JPH03123573A - Pinball machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable interest in a game to be maintained without giving an uncomfortable feeling to a player by controlling continuously the drive of a shot ball upply-projection mechanism until a certain period elapses when a game interruption detecting means generates the output during the drive of the shot ball supply-projection mechanism. CONSTITUTION:When a paying-off confirmation detector 122 is continuously under the ON condition for a certain time, a premium ball paying-off solenoid 110 is disabled while a shot ball is projected, the solenoid is disabled after the completion of the projection of 16 shot balls. Even if a game interruption requirement is suddenly established on the way of the game for the certain time, a shot ball supply-projection mechanism is driven continuously until the certain time elapses, so that the shot balls can be continuously projected until a unit of the game for the cetain time is completed. That is, even if the game interruption requirement is established, the game is not suddenly interrupted, so that an uncomfortable feeling is not given to a player or interest in the game is not halved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention involves playing a game by firing balls for a certain period of time using a ball supply and firing mechanism, and at least based on the results of the game achieved by the balls being hit for a certain period of time. This invention relates to a pinball game machine that gives a predetermined value.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, a game is played by firing balls for a certain period of time using a ball supply and firing mechanism, and at least a bullet that gives a predetermined value based on the result of the game achieved by the balls hit for a certain period of time. As a ball game machine, for example, a certain number of balls (for example,
A game is played by firing 16 balls), and a predetermined score is awarded when the winning combination becomes a predetermined combination through the passage holes arranged horizontally in a row at the bottom of the game area of the game board. However, a pinball game machine that pays out prize balls corresponding to the score has been provided on the market. In such a pinball game machine, for example, as shown in the invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-139283 (hereinafter referred to as the conventional example), there is a specific game interruption condition under which the ball supply and firing mechanism should be stopped. Specifically, when it is detected that the paid-out prize balls are full in the storage tray provided in the pinball game machine, the ball supply and firing mechanism is immediately stopped even during the game. It was becoming.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional example described above, the firing of the ball suddenly stops while the player is immersed in the game, which causes discomfort to the player and reduces the interest in the game by half. There was a problem with letting it happen.

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a pinball game machine that does not cause discomfort to players and can maintain the interest of the game. [Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the pinball game machine according to the present invention has the following features: a game is played by firing balls for a certain period of time using a ball supply and firing mechanism; A game interruption detecting means for detecting that a condition for stopping the driving of the ball supplying and firing mechanism is satisfied, in which a predetermined value is given based on the result of the game achieved by hitting the ball for a certain period of time; and drive continuation control means for continuously controlling the drive of the batted ball supplying and firing mechanism until at least the predetermined period has elapsed when there is an output of the game interruption detection means while the batted ball supplying and firing mechanism is being driven. It is characterized by:

[Function] Even if a game interruption condition is suddenly established during a game during a certain period of time, the ball supply and firing mechanism will continue to be driven until the certain period of play has elapsed. Balls can be fired continuously until the unit game ends. In other words, even if the game interruption condition is met,
Since the game is not suddenly interrupted, the player is not made to feel uncomfortable or the interest in the game is not halved.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Overall Structure of the Pinball Game Machine First, the overall structure of the pinball game machine according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

Fig. 1 is a front view of the pinball game machine with the glass door frame and front door plate open, Fig. 2 is an enlarged front view of the Farro portion, and Fig. 3 is a front view of the pinball game machine FIG. In the figure, an outer frame 2 of a pinball game machine 1 is provided with a frame-shaped front frame 3 that can be opened freely, and a door holding frame 4 is provided around the front frame 3. A glass door frame 5 having glass plates 5a and 5b (see FIG. 4A) and a front door plate 6 are pivotally supported on one side and are attached so as to be openable and closable. A game board 32 is attached to and detached from the game board holding frame 13 on the back side of the front frame 3 behind the glass door frame 5 using game board fixtures 14a to 14C (however, 14c is not shown). It is provided. In addition, game board holding frame 1
3, a lower support plate portion 13a and a frame portion 13b for housing a game board 32 are integrally formed of synthetic resin. Further, on the surface of the front door plate 6, a batted ball supply tray 8 is fixed that stores the ejected prize balls and supplies them one by one to the batted ball firing position 16. On the upstream side of the batted ball supply tray 8,
A prize ball dispensing lower from which prize balls paid out from a prize ball dispensing device 90 (described later) is ejected is opened, and a speaker 9a ( (shown in the block diagram of FIG. 9) is built-in. For this reason, the front door plate 6 is provided with a speaker housing section 9 . Further, the front door plate 6 is also provided with a start switch (operation detector) 10 for starting a game in the pinball game machine 1. Once the start switch 10 is pressed by the first player after the power is turned on, there is no need to press it thereafter unless the power is turned off. It should be noted that the start switch 10 may not be provided and the game can be started immediately after the power is turned on. Furthermore, a batted ball supply device 140 is fixed to the back surface of the front door plate 6 for supplying batted balls guided from the batted ball supply tray 8 to a firing position 16 to be described later. Note that the batted ball supply device 140 will be described in detail later. Further, the hit ball supply device 140 may be provided on the front side of the game board 32.

At the lower part of the front frame 3, there is an operation handle 11 that constitutes a part of the batted ball firing device 125, and a surplus ball receiving tray 1 for storing prize balls that cannot be stored in the batted ball supply tray 8.
2 is provided. Further, inside the operating handle 11, a handle switch (not shown) is provided for rotationally driving a ball hitting motor 131, which will be described later.

Further, a firing rail 15 is attached to the front surface of the lower support plate portion 13a of the game board holding frame 13 via a mounting board 17, and balls are supplied to a firing position 16 at the base of the firing rail 15. The ball is fired by a ball launcher 125, which will be described later. Note that the mounting board 17 below the firing position 16
An actuating member 167, which constitutes a part of a hit ball supply device 140 to be described later, is swingably supported on the shaft. Further, a foul opening 18 is formed at the tip of the firing rail 15 to guide hit balls (foul balls) that have returned without reaching the game area 24, which will be described later. Foul ball detector 1 that detects one ball at a time
9 is provided.

The foul ball detection mechanism by the foul ball detector 19 will be explained with reference to FIG.
A mounting member 20 is fixed below 8. The mounting member 20 is configured integrally with a guide path for guiding foul balls and a mounting portion to which the foul ball detector 19 is attached. The guide plate 21 and the tip of the firing rail 15 substantially constitute the foul opening 18. One side of the foul opening 18 is curved downward from the tip of the firing rail 15. The other side is constituted by a passage curved plate 23 projecting from the mounting member 20. In addition, mounting member 2
A passage bottom plate 22 is provided below the passageway 0 in a protruding manner. The above-mentioned curved portion 15a, passage bottom plate 22, and passage curved plate 23 constitute a guide path through which foul balls are guided. The foul ball detector 19 faces the downstream end of the passage bottom plate 22 and the passage curved plate 23. By the way, when foul balls occur continuously, the foul ball detector 1
In order for 9 to accurately detect foul balls, there are
An inclined surface 24 and a buffer rib 25 are provided. The inclined surface 24 is the upper edge of the mounting member 20 and is formed in an "L" shape from one end of the guide plate 21 to the curved portion 15a, and smoothly prevents foul balls falling from the foul opening 18. It is formed so that it can be guided to the taxiway.

Further, the buffer ribs 25 are provided to protrude from the upper part of the passage bottom plate 22 at intervals, so that the foul balls flowing down the guide path collide with each other and the speed of the foul balls flowing down is weakened. For this reason, even if foul balls continue to flow down, each foul ball is reliably passed through the foul ball detector 19 one by one.

Further, the rear part of the mounting member 20 is formed into a box frame shape, and a locking part 26 that removably locks the foul ball detector 19 is provided protrudingly at the lower part of the frame, and a foul ball detector is installed near the rear end of the upper part of the locking part 26. A notch 27 is formed to lead out the wiring from 19. Furthermore, a cover 28 is placed behind the mounting member 20 and covers the foul ball detector 19.

Foul balls discharged from the foul ball detector 19 are returned to the surplus ball receiving tray 12 through a return port 29 provided in the support plate portion 13a. A communication port 30 communicating with the prize payout lower is formed in the upper part of one side of the support plate portion 13a of the game board holding frame 13.
A spilled ball guiding member 31 for guiding prize balls spilled from the zero to the return port 29 is fixed to the front surface of the support plate portion 13a.

