JP7495115B2 - Game ball cleaning mechanism - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a game ball cleaning mechanism that is installed in a device equipped with a lifting mechanism that transports game balls in the vertical direction.

Cleaning mechanisms that clean dust and dirt from game balls used in gaming machines have been known for some time (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

The ball cleaning device described in Patent Document 1 is detachable from the ball discharge port of a ball tank in an amusement machine that has a ball tank for receiving game balls, and is equipped with a frame body, two rotating brushes rotatably mounted on the frame body, and a drive means mounted on the frame body for driving the rotating brushes.

The pachinko ball cleaning device described in Patent Document 2 has a belt conveyor device in the middle of the pachinko ball flow path, and a brush-equipped belt moving device adjacent to and facing the vertical upper surface of the belt conveyor device, and also has a brush dust removal device.

JP 2005-304848 A Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 51-31365

However, with the ball cleaning device described in Patent Document 1, if too much dust or dirt adheres to the rotating brush, there is a risk that it will re-adhere to the pachinko balls, so the rotating brush had to be removed from the gaming machine frequently to remove dust and perform cleaning work.

The dust removal device for the brushes of the pachinko ball cleaning device described in Patent Document 2 is made up of a dust removal comb, and because this dust removal comb is configured to come into contact with the brushes and scrape off the dust adhering thereto, it is not sufficient to scrape off fine dust from the brushes, resulting in a problem of reduced brush cleaning efficiency.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional art by providing a game ball cleaning mechanism that can reduce the maintenance frequency of the rotating cleaning body and mitigate the decrease in the cleaning efficiency of the rotating cleaning body for game balls.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 provides a game ball cleaning mechanism that includes a housing, a lifting mechanism provided within the housing for vertically transporting game balls, a transport passageway that is provided substantially perpendicular to the bottom surface of the housing and through which game balls transported by the lifting mechanism pass, a rotating cleaning body that is provided within the transport passageway and arranged along the longitudinal direction, a number of brush members that come into contact with the rotating cleaning body and remove dust and other particles adhering thereto from the rotating cleaning body, and a drive means for rotating the rotating cleaning body, and is characterized in that at least one of the brush members is formed with a number of bristles inclined so as to face the direction of rotation of the rotating cleaning body.

In the invention of claim 1, the brush member scrapes off dust and other particles adhering to the rotating cleaning body, thereby reducing the frequency of maintenance of the rotating cleaning body and mitigating any decline in the cleaning efficiency of the rotating cleaning body for game balls. In addition, the multiple bristles of the brush member can remove fine dust and other particles (metallic debris, resin debris, etc.) adhering to the surface of the rotating cleaning body, further reducing the frequency of maintenance of the rotating cleaning body. Furthermore, since the multiple bristles are inclined to face the direction of rotation of the rotating cleaning body, the retention force of dust and other particles is improved compared to when the bristles are not inclined, and it is possible to prevent them from re-adhering to the rotating cleaning body.

The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, a discharge path through which dust and the like falls is formed between adjacent brush members. Therefore, dust and the like scraped off by the brush members can be discharged to the outside through the discharge path, preventing it from re-adhering to the rotating cleaning body. In addition, the adjacent brush members suppress the horizontal movement of dust and the like in the discharge path, allowing it to move smoothly downward.

The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that in the invention of claim 2, the multiple brush members are arranged to cover the rotating cleaning body, and the bristles of each of the adjacent brush members are formed to be inclined toward the discharge path. Therefore, by rotating the rotating cleaning body forward and backward, one brush member works to scrape off dust and other particles adhering to the rotating cleaning body, and dust adhering to the other brush member can be moved to the discharge path by the rotating cleaning body.

The invention of claim 4 is characterized in that in any of the inventions of claims 1 to 3, the brush member is formed with multiple bristles that are inclined diagonally upward. This improves the retention of dust and other particles, and prevents them from re-adhering to the rotating cleaning body.

The invention of claim 5 is characterized in that, in any one of the inventions of claims 1 to 4, adjacent brush members are arranged so that the contact area with the rotating cleaning body is different. By adjusting the contact area between the brush member and the rotating cleaning body, it is possible to adjust the removal efficiency of dust and other particles adhering to the rotating cleaning body and the rotational resistance to the rotating cleaning body. In addition, when the contact area with one brush member having multiple bristles inclined to face the rotation direction of the rotating cleaning body is widened and the contact area with the other brush member having multiple bristles inclined in the same direction as the rotation direction of the rotating cleaning body is extremely reduced, one brush member can reliably remove dust and other particles from the rotating cleaning body, and the other brush member can suppress the horizontal movement of dust and other particles in the discharge path and move them smoothly downward.

