JPH0321264Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Field of application of the invention] This invention relates to a ball feeding device for a pachinko game machine, and more specifically, to a ball feeding device for a pachinko game machine. This invention relates to a novel ball feeding device for feeding balls one by one to a ball firing site installed in a machine.

[Technical background]

As is well known, in gaming machines that use pachinko balls,
The balls thrown into the ball tray are aligned and passed through the terminal end portion, and are sequentially fed into a path that connects to a firing site (referring to the base end portion of a firing rail installed in the gaming machine). Then, the first ball on the path is once placed on standby at the location adjacent to the above-mentioned firing site, and the following balls are lined up and accommodated within the path, and from then on, the ball is fired manually by the player's own operation. Balls are hit one by one in the preceding order at the same time as each ball is hit (either a type or an electric type using a motor, etc.).
The balls are sent one by one to the ejection site and are ejected toward the game board by the ball-striking member.

For such a ball feeding device, it is most important to be able to smoothly guide the balls from the ball tray and feed them one by one to the firing site in time with the firing operation, especially for electric firing. When used in conjunction with a ball-striking device, the ball-feeding device must be able to precisely time each ball-striking operation in response to the device's ability to fire a predetermined number of balls in a certain amount of time. It is rather absolutely necessary to be able to perform a ball feeding operation and to be able to feed each individual ball smoothly into the firing site, neither too early nor too late. Moreover, in gaming machines, the space between the ball tray and the ejecting part is small, and therefore the ball feeding device is required to be small and positive.

[Purpose of invention]

The present invention was newly proposed in response to the above-mentioned demands, and its purpose is to carry out an appropriate ball feeding operation in conjunction with the ball hitting operation so that each ball is delivered to the firing site in a timely manner. To provide a small, durable, and high-performance ball feeding device that can be fed.

〔Example〕

As a preferred embodiment of the ball feeding device according to the present invention, when this device is implemented in an electric firing type Pachinko machine, it is incorporated into the ball tray 1 side as schematically shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Ball rectifier 21 made of synthetic resin
, a ball feed switch 27 made of transparent synthetic resin set on the firing rail 9 side, and first and second control valves 39 that control the opening and closing of the switch 27 in conjunction with the ball striking operation of the electric launcher. , 43 is shown below. In order to clarify the technical contents of this example device, the ball dish, the firing rail, and the firing device will be briefly explained.

First, regarding the spherical dish 1, there is a case main body 2, and a dish main body 5 which is removably installed and set in the main body 2.
(both made of synthetic resin) are closely attached to the front surface of a mounting board 8 (described later) with screws, etc., and are normally handled as a unit of board 8. In the case body 2, a lid 4 made of transparent synthetic resin is removably set in a recess 3 formed at the tip (left end in FIG. 1) with screws or the like. In addition, in the dish body 5, an alignment path 7 is formed in a series with an appropriate downward slope so that the balls can be sequentially aligned and guided through the storage portion 6 that can accommodate many balls.

The mounting board 8 is attached to the lower front of the pachinko machine so that it can be opened and closed, and each part of the board 8 has an opening for passing the ball through and an opening for attaching screws to the lid 4 (both not shown). (no) is formed.

The launch rail 9 is fixed to a predetermined position of a ball launch board 12 (see Figures 3 and 4) fixed inside the pachinko machine with screws, etc., and the ball is inserted into the bent corner of the base end of the rail 9. A firing site 10 is formed. Note that the firing portion 10 is formed with an opening 11 through which a mallet 14 at the tip of a ball batting rod 13 of the firing device can enter and exit. In the firing device, a cam (both not shown) on the motor side is operated by an operation unit (not shown) installed at the lower front of the pachinko machine.
Following the constant rotation of , the batting ball rod 13 performs a rebound action that pulls the mallet 14 in a direction away from the firing site 10 , and forces the mallet 14 into the firing site 10 to strike the same site 1 .
It is set so that the firing action of hitting a zero ball can be performed at a constant timing. Reference numeral 15 denotes an operating member installed at the lower front of the ball launcher 12, which is connected to the ball rod 13 and can swing in the vertical direction. Codes 16 to 20 are missing numbers.

