculated in step S943 reaches period B, it is determined YES in step S944, and the process proceeds to step S945, assuming that period B has elapsed. Proceeding to step S945, the timer value of the external WDT 116 is read and stored in the storage area X1 set in the RAM (step S945), the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned off (step S946), and the processing flag is set to 3 ( Step S947), exits from the subroutine for ball feeding and firing drive processing.

As a result of the processing flag being set to 3, in the next cycle of ball feeding and firing drive processing, step S930 is determined as NO, step S934 is determined as NO, step S941 is determined as NO, and the process moves to step S948. . In step S948, the timer value of the external WDT 116 is read and stored in the storage area X2 set in the RAM (step S948), and the elapsed time is calculated by subtracting the timer value stored in the storage area X1 from the timer value stored in the storage area X2. is calculated (step S949), the process proceeds to step S950, and it is determined whether the calculated elapsed time has reached period C (see FIG. 24, 50 ms) (step S950). If the calculated elapsed time has not reached the period C, the determination in step S950 is NO, and the process exits from the subroutine of the ball feeding/shooting drive process.

Thereafter, until the elapsed time calculated in step S949 reaches period C, based on the value 3 of the processing flag, step S930 is determined to be NO, step S934 is determined to be NO, and step S941 is determined to be NO. Then, the processing routine in which NO is determined in steps S948 to S949 and step S950 is repeated.

Then, when the elapsed time calculated in step S949 reaches period C, it is determined YES in step S950, and the process proceeds to step S951, assuming that period C has elapsed. Proceeding to step S951, the firing solenoid 13 is turned off (step S951), the processing flag is set to 0 to return to the initial value (step S952), and the subroutine of the ball feeding and firing drive processing is exited.

[Projected ball detection processing]
Next, the shot ball detection process will be explained. FIG. 115(A) is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the launched ball detection process performed by the ball information control MPU. When the ball information control MPU starts the shot ball detection process, it first determines whether or not the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is on (step S955). As described above, when the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball is sent to the shooting position (rail portion 332) by the ball sending member 32. That is, the fired ball confirmation switch 36 detects the fired ball.

If it is determined that the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is on, the value of a time counter, which is a counter for counting the time the ball is on, is incremented by 1 (step S956), and the process proceeds to step S958.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is not on, that is, if the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is off, the time counter is set to 0 (step S957) and the process proceeds to step S958.

Proceeding to step S958, it is determined whether the value of the time counter has reached a predetermined specified time D (30 ms in this example) (step S958). If the value of the time counter has not reached the predetermined time D, the determination in step S958 is NO, the launched ball detection flag is set to 0 (no detection) (step S959), and the launched ball detection processing subroutine is executed. Go through.

When the game ball parked at the firing position continues to be detected by the firing ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time D, the value of the time counter increases by 1, and the value of the time counter reaches the predetermined value. The specified time D (in this example, 30 ms) is reached. In this case, the determination in step S958 is YES, it is assumed that a shot ball has been detected, the shot ball detection flag is set to 1 (detected) (step S960), and the subroutine of the shot ball detection processing is exited.

On the other hand, for example, if noise enters the shot ball confirmation switch 36, the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is momentarily turned on, but then the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. Therefore, since the value of the time counter is set to 0 in response to the firing ball confirmation switch 36 being turned off, the value of the time counter is set to a predetermined period D (in this example, 30 ms, count value 15). will never reach.

In this way, when a game ball parked at the firing position is detected by the firing ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that there is a firing ball, so that firing due to noise can be avoided. Erroneous ball counting can be eliminated, and reliability in detecting shot balls can be increased.

[Ball counting process]
Next, the process of counting the number of pitches will be explained. FIG. 115(B) is a flowchart showing a subroutine for subtracting the number of balls held by the ball information control MPU. When the ball information control MPU starts the ball counting process, it first determines whether or not the launched ball detection flag is 1 (detected) (step S962). If it is determined that the launched ball detection flag is not 1 (detected), that is, if it is determined NO in step S962, the subroutine for counting the number of balls is exited.

If it is determined in step S962 that the launched ball detection flag is 1 (detected), that is, if it is determined as YES in step S962, the process proceeds to step S963, and whether the launched ball confirmation switch 36 is off or not is determined. It is determined whether or not (step S963). If it is determined in step S963 that the launched ball confirmation switch 36 is not off, that is, if it is determined NO in step S963, the process exits from the subroutine for counting the number of balls.

As described above, when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, the game ball parked at the firing position is launched into the game area 8 by the firing hammer 30, and the firing ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. If the ball information control MPU determines in step S963 that the fired ball confirmation switch 36 is off, that is, if it determines YES in step S963, the ball information control MPU increases the value of the ball number counter by 1 and calculates the number of fired balls. The game ball count is counted (step S964), and in response to the game ball being shot, the shot ball detection flag is set to 0 (no detection) and returned (step S965), and the subroutine for counting the number of balls is exited.