The invention of claim 6 is the invention of claim 5, characterized in that, of the adjacent brush members, the brush member with the smaller contact area with the rotating cleaning body has multiple bristles formed diagonally downward and inclined toward the discharge path. Therefore, the horizontal movement of dust and other particles in the discharge path is suppressed, allowing them to move more smoothly downward.

The invention of claim 7 is characterized in that in any one of the inventions of claims 1 to 6, the rotating cleaning body can rotate in both forward and reverse directions. Therefore, when the rotating cleaning body rotates forward, the brush member removes dust and other particles adhering to the rotating cleaning body, and when the rotating cleaning body rotates reversely, the rotating cleaning body can transfer the dust and other particles adhering to the brush member to the discharge path. In addition, if the bristles of adjacent brush members are inclined toward the discharge path, in both forward and reverse rotation, one of the brush members works to remove dust and other particles adhering to the rotating cleaning body, and the dust and other particles adhering to the other brush member can be transferred to the discharge path by the rotating cleaning body.

The invention of claim 8 is characterized in that in any of the inventions of claims 1 to 7, a remover that removes dust and other particles adhering to the bristles is formed on the housing near the end of the brush member, and the brush member is detachable from the housing, and the bristles come into contact with the remover when removed. Therefore, dust and other particles adhering to the bristles can be removed, and the cleaning efficiency of the brush member relative to the rotating cleaning body can be maintained. In addition, because dust and other particles are removed at the same time as the brush member is removed, the effort required for separate maintenance of the brush member can be reduced.

The invention of claim 9 is characterized in that in any of the inventions of claims 1 to 8, a removable dust box is disposed on the bottom side of the housing. Therefore, dust and the like attached to the rotating cleaning body can be collected in the dust box via the discharge path. In addition, because the dust box is disposed detachably on the housing, the dust and the like collected in the dust box can be easily disposed of.

The invention of the game ball cleaning mechanism of claim 1 can reduce the maintenance frequency of the rotating cleaning body and can mitigate the decrease in the cleaning efficiency of the rotating cleaning body for game balls. The invention of claim 2 can prevent dust from re-adhering to the rotating cleaning body and can move the dust smoothly downward. The invention of claim 3 can rotate the rotating cleaning body forward and backward, so that one brush member works to scrape off dust and other particles adhering to the rotating cleaning body, and the dust adhering to the other brush member can be moved to the discharge path by the rotating cleaning body.

The invention of claim 4 has an improved ability to hold dust and other particles, preventing them from re-adhering to the rotating cleaning body. The invention of claim 5 can adjust the contact area between the brush member and the rotating cleaning body to adjust the removal efficiency of dust and other particles adhering to the rotating cleaning body and the rotational resistance of the rotating cleaning body. The invention of claim 6 can suppress the horizontal movement of dust and other particles in the discharge passage, allowing them to move more smoothly downward.

The invention of claim 7 allows the brush member to remove dust and other particles adhering to the rotating cleaning body when the rotating cleaning body rotates in the forward direction, and allows the rotating cleaning body to transfer dust and other particles adhering to the brush member to the discharge path when the rotating cleaning body rotates in the reverse direction. The invention of claim 8 allows the dust and other particles adhering to the bristles to be removed, while maintaining the cleaning efficiency of the brush member with respect to the rotating cleaning body. The invention of claim 9 allows the dust and other particles adhering to the rotating cleaning body to be collected in a dust box via the discharge path, allowing for easy disposal.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a ball cleaning mechanism according to the present invention; FIG. 1 is a front view showing a ball cleaning mechanism according to the present invention; FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of a cleaning mechanism; FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of a cleaning mechanism; and FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view showing a third embodiment of a cleaning mechanism. (a) is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a brush member; (b) is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of a brush member; and (c) is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of a brush member. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of a rotating cleaning body;

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a game ball cleaning mechanism according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view showing a game ball cleaning mechanism according to the present invention. Note that FIG. 2 is a view in which a part of the housing has been removed so that the internal structure can be easily seen. Below, an overview of the game ball cleaning mechanism according to the present invention will be described using these drawings. Note that the game ball cleaning mechanism according to the present invention is not limited to being installed inside the main body of a game machine, and the present invention includes any cleaning mechanism that is installed in a device equipped with a lifting mechanism that transports game balls in the vertical direction, such as a game ball supplying device that supplies game balls to a game machine.