In this example device, for the related components mentioned above,
A ball rectifier 21 is integrally molded on the terminal end of the dish body 5 of the ball dish 1, is brought into close contact with the front surface of the mounting board 8, and is covered with the lid 4, and a ball feed switch 27 connected to the ball rectifier 21 is attached. It is detachably set in a predetermined position on the back surface of the board 8 in a close state, and thin-walled metal first and second control valves 39 and 43 are vertically inserted into the switch 27 so as to be able to rise and fall. It is adapted to be interlocked with member 15. First, regarding the ball rectifier 21, a rectifier path 2 that communicates with the alignment path 7 is provided in a case 22 extending forward (to the left in FIG. 1) from the terminal end of the dish body 5.
3 and a standby passage 24 which is connected in a hanging manner from the end of the rectification passage 23.
guides the passage of several balls while maintaining them in a line from beginning to end, and the exit 25 of the waiting path 24 aligns and communicates with a passage 26 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) formed in the mounting board 8. The balls are received and dropped one by one from the rectifying path 23 and guided to a ball feed switch 27, which will be described later. The ball rectifier 21 has an open top, and when the lid 4 is opened (removed), the channel 2 is opened.
3 and 24 can be inspected. In addition, in order to stabilize the vessel 21 itself, for example, the waiting path 24
The portion may be fixed to the case body 2 side with screws or the like.

Regarding the ball feed switch 27, a support plate 28 is attached to the inner surface of the mounting board 8 with screws or the like;
Case 3 assembled to this support plate 28 with screws etc.
2, an upper cover 29 and a partition wall 30 are integrally formed on the support plate 28, and are aligned and communicated with the outlet 25 of the standby path 24 of the ball rectifier 21 through the passage 26. entrance 3
1 is open, and the case 32 has a chamber 34 and a feed path 35 divided on the left and right sides by a partition wall 33 integrally formed at the center of the interior and a partition wall 30 on the support plate 28 side. The feed path 35 is formed in a size that can accommodate substantially one ball, and is aligned and communicated with the inlet 31, and an outlet 36 opened to the outside of the path is formed in the firing site 10.
It is facing the upper part more appropriately. The bottom surface of the feed path 35 is sloped downward toward the outlet 36, and a slit 37 is formed between it and the support plate 28. Further, a slit 38 is formed between the partition walls 30 and 33 (see FIGS. 3 to 5).

The first control valve 39 controls the opening and closing of the inlet 31 of the feed path 35 by vertical movement linked to the operation of the ball batting rod 13 side, that is, the operation member 15, and is vertically inserted into the chamber 34. 39
A contact portion 40 for the operating member 15 is formed at the lower end of the valve 39, and an opening/closing piece 41 for the inlet 31 is formed at the side edge of the valve 39 and extends into the slit 37. Before operation, the control valve 39 is stopped at the lower end position by a stopper 42 protruding from the lower part of the support plate 28, and the opening/closing piece 41 is placed at the inlet 31.
is held in the open position. On the other hand, the second control valve 43 controls the opening and closing of the outlet 36 of the feed path 35 by following the vertical movement of the first valve 39, and is inserted vertically into the first valve 39. The valve 43 has an outlet 3 on its side edge.
6 is formed and extends from the slit 38 into the feed path 35. Note that this control valve 43 is connected to the contact portion 40 before operation.
The opening/closing piece 44 is stopped at the lower end position by the
6 is held in the closed position (see Figures 3 and 4).

Regarding both control valves 39 and 43, the third to fifth control valves
As shown in the figure, the operation of the ball batting rod 13 is synchronously linked with the required lifting amount S (slightly larger than the radius of the ball), and both opening/closing pieces 41 and 44 engage approximately the radius of the ball. The spheres are sized such that they can be stopped, and there is a height difference H (smaller than the radius of the sphere) between their upper and lower ends, under which they rise and fall synchronously.

In connection with the arrangement of the ball rectifier 21 in the device of this example on the dish body 5, the ball extracting mechanism 45, which is normally attached to the ball dish 1, is formed as shown in FIG. That is, the ball rectifier 21
A diagonal ball removal passage 47 is communicated with a ball extraction port 46 opened at the bottom of the rectifying passage 23, and both 46, 47 are connected to each other.
An on-off valve 48 that is operated from the front side of the spherical dish 1 is installed in the communication section. Normally, the on-off valve 48 is held in the closed position by the spring 49, so that the ball extraction port 46 is closed and the balls in the dish body 5 can pass through to the standby path 24 side. By moving the ball to the right in FIG. 1 against the spring 49, the ball extraction port 46 is opened, and the balls in the tray main body 5 are passed through the ball extraction path 47 to the ball tray ( (not shown).