In this way, when a game ball that is stopped at the firing position is detected by the firing ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that there is a firing ball, and it is determined that there is a firing ball. If a game ball is not detected by the shot ball confirmation switch 36 under the condition that 36, it is possible to eliminate incorrect ball counts of shot balls due to the noise, and it is possible to increase the reliability in detecting shot balls.

[Process for determining appropriate number of pitches]
Next, the process for determining the appropriate number of pitches will be explained. FIG. 116 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for determining the appropriate number of balls performed by the ball information control MPU. When the ball information control MPU starts the appropriate number of balls determination process, it first determines whether the value of the number of balls counter is the appropriate amount E (for example, 30 balls) (step S970).

If it is determined that the value of the ball number counter is equal to the appropriate amount E, that is, if it is determined YES in step S970, the process proceeds to step S971, where the touch panel section 14 (an example of a notification means) displays an appropriate amount ( Step S971), the firing permission flag is set to "1 (operation permission)" (step S972), and the subroutine for determining the appropriate number of balls is exited.

In step S970, if it is determined that the value of the ball number counter is not equal to the appropriate number E, that is, if it is determined NO in step S970, the process proceeds to step S973, and the value of the ball number counter is not equal to the appropriate number E (for example, 30 balls) is determined (step S973).

If it is determined that the value of the ball number counter is less than the appropriate number E, that is, if it is determined YES in step S973, the process proceeds to step S974, and the value of the ball number counter is subtracted from the appropriate number E to find the insufficient number. Calculate (step S974), display the fact that there is a shortage of balls and the number of balls on the touch panel unit 14 (step S975), set the firing permission flag to "0 (operation not permitted)" (step S976), and determine the appropriate number of balls. Exit the processing subroutine.

If it is determined in step S973 that the value of the ball number counter satisfies the appropriate amount E, that is, if it is determined NO in step S973, the process advances to step S977. In this case, the value of the pitch number counter is not equal to the appropriate number E, and the value of the pitch number counter satisfies the appropriate number E, resulting in an excess of balls where the number of pitches is greater than the appropriate number E.

The ball information control MPU subtracts the appropriate number E from the value of the ball number counter to calculate an excess number (step S977), displays the fact that there are too many balls and the excessive number on the touch panel section 14 (step S978), and allows firing. The flag is set to "0 (operation not permitted)" (step S979), and the subroutine for determining the appropriate number of pitches is exited.

FIG. 117 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the result of determining the appropriate number of pitches notified on the touch panel unit 14. FIG. 117(a) shows that the number of all enclosed game balls is the appropriate amount (for example, 30 balls) as a determination result in the ball number appropriate amount determination process. In FIG. 117(b), the determination result in the appropriate number of balls determination process indicates that the number of all enclosed game balls is insufficient, and the insufficient number of balls is 3 balls. In FIG. 117(c), the judgment result in the appropriate number of balls determination process is that all the enclosed game balls are excessive, and the number of balls that is in excess of the appropriate number is 2 balls. ing.

[Timing for executing the number of enclosed balls determination control process]
In this embodiment, the ball information control MPU 111 executes the enclosed ball number determination control process when the power is turned on or when the door frame 3 is opened or closed with respect to the main body frame 2.

<When power is turned on>
FIG. 118 is a part of a flowchart of a power-on process showing an example in which the ball information control MPU 111 executes the enclosed ball number determination control process when the power is turned on. After setting the stack pointer in step S520 of FIG. 82, the ball information control MPU proceeds to step S521 and executes the firing device set position determination process shown in FIG. 110(A) (step S521). As described above, in the firing device set position determination process, if it is determined that the position detection sensor 180 is not on, the processing loop waits, and if it is determined that the position detection sensor 180 is on, the firing device The process exits the set position determination process, proceeds to step S522, and executes the enclosed ball number determination control process (step S522). After completing the enclosed ball number determination control process in step S522, the process advances to step S527.

<When door frame 3 is opened/closed>
Here, the opening and closing of the door frame 3 means that the door frame 3 has transitioned from a state in which it is open to the main body frame 2 to a state in which the door frame 3 is closed to the main body frame 2. In this embodiment, the ball information control MPU determines whether the door frame 3 is opened or closed based on the detection signal of the door frame release switch 131. When the door frame 3 is released from the main body frame 2, the door frame release switch 131 is turned on. On the other hand, when the door frame 3 is closed to the main body frame 2, the door frame opening switch 131 is turned off.

[Door frame open/close determination process]
Next, the door frame opening/closing determination process will be explained. FIG. 119 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of door frame opening/closing determination processing performed by the ball information control MPU. In addition, considering that the door frame 3 is opened and closed in a situation where so-called grapes are generated in the gaming area 8 as described above, it is assumed that the door frame 3 is opened and closed at least during the game. For this reason, the door frame opening/closing determination process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564, which is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process (see FIG. 84).