The game ball cleaning mechanism 10 according to the present invention comprises a cabinet 1, a lifting mechanism 2 provided within the cabinet 1 for vertically transporting the game ball 3, a transport passage 4 provided approximately perpendicular to the bottom surface 1a of the cabinet 1 through which the game ball 3 transported by the lifting mechanism 2 passes, a rotating cleaning body 5 arranged longitudinally within the transport passage 4 and in contact with the game ball 3, two brush members 6a, 6b that come into contact with the rotating cleaning body 5 and remove dust and other particles adhering thereto from the rotating cleaning body 5, a drive means 7 for rotating the rotating cleaning body 5, and a dust box 8 detachably arranged on the bottom surface 1a side of the cabinet 1.

In FIG. 2, a ball-lifting mechanism is shown as an example of the lifting mechanism 2, but it may also be a ball-lowering mechanism that transfers game balls from top to bottom, and this is also included in the present invention.

In FIG. 2, two brush members 6a and 6b are shown, but this is not limited to this, and the present invention includes any case in which two or more brush members are used.

The dust box 8 is located on the bottom surface 1a side of the housing 1, facing the brush members 6a and 6b. This allows it to contain dust and other particles that fall directly downward from the brush members 6a and 6b. By making it detachable from the housing 1, the dust and other particles contained in the dust box 8 can be easily disposed of.

In the cleaning mechanism 10 configured as described above, the game ball 3 inserted from the insertion port 18 is guided by the blades 2b of the screw from the bottom of the screw 2a constituting the ball lifting mechanism 2, as shown by the white arrow in Figure 2, and is transported to the discharge port 19 of the lifting mechanism 2 by being sandwiched between the screw 2a and the rotating cleaning body 5. The rotating cleaning body 5 and the screw 2a rotate in the same direction, and are rotated by gears 7a, 7b, and 7c (not shown) constituting the driving means 7 and a motor (not shown). Specifically, the gear 7b and the screw 2a rotate due to the power of the motor, and the rotating cleaning body 5 connected to the gear 7a via the gear 7c rotates. The transport surfaces 18a and 19a of the insertion port 18 and the discharge port 19 are inclined surfaces, so that the game ball 3 rolls and moves from left to right in Figure 2. Furthermore, the lifting mechanism 2 is not limited to transport by a screw, and the present invention includes any mechanism for lifting and lowering game balls, such as a mechanism that transports game balls by the resistance of a belt, or a mechanism that transports multiple game balls in a row by pushing them from the rear.

Figures 3(a) to (c) are partial cross-sectional views taken along the line A-A in Figure 2, showing the relationship between the rotating cleaning body and the brush member, which are indicative of the game ball cleaning mechanism of the present invention. Figure 3(a) shows the cleaning mechanism of the first embodiment, Figure 3(b) shows the cleaning mechanism of the second embodiment, and Figure 3(c) shows the cleaning mechanism of the third embodiment.

In the cleaning mechanism 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3(a), adjacent brush members 6a and 6b are connected by a connecting piece 6c, and a discharge path 9 for dropping dust and the like is formed between the connecting piece 6c and the rotating cleaning body 5, between the adjacent brush members 6a and 6b. As a result, the rotating cleaning body 5 abuts against the game ball 3 to remove dust and the like 12, and the dust and the like 12 attached to the rotating cleaning body 5 is scraped off by the brush members 6a and 6b, and this dust and the like 12 can be discharged to the outside through the discharge path 9, so that re-adhesion to the rotating cleaning body 5 can be prevented. In addition, the adjacent brush members 6a and 6b suppress the horizontal movement of the dust and the like 12 in the discharge path 9, so that it can be moved smoothly downward.

In addition, a dust box 8 that can be attached and detached from the housing is disposed below the discharge path 9, so that dust and the like 12 that has fallen from the discharge path 9 can be stored and easily disposed of. The outline arrow indicates the rotation direction of the rotating cleaning body 5, and the multiple bristles 11b provided on the brush member 6b are formed with an incline so as to face the rotation direction of the rotating cleaning body 5. On the other hand, the multiple bristles 11a provided on the brush member 6a are formed with an incline in the same direction as the rotation direction of the rotating cleaning body 5. In other words, the bristles 11a, 11b of the adjacent brush members 6a, 6b are formed with an incline toward the discharge path 9.

The multiple brush members 6a, 6b are arranged to cover the rotating cleaning body 5. Here, covering the rotating cleaning body 5 means that the multiple brush members 6a, 6b cover a portion of the side of the rotating cleaning body 5, and do not necessarily have to cover the entire side of the rotating cleaning body 5.