Structure of the Game Board The game board 32, which is detachably attached to the game board holding frame 13 by the game board mounts 14a to 14c, has a guide rail 33 on the surface thereof for guiding the balls guided from the launch rail 15. are planted in an almost circular shape. The area surrounded by the guide rail 33 is the gaming area 3.
4. At the upper left and right sides of the gaming area 34, there is a variable display device 35a having a plurality of (four) display sections.

35b is provided. This variable display device 35a, 3
The back of each display section 5b has built-in LED lamps that can be variably displayed between "red" and "green". A passing guide device 36 is provided between the variable display devices 35a and 35b to guide the falling balls downward, and a starting passage port 37 is provided below the passing guide device 36. Further, below the starting passage port 37, there is provided a double passage day 38, which allows the points earned by the passage of the ball to be doubled. Tulip type passage ports 39a and 39b are arranged on the left and right sides of this double passage day 38, and these tulip type passage ports 39a and 39b are opened by tulip opening solenoids 49a and 49b, which will be described later. The ball is closed by a winning ball during the opening.

Furthermore, at the lowest part of the game area 34, a plurality (16) of passage ports 40a to 40p are arranged in a row in the horizontal direction, and passage position display LEDs are provided to correspond to each of the passage ports 40a to 40p.
41a to 41p are provided. In addition, the passage port 40a
- In the lower center of 40p, there are also provided a double display LED 42 that displays that a hit ball has won a prize in the double winning opening 38, and a score display 7 segment LE043 that displays the score obtained in the - unit game. There is.

Furthermore, on the left and right sides of the center of the game area 34, game effect lamps 44a and 44b are lit to notify when the variable display devices 35a and 35b reach a predetermined display mode.
is provided. These game effect lamps 44a, 44b
Game effect lamps (also referred to as frame lamps) 45a to 45c are provided at the upper part of the front frame 3 to have the same effect as the above. Further, on the upper side of the game board 32 outside the gaming area 34, there is a prize ball payout lamp 46 that lights up every time a prize ball corresponding to the acquired score is paid out to notify that fact. A ball-out lamp 47 is provided to notify that there is a shortage of prize balls to be given.

To explain the game content of the game board 32 having the above-described configuration, when a ball hit into the game area 34 passes through the passage holes 40a to 40p provided at the lowest position, the passage position corresponding to the passage hole through which the ball has passed is displayed. LED41a~41
p lights up. If the lighted positions are lit at four consecutive locations, the score will be "1", and the passage position display LE041g-41j corresponding to the central passage ports 40g-40j (corresponding to 7-10) will be When four lights are lit in a row, the score is three points. Further, when five or more lights are lit in a row, one point is added for each one lit. In addition, the passing position display LEDs 41a to 41p are as follows:
The display may be turned on or blinked as a demonstration from when the power is turned on until the start switch 10 is pressed.

By the way, among the passage ports 40a to 40p described above, the passage ports 40h and 40i (corresponding to 8 and 9) located in the center of the sky have the double passage date 38 located above them, so in normal times, they are relatively It has become difficult to pass through, and the passage port 40
h, 40f located on the left and right of 40i (corresponding to 6 and 7)
, 40g and 40j40k (corresponding to 10 and 11) are relatively easy to pass. Therefore, in order to get a high score, the ball needs to pass through the central passage holes 40h and 40i, but as mentioned above, it is difficult to pass through these openings in normal times, so it is easy to get a high score. It is no longer possible to obtain it. In this embodiment, when the ball passes through the double passage day 38, the acquired points are doubled, and
The passing position display LEDs 41h and 41i corresponding to i are turned on. For this reason, the number of balls hit is doubled
If you pass 8, not only will the possibility of scoring a score increase, but the score will be doubled, giving you a high score. However, this double passage hole 38 is also designed so that it is difficult for balls to pass through the double passage hole 38 due to obstruction nails (not shown) during normal times. Therefore, in order to make it easier for the ball to be guided 8 times on the double passage day 38, the tulip type passage holes 39a, 3
This is done by opening 9b and causing a ball to collide with the tip of the opening/closing member. Tulip type passage port 39a, 3
In order to open the ball 9b, it is necessary for the ball to pass through the starting passage port 37 and cause the variable display devices 35a and 35b to be variably displayed, and the display result to be in a predetermined display mode. Specifically, when the ball passes through the starting passage port 37, the LED lamps arranged on the rear surface of each display part of the variable display devices 35a and 35b randomly change between "red" and "green", and As time passes, the change stops,
The tulip-type passage ports 39a and 39b are opened when all the display modes at the time of stop are the same color. However, if the above-mentioned display mode appears on either of the two variable display devices 35a and 35b, it will be a so-called jackpot state, and the tulip-type passage port 39a,
39b is opened. Then, when the tulip-type winning openings 39a and 39b are opened, the tulip-type passing openings 39a and 39b are designed so that it is difficult for balls to pass through the tulip-type passing openings 39a and 39b, which are also opened by unillustrated obstruction nails. This state continues for a relatively long time, and therefore, the points obtained in each unit game become high points continuously.

Note that the display mode of the variable display devices 35a, 35b becomes a predetermined display mode, and the tulip type passage port 39a
, 39b are open, the game effect lamp 44a
, 44b, 45a to 45c blink to notify that the jackpot is in effect. -The points earned in the unit game are displayed by the score display 7 segment LED 43, but the points obtained in the unit game are displayed by the score display 7 segment LED 43, It is cleared when a predetermined period of time has elapsed. However, at the same time as it is cleared, it is stored in the payout counter and the payout operation of the prize balls is started, and when the payout operation is completed, the value of the payout counter is also reflected. In addition, in this pinball game machine 1, 1
The maximum score that can be earned in one game is limited to ``10'' points, and subsequent points are prohibited from being accepted. In addition, score display 7 segment LED 4
In order to display the highest score of "10" in 3, for example, "A" is displayed because there is only one digital display. Of course, in this case, the score display 7 segment LED 4
3 may be configured with two digital displays.

In addition, when a hit ball passes through the starting passage port 37 among the above-mentioned passage ports, the passing position display LED 41g (corresponding to 7) lights up, and when the ball passes through the tulip type passage ports 39a and 39b, any plurality of The passing position display LED lights up.

Note that in this embodiment, points are awarded based on the combination of passageways through which the ball passes, but points may be awarded based on the passage of the batted ball through a specific passageway, or points may be awarded based on the combination of passageways through which the batted ball passes. A predetermined prize ball may be paid out.

Next, the structure of the back side of the game board 32 will be explained with reference to FIG. 3.
b is driven to open by tulip opening solenoids 49a and 49b. The tulip opening solenoids 49a and 49b are provided on a passing ball collecting cover body 48 attached to the back side of the game board 32, and the passing ball collecting cover body 48 includes the double winning opening 38, A guide path is formed that guides the balls that have passed through the starting passage port 37 and the tulip type passage ports 39a and 39b to a ball collection gutter 73, which will be described later, and a double passing ball detector 51 is installed in the middle of the guide path.
and a starting passing ball detector 50, and a passing ball detector 52a,
52b are provided respectively. Furthermore, a relay terminal board 53 is provided on the back side of the passing ball collection cover unit 48 to temporarily connect the wiring of the various detectors and indicator lamps, etc., and this relay terminal board 53 is connected to a control circuit board 77 to be described later. A control circuit (not shown) provided therein is connected thereto.

Next, referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, the passage port 4
The detailed configuration of 0a to 40p will be explained. 4A and 4B show cross-sectional views of one passage port 40a, but since the other passage ports 40b to 40p have the same structure, their explanation will be omitted. However, the passage port 40a~
40p is integrally formed as a drop port device 80, and is detachably attached and fixed to a mechanism plate 54, which will be described later. Thereby, if even one of the drop ports in the drop port device 80 is defective, it can be repaired extremely easily.

By the way, a falling part 81a is formed at the rear end of the passage port 40a, and an operating member 82a pivotally supported by a support shaft 83 faces below the falling part 81a. The actuating member 82a is formed into a disk shape, a weight 84a is embedded in the lower part of the actuating member 82a, and a falling part 81a is provided at the rear of the upper part of the actuating member 82a.
A mounting portion 85a is formed to catch and stop balls falling from the ball. Further, a light shielding plate 86a is provided protruding from the actuating member 82a between the weight 84a and the mounting portion 85a.