When the ball information control MPU starts the door frame opening/closing determination process, it first determines whether the door frame opening switch 131 is on (step S990). If it is determined in step S990 that the door frame release switch 131 is not on (if NO is determined in step S990), that is, if the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, the door frame release switch 131 is not turned on. Exit the subroutine for frame open/close determination processing and return.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S990 that the door frame release switch 131 is on (if it is determined as YES in step S990), that is, it is detected that the door frame 3 is open with respect to the main body frame 2. If so, the process moves to step S991, wait timer processing is performed (step S991), and it is determined whether the door frame opening switch 131 is off (step S992).

The wait timer process in step S991 is a process for waiting until the state in which the door frame 3 is open to the main body frame 2 changes to the state in which the door frame 3 is closed to the main body frame 2, In this embodiment, the waiting time (wait timer) is set to, for example, 2 seconds. In step S992, it is determined whether the door frame release switch 131 is turned off.

If it is determined in step S992 that the door frame release switch 131 is not off (if NO is determined in step S992), that is, if the door frame 3 is still open to the main body frame 2, , steps S991 and S992 are repeated, and the process waits until the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2.

Then, when the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, the ball information control MPU determines YES in step S992 and proceeds to step S993. In step S993, interrupt prohibition setting is performed (step S993). This setting prevents the above-mentioned ball information control section timer interrupt processing from being performed, prevents writing to the ball information control built-in RAM, and protects the above-mentioned rewriting of the ball information.

Following step S993, the firing device set position determination process shown in FIG. 110(A) is executed (step S994). As described above, in the firing device set position determination process, if it is determined that the position detection sensor 180 is not on, the processing loop waits, and if it is determined that the position detection sensor 180 is on, the firing device The process exits the set position determination process, proceeds to step S522, and executes the enclosed ball number determination control process (step S995). When the ball information control MPU finishes the enclosed ball number determination control process in step S995, it sets interrupt permission (step S996), exits the subroutine of the door frame opening/closing determination process, and returns. With this setting, the normal gaming state is returned, and the ball information control unit timer interrupt process is repeatedly performed at the interrupt cycle set in step S540, that is, every 2 ms.

[Detection of missed firing state of firing hammer 30 of ball launching device 29]
Hereinafter, a process for detecting a missed swing state of the firing hammer 30 of the ball firing device 29 will be described. When detecting a miss-swing state of the firing hammer 30, first, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 112, the miss-swing number counter is cleared to 0 (step S905).

After that, when period A has elapsed in the ball feeding/ejection drive process, that is, when the ejection solenoid 13 is turned on and the ejection hammer 30 is activated, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 113, It is determined whether the launched ball detection flag is "0 (no detection)" (step S953).

If it is determined in step S953 that the shot ball detection flag is "0 (no detection)", the value of the missed shot number counter is incremented by 1 (step S954), the number of missed shots of the firing hammer 30 is counted, and the number of missed shots is counted. Proceed to S938. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S953 that the launched ball detection flag is not "0 (no detection)", that is, if the launched ball detection flag is "1 (detected)", this means that it is not a missed swing motion. , directly proceeds to step S938.

In the manner described above, the number of times the firing hammer 30 misses is counted. When all the enclosed balls are launched into the game area 8, the game balls cannot be delivered to the firing position, and the ball hitting operation of the firing hammer 30 caused by turning on the firing solenoid 13 continuously misses. .

Then, in the determination process of step S914 in FIG. 112, it is determined whether the value of the number of missed shots counter has reached a predetermined number of ending times (for example, five times), and the value of the number of missed shots counter has reached the number of ending times. If it is determined that the count end condition has been met, the process proceeds to step S916, and the process proceeds to step S918, which is a process for determining an appropriate number of pitches.

[Ball hitability determination process]
FIG. 120 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of a ball-hittable/unballable determination process performed by the ball information control MPU in an embodiment that employs the enclosed ball number determination control means (executes the enclosed ball number determination control process). Note that the ball hitting/unavailability determination process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes (FIG. 84) in step S564 that is executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

When the ball information control MPU starts the process of determining whether or not a ball can be hit, it first determines whether or not the above-mentioned firing permission flag is "1 (operation permission)" (step S700). In other words, it is determined whether the number of all the game balls enclosed was an appropriate amount.

If it is determined in step S700 that the firing permission flag is "1 (operation permitted)", it means that the number of all the enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount, and YES is determined in step S700, and the step Proceed to S710. In other words, the operation of the upper firing device 12 is permitted on the condition that the number of all enclosed game balls is confirmed to be an appropriate amount.

