JPH01308580A - Pin ball paying-out apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce a load applied to a driving motor and a sprocket, by forming a ball mounting section at the final end of a feed line, to face the click section of the sprocket to the mounting section, and by forming a ball bearing section for supporting at least lower one point of a pin ball waiting on the feed line. CONSTITUTION:A ball mounting section 37 is composed of a ball bearing wall 38 formed on the lower section side surface of a guide section 36, and ball bearing sections 39a, 39b for supporting lower one point of a pin ball on the lower side of the ball bearing wall 38. The clock section 44 of a sprocket 43 is formed in a recessed shape to be engaged with the outer peripheral surface of the pin ball, and is set at a position inserted between the ball bearing sections 39a, 39b. The recessed lower section of the click section 44 is set at a position lower than that of the ball bearing sections 39a, 39b, and so pin balls mounted on the ball mounting section 37 are set into a state supported by the ball bearing sections 39a, 39b, and ball pressure is not applied to the sprocket 43, and the rotation of the sprocket 43 is smoothly performed.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention provides a supply passage through which pachinko balls are continuously supplied, and a supply passage provided at the end of the supply passage and engaged with the outer circumferential surface of the pachinko balls. This invention relates to a pachinko ball dispensing device comprising a sprocket having a concave pawl, a drive motor for rotating the sprocket, and a discharge passage through which pachinko balls dispensed by the rotation of the drive motor are discharged. Examples of the pachinko ball dispensing device include a prize ball dispensing device in a pinball game machine that plays by popping pachinko balls, or a rental ball dispensing device that rents game balls used in a pinball game machine.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as a pachinko ball dispensing device such as a prize ball dispensing device or a rental ball dispensing device, there is a supply passageway through which pachinko balls are continuously supplied, and a pachinko ball dispensing device installed at the end of the supply passageway, A sprocket having a concave pawl that engages with the outer circumferential surface of the sprocket, a drive motor that rotates the sprocket, and a discharge path for discharging pachinko balls 75 (discharged) discharged by the rotation of the drive motor. A dispensing device with such a configuration directly receives pachinko balls continuously supplied from the supply passage with the pawl of the subrocket, and as the drive motor rotates, the pachinko balls are It was pressed by the claw part and discharged into the discharge passage.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional pachinko ball dispensing device described above, the earth pressure of the pachinko balls waiting in the supply path is applied directly to the sprocket pawl, so a large load is placed on the drive motor. Especially when the drive motor starts rotating, the load becomes maximum. However, the number of operations of the prize ball dispensing device of the pinball game machine and the rental ball dispensing device of the ball rental device is extremely complicated, so when using the conventional pachinko ball dispensing device as described above, This invention was created in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to solve the problems described above. The object of the present invention is to provide a pachinko ball dispensing device that can withstand long-term use by minimizing the load on the drive motor and sprocket.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a pachinko ball dispensing device according to the present invention includes a ball placement portion formed at the end of a supply passage, and a sprocket pawl provided in the placement portion. A ball support part is formed to support at least one lower part of the pachinko balls waiting in the supply passage. Of course, a ball support part that supports two lower points of the pachinko balls may be formed on the placing part.

[Function] In the case where one ball support part is formed in the ball placing part, the earth pressure of the pachinko balls waiting in the supply passage is distributed and applied to the ball support part and the sprocket claw part. It turns out. This reduces the load on the sprocket and drive motor, allowing the sprocket to rotate smoothly. In addition, in the case where two ball supporting parts are formed on the ball mounting part, the earth pressure of the pachinko balls is applied to the two ball supporting parts, and the earth pressure is not applied directly to the sprocket.
The sprocket rotates more smoothly and the life of the drive motor is extended.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, a pachinko game machine to which a pachinko ball payout device according to an embodiment is applied will be described with reference to FIG. 5. The pachinko ball payout device in this case is used as a prize ball payout device. In the figure, a guide rail 3 for guiding balls is installed on a game board 2 of a pachinko game machine 1, and the area surrounded by the guide rail 3 constitutes a game area 4. A variable display device 5 having a rotating drum is provided approximately in the center of the gaming area 4, and a variable winning ball device 6 having an opening/closing door 7 is provided below the display device 5. Further, starting winning holes 8a to 8C are arranged on both left and right sides of the variable display device 5 and on the upper part of the variable winning ball device 6. Further, on both left and right sides and the lower part of the variable winning ball device 6, there are normal winning holes 9a, 9b, 10a, which allow the hit balls to become normal winnings.
1ob is placed. The rotating drum of the variable display device 5 starts rotating when the hit ball enters the starting winning slots 8a to 8C, and stops its rotation after a predetermined period of time or when the player operates a stop switch. When the display mode at the time of stop is a predetermined combination, the opening/closing 5i17 of the variable winning ball device 6 continues to be open for a certain period of time (for example, 30 seconds) or until a predetermined number of winning balls (for example, 10 balls) are won, When a prize is won in the winning slot provided in the opening/closing s7, the above-mentioned open state is repeated again. In addition, the number of prize balls paid out by winning balls entered into each winning hole or winning ball device described above is as follows:
They may all be the same (for example, 13), or may be set to differ only depending on winnings in specific winning holes. For example, the number of prize balls paid out according to the prize winnings entered into the starting prize openings 8a to 8C is set to 7,
The variable display device 5 is set by setting the number of prize balls to be paid out according to winnings in other winning openings to be 13, and adjusting the nails so that a large number of winnings are won in the starting winning openings 88 to 8C.
It is possible to make the game more interesting by increasing the number of operations.