Further, below the actuating member 82a, a light emitting/receiving type passing ball detector 87a, which is normally ON, is arranged. Therefore, the ball enters the passage hole 40a and falls into the falling portion 81.
When the actuating member 82a falls downward from the position a and rides on the placing portion 85a, the actuating member 82a rotates against the biasing force of the weight 84a, as shown in FIG. 4B. When the operating member 82a rotates, the light shielding plate 86a turns the passing ball detector 87a from ON to OFF.
As a result, the corresponding passing position display LEDs 41a to 41p light up. Note that since the passing ball detector 87a is of a light emitting/receiving type, it may detect light from the display LED 41a and cause a malfunction, so the display LED 41a is covered with a cylindrical cover. Further, the support shaft 73 is provided in common to all the operating members 82a to 82p.

In addition, when the balls hit the passage hole 40a successively win, as shown in FIG. 8B, the subsequent balls hit the actuating member 82a.
It is stopped by the upper part of the mounting part 85a and the step part 89 of the rear wall and is on standby. For this reason, passing balls are counted accurately. In addition, passing position display LED 4
1a to 41p are fixedly supported on the rear surface of a decorative plate 88 provided on the front surface of the drop port device 80.

As described above, the balls that have passed through the passage ports 40a to 40p are detected by the light emitting and receiving type passing ball detectors 87a to 87p.
A to a'yp may be replaced with detectors having other configurations, such as proximity switches. In this case, it goes without saying that the passing ball detectors 50, 51, 52a, 52b may also be constructed from proximity switches.

Structure of Mechanism Plate Next, the structure of the mechanism plate 54 arranged on the back side of the pinball game machine 1 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3, 5, and 6. First, the overall outline of the mechanism plate 54 will be explained.

The mechanism board 54 is provided with various mechanisms for ejecting a predetermined number (for example, 16) of prize balls corresponding to the points earned during the unit game. The mechanism plate 54 is composed of a roughly rectangular mechanism plate body molded from synthetic resin with various mechanisms assembled thereto, and one side of the mechanism plate body is pivotally supported by the game board holding frame 13. It is provided so that it can be opened and closed freely. Further, a window opening lower 5 is provided in the center of the mechanism plate body so as to correspond to the passing ball collecting cover body 48, and a ball collecting gutter 73, which will be described later, is formed at the lower front position of the lower window opening 5. .

Various mechanisms are provided on the rear side of the mechanism plate 54 for dispensing prize balls supplied to the player from a supply mechanism (not shown) of the pinball game machine installation stand.These mechanisms will be explained below. A prize ball tank 55 is fixed to the upper part of the mechanism plate 54. In this prize ball tank 55,
A large amount of prize balls are supplied from the above-mentioned supply mechanism.

A guide gutter 56 is provided below the prize ball tank 55 for arranging the prize balls. The guide gutter 56 is installed at an angle so that the prize balls are arranged in two rows and flow down naturally. Further, a ball sensing plate 57 is pivotally supported on the upstream bottom surface of the guide gutter 56 so as to be swingable. When the prize balls are placed on the ball sensing plate 57 and the ball is full, the upper end of the ball sensing plate 57 is pushed down against the biasing force of a weight (not shown). On the other hand, the ball sensing plate 5
When there are no prize balls placed on the ball 7 due to lack of prize balls, the upper end of the ball sensing plate 57 is raised by the biasing force of the weight.

When the ball detection plate 57 flips up, the ball breakage detector 5 disposed below it via the operating lever 58
9a and 59b are activated, the ball out lamp 47 is turned on to notify that fact, and a signal is sent to the management computer installed in the gaming hall, which operates the replenishment mechanism (not shown) and fills the prize ball tank 55. A predetermined number of pieces (for example,
Supply 400 prize balls. Further, when one of the ball breakage detectors 59a operates, the ball firing device 125 or the ball supply device 140, which will be described later, is configured to be stopped. In this case, in principle, the system is configured to immediately stop the ball, but in the case of this embodiment, - if the unit game is in the middle, even if the ball-out detector 59a is activated, the predetermined number of balls ( It is designed to stop after firing 16 balls.

On the downstream side of the guide gutter 56, bent lines 60 are formed in two rows.
This bending line 60 is attached so that the
The direction of the prize balls flowing down the guide gutter 56 is 18
It is there to reduce the earth pressure of the prize balls that are continuously flowing down. At the bending part of the bending line 60,
A ball extraction device 61 is provided, and when operated after closing, the prize balls stored in the prize ball tank 55 and the guide gutter 56 are discharged into the ball extraction passage 62 and guided out of the pinball game machine 1. It has become.

Further, a deficiency detection plate 63 is swingably provided in a substantially downwardly inclined passage portion downstream of the bent portion of the bent line 60. When there is a prize ball within the bending line 60, this scarcity detection plate 63 maintains a state in which the upper end is pressed by the prize ball and the lower end is flipped outward, and conversely, there are no prize balls within the bending line 60. Then, the upper end rotates upward due to its own weight, and the lower end hangs down almost vertically. In this hanging state, the control member 9, which will be described later,
5 is raised, the upper end of the control member 95 engages the lower end and acts to hold the control member 95 in the raised position;
Ultimately, the prize balls are no longer paid out.

Further, at the downstream part of the bending line 60, a vertical part 6 having a substantially vertical shape is provided.
4 is formed, and a stepped portion is formed at the end thereof. This stepped portion acts to weaken the earth pressure so that the superstructure stopper 92 of the prize ball dispensing device 90, which will be described later, operates smoothly.

A prize ball dispensing device 90 is connected to the downstream side of the bending line 60. The prize ball dispensing device 90 receives a predetermined number of prize balls, and transfers the predetermined number of prize balls to the score processing device 10.
It is paid out in conjunction with the action in step 3. The configurations of the prize ball dispensing device 90 and the score processing device 103 will be described in detail later.

The prize balls paid out from the prize ball putting-out device 90 are discharged into the prize ball putting-out passage 65. A guiding opening 66 is provided at the lower end of the prize ball dispensing passage 65, and this guiding opening 66 communicates with the batted ball supply tray 8 via the communication opening 30 formed in the game board holding frame 13 and the prize ball dispensing lower. . Further, a communication gutter 67 is provided on one side of the guide opening 66 to communicate with the surplus ball passage 68, and the surplus prize balls are transferred to the surplus ball passage 68.
It is designed to guide you to. The lower end of the surplus ball passage 68 is connected to a connection gutter 72 attached to the back surface of the front frame 3, and guides surplus prize balls to the surplus ball receiving tray 12. Further, a fullness sensing member 70 is provided on one side wall of the surplus ball passage 68 so as to be swingable about the upper end thereof. Thus, the fullness sensing member 70 is pressed by the prize balls and swings when the surplus ball passage 68 becomes full of prize balls. Further, a fullness detector 71 is provided at a position facing the fullness sensing member 70. Then, when the fullness sensing member 7o is swung, the fullness detector 71 is turned off, and the operation of the prize ball payout solenoid 110 of the score processing device 103 is stopped. Therefore, when the fullness sensing member 7o operates, prize balls are no longer dispensed. Note that in this case as well, the game is discontinued by disabling the ball firing device 125 and the ball supplying device 140. However, even in this case, when the fullness detector 71 is activated, the batted ball firing device 125 or the batted ball supply device 140 is, in principle, immediately stopped; Further, a bell 69a6 which is controlled to continue driving until it is fired, and which makes a sound when it collides with the prize ball, is provided in the prize ball payout passage 65 and the surplus ball passage 68.
9b is provided.

On the other hand, the ball collecting gutter 73 is formed on the front surface of the mechanism plate 54 as described above, and the batted balls collected by the ball collecting gutter 73 are discharged to the outside of the pinball game machine 1 through the discharge ball passage 74. be done.

Further, on the back side of the mechanism board 54, there is a relay terminal board 76 to which the wires extending from the fullness detector 71, a ball firing device 125 (described later), a score processing device 1030, and a prize ball dispensing solenoid 110 are temporarily connected, and a relay terminal board 76 is provided to connect the wires extending from the fullness detector 71, the ball firing device 125 (described later), the score processing device 1030, and the prize ball dispensing solenoid 110. A control circuit board 77 is attached to control the operation of the firing balls. Note that the board for controlling the game and the board for controlling the firing operation may be formed separately, and each may be housed and installed in a separate housing case.