Note that the processing from step S710 onward is similar to the ball hitting/unball determination processing (FIG. 88) described above, and when the value of the number of held balls counter is not 0 and the firing waiting ball detection switch 70 is on, The firing enable flag is set to 1 (launching possible) (step S712), and the process exits from the subroutine for determining whether or not the ball can be hit.

In this way, if the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate, the value of the held ball number counter is not 0, and there are waiting balls in the ball feeding device 28, the firing solenoid 13 and the ball feeding solenoid 31 can be driven, and is in a playable state in which it is possible to substantially drive a game ball into the game area 8.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S700 that the firing permission flag is not "1 (operation permission)" (if the firing permission flag is 0), the number of all enclosed game balls is not appropriate. As a result, there will be an imbalance in the number of game balls that can be used, and the principle of ensuring fairness given to players will be broken, so step S700 is determined as NO. The process then proceeds to step S713. In step S713, the firing enable flag is set to 0 (launching not allowed) (step S713), and the process exits from the subroutine for determining whether or not the ball can be hit.

In other words, if the number of all enclosed game balls is not the appropriate amount, the operation of the upper firing device 12 is not permitted and is prohibited.

Note that, similar to the ball hitting/unballing determination process (FIG. 88) described above, when it is determined in step S710 that the value of the number of held balls counter is 0, and in step S711, the firing waiting ball detection switch is activated. If it is determined that 70 is not on (off), the firing flag is set to 0 (launching not allowed) (step S713), and the process exits from the subroutine for determining whether or not the ball can be hit. In other words, when the value of the held ball counter is 0 or when there is no waiting ball in the ball feeding device 28, the firing solenoid 13 cannot be driven, and the ball is not actually driven into the game area 8. You are in a state where you cannot play the game. At the same time, the ball feed solenoid 31 cannot be driven.

[Second embodiment of enclosed ball number determination control process]
The number of enclosed game balls determination control process of FIG. The purpose is to determine whether the number is appropriate or not, and whether there is an excess or deficiency, but the enclosed ball number determination control process does not rely on counting the enclosed game balls. It may be possible to determine whether the number is appropriate or not.

For example, a plurality of game ball detection sensors that detect the presence or absence of game balls are arranged in a circulation path through which all the enclosed game balls circulate, and the plurality of game ball detection sensors detect the presence or absence of game balls. A first game ball detection sensor that detects the first game ball, a second game ball detection sensor that detects a game ball that is located a certain number of times out of all the enclosed game balls, and a second game ball detection sensor that detects a game ball that is located a certain number of times out of all the enclosed game balls; and a third game ball detection sensor that detects the game ball located next to the game ball, and the enclosed ball number determination control means is based on the detection signals of the first, second, and third game ball detection sensors, It is determined whether the number of all enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount or not.

In this second embodiment, first, the first game ball is the game ball placed at the firing position of the batted ball firing device 29. Then, the plurality of game ball detection sensors include a first game ball detection sensor that detects the first game ball among all the enclosed game balls, and a firing ball confirmation switch 36 placed at the firing position. (FIG. 8 or FIG. 17), and detect the game ball located at the appropriate number (in this example, the appropriate amount is 30 balls, and the appropriate number is the 30th) among all the enclosed game balls. The second game ball detection sensor is the ball proper amount detection switch 207 (FIG. 28), and the third game ball detection sensor is used to detect the game ball located after the proper amount number (in this example, the 31st ball). The ball path full tank detection switch 206 (FIG. 28) is used.

Then, based on the detection signals of the launched ball confirmation switch 36, the proper ball amount detection switch 207, and the ball path full detection switch 206, the number of enclosed game balls is determined to be an appropriate amount or not. judge.

The number of enclosed balls determination control processing according to the second embodiment will be described below. FIG. 121 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of a subroutine for controlling the number of enclosed balls determined by the ball information control MPU. When the ball information control MPU starts the enclosed ball number determination control process, it first clears the operation counter to 0 (step S1000). Here, the operation counter is a counter for counting the number of operations of the ball feed solenoid. After performing step S1000, the ball information control MPU proceeds to step S1002.

In step S1002, it is determined whether the launched ball confirmation switch 36 is on (step S1002). That is, it is determined whether or not a game ball exists at the firing position on the rail portion 332 of the ball firing device 29. If it is determined that the launched ball confirmation switch 36 is on, the process advances to step S1004.

In step S1004, it is determined whether or not the ball appropriate amount detection switch 207 is on (step S1004). That is, starting from the game ball existing at the firing position, go back in the opposite direction to the transport direction of the game ball in the circulation path and go back to the appropriate number, that is, the 30th position, which is lined up and waiting in the ball recovery device 240. It is determined whether or not a game ball is detected. If it is determined that the appropriate ball amount detection switch 207 is on, the process advances to step S1006.