Further, on the back side of the game board 2, a winning collection cover 11 as shown in FIG. 6 is attached. This winning collection cover 11 is formed with a guide path for distributing and guiding the winnings that have been won in the winning hole or the winning ball device downward. In particular, in the guide path for guiding winnings that have entered the starting winning holes 8a to 8c, starting winning ball detectors 13a to 1 are installed.
3c is arranged, and this starting prize ball detector 13a~
When 13c is turned on, the variable display device 5 rotates. In addition, when the number of prize balls entered into the starting winning holes 8a to 8c is set to be small as described above, the signals from the starting winning ball detectors 13a to 13c trigger the payout operation of the prize ball dispensing device 29, which will be described later. It is designed to be sent to a payout control circuit (not shown) that controls.

Furthermore, a solenoid 12 for controlling opening and closing of the opening/closing door 7 is also attached to the winning collection cover 11.

Returning to FIG. 5, below the game area 4 of the game board 2, an out port 14 is formed to take in balls that have not entered any of the above-mentioned winning ports or the winning ball device. Further, outside the game area 4 and above the game board 2, there is provided a ball storage display 57 that displays the number of winning prizes or the number of unpaid prize balls.

Furthermore, on the front of the pachinko game machine 1, there is a ball supply tray 15 for storing prize balls paid out from a prize ball dispensing device 29, which will be described later, and for guiding the balls to a firing position, and a ball supply tray 15 for storing prize balls paid out from a prize ball dispensing device 29, which will be described later. It has well-known configurations such as a surplus ball tray 16 for storing surplus prize balls that cannot be stored and an operation handle 17 for adjusting the rebound force of the balls.

Next, the back structure of the pachinko gaming machine 1 will be explained with reference to FIG. In the figure, a mechanism plate 18 is provided on the back side of the pachinko game machine 1 so as to cover the entire back side of the game board 2.
is installed. As is well known, this mechanism plate 18 is
Various mechanisms are provided for processing winnings one by one and paying out a predetermined number of prize balls corresponding to the winnings. Therefore, in the mechanism plate 18 shown, on the front side thereof, there is a winning collection gutter 19 that stops the winnings falling from the winning collection cover 11 and collects them on one side.
is formed. This prize collection gutter 19 is designed to flow down the winning balls arranged in a line, but a winning ball detector 20 is provided in the middle of the flowing path to detect the winning balls passing through. . A signal from the prize ball detector 20 is sent to a payout control circuit (not shown) to control the operation of a prize ball payout device 29, which will be described later.

On the other hand, on the rear side of the mechanism plate 18, a prize ball tank 21 is provided on the upper part for storing prize balls supplied from a supply mechanism (not shown), and the prize balls are arranged and flowed down below the prize ball tank. A prize ball guiding gutter 22 is provided.

On the upstream side of the prize ball guiding gutter 22, there is provided a prize ball shortage sensing plate 23 that swings when the stored prize balls decrease. The prize ball shortage detector 24 turns ON and sends a replenishment command signal to a management computer (not shown), so that the prize ball tank 21 is replenished with prize balls. A curved gutter 25 is connected downstream of the prize ball guide gutter 22 to change the downward direction of the prize balls by 180 degrees and to weaken the positive pressure. The curved gutter 25 has a prize ball deficiency detection plate 26.
is located. This prize ball shortage sensing plate 26 operates when a prize ball is paid out without being replenished even though the prize ball shortage sensing plate 23 is activated, and the prize ball shortage detection plate 26 operates when a prize ball is paid out without being replenished even though the prize ball shortage sensing plate 23 is activated. Turn off ball shortage detector 27
By doing so, the operation of the stepping motor 41, which is the drive motor of the prize ball dispensing device 29, which will be described later, is stopped.
Therefore, the game is interrupted.