Prize Ball Payout Mechanism Next, the structures of the prize ball payout device 90 and the score processing device 103 that constitute the prize ball payout mechanism will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

The prize ball dispensing device 90 includes a prize ball storage cylinder 91 that stores a predetermined number of prize balls in two vertical rows, an upper work stopper 92 and a lower work stopper 93 that open and close the upper and lower entrances and exits of the prize ball storage cylinder 91. a control member 95 that alternately opens and closes the upper work stopper 92 and the lower work stopper 93;
and an actuation member 99 that moves the control member 95 up and down.

The prize ball storage cylinders 91 are provided with two rows of cylinders overlapping in the front and back direction, and a predetermined number of balls (for example, 8 pieces) are stored in each cylinder.
It is designed to store prize balls. Further, a stopper portion 94 that enters into the prize ball storage tube 91 is protruded from the front of the lower end of the substructure stopper 93 .

The control member 95 also includes the upper work stopper 9.
an engagement recess 96 that engages with the rear end of the upper work stopper 92 to open and close the upper work stopper 92; and an abutment convex part 97 that contacts the upper end of the lower work stopper 93 to open and close the lower work stopper 93;
A fitting recess 98 into which the tip of the actuating member 99 fits is formed.

Further, the rear end of the operating member 99 is pivotally supported and is rotatable, and an interlocking rod 100 that is connected to a score processing device 103 and moves up and down is fixed to the intermediate portion thereof.

In the prize ball dispensing device 90 configured as described above, when the interlocking rod 100 is raised by the operation of the score processing device 103, which will be described later, and the operating member 99 is rotated upward, the control member 99
5 also rises, the superstructure stopper 92 closes the main entrance,
The substructure stopper 93 becomes free. Therefore, the prize balls stored in the prize ball storage cylinder 91 press the stopper part 94 and rotate the substructure stopper 93, so that the prize balls stored in the prize ball payout passage 6
It is paid out on 5th. On the other hand, when the interlocking rod 100 is lowered and the actuating member 99 is rotated downward, the control member 95 is also lowered, the substructure stopper 93 is fixed in contact with the abutment convex part 97, and the superstructure stopper 92 is fixed. Since the ball entrance is opened by the engaging recess 96, prize balls flow in from the vertical portion 64 of the bent gutter 60 and are stored in the prize ball storage tube 91 in preparation for the next payout.

Moreover, the above-mentioned prize ball dispensing device 90 has a mounting board 101.
(See Figure 3) and is removable using the fixing member 102. Therefore, in the event of a failure, the mounting board 101 can be removed from the mechanism plate and replaced, and fixed using the fixing member 102. do it.

The score processing device 103 includes a rotating member 104 that operates the above-mentioned interlocking rod 100 and a prize ball dispensing solenoid 110.
and a lock member 118. First, a rotating member 104 that is rotated by a support shaft 105 is connected to the lower end of the interlocking rod 100 . The rotating member 104 is formed in a horizontal "13" shape, and has an engaging protrusion 1 at its front upper end.
06 is formed, and a pressing portion 109 is formed at the lower front end thereof. Further, a connecting portion 107 that connects with the interlocking rod 100 is formed at the rear end, and the lower edge of the connecting portion 107 serves as an abutting portion 108 .

The prize ball dispensing solenoid 110 is in a raised position due to the biasing force of the spring 112 in the normal state.
A connecting member 113 is fixed to the upper end of the plunger 111. Connecting member 113
An operating lever 114 rotatably supported around a support shaft 115 is connected to the upper end of the lever. Actuation lever 1
14 is supported in the lateral direction, and has a push-up part 116 formed at its free end that comes into contact with the abutting part 108 of the rotating member 104, and a connecting pin at the connecting part with the connecting member 113. 117 is provided protrudingly. Therefore, when the prize ball payout solenoid 110 is energized, the plunger 11
1 is attracted against the biasing force of the spring 112, and this causes the push-up portion 116 of the actuating lever 114 to move toward the rotating member 10.
4 to raise the interlocking rod 100, a locking member 118 is associated with the rotating member 104 to prevent the rotating member 104 from being operated due to external vibrations or unauthorized acts. It is provided. That is, the locking member 118 is formed into an inverted "U" shape and is rotatably supported around the support shaft 119, and the upper end of the locking member 118 is provided with an engagement member 104. Convex portion 10
6 is formed, and a release piece 121 that comes into contact with the connecting pin 117 is formed at the tip of the hanging link. Therefore, this locking member 118 is
Under normal conditions, the engaging portion 120 and the engaging convex portion 1 due to their own weight.
06, so even if an attempt is made to rotate the rotating member 104 due to external vibrations or unauthorized acts, the rotating member 104 cannot be rotated. When this happens, the prize ball dispensing lamp 46 is turned on, and the connecting pin 117 and the release piece 121 come into contact with each other to release the locking member 118.
is rotated counterclockwise in the figure, the engagement between the engaging portion 120 and the engaging convex portion 106 is released, and the rotating member 104 is made rotatable, so that the subsequent rotation of the actuating lever 114 The rotating member 104 is rotated by contact with the member 104.

The pressing portion 109 of the rotating member 104 is provided with an actuator 123 of a payout confirmation detector 122 corresponding thereto. Therefore, when the rotating member 104 rotates, the payout confirmation detector 122 is turned ON, and if there is a next score, a permission signal for starting payout is given to the prize ball payout solenoid 110. Furthermore, due to the activation of the payout confirmation detector 122 and the prize ball payout solenoid 110, a subtraction signal of "-1" is also given to the payout point counter. Further, the payout confirmation detector 122 is
A subtraction signal is derived for the payout point counter based on the fact that a predetermined prize ball has been paid out.If this signal is continuously turned on, for example, the scarcity sensing plate 63 and the control member 95 When the ball jams on the guide channel 56, the ball breakage detector 59a remains in the OFF state, so the ball launcher 125 and the ball supply device 140 can It is in a state where it can be fired, and if this state continues, the game can proceed, but there will be a problem that the prize balls corresponding to the points will not be paid out, so the payout confirmation detector 122 will continue to display for a certain period of time. When the prize ball payout solenoid 110 is turned on, it is necessary to disable the prize ball payout solenoid 110 and to take steps to prevent the ball from being fired. In this case, in principle, the disabling of the batted ball is to immediately disable it as described above, but when the batted balls are being fired, when the firing of the 16 balls is completed, It may be configured to be immobilized.

The operation of the score processing device 103 configured as above will be explained. First, the state of the prize ball dispensing device 90 is such that the superstructure stopper 92 is opened, a predetermined number (16) of prize balls are stored in the prize ball storage cylinder 91, and the stopper part 94 of the substructure stopper 93 is in the state where the prize balls are stored. The state in which it has entered the tube 91 is maintained. In such a state, when a point is scored and the prize ball payout solenoid 110 is energized for a predetermined period of time, the connecting pin 117 rotates the locking member 118 to make the rotating member 104 rotatable, and then the operating lever is activated. 114 and the contact portion 108 of the rotating member 104 contact each other to rotate the rotating member 104.

When the rotating member 104 rotates, the interlocking rod 100 rises and rotates the operating member 99 upward. Then, since the control member 95 rises, the rear end of the upper work stopper 92 comes into contact with the lower part of the engagement recess 96 of the control member 95, and the front end of the upper work stopper 92 enters into the prize ball storage cylinder 91. The prize balls are locked so that they do not flow into the prize ball storage tube 91. Further, since the contact convex portion 97 of the control member 95 and the upper end of the substructure stopper 93 are disengaged, the substructure stopper 93 becomes free, and therefore the prize ball storage tube 9
The stopper part 94 is pressed and rotated by the earth pressure of the prize balls in the prize ball 1, and a predetermined number of prize balls stored in the prize ball storage cylinder 91 are discharged to the prize ball payout passage 65.

When a predetermined number of prize balls are paid out as described above and the excitation state of the prize ball payout solenoid 110 ends, the plunger 111 of the prize ball payout solenoid 110 is raised by the biasing force of the spring 112. Then, the rotating member 104 rotates clockwise and returns to its original state, so the interlocking rod 100 and the control member 95 descend accordingly, fixing the substructure stopper 93 again, and fixing the superstructure stopper. 92 is opened and the prize balls are guided into the prize ball storage tube 91. Further, at this time, the locking member 118 also returns to its original state due to the rise of the plunger 111, so that the rotating member 104 is locked again.