The rotating cleaning body 5 can also be rotated in the opposite direction to the direction of the white arrow shown in FIG. 3(a). As a result, in both forward and reverse rotation, one of the brush members 6a or 6b works to remove dust, etc. 12 adhering to the rotating cleaning body 5, while the dust, etc. 12 adhering to the other brush member 6b or 6a can be transported to the discharge path 9 by the rotating cleaning body 5.

In the cleaning mechanism 20 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3(b), adjacent brush members 6a, 6b are arranged so that the area of contact with the rotating cleaning body 5 is different. That is, the area of contact with the rotating cleaning body 5 of the brush member 6a is smaller than that of the brush member 6b. In addition, the multiple bristles 11a, 11b are formed at an incline toward the discharge passage 9. By adjusting the area of contact between the brush members 6a, 6b and the rotating cleaning body 5, the removal efficiency of dust and the like 12 adhering to the rotating cleaning body 5 and the rotational resistance to the rotating cleaning body 5 can be adjusted.

In addition, if the contact area with one brush member 6b, in which the multiple bristles 11b are inclined to face the rotation direction of the rotating cleaning body 5 (white arrow), is widened, and the contact area with the other brush member 11a, inclined in the same direction as the rotation direction of the rotating cleaning body 5, is extremely small, one brush member 6b can reliably remove dust, etc. 12 from the rotating cleaning body 5, and the other brush member 6a can suppress the horizontal movement of dust, etc. 12 in the discharge path 9, allowing it to move smoothly downward.

In addition, in FIG. 3(b), when the rotation direction of the rotating cleaning body 5 is reversed, the brush member 6a can gently capture dust and the like 12, and the brush member 6b has a smaller rotational resistance than when the rotating cleaning body 5 is rotated in the forward direction, so the overall rotational resistance can be reduced.

The cleaning mechanism 30 of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 3(c) has a remover 13 formed in a housing (not shown) near the end of the brush member 6b, which removes dust and other particles 12 adhering to the bristles 11b. The brush member 6b is detachable from the housing, and the bristles 11b come into contact with the remover 13 when removed. The other configurations are the same as those of the cleaning mechanism 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3(a), so a description thereof will be omitted. The cleaning mechanism 30 of the third embodiment can remove dust and other particles 12 adhering to the bristles 11b, and can maintain the cleaning efficiency of the brush member 6b with respect to the rotating cleaning body 5. In addition, the dust and other particles 12 are removed at the same time as the brush member 6b is removed, which reduces the effort required for separate maintenance of the brush member.

A similar remover can also be provided on the housing on the brush member 6a side, and the brush member 6a can be detached from the housing, with the bristles 11a coming into contact with the remover when removed. In the third embodiment, the remover 13 is a comb, but any structure that can remove dust and other particles 12 by coming into contact with the brush members 6a and 6b, such as a straight brush or polishing cloth, is included in the present invention.

Figures 4(a) to (c) are perspective views showing the first to third embodiments of the brush member that constitutes the game ball cleaning mechanism of the present invention.

The brush members 6a, 6b of the first embodiment shown in Figure 4(a) have multiple bristles 11a, 11b tilted toward the discharge passage 9 at an angle of 90 degrees to the longitudinal direction of the discharge passage 9 (white arrow). That is, at least one of the multiple brush members 6a, 6b is formed with multiple bristles 11b tilted to face the rotation direction of the rotating cleaning body (see Figure 3(a)), so that the retention force of dust and the like is improved compared to when the bristles are tilted vertically downward, and redeposition to the rotating cleaning body can be prevented.

The brush member 13a of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4(b) has multiple bristles 14a that are inclined diagonally downward toward the discharge passage 9. By applying this brush member 13a to the brush member with the smaller contact area of the cleaning mechanism 20 of the second embodiment described in FIG. 3(b), the horizontal movement of dust and other particles in the discharge passage 9 can be suppressed, allowing them to move more smoothly downward.

The brush member 13b also has multiple bristles 14b that are inclined diagonally upward toward the discharge passage 9. This improves the retention of dust and other particles and prevents them from reattaching to the rotating cleaning body.