In step S1006, it is determined whether the ball path full detection switch 206 is on (step S1006). That is, it is determined whether or not a game ball located after the appropriate number of balls waiting in line in the ball collection device 240, that is, the 31st game ball is detected.

Next, in step S1002, when it is determined that the launched ball confirmation switch 36 is on (when it is determined that step S1002 is YES), that is, when the game ball is present at the firing position, the ball information Each process executed by the control MPU will be explained.

[If the number of all enclosed game balls is appropriate]
If the number of all enclosed game balls is the appropriate amount, the game ball exists at the position of the appropriate amount set in the ball collecting device 240, and the appropriate amount number set in the ball collecting device 240 is reached. There is no game ball in the next position.

In this case, it is determined in step S1004 that the ball appropriate amount detection switch 207 is on (determined as YES in step S1004), and in step S1006 it is determined that the ball path full detection switch 206 is not on (step S1006 is determined to be NO), the process proceeds to step S1008, a message to the effect of the appropriate amount is displayed on the touch panel unit 14 (an example of a notification means) (for example, a text display) (step S1008), and the firing permission flag is set to 1 (operation permission). '' (step S1010), and exits from the subroutine of the control process for determining the number of enclosed balls.

[If the number of game balls enclosed is not the appropriate amount and there are too many balls]
If the number of all enclosed game balls is too many balls, the game ball exists in the position of the appropriate amount set in the ball collecting device 240, and the appropriate amount set in the ball collecting device 240 is exceeded. A game ball also exists in the next position.

In this case, it is determined in step S1004 that the ball appropriate amount detection switch 207 is on (YES in step S1004), and in step S1006 it is determined that the ball path full detection switch 206 is on. (Determined as YES in step S1006), the process proceeds to step S1008, a message to the effect that there are too many balls is displayed on the touch panel unit 14 (for example, a text display) (step S1012), and the firing permission flag is set to "0 (operation not permitted)". is set (step S1014), and the process exits from the subroutine of the control process for determining the number of enclosed balls.

[If the number of game balls enclosed is not appropriate and there is a shortage of balls]
If the number of all enclosed game balls is insufficient, there are no game balls at the appropriate number of positions set in the ball recovery device 240.

In this case, it is determined in step S1004 that the proper amount of balls detection switch 207 is not on (determined NO in step S1004), and the process proceeds to step S1016, where a message indicating that there is a shortage of balls is displayed on the touch panel unit 14 (for example, (indicated by characters) (step S1016), the firing permission flag is set to "0 (operation not permitted)" (step S1014), and the subroutine of the enclosed ball number determination control process is exited.

[Other processing]
Next, in step S1002, if it is determined that the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is not on, that is, if there is no game ball at the shooting position on the rail part 332 of the ball launcher 29 (NO in step S1002), Each process executed by the ball information control MPU when it is determined that the ball information control MPU will be described.

If the ball information control MPU determines NO in step S1002, it proceeds to step S1018, turns on the ball feed solenoid 31 (step S1018), performs wait timer processing (step S1020), and turns off the ball feed solenoid 31. (Step S1022).

The wait timer process in step S1020 is a process for waiting until the ON time (period A+period B) of the ball feeding solenoid 31 shown in the time chart of FIG. ), for example, 300ms+30ms=330ms is set.

After performing step S1022, the ball information control MPU increments the value of the motion counter by 1 (step S1024), proceeds to step S1026, and determines that the value of the motion counter reaches a predetermined number of times (for example, 5 times). It is determined whether or not the process has been performed (step S1026). If it is determined in step S1026 that the value of the operation counter has not reached the predetermined number of times of completion (if NO in step S1026), the process returns to step S1002 and the firing ball confirmation switch is switched again. 36 is on (step S1002).

By executing the processes from step S1018 to step S1022, the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned on and the ball feeding member 32 operates to feed the ball (see FIG. 22), so that one game ball is ejected from the ball launcher 29. sent into position.

Note that if the firing ball confirmation switch 36 remains off due to some reason such as ball clogging, the processing routine that determines NO in step S1002 and NO in steps S1018 to S1024 and S1026 is activated. This process is repeated until the counter value matches the number of times the process ends.

Then, when the value of the operation counter matches the number of times of completion, the ball information control MPU ends the enclosed ball number determination control process. In this case, a configuration may be adopted in which a subroutine for ball jamming notification processing shown in FIG. 95 is executed. Further, the ball information control MPU 111 sends an error command to the main control MPU 101, the main control MPU 101 sends the error command to, for example, the peripheral control board 130, and the peripheral control board 130, for example, sends the error command to the liquid crystal display panel of the liquid crystal display device 1400, etc. It may be configured to notify by displaying an error.