By the way, every time a predetermined combination is established during the game,
A score corresponding to the game score counter is stored, and the same score as the score stored in the game score counter is also stored in the payout score counter. Then, the score payout process is performed based on the score information stored in the payout score counter.
Every time the prize ball payout solenoid 110 is ONL and the signal from the payout confirmation detector 122 is derived, "1" is subtracted from the value of the payout point counter, and when the value of the payout point counter reaches "0", the prize ball is paid out. Solenoid 11
A stop command is issued to 0, and the payout of prize balls is stopped.

Note that the linking rod 100 is directly connected to one end of the operating lever 114 without providing the locking member 118 and the rotating member 104,
A biasing member such as a spring or a weight may be attached so that the interlocking rod 100 is always biased downward.

Hit Ball Supply and Launch Mechanism Next, the hit ball supply and launch mechanism, which is important in controlling the game of this pinball game machine 1, will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. The batted ball supply and launch mechanism includes a batted ball launch device 125 and a batted ball supply device 140. First, the configuration of the ball launcher 125 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The ball launcher 125 is a drive device for ejecting a ball at the launch position 16 of the launch rail 15, and is operated by operating the operating handle 11. In FIG. 7, the ball launcher 125 is mounted on a rectangular mounting board 126, and a hammer tip 128 is provided at the tip of the mounting board 126.
The ball batting rod 127 having a
26) and is rotatably supported. Hammer tip 1
28 faces the firing position 16, and launches the ball waiting at the firing position 16. Further, although not shown in the drawings, the support shaft 129 is provided with a coiled spring that applies an elastic force to the ball hitting rod 127. Further, a light shielding plate 130 is formed at the lower end of the ball batting rod 127, and at the position where the batting ball rod 127 is tilted, the light shielding plate 130 turns a ball batting rod operation state detector 134 (described later) from ON to OFF, and the ball batting rod 127 is tilted. OFF when 127 returns
Turn it on.

A ball hitting motor 131 is provided on the mounting board 126 for imparting reciprocating rotational motion to the ball hitting rod 127. Further, a tentacle detection circuit 132 is disposed on the rear surface of the ball-striking motor 131, and when the player touches a touch plate (not shown) provided on the operation handle 11, the ball-striking motor 131 is activated.
The circuit is closed. In addition, since the batted ball firing device 125 is always operable, for example, if the tentacle detection circuit 132 is not provided, if the ball runs out during the game and the device is notified as it is, as will be described later. Since the ball feeding solenoid 142 continuously repeats the ball feeding operation, there is a problem that its lifespan is shortened. To prevent this, if the normal feed detector 146 that arrives later does not operate for a certain period of time even though the ball launcher 125 is operating, the normal feed solenoid 142 may be deactivated or the ball may be ejected. The device 125 is deactivated. Note that the stoppage can be canceled by operating the start switch 10, or by operating the mounting board 1.
A contact rubber 133a133b that restricts the range of rotation of the ball hitting rod 127 is fixed to the rear side of the ball 26 in a vertically intersecting manner.

Furthermore, the light shielding plate 130 is provided on the rear side of the mounting board 126.
A batting rod operation state detector 134 of a light emitting/receiving type that is turned on and off depending on the timing is fixed.

This batting rod operating state detector 134 is normally in the ON state, and becomes OFF when the batting rod 127 tilts and the light shielding plate 130 intervenes.
27 changes from OFF to ON, and when the change occurs, an excitation signal is sent to a normal feed solenoid 142 of a batted ball supply device 140, which will be described later. Note that the batting rod operation state detector 134 is covered with a cover 135 so as not to be activated by light from the outside.
In order to more reliably block light, a light-shielding protrusion 136 is provided to protrude along the notch edge of the ball-striking rod 127 that penetrates into the cover 135.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the ball co-feeding device 14
The structure of 0 will be explained. In FIG. 7, the batted ball supply device 140 is composed of a frame-shaped mounting board 141 fixed to the back surface of the front door plate 6 and a batt ball supply device body 155 directly attached to the back surface of the front door plate 6. An opening is formed in the center of the mounting board 141, and the batted ball supply device main body 155 is inserted into this opening.

Also, on one side of the mounting board 141, a forward feed solenoid 1 is provided.
42 is attached. The normal feed solenoid 142 is installed so that its plunger 143 can move approximately vertically, and is always in an elevated position by a spring 144 provided around the plunger 143.

Further, a pressing part 145 is formed at the lower part of the plunger 143, and when the normal feed solenoid 142 is excited, it comes into contact with one contact part 169a of an actuating member 167, which will be described later, and rotates the actuating member 167. It has become. In this case, a gap is provided between the pressing portion 145 of the plunger 143 and the contact portion 169a of the actuating member 167, as shown in FIG. This is because the plunger 143 is installed vertically, so if vibration is applied from the outside, it may move up and down, and in this case, the pressing part 145 and the contact part 169a will be in contact with each other. Then, the operating member 167 rotates and the normal feed member 157 (described later) rises to send the ball to the firing position 1.
There is an inconvenience that it is supplied to 6. In order to eliminate this inconvenience, the plunger 143 due to vibration is installed in the gap D1.
It is designed to absorb the movement of

The mounting board 141 also includes the normal feed solenoid 14.
A light emitting/receiving type sending ball detector 146 is attached to the upper part of one side of the ball 2. This sent ball detector 146 detects the operation of a sent ball sensing member 148 that is supported by a support bin 147 and swings. The sending ball sensing member 148 has its rear end loosely fitted onto the support pin 147 and is pivotably supported, and has a protrusion 150 formed with an abutment slope 149 in the middle thereof. One end of a biasing spring 151 is in contact with the upper surface of the convex portion 150 . The other end of the biasing spring 151 is brought into contact with the inside of a surrounding frame 152 projecting from the top of the mounting board 141, and constantly biases the sent ball sensing member 148 downward. The downwardly biased ball sensing member 148 is supported by a stopper 164 that protrudes along a portion of the upper edge of the opening. A guide protrusion is provided below the stopper 164 to project downwardly the balls supplied from the ball supply tray 8. Further, an arm piece 153 is formed on the tip side of the sending ball sensing member 148, and the arm piece 15
A light shielding plate 154 is formed at the tip of the ball 3 to activate the ball feed detector 146. However, the sending ball sensing member 1
48, the light-shielding plate 154 always closes the feed ball detector 146.
It is in the lowered position as FF, and as described later, when the ball is fed by the ball feeding member 157, it swings upward and the light shielding plate 154 is retracted from the feeding ball detector 146 and turned ON. It is designed to make you do so.

A batted ball supply device main body 155 is inserted into the opening provided in the center of the mounting board 141, and this batted ball supply device main body 155 is adapted to be directly fixed to the back surface of the front door plate 6. . Further, the front surface of the batted ball supply device main body 155 is open, and the open surface corresponds to the outlet of the batted ball supply tray 8. And the batted ball supply tray 8
The portion corresponding to the outlet constitutes the soil loading section 156. Thus, an opening is formed in the upper part of the soil loading section 156 so that the convex part 150 of the ball-feeding sensing member 148 can enter therein, and an opening is formed in the lower part so that the ball-feeding member 157 can enter and retract. An opening is formed. Ball feeding member 15
7 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 159, and its lower surface is formed with a contact surface 158 that contacts a contact portion 169b formed at the other end of the actuating member 167, and its upper surface includes: As shown in FIG. 7, a ball feeding slope 160 is formed which comes into contact with the hit ball supplied from the hit ball supply tray 8.

The balls supplied from the ball supply tray 8 are temporarily stopped at the upper part of the ball feeding slope 160, and the ball feeding member 157 rotates and is pushed up by the ball feeding slope 160, so that the balls are sent to the guide path on the downstream side. 162. Further, the ball feeding member 157 is provided with the ball feeding member 157 immediately before the ball outlet 163 provided on the back surface of the batted ball supply device main body 155.
A stopping piece 161 is integrally formed to stop the ball that has been pushed up by the ball 57 and flowed down the guideway 162. This stop piece 161 opens the ball outlet 163 when the ball feeding member 157 is in the lowered position where it does not rotate.
When raised, the ball outlet 163 is closed. The ball outlet 163 is located slightly upstream of the firing position 16 of the firing rail 15, and the ball is hit by the ball exit 163.
63 and is supplied to the firing position 16.