The downstream side of the curved gutter 25 constitutes a vertical supply gutter 28, and this feed gutter 28 stores a slightly larger number of prize balls than the number of prize balls paid out in one payout operation. It has become. Further, a prize ball dispensing device 29, which is a main part of this embodiment, is connected to the downstream end of the supply gutter 28. Note that the supply gutter 28 constitutes a part of the supply passage of the prize ball dispensing device 29.

The prize ball dispensing device 29 mainly includes a supply passage 31, a discharge passage 34, a stepping motor 41, and a sprocket 43, and is designed to dispense a predetermined number of prize balls by rotation of the stepping motor 41. There is. Its configuration will be detailed later.

A prize ball discharging gutter 48 is provided below the prize ball dispensing device 29 for guiding the prize balls paid out from the device 29.
A guide opening 49 is provided at the lower end of the prize ball discharge gutter 48 to communicate with the batted ball supply tray 15.

Further, the structure is such that the prize balls overflow from one side of the guide opening 49, and the overflowing surplus prize balls are transferred to the surplus ball receiving tray 16.
A surplus ball discharge gutter 50 is provided to guide the surplus balls. A full tank detection plate 58 is swingably provided on one side of the surplus ball discharge gutter 50, and when it is pressed by the surplus balls stored in the surplus ball discharge gutter 50, a ball feed supply (not shown) is provided. The ball feeding operation of the device is stopped and the game is interrupted. Furthermore, a fullness detection plate 59 is swingably provided at the overflow portion of the guide opening 49, and even after the fullness detection plate 58 is activated, the flow is continued based on the value stored in the counter of the dispensing control circuit. Prize ball dispensing device 2
9 continues to operate and the prize balls are stored. A fullness detector 60 is arranged behind the fullness detection plate 59, and when activated, the operation of the stepping motor 41 of the prize ball dispensing device 29 is stopped, and further dispensing of prize balls is stopped. It has become.

Further, on the back side of the pachinko game machine 1, a ball firing drive unit 51 for firing balls is provided so as to correspond to the operation handle 17.

Next, the configuration of the prize ball dispensing device 29, which is the main part of this embodiment, will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. 1 to 3 show a prize ball payout device 29 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 4 shows a prize ball payout device 29A according to the second embodiment. First, the prize ball dispensing device 29 according to the first embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the prize ball dispensing device 29 is comprised of a mounting plate 30 attached to the mechanism plate 18 and a motor mounting plate 35 to which a stepping motor 41 as a drive motor is attached. That is, the fastening holes 45a to 45d drilled in the motor mounting plate 35 are made to correspond to the fastening parts 46a to 46d formed in the mounting plate 30, and screwed with screws 47 to form an integral structure. By the way, the mounting plate 30 has a supply passage 31 that is continuous with the supply gutter 28.
is formed, and on the downstream side of the supply passage 31, there is a style change section 3 for changing the direction of prize balls toward a ball placement section 37, which will be described later.
2 is formed. Further below the flow path changing part 32, a ball support part 39b is formed to support one lower point of the most advanced pachinko ball PI of the supply passage 31, and the ball support part 39b
A sprocket storage portion 33 in which a sprocket 43 is stored is formed below. Further, on one side of the sprocket storage section 33, a prize ball discharge passage 34 is also formed.