[Effects of the enclosed ball game machine of the embodiment]
According to the enclosed ball game machine of the embodiment related to the enclosed ball number determination control process executed by the ball information control MPU 111 described above, it is detected that the position of the batted ball firing device 28 is at the normal position with respect to the game board. Since the game machine is equipped with a position detection means, it is possible to detect whether the ball firing device movably arranged in the upper part of the main body frame is set at the correct position with respect to the game board fitted into the main body frame.

The firing control means that controls the operation of the batted ball launching device controls the number of all enclosed game balls on the condition that it is detected through the position detection means that the batted ball firing device is in the normal position with respect to the game board. However, on the condition that the number of game balls enclosed is determined to be an appropriate amount, at least the operation of the batted ball launching device is permitted. When the positional relationship between the firing device and the game board is in the correct position (referred to as the normal position), it is possible to determine whether the number of all the enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount or not.

On the other hand, if the positional relationship between the ball launcher and the game board is not in the correct position (referred to as the normal position), for example, if there is a misalignment at the boundary between the ball launcher and the game board, or if Even if the ball launcher is in the correct position, if the number of enclosed game balls is not appropriate and there is an excess or deficiency, the ball launcher will not be allowed to operate and the balls will not be fired. , the game itself is not played.

As a result, it is possible to prevent the player from losing interest in the game due to the ball not being properly hit at the location intended by the player in the game area divided on the game board.

As a condition that the ball launcher is detected to be in the correct position with respect to the game board, the operation of the ball launcher is permitted and the ball launcher is activated to fire the game balls and release all the enclosed balls. Since the number of game balls is counted and it is determined whether the amount is appropriate or not, it is possible to determine whether the number of all enclosed game balls is the appropriate amount or not.

As a result, it is possible to avoid situations such as balls clogging due to too many game balls or inconvenience caused to players due to a lack of game balls, and ensure that the appropriate number of game balls is contained within the gaming machine main body. If it is determined that there is, there will be no imbalance in the number of game balls that can be used when comparing machines of the same model, and fairness provided to players is ensured.

As described above, the game balls that are launched can be hit at the intended appropriate positions in the game area, and the fairness given to the players is ensured with respect to the number of all the game balls enclosed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the player from losing interest in the game due to problems caused by the ball launcher and the number of game balls that can be used.

In addition, after blocking the flow of game balls by the ball retention stopper member 243 in the ball retention part 241 of the ball recovery device 240, the batted ball launcher 29, the ball feeding rotary body 350, the ball lifting device 22, and the ball feeding device 28 are operated. It is activated to fire all the enclosed game balls into the game area 8, and when the game balls are being shot, the number of shot game balls is counted based on the detection signal of the shot ball confirmation switch 36. As a result, the game balls fired into the game area 8 are collected into the collection port 202 of the ball collection device 240 via the winning port 41 or the out port 42, and the ball is blocked from flowing down by the ball retaining stopper member 243. Since the balls are held in the ball holding part 241 of the collection device 240, they do not flow downstream from the ball holding part 241 in the circulation path.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the game balls that have been counted once from being covered and counted again. As a result, the number of all enclosed game balls can be accurately counted. As a result, it is possible to visually check the fired game balls and accurately determine whether the number of counted and enclosed game balls is the appropriate amount or not, and whether there is an excess or deficiency, and the determination result is reliable. You can increase your sexuality.

Furthermore, by turning on the power to the game machine, it is possible to count the number of all the game balls enclosed and determine whether the amount is appropriate or not. On the other hand, when the door frame 3 is opened and closed with respect to the main body frame 2, it is possible to count the number of all enclosed game balls and determine whether the amount is appropriate or not.

When it is determined that the number of all the enclosed game balls is too large or too small, the notification means (touch panel section 14) is outputted to the effect that the number of enclosed game balls is too large or too small. It is possible to identify that

Furthermore, even when the door frame 3 is opened and closed with respect to the main body frame 2, it is possible to count all the enclosed game balls and determine whether the amount is appropriate or not. Additionally, when a store employee is removing grapes, they may accidentally spill a game ball outside the machine and lose it, making it impossible to return the lost game ball to the machine. It can be determined that the number of game balls enclosed in the gaming machine main body is not the appropriate amount, and a notification to that effect is output to the notification means, so that the number of game balls enclosed is in excess or deficiency. can be identified.

Further, the operation of the upper firing device 12 is permitted on the condition that it is confirmed that the number of all enclosed game balls is an appropriate amount. On the other hand, if the number of all enclosed game balls is not the appropriate amount, or is too much or too little, the operation of the upper firing device 12 is not permitted and no balls are fired, so the game itself is not played. This makes it possible to avoid the problem that the principle of ensuring fairness given to players is broken due to an imbalance in the number of game balls that can be used.