Furthermore, a relay terminal board 165 is fixed to the top of the mounting board 141 to relay the wiring from the pressure feeding resolenoid 142 and the feeding ball detector 146, and terminals extending from the respective wirings are connected to the relay terminal board 165. Terminal 1 for
66a and 166b are formed.

Further, at the bottom of the mounting board 141, an operating member 167 that is pressed by the plunger 143 of the ball feed solenoid 142 is swingably supported by a support shaft 168. The contact portion 169a at one end of this actuating member 167 has a predetermined clearance D1 with the pressing portion 145, which is the lower end of the plunger 143, as described above, and the contact portion 169b at the other end is in contact with the ball feeding member 157. It is adapted to abut against surface 158. As a result, even if the plunger 143 of the ball feed solenoid 142 moves up and down due to external vibrations, the vibration is absorbed by the clearance D1 so that the vertical movement is not transmitted to the ball feed member 157. There is.

To explain the operation of the batted ball supply and ejection mechanism consisting of the batted ball firing device 125 and the batted ball supply device 140 described above, first, when a player throws a purchased batted ball into the batted ball supply tray 8, the batted ball is transferred from the batted ball supply tray 8. The first hit ball reaches the feeding soil placement part 156 of the main body 155 of the ball feeding device
The ball stops when placed on the ball feeding slope 160 of 57 (see FIG. 7). When the player rotates the operating handle 11 in such a state, the handle switch including a touch switch (not shown) turns ON, and the ball hitting motor 131 of the ball firing device 125 rotates. When the ball-striking motor 131 is rotated, the ball-striking rod 127 tilts as shown in FIG. 8, and the light-shielding plate 130 turns the ball-striking rod operation state detector 134 from ON to OFF. At this time, the ball feed solenoid 142 of the batted ball supply device 140 is not yet energized. When the ball hitting motor 131 rotates further, the ball hitting rod 127 rapidly returns to its original position. At this time, the ball-striking rod operation state detector 134 changes from OFF to ON, and by detecting this change, the ball feed solenoid 142 of the ball supply device 140 is energized.

When the ball feed solenoid 142 is energized, the actuating member 16
7 swings to rotate the ball feeding member 157 upward, causing the balls placed on the ball feeding slope 160 to flow down into the guide path 162. The balls flowing down the guide path 162 are stopped by the stopper piece 161 and prevented from flowing out from the ball outlet 163 to the launch rail 15. Then, the ball feed solenoid 142 becomes de-energized and the operating member 167 returns to its original state, and when the ball feed member 157 is rotated downward, the stop piece 161 is also rotated downward, so it stops. The hit ball stopped by the piece 161 is sent out from the ball outlet 163 to the hit ball launch position 16 of the launch rail 15. At this time, the sent ball sensing member 148 also swings to change the sent ball detector 146 from ON to OFF (see FIG. 8). When the sent ball detector 146 changes from ON to OFF, a count up signal is derived and is added to the value of the shot ball counter by "1". Note that the first movement of the ball rod 127 does not cause the ball to be fired. That is, the batted ball firing operation and the batted ball supplying operation are performed after the hammer tip portion 128 of the batting ball rod 127 bounces the batted ball at the batted ball firing position 16, and then the batted ball supplying device 140
Therefore, the first firing motion of the game is as follows:
It will be a blank shot. The reason why the supplied ball was not configured to fire immediately was that if the configuration was such that the ball that had just been supplied would be fired, the ball would be at the ball launch position 1.
This is because the time the ejector is placed on the ejector 6 becomes shorter, which may result in instability, and in that case, ejection failures such as spotting may occur.

When the player continuously operates the operating handle 11 in the manner described above, the ball hitting motor 131 rotates continuously to bounce the ball and supply the ball. By the way, when the fired balls return along the guide rail 33 without reaching the game area 34 of the game board 32, most of them are guided to the foul port 18 and activate the foul ball detector 19. . When this foul ball detector 19 is activated,
A countdown signal is derived and the value of the fired ball counter is
Subtract by 1. The value of the above-mentioned fired ball counter is "1"
A predetermined time "r+" (sufficient time for the last shot ball to pass through the passage hole:
One unit game ends when a period of time (referred to as an interval time) has elapsed.

During the predetermined time T1, the operation of the ball feeding solenoid 142 of the ball feeding device 140 is stopped, and at this time, the ball motor 131 of the ball firing device 125 continues to rotate as long as the player operates the operating handle 11. The ball hitting rod 127 is rotated back and forth. In addition, after the predetermined time T1 ends, when the batting rod operation state detector 134 changes from OFF to ON, the values of the five firing counter and the game score counter are cleared and the game proceeds to the next game. In this case, the next game may not proceed unless the start switch 10 is pressed. In addition, if a foul ball occurs during the above interval time, "rl" is subtracted from the value of the fired ball counter, the measurement of the interval time is stopped, and the ball feed solenoid 142 is
is reactivated so that the supply firing of the batted ball is performed,
Thereafter, when the value of the shot ball counter reaches "16", measurement of the interval time is started again. In other words, the foul ball detector 19 is activated from when the first hit ball immediately after the start of the game is detected by the feed ball detector 146 until the end of the interval time, and after the end of the interval time, the foul ball detector 19 is activated.
The square root is activated until the second hit ball is detected by the feed ball detector 146.

In addition, in this embodiment, there are conditions for interrupting the game, such as when the ball outage detector 59a is turned on due to a shortage of prize balls in the guide gutter 56, or when the paid out prize balls are placed in the surplus ball passage 68. The fullness detector 7
1 is ONL, or when a ball jam occurs upstream of the bending machine 60, which causes the deficiency detection plate 63 to operate and the payout confirmation detector 122 to be in the ON state for a predetermined time or more, the ball supply is stopped. Driving of the ball feed solenoid 142 of the device 140 is stopped to stop firing the ball,
I am trying to interrupt the game. However, if this game is interrupted during a one-unit game, as will be described later, the game is controlled so that it will not be played until the one-unit game ends.

Operation of the pinball game machine The operation of the pinball game machine 1 described above will be explained with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11. First, FIG. 9 shows a block configuration of a control circuit that controls the pinball game machine 1. As shown in FIG. This control circuit is constructed within the control circuit board 77 and includes a microcomputer 170 as a control center. The microcomputer 170 includes an MPU 17 that can execute control operations according to predetermined procedures.
1, a ROM 172 that stores operation program data for the MPU 171, and a RAM 173 that can write and read necessary data. The RAM 173 includes a fired ball counter that counts up based on the signal from the sent ball detector 146 and counts down based on the signal from the foul ball detector 19, and a passing ball counter that counts up based on the signals from the plurality of passing ball detectors. Includes ball counter. Furthermore, the microcomputer 170 receives the human power signal, provides the human power data to the MPU 171, and
It includes an input/output interface 174 that receives output data from U171 and outputs it to the outside.

The human output interface 174 is connected to the detection circuits 175 to 1.
Passing ball detectors 87a to 87p, passing ball detectors 50, 51, 52a, 52b, sending ball detector 146,
Receives input signals from the foul ball detector 19, payout confirmation detector 122, fullness detector 71, out of ball detector 59a1, and start switch 9 and provides them to the MPU 171;
Drive circuits 184 to 187.194 or control circuits 188 to
183, the drive signal or control signal from the MPU 171 is transmitted to the variable display devices 35a, 35b and the ball feeding solenoid 1.
42, Prize ball payout solenoid 110, tulip opening solenoid 49a, 49b, passing position display LED 4
1a ~ 41p, double display LED 42, score display 43
, game effect lamps 44a, 44b, 45a to 45c, out of balls indicator lamp 47, prize ball payout indicator lamp 46,
and the speaker 9a, respectively.

Next, among the specific operations of the pinball game machine 1, the operations mainly showing the relationship between the game interruption condition and the hit ball supply and launch mechanism will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 10.