On the other hand, the upper part of the motor mounting plate 35 has the supply passage 31
A guide part 36 that guides pachinko balls flowing downward is provided in a protruding manner, and a ball placement part 37 on which 2311 drumsticks are placed is configured below this guide part 36. The ball mounting part 37 is located below the ball receiving wall 38 formed on the lower side surface of the guide part 36 and corresponding to the ball supporting part 39b, and is configured to hold pachinko balls. The ball support part 39a supports one lower part of the other pachinko ball, and the ball support part 39b supports one lower part of one of the pachinko balls. In other words, the ball mounting section 37 has the function of receiving and stopping the earth pressure of the prize balls waiting in the supply passage 31, and the function of supporting the lower part of the most advanced pachinko ball at two points. In addition, the motor mounting plate 35 and the mounting plate 3
0, arc-shaped guide ribs 40a and 40b are provided to protrude from the respective ball support parts 39a and 39b toward the discharge passage 34, and the pachinko balls placed on the ball mounting part 37 are discharged to the discharge passage 34. It is designed to guide its flow until it is released. Furthermore, a stepping motor 41 is attached to the rear surface of the motor mounting plate 35 and rotates by a predetermined angle every time a pulse signal is received. A sprocket 43 having a plurality of pawls 44 on its outer periphery is fixed. The pawl portion 44 of the sprocket 43 is formed in a concave shape so as to engage with the outer peripheral surface of the pachinko ball.
The claw portion 44 is inserted between the ball support portions 39a and 39b. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the concave claw portion of the claw portion 44
Since the position is lower than 39b, the pachinko balls placed on the ball placement section 37 are placed on the ball support sections 39a and 39b.
The sprocket 43 is in a supported state, and no earth pressure is applied to the sprocket 43.

To explain the operation of the prize ball dispensing device 29 according to the first embodiment described above, the player operates the operation handle 17 to launch the hit ball into the gaming area 4, and the hit ball is sent to the starting prize opening 8a~ When a winning ball enters a winning slot other than 8c, the winning ball is guided by the winning ball collecting cover 11 and falls into the winning ball detector 19, and then the winning ball detector 2o is turned on.
The detection signal of the winning ball detector 20 is sent to a payout control circuit (not shown), and the value r+13J is added to a counter included in the control circuit. In addition, starting prize opening 8a
The winning ball detector 13 is activated by the winning ball that has won ~8c.
When a to 13c are turned on, the detection signal is sent to the payout control circuit. When this detection signal is present, "-6" is subtracted from the counter value.

However, the winning balls that have entered the starting winning holes 8a to 8c turn on the starting winning ball detectors 13a to 13c, then fall into the winning ball collection gi19 and also turn on the winning ball detector 20, so that in the end r- The calculation of 6+13J is made, and the value in the counter due to the winning balls in the starting winning holes 8a to 8c is ``
+7". Note that the numerical value stored in the counter is displayed on a ball storage display 57 provided on the game board 2. Further, the number displayed on the ball storage display 57 may be the number of winning balls counted by the winning ball detector 20. In this case, it is preferable to use a format in which the same number of prize balls is paid out from all winning slots. Note that the above-mentioned control circuit continues to send a pulse signal to the stepping motor 41 of the prize ball payout device 29 until the value of the counter becomes "0". The stepping motor 41 rotates by a predetermined angle every time there is a pulse signal, in this case, the angle required to pay out one pachinko ball, and continues to rotate until there is no more pulse signal sent from the payout control circuit. Therefore, the prize balls are continuously supplied from the supply passage 31, but the most advanced pachinko balls P are supported by the ball receiving wall 38 and the ball supporting parts 39a and 39b that constitute the ball mounting part 37. , Since the earth pressure of consecutive prize balls (including the prize balls stored in the supply gutter 28) is also stopped by the ball placement part 37,
No soil pressure is applied to the sprocket 43, and the sprocket 43
is smoothly rotated, the pachinko balls placed on the ball placement part 37 are pressed by the pawl part 44, and the prize balls are paid out from the discharge passage 34. In the above embodiment, the stepping motor 41 is rotated by a predetermined angle in response to a pulse signal to dispense a predetermined number of prize balls. However, in order to increase accuracy, the number of prize balls to be paid out may be counted. Alternatively, a counting means may be added, and this counting means and the stepping motor 41 may be associated with each other.