1 Pachinko machine 1a Outer frame 2 Main frame 2a Main frame base 2b Tight material 3 Door frame 4 Adjustment machine 5 Game board 6 Decorative cover 7 Hinge 8 Play area 9 Game window 10 Ball hitting handle 11 Transparent plate 12 Upper firing device (upper firing unit) )
13 Firing solenoid 14 Touch panel section 15 Fitting frame 16 Peripheral wall section 17 Accommodation opening 18 Projecting wall 19 Irregular ball/magnetic ball ejection unit accommodating section 20 Irregular ball/magnetic ball ejection unit 21 Ball gathering section 22 Ball lifting device 23 Ball Delivery gutter 23b Receiving part 23c Slide shutter 23d Guide piece 24 Ball supply path member 25 Screw 25a Screw shaft 25b Small pitch protrusion member 25bL Half body 25bR Half body 25c Large pitch protrusion member 25cL Half body 25cR Half body 25d Spiral protrusion 25e Cylindrical portion 25g Concave portion 25h Convex portion 25i Upper edge 25j Upper edge concave portion 25k Lower edge 25m Lower edge convex portion 26 Launch standby ball detection switch 28 Ball feeder 29 Ball launcher 30 Launching hammer (launching member)
301 Fixed part 302 Rod part 303 Stopper contact part 31 Ball feeding solenoid 32 Ball feeding member 33 Rail member 331 Mounting plate part 332 Rail part 333 Left rail plate 334 Right rail plate 335 Through hole 34 Stopper when firing 35 Stopper when returning 36 Firing Ball confirmation switch 361 Photo bracket 37 Hinge for upper firing device 38 Launch port 39 Base plate 39a Contact part 40 Launch area 41 Winning port 42 Out port 43 Panel holder 44 Transparent panel board 45 Front component 46 Game ball running surface 47 Notch 48 Protrusion part 49 Fixture 50 Screw receiving member 51 Ball entry prevention wall 52 Tension spring 53 Spring locking part 54 Ball guide protrusion 55 Front guide surface 56 Stopper piece 57 Arrangement space 58 Ball outlet 60 Rotation drive shaft 61 Hammer tip 62 Stopper Cover 63 Ball supply port 64 Launch port decoration member 65 Lifting and feeding communication gutter 66 Ball inlet 67 Ball feeding unit base 68 Ball feeding unit cover 69 Ball feeding guide gutter 70 Launch standby ball detection switch 71 Ball feeding plate 72 Operating rod part 73 Sheet metal housing Part 74 Ball feeding portion 75 Shaft hole 76 Ball feeding shaft 77 Arm portion 78 Sheet metal locking pawl 79 Locking protrusion 80 Ball feeding guide surface 81 Ball holding surface 82 Hanging piece 83 Ball return prevention portion 84 Ball stop portion 85 Ball passing opening 86 Firing stop switch 87 Touch switch 90 Upper starting opening detection switch 91 Lower starting opening detection switch 92 Gate switch 93 General winning opening detection switch 94 General winning opening detection switch 96 Starting opening solenoid 97 Big winning opening solenoid 98 Count switch 100 Main control board 101 Main control MPU
102 Main control I/O port 103 Main control input circuit 104 Main control solenoid drive circuit 105 RAM clear switch 106 RTC control section 107 RTC
108 Battery 109 RAM
110 Ball information control board 111 Ball information control MPU
112 Ball information control I/O port 113 Ball information control input circuit 114 Ball lifting motor drive circuit 115 CR unit input/output circuit 116 External WDT
117 Power failure monitoring circuit 118 Ball information control unit 119 Ball polishing ribbon feed motor drive circuit 120 Firing solenoid drive circuit 122 Ball feed solenoid drive circuit 123 Handle relay terminal board 124 Sensor relay board 130 Peripheral control board 131 Door frame release switch 132 Main body frame release Switch 133 External terminal board 140 Panel relay terminal board 141 Function display board 142 Upper special symbol display 143 Lower special symbol display 144 Upper special symbol memory display 145 Lower special symbol memory display 146 Normal symbol display 147 Normal symbol memory display Device 148 Game status display 149 Round indicator 150 Ball lifting motor 155 Ball polishing ribbon feeding motor 156 Lifting and feeding inlet switch 157 Lifting motor sensor 158 Cassette detection switch 160 Main encryption communication section 161 2nd MPU identification number storage section 162 1st Authentication unit 165 Ball information encryption communication unit 166 First MPU identification number storage unit 167 Second authentication unit 180 Position detection sensor 181 Light projecting element 182 Light receiving element 201 Ball receiving gutter base 202 Collection port 203 Recovered ball detection switch 204 Irregular ball discharge unit 205 Magnetic ball ejecting section 206 Ball path full detection switch 207 Proper amount of ball detection switch 208 Irregular ball ejecting section base 209 Irregular ball separating shaft 210 Irregular ball separating shaft 212 Irregular ball ejecting section base mounting section 213 Upstream side 214 Downstream side 215 Irregular ball Discharge path 216 Irregular ball