First, the processing at each stage of the game is shown in steps 51 to S8. To explain this, the player operates the operation handle 11 to release the batted ball launcher 125.
By driving the ball hitting motor 131, the ball feed solenoid 142 of the ball feeding device 140 is controlled (step Sl). This is the batting rod operating state detector 1
This control is to drive the ball feed solenoid 142 based on the change of the ball feed solenoid 142 from OFF to ON.

Next, ball sending detection processing is performed (step S2).

This is a process of detecting whether or not there is a change in the output of the ball feed detector 146 by driving the ball feed sensing member 148 by driving the ball feed solenoid 142 . Then, addition processing of the firing counter is performed based on the change in the output of the sent ball detector 146 (step S3). Further, a foul ball detection process is performed to detect whether or not the fired ball returns along the guide rail 33 without reaching the game area 34 and becomes a foul ball (step S4). When a foul ball is detected, a firing counter is subtracted (step S5). Then, after the value of the firing counter reaches r16J, firing end detection processing is performed to detect that the batting rod operation state detector 134 changes from OFF to ON (step S6).
After the completion of the firing end detection process, an interval time elapse process is performed to obtain a predetermined opening time interval until the start of the next game (step S7). This interval time is set to be enough time for the last shot ball to pass through the passage hole on the game board 32, and during this interval time, the ball feeding solenoid 142 is disabled. The feeding and firing of batted balls is prevented.

As above, when the interval time passes, -
When the first hit ball of a unit game is detected or when the start switch 10 is operated, a payout process for prize balls corresponding to the acquired points is performed (step S8).

By the way, even when the processing at each stage of the game described above is being performed, it is constantly monitored whether or not the game interruption condition is satisfied, and the processing is shown in steps 59 to S21. To explain this, first, the ball-out detector 59a as the first game interruption condition.
It is determined whether or not O is ON (step S9), and O
If it is not NL/, it is determined whether or not the fullness detector 71 is turned on as the second game interruption condition (step 510). If this is not ON, it is further determined whether or not the payout confirmation detector 122 is ON/ON for 2 seconds or more as the third game interruption condition (
Step 511). If it is determined that all the detectors are turned on, the process proceeds to step 313, which will be described later, while if it is determined that none of the detectors are turned on, whether the prize ball payout stop flag is set or not. It is determined whether or not the flag is set (step 512), and if it is not set, the control process ends.

Said step S9 or step SIO or step Sl
If it is determined in step 1 that the detector is ON, it is determined whether or not a prize ball payout stop flag has been set to stop the payout operation of the prize ball payout solenoid 110 (step 513). , if it has already been set, proceed to step S16, which will be described later,
If it has not been set yet, after setting the prize ball payout stop flag (step 514), the prize ball payout solenoid 110 is disabled (step 515).
, and then proceeds to step S16.

In step S16, it is determined whether the gaming operation has ended. Here, the determination of the end of the game operation is to determine whether or not the interval time has elapsed after the value of the shot ball counter in steps S6 and S7 becomes "16", and the game operation is completed. Unless the process is completed, the process returns to step S9 and the processes from step 39 to step S16 are repeated. Further, if it is determined that the gaming operation has ended, processing to disable the ball feeding solenoid 142 is performed (step 517), and the gaming is interrupted for the first time. That is, even if a game interruption is detected in step S9, step SIO, or step Sll, the ball feed solenoid 142 remains activated until it is determined that the game operation has ended in step S16, so the ball feed solenoid 142 remains activated. When supplying and firing are performed and it is determined that the game operation has ended, that is, when one unit game is completed, the drive of the ball feed solenoid 142 is stopped and the ball is not supplied, and the ball is not fired. It is designed so that it will not be damaged. Therefore, the game is not suddenly interrupted in the middle of the game, so the player is not made to feel uncomfortable or the interest in the game is not reduced by half.

On the other hand, when the reason for interrupting the game is resolved, that is, the determination is "N" in step S9, step SIO, and step Sll, and r is determined in step S12.
If it is determined to be YJ, the prize ball payout stop flag is cleared (step 518), and the prize ball payout solenoid 110 is activated (step 519). If there are any unpaid prize balls from the previous game, they are Waiting for the dispensing operation to end (step 520),
It is determined whether the game has ended (step 52
1). The end of the game here is determined by the same process as step S16. Then, when the game ends, the control process ends and the next game starts 8 lines.

The relationship between the ball supply and firing mechanism according to the embodiment and the game interruption condition has been explained above. According to this embodiment, even if a game interruption is detected in the middle of the game, a predetermined number of balls can be fired. Until it is determined that the ball feed solenoid 142
Since the ball remains activated, the ball is supplied and fired, and when it is determined that the game operation has ended, that is, when one unit of play is completed, the drive of the ball feed solenoid 142 is stopped and the ball is not ejected. No supply is made, and thus no ball is fired. Therefore, the game is not suddenly interrupted in the middle of the game, so the player is not made to feel uncomfortable or the interest in the game is not reduced by half.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the conditions for game interruption are satisfied when the out-of-ball detector 59a is turned on, when the fullness detector 71 is turned on, and when the payout confirmation detector 122 is turned on for a predetermined period of time (2 seconds). However, the passage detectors 50, 51, 52a, 52b, 8 provided on the game board 32
It may be determined that the game interruption condition is satisfied when the wires 7a to 87p are disconnected or short-circuited.

In this case, for example, a detection circuit as shown in FIG. 11 may be used to determine the disconnection or short circuit. The configuration and operation of this detection circuit will be explained. Since the circuit configuration is simple when a proximity switch is used as a detector for detecting balls, a case will be described in which the proximity switch 200 is also used as a passing ball detector.

In the figure, 51a and 51b are proximity switches as passing ball detectors, 204 is a low voltage diode (Zener diode), 205 is a capacitor, and 201 and 202 are PNPs.
The transistor 203 is a NAND gate. In a normal state where the ball does not pass through the passing ball detector 200, a high level signal of about 18V is input to the input side of the low voltage diode 204. High level signal from 204 is N
It is led out to one terminal of AND gate 203. On the other hand, in the normal state, a voltage of 18V is applied to the gate of the PNP transistor 201. Also, PNP
) - the emitter of the transistor 201 has a gate voltage (1
Since a voltage of 24cm higher than 8V) is applied, the PNP transistor 201 is turned on, and a current flows to the collector side and to the ground. Then, P
The voltage on the emitter side of the NP transistor 201 decreases,
The gate voltage of PNPI-transistor 202 decreases.

When the gate voltage of the PNP transistor 202 decreases, the PNP transistor 202 turns on, current flows from the emitter to the collector, and the PNP transistor 2
A high level signal is derived from the collector side of 02, and NA
A high level signal is input to the other input terminal of the ND gate 203. Then, a low level signal is output from the NAND gate 203 and inputted to the input/output circuit 174 (see FIG. 9).

Next, when the hit ball passes the passing ball detector 200, a low level signal is output from the passing ball detector 200 at that moment. When a low level signal is output from the passing ball detector 200, a low level signal is input to one input terminal of the NAND gate 203.

On the other hand, a low level signal is also input to the gate of the PNP transistor 201, turning the PNP transistor 201 on, and current flows from the emitter to the collector side. Then, as described above, the PNP transistor 202 is also turned on.
state, a high level signal is input to the other input terminal of the NAND gate 203, and the high level signal is instantaneously output from the NAND gate 203 and guided to the input/output circuit 174. The microcomputer 170 detects this momentarily outputted high-level signal and detects that the hit ball has passed the passing ball detector 200.

Next, when the passing ball detector 200 is disconnected, a low level signal is output from the passing ball detector 200.
As described above, a low level signal is input to one input terminal of the NAND gate 203, and a high level signal is input to the other input terminal. As a result, NAN
A high level signal is continuously output from the D gate 203 and is led to the input/output circuit 174. The microcomputer 170 detects this continuously output high level signal and determines whether the passing ball detector 200 is abnormal.

Further, when the passing ball detector 200 is short-circuited, a high level signal of 24V is outputted from the passing ball detector 200, and the high level signal is inputted to one input terminal of the NAND gate 203. On the other hand, a voltage of 24V is applied to the gate of the PNP transistor 201, and P
Since the voltage applied to the emitter of the NP)- transistor 201 and the gate voltage are the same, the PNP)- transistor 201 is in an OFF state and no current flows.