As described above, the prize ball dispensing device 29 according to the first embodiment applies the earth pressure of the prize balls waiting in the supply gutter 28 and the supply passage 31 to the ball receiving wall 38 and the ball supports 39a and 39b. Since the sprocket 43 is not directly applied to the sprocket 43, the sprocket 43 rotates smoothly, and the load on the stepping motor 41 can be greatly reduced, so the stepping motor 41 can be operated for a long period of time.
stable operation can be ensured. In addition, since no earth pressure is applied to the sprocket 43, the sprocket 43 will not spin idly due to earth pressure even if the power supply to the stepping motor 41 is stopped. Therefore, in the event of an accident such as a sudden power outage, However, the prize balls waiting in the supply passage 31 will not be washed away. ' Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a prize ball dispensing device 29A according to a second embodiment will be described. The difference between the prize ball dispensing device 29A of the second embodiment and the prize ball dispensing device 29 of the first embodiment is mainly in the shape of the sprocket. They are shown with the same reference numerals. To explain this, in the sprocket 52 in the prize ball dispensing device 29A of the second embodiment, the concave portion sandwiched between the claw portions 53 has a stepped cross section, as shown in FIG. 4(a). The apex of the stepped portion is a ball support portion 54a that supports one lower point of one of the pachinko balls P2. Further, at the end of the supply passage 31,
A ball support member 5 that supports the other lower point of the pachinko ball P2 at a position corresponding to the ball support portion 54a of the sprocket 52.
4b is formed. That is, in the prize ball dispensing device 29A of the second embodiment, the ball mounting section 37 is constituted by the ball supporting section 54a formed on the sprocket 52 and the ball supporting section 54b formed at the end of the supply passage 31. There will be. Therefore, the earth pressure of the prize balls waiting in the supply gutter 28 and the supply passage 31 is reduced by the sprocket 52 and the supply passage 3.
1 and the end of sprocket 1, the load on sprocket 52 can be weakened compared to the conventional system where the entire pressure is received only by the sprocket.
Therefore, the rotation of the sprocket 52 becomes smooth, and the load applied to the stepping motor 41 can also be reduced. The prize ball pressed by the pawl 53 of the sprocket 52 is guided into a discharge passage 56 by changing its flow direction by a current changing part 55 arranged in front of the rotation direction of the sprocket 52. . In the illustrated embodiment, since the ball mounting portion 37 is disposed directly above the motor shaft 42 of the sprocket 52, the power supply to the stepping motor 41 is stopped as in the first embodiment. The sprocket 52 does not spin idly due to earth pressure, and therefore, even if an accident such as a sudden power outage occurs, the prize balls waiting in the supply passage 31 will not be washed away.

As explained above, in both of the above two embodiments, the earth pressure of the prize balls waiting in the supply passage 31 is not stopped only by the sprockets 43 and 52;
Ball mounting portion 3 formed at least at the end of the supply passage 31
Since the ball supports 39a, 39b, or 54b of 7 are arranged to receive the balls in a distributed manner, the rotation of the sprockets 43, 52 becomes smooth, and the stepping motor 4, which is the drive motor,
It can withstand long-term use by reducing the load on the device.

In the above-described embodiments, a prize ball dispensing device is exemplified as the pachinko ball dispensing device, but it may also be a rental ball dispensing device of a ball lending device. Further, although a stepping motor is illustrated as an example of the drive motor, this may also be a normal motor. In this case, means for counting the pachinko balls that are paid out or timekeeping means will be added.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above explanation, the pachinko ball dispensing device according to the present invention does not only use the sprocket to receive and stop the earth pressure of the pachinko balls waiting in the supply passage. At least one lower part of the pachinko balls is distributed and received by the ball support part of the ball mounting part formed at the end of the supply passage, so the sprocket rotates smoothly and the load on the drive motor is reduced. Can withstand long-term use.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show a prize ball dispensing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 2 is a
Third sectional view from the back showing the operation of the prize ball dispensing device
The figure is an exploded perspective view of the prize ball dispensing device, FIG. 4 shows the prize ball dispensing device according to the second embodiment, (a) is a vertical cross-sectional view, (b) is a horizontal cross-sectional view, and FIG. Figure 6 is a front view of a pachinko game machine in which a prize ball payout device is commonly used, Figure 6 is a rear view of the winning ball collecting cover that is fixed to the back of the game board, and Figure 7 is a rear view of the pachinko game machine. It is. 28... Supply gutter (supply passage) 29.29A... Prize ball dispensing device (dispensing device) 31...
Supply passage 34.56...Discharge passage 37...Ball placement parts 39a, 39b...Ball support part 41...Stepping motor (drive motor) 43.52
... Sprocket 44.53 ... Claw part (54a), 54b - Ball support part Patent applicant: Sankyo Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A supply passage through which pachinko balls are continuously supplied, a sprocket provided at the end of the supply passage and having a claw portion that engages with the outer peripheral surface of the pachinko balls, and the sprocket is rotated. A pachinko ball dispensing device comprising a drive motor and a discharge passage through which pachinko balls dispensed by rotation of the drive motor are discharged, comprising: a ball placement section formed at an end of the supply passage; The pawl part of the sprocket is facing the part, and
A pachinko ball dispensing device characterized in that a ball support part is formed to support at least one lower part of pachinko balls waiting in a supply passage.