discharge port 217 Irregular ball discharge route forming member 218 Communication path 219 Circulation route 220 Inclined surface 221 Falling surface 222 Magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 223 Discontinuous portion 224 Side wall 225 Ceiling wall 226 Magnetic ball discharge path 227 Magnetic ball discharge Exit 228 Magnetic ball ejection part cover 229 Magnet 230 Magnet housing space 231 Magnetic force adjustment part 232 Magnetic balls 233 Regular game balls 234 Ejected ball receiving box 240 Ball collection device 241 Ball retention part 242 Ball discharge gutter 243 Ball retention stopper member 244 Ball retention Stopper solenoid 245 Ball retention stopper solenoid drive circuit 251 Ball polishing cartridge 252 Left side cover 253 Right side cover 253a Right outer side cover 253b Right inner side cover 254 Hinge receiver 255 Hinge 258 Second drive gear case 259 Take-up roller 260 Driven roller 261 First gear shaft 262 Second gear shaft 263 Ball polishing cloth 264 Ball polishing cloth presser spring 265 Leaf spring 266 Spring presser 267 Tensioner 268 Game ball contact trace 270 Ball polishing cartridge attachment part 271 Ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 272 Ball polishing Cartridge fixing stopper 273 Ball polishing cartridge attachment port 275 Ball feeding passage 275a Ball receiving port 275b Ball feeding port 281 Opening 282 Lifting guide rail 290 Drive shaft 291 Mounting sensor 292 Button 350 Ball feeding rotary body 350a Ball engaging recess 351 Ball Feed slope part 351a Slope surface 351b Top slope surface 352 Spiral base cover 353 Lifting part cover 354 Lifting slope member 355 Ball removal member 356 Upper gear box 357 Lower gear box 358 Ball lifting motor gear 359 Idle gear 360 Upper lifting gear 362 Lower lifting gear 363 Ball feeding rotor gear 363a Gear shaft 365 Guide block 365a Ball guide surface 365b Stopper surface 366 Fitting member 366a Fitting recess 367 Support member 368 Cover member 402 Card processing machine 403 Card 404 ID storage unit 405 Remaining power Memory section 406 Number of balls held memory section 407 Mounting member 408 Hanging wall 410 Ball outlet opening/closing unit 411 Shutter base 412 Opening/closing shutter 413 Opening/closing crank 414 Opening/closing spring 415 Slide groove 416 Opening 417 Crank support section 418 Spring locking section 419 Shutter body 420 Drive hole 421 Shaft portion 422 Drive rod 423 Drive pin 424 Contact portion 425 Spring locking portion 426 Opening/closing operation piece 427 Game ball introduction member 500 Following member 600a Upper front edge 600b Lower front edge 601a Upper guide member 601b Lower guide member 602 Bottom part 603a Front rising part 603b Rear rising part 604a Front rib 604b Rear rib 605a Stopper (top)
605b Stopper (bottom)
606 Sliding leg 607 Space 608 Pivot shaft 609 Receiving hole 610a Engaging protrusion (upper)
610b Engagement protrusion (bottom)
610c Head 611a Upper lever 611b Lower lever 612a Shaft (upper)
612b axis (bottom)
613a Hook recess (top)
613b Hook recess (bottom)
614 Fixture 800 Lower space 801 Intake device 802 Exhaust device 803 Motor 804 Fan 805 Filter 806 Accumulator 807 Outlet passage 808 Opening valve 809 Main tube 810 Branch tube 811 Opening 812 Reinforcement fitting A Slider B Slider C Slider

Claims (1)

A game board having a game area where game balls flow down;
a main body frame to which the game board is attached;
a door frame that opens and closes with respect to the main body frame;
a ball launcher that launches a game ball toward the game area;
a lifting device for lifting the collected game balls after the game balls fired by the batted ball firing device are collected from the gaming area;
a ball polishing member disposed near the lifting device;
A main control means that executes game processing related to the game based on a detection signal of a game ball that has entered a winning hole arranged in the game area ;
Equipped with
A gaming machine configured to play a game using circulating gaming balls by circulating the gaming balls flowing down the gaming area,
Game balls lifted by the lifting device contact the ball polishing member through an opening provided in the lifting device to perform ball polishing,
The opening is sized so that a game ball cannot pass through,
Equipped with means for determining the number of enclosed balls for determining whether the total number of circulating game balls is an appropriate amount,
Even when the ball polishing member is not attached and the opening is exposed, the game processing by the main control means is executed and it is possible to play a game using the circulating game balls ,
When the ball polishing member is not installed, the game balls being transported by the lifting device are directly visible from the outside of the gaming machine at least when the door frame is open.
A gaming machine characterized by:

Images