As a result, the gate voltage of PNP transistor 202 is 2
4V, the PNP transistor 202 is also turned off, no current flows, and a low level signal is input to the other input terminal of the NAND gate 203. As a result, NAND
A high level signal is continuously output from the gate 203 and is led to the input/output circuit 174. The microcomputer 170 detects this continuously output high level signal and determines whether the passing ball detector 200 is abnormal. The microcomputer 170 also operates a passing ball detector 200.
Detects an abnormality and puts the game into a non-playable state. Also, NAN
By switching the continuous high level signal from the D gate 203 to a low level signal, the game disabled state is released.

The microcomputer 170 described above detects the passing ball detector 200 by measuring the duration of the high level signal derived from the NAND gate 203 of the detection circuit.
Although the abnormality is determined in the above example, the abnormality may be detected by a different determination circuit. For example, passing ball detector 2
00 is normal, the pulse generation circuit does not give a pulse to the microcomputer, and the passing ball detector 2
00 is in an abnormal state, the pulse generating circuit is configured to give a pulse to the microcomputer,
A determination circuit may be used that determines that there is an abnormality when the pulse signal is detected. In addition, in the passing ball detector 200 of the above embodiment, under normal conditions, the voltage is at a low level (2■; passing When detecting a ball), high level (
18■; normal time), so if the passing ball detector 200 is disconnected, its output will be rOJ V
becomes. Moreover, in the case of short circuit, it becomes r24JV. An abnormality in the output state of the passing ball detector 200 may be determined by determining this change in voltage by the microcomputer 170.

Although the above abnormality determination has been described with respect to the passing ball detector, it can also be applied to abnormality determination of the payout confirmation detector 122 and the sent ball detector 146, for example.

Of course, in this case, a proximity switch, a microswitch (including normal oven and normally closed), or a light emitting/receiving type switch may be used as a detector, and a known abnormality judgment circuit may be used for each. A score display 7-segment LED 43 provided on the game board 32 to notify whether the detector has become abnormal.
It is also possible to use

For example, when the payout confirmation detector 122 is in the ON state for 2 seconds, "E" and "0" are displayed alternately, and when the payout confirmation detector 122 is short-circuited or disconnected, "E" is displayed. and "1" are displayed alternately, and when the feed ball detector 146 is turned on for 2 seconds due to ball jamming, "E" and "2" are alternately displayed, and the foul ball detector 19 is turned on. When the wire is disconnected or shorted, "E" and "
3" is displayed alternately, and when the passing ball detectors 87a to 87p are abnormal, "E" and "4" are displayed alternately. When the passing ball detectors 50, 51, 52a, 52b are abnormal,
For example, "E" and "5" are displayed alternately.

The following may be considered as a modification of the embodiment described above.

■ As a configuration of the batted ball supply device 140, the ball feeding member 15
7 may be mechanically interlocked with the batting rod 127. Moreover, the sent ball detector 146 may be configured with a micro switch or a proximity switch. In this case, if a proximity switch is used, the sent ball sensing member 148 is not necessary and the sent ball may be directly detected. Furthermore, the number of fired balls may be counted not by sending balls, but by counting actually fired balls. Further, the structure of the ball launching device 125 may be a rotary solenoid or a near solenoid instead of the ball hitting motor.

(2) The ball-hitting motor 131 of the ball-launching device 125 may be configured to be stopped when the game interruption condition is satisfied.

■ In the above embodiment, after firing a predetermined number of balls, one unit game ends and the next game starts when the interval time elapses, but the number of balls fired and the number of passing balls are different. When the numbers become the same, the one-unit game may be ended and the next game may be started. In addition, when the payout operation of prize balls is stopped midway due to the occurrence of a game interruption condition while firing a ball, in the above embodiment, even if the game operation ends after the game restart condition is met, the prize balls that were stopped midway will be Although the game is not allowed to proceed to the next game until the payout operation of the balls is completed, it may be possible to proceed to the next game by 8 lines at the time when the game operation is completed (when the interval time has elapsed).

(2) Detection of a foul ball may not be by directly detecting a foul ball, but may be by detecting the operation of an actuating member activated by a foul ball. In addition, the ball breakage detector 59
The position of a may also be provided inside the prize ball tank 55 instead of the guide gutter 56, and furthermore, the payout confirmation detector 1
In place of or in addition to 22, a detector for detecting the presence or absence of a prize ball may be provided at the bending gutter 60 or at the upper end of the prize ball storage cylinder 91 of the prize ball dispensing device 90. In addition, the fullness detector 71
The attachment position may be any position as long as it can detect the accumulation of prize balls, and may be, for example, a position below the side of the guide opening 66.

■ Prize balls may be paid out automatically each time a score is achieved, or may be paid out manually by the player's operation. In addition, if the prize balls in the previous game are being paid out when the game interruption condition is met, the payout operation is not stopped immediately, but after being paid out a predetermined number of times (for example, 5 times), the payout operation is stopped. You can. In this case, some of the supplied prize balls remain in the guide channel 56, and the paid-out prize balls can also be sufficiently stored in the surplus ball passage 68, which adversely affects the operation of the pinball game machine. This is because it has no effect.

(2) If the game ends without firing all of the predetermined number of balls, the game state may be automatically initialized after a certain period of time (for example, 15 minutes). In this case,
When restarting the game next time, it is preferable to operate the start switch 10.

(2) The mechanism for dispensing a predetermined number of prize balls in the prize ball dispensing device 90 may be of the type that rotates a sprocket using a motor to dispense the prize balls, or may be of the type that dispenses the prize balls while counting them one by one.

■ RAM173 including score counter and shot ball counter
It is desirable that the system be of a backup type, whose memory is not erased even in the event of a power outage.

■ The game content of the pinball game machine is not limited to the example.

For example, when a jackpot is reached, multiple passing position display LEDs will be displayed.
A tulip-type passageway that can be lit may be opened for a predetermined period of time (for example, 6 seconds) and opened at the start of a predetermined number of games (for example, 10 times). In addition to the game content in which points are earned by firing a predetermined number of balls, for example, points are awarded based on the results of firing balls for a certain period of time (30 seconds), or prize balls are awarded. It may also be a pinball game machine.

[Phase] In the case of an abnormality in which cancellation of the game interruption condition cannot be automatically determined, cancellation of the game interruption condition may be determined by operating a detector provided elsewhere.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above explanation, in the pinball game machine according to the present invention, when there is an output from the game interruption detection means while the ball supply and firing mechanism is being driven, Since the system is equipped with a drive continuation control means that continues to control the driving of the ball supply and firing mechanism until the period of time has elapsed, even if an interruption in the game is detected in the middle of the game, it is determined that the balls have been fired for a certain period of time. Until the ball is released, the ball feeding and firing mechanism is continuously driven to supply and fire the ball,
When it is determined that the game operation has ended, that is, when one unit of play has ended, the drive of the hit ball supply and launch mechanism is stopped so that the ball is not supplied and, by extension, the ball is not fired. Therefore, the game will not be suddenly interrupted in the middle of the game, so it will not cause discomfort to the player,
Or, the interest in the game will not be halved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of the pinball game machine according to the embodiment, FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the farro portion, FIG. 3 is a rear view of the pinball game machine, and FIGS. 4A and 4B are , a sectional view showing the structure and function of the passageway, FIG. 5 is a rear view showing the structure of one side and a lower part of the mechanism plate, and FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the prize ball dispensing device and the score processing device. The rear view, Figures 7 and 8 are
A rear view showing the structure and operation of the hit ball supply device and the hit ball launch device that constitute the hit ball supply and launch mechanism, FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a control circuit that controls the operation of the pinball game machine, and FIG. 10 is a specific FIG. 11, which is a flowchart showing the general operation, is a circuit diagram for determining an abnormal state of the detector. 1... Pinball game machine 90... Prize ball payout device as game interruption detection means, 59a... Out of balls detector 71... Fullness detector 122... Payout confirmation detector, ball supply firing mechanism, 125... Hit balls. Launching device 140...Battered ball supply device (value adding means)

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A pinball game machine in which a game is played by firing balls for a certain period of time using a ball supply and firing mechanism, and a predetermined value is given at least based on the result of the game achieved by the balls hit during the certain period. , a game interruption detection means for detecting that a condition for stopping the driving of the hit ball supplying and firing mechanism is satisfied; A pinball game machine comprising: drive continuation control means for continuously controlling the drive of the hit ball supplying and firing mechanism until a certain period of time has elapsed.