In the brush member 15a of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 4(c), the bristles 16a are inclined in a direction away from the discharge passage 9 at an angle of 90 degrees to the longitudinal direction of the discharge passage 9. In addition, the brush member 15b has the bristles 16b inclined in a direction toward the discharge passage 9 at an angle of 90 degrees to the longitudinal direction of the discharge passage 9. By rotating the rotating cleaning body in a direction opposite to the inclination direction of the bristles 16a and 16b of the brush members 15a and 15b of this third embodiment, dust and other particles adhering to the rotating cleaning body are scraped off more strongly at the end side that first comes into contact with the brush member, but the removal efficiency is improved by increasing the number of contacts, and the retention force of dust and other particles is further improved, making it possible to prevent re-adhesion to the rotating cleaning body.

As shown in FIG. 4(c), by forming a recess 17a in the connecting piece 17 that connects the brush members 15a and 15b, it is possible to prevent dust from reattaching to the brush members 15a and 15b and to widen the discharge path 9.

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of a rotary cleaning body. The rotary cleaning body 21 shown in Figure 5 has a shaft 22 and two cleaning rows 23, 24 arranged in a spiral shape on the outer periphery of the shaft 22. The cleaning rows 23, 24 are formed so that the cleaning row 23 with long bristles and the cleaning row 24 with shorter bristles than the long cleaning row 23 alternate along the longitudinal direction of the shaft 22.

By combining the rotating cleaning body 21 with the screw 2a of the lifting mechanism 2 shown in FIG. 2, the transport time of the game balls can be shortened, and the area of contact with the game balls can be increased, improving the cleaning efficiency of the game balls. In addition, by bringing the brush member into contact with both cleaning rows 23 and 24 of the rotating cleaning body 21, the multiple bristles of the brush member can remove fine dust and other particles adhering to the surface of the rotating cleaning body 21, thereby reducing the frequency of maintenance of the rotating cleaning body 21. In addition, when the brush member is brought into contact only with the cleaning row 23 of the rotating cleaning body 21, which has long bristles, fine dust and other particles adhering to the rotating cleaning body 21 can be removed and rotational resistance can be reduced.

The game ball cleaning mechanism of the present invention is installed and used in a device equipped with a lifting mechanism that transports game balls in the vertical direction.

1 Housing 1a Bottom surface 2 Lifting mechanism (ball lifting mechanism)
2a Screw 2b Blade 3 Game ball 4 Transport passage 5, 21 Rotating cleaning body 6a, 6b, 13a, 13b, 15a, 15b Brush member 6c, 17 Connecting piece 7 Driving means 7a, 7b, 7c Gear 8 Dust box 9 Discharge passage 10, 20, 30 Game ball cleaning mechanism 11a, 11b, 14a, 14b, 16a, 16b Bristle material 12 Dust, etc. 13 Remover 17a Recess 18 Insertion port 18a, 19a Transport surface 19 Discharge port 22 Shaft 23 Cleaning row with long bristles 24 Cleaning row with short bristles

Claims (9)

A housing and
A lifting mechanism provided in the housing for transporting game balls in an up-down direction;
A transfer passage provided in a direction substantially perpendicular to a bottom surface of the housing through which the game balls transferred by the lifting mechanism pass;
A rotating cleaning body is provided inside the transfer passage, arranged along the longitudinal direction, and contacts the game ball;
a plurality of brush members that come into contact with the rotary cleaning body and remove dust and other particles adhering thereto from the rotary cleaning body;
A driving means for rotating the rotary cleaning body;
In a game ball cleaning mechanism having
A game ball cleaning mechanism, characterized in that at least one of the multiple brush members has multiple bristles formed at an angle so as to face the rotational direction of the rotating cleaning body. The game ball cleaning mechanism described in claim 1, characterized in that a discharge passage for dropping dust and the like is formed between adjacent brush members. The game ball cleaning mechanism described in claim 2, characterized in that the multiple brush members are arranged to cover the rotating cleaning body, and the bristles of each of the adjacent brush members are formed at an angle toward the discharge path. The game ball cleaning mechanism described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the brush member is formed with multiple bristles that are inclined diagonally upward. The game ball cleaning mechanism described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that adjacent brush members are arranged so that the areas of contact with the rotating cleaning body are different. The game ball cleaning mechanism described in claim 5, characterized in that, among the adjacent brush members, the brush member with the smaller contact area with the rotating cleaning body has multiple bristles formed diagonally downward and inclined toward the discharge path. The game ball cleaning mechanism described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the rotating cleaning body can rotate in both forward and reverse directions. The game ball cleaning mechanism described in any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a remover that removes dust and other particles adhering to the bristles is formed on the housing near the end of the brush member, the brush member is detachable from the housing, and the bristles come into contact with the remover when removed. 9. The game ball cleaning mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a removable dust box disposed on the bottom side of the housing.

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