In this example device configured as described above, before the start of the game, in other words, when the ball batting rod 13 of the firing device before operation is still at the original position, the first one in the ball feeding switch 27, The second control valves 39 and 43 are both at the lower end position, the inlet 31 of the feed path 35 is open, and the outlet 36 is closed. Therefore, in the state before ball feeding of the device, the balls thrown into the tray body 5 of the ball tray 1 are thereafter aligned in the alignment path 7 and pass in a line through the rectification path 23 of the ball rectifier 21. Then, the balls sequentially pass from the outlet 25 of the standby path 24 through the port 26 into the feed path 35 of the ball feed switch 27, and the leading ball is engaged with the opening/closing piece 44 of the second control valve 43. be stopped. As a result, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 a and b, the first ball _B1 at the forefront is at the exit 3.
6, the second ball B ₂ in the waiting path 24 is held in a released position in contact with the first ball B 1 facing the entrance 31, and the second ball B ₂ in the alignment path 7 is held in a position facing the entrance 31. A plurality of balls are accommodated in a line. However, since the ball _B2 in the standby path 24 is in a position where a part of it is exposed in the inlet 31, the third ball B2 located in the corner communication part between the standby path 24 and the rectifying path 23 is The ball B ₃ is displaced by a step with respect to the second ball B ₂ and the fourth ball B ₄ located at the end in the rectifying channel 23, respectively. Due to this packed state of balls, the direction of the pressure applied by the balls from the inside of the feeding path 35 to the inside of the housing part 6 is skillfully changed, and moreover,
The ball pressure acting on the second balls B ₁ and B ₂ is significantly reduced, allowing smooth insertion and delivery of both balls B ₁ and B ₂ .

When the firing device is activated in the above-mentioned ball accommodation state, ball feeding is immediately started by the linked vertical movement of the first and second control valves 39 and 43 in conjunction with the operation of the ball batting rod 13. . That is, the first control valve 39 is directly pushed up via the operating member 15 in response to the elastic movement of the ball hitting rod 13, and the opening/closing piece 41 of the first control valve 39 instantly closes the entrance 31 of the feed path 35, thereby releasing the second ball.
Stop B ₂ while pushing it back slightly to the waiting path 24,
In response, the second control valve 43 is pulled up by the first control valve 39, and its opening/closing piece 44 instantly opens the outlet 36 of the feed path 35. This causes the second ball B ₂
is waiting in the waiting path 24, the first ball
Only B ₁ is released and launches from exit 36 to rail 9
It falls to the side under its own weight, is sent to the firing site 10, and remains stationary for a while. Note that the second
A slight movement (return) of the ball B ₂ is easily allowed due to the fluctuations of the third and fourth balls B ₃ and B ₄ .

Next, as the operating member 15 returns in response to the springing action of the ball batting rod 13, the first control valve 39 closes the operating member 1.
As soon as it is released from
The control valve 43 returns to its original position under its own weight in synchronization with the first control valve 39 and closes the outlet 36 with its opening/closing piece 44. As a result, the second ball B ₂
is released from the opening/closing piece 41 on the first side and enters the feed path 3.
5, and the opening/closing piece 4 on the second side.
4 and waits at a position facing the exit 36. Thereafter, in response to each movement of the ball batting rod 13, both control valves 39 and 43 stop and feed the ball, and each ball is delivered to the firing site 10 in the preceding order.
sent to.

As described above, in this example device, during the upward movement of both valves 39 and 43 in time with the elastic movement of the ball batting rod 13, the opening/closing piece 41 on the first side first locks the ball in the waiting path 24. After that, press the second button just before the top end (before the bullet end).
The opening/closing piece 44 on the side releases the ball in the feed path 35, so that only one ball enters the firing site 1.
The ball is sent out accurately to the 0 side, and sending two balls is avoided. In addition, in the descending process of both valves 39 and 43 in time with the springing action of the ball batting rod 13, after the second opening/closing piece 44 closes the outlet 36, immediately before the lower end (just before the end of the springing action) When the mallet 14 hits the ball at the firing site 10), the opening/closing piece 41 on the first side releases the ball in the waiting path 24, so that the ball quickly passes into the feeding path 35. Even if it is released, it is stopped at the exit 36 and is kept on standby, thereby preventing delivery to the firing site 10 side. In addition, in the above-mentioned ball feeding,
The first control valve 39 located at the lower end position will not be inadvertently pushed up by the ball pressure.

In this example device, a ball rectifier 21 and a ball feed switch 2
7 and 7, both can be set at predetermined positions before and after the mounting board 8 without being subject to restrictions on the mounting order. Also, the first in the ball feed switch 27,
By connecting the second control valves 39 and 43 with each other in a non-coupled manner, even when both valves 39 and 43 are vertically inserted into the chamber 34 with a margin (play), they will not interfere with each other. It is possible to move firmly without any movement, and to descend smoothly under its own weight, and in particular, it is possible to avoid biting of the ball. By setting the height difference H between the opening/closing pieces 41, 44 of both control valves 39, 43, the ball is quickly restrained and released by the linked opening/closing movement of both pieces 41, 44, and with a necessary minimum time difference from each other. I was able to do it with good timing, and with the height difference H mentioned above, I hit the ball with the batting rod 13.
The lifting amount and lifting time of both control valves 39, 43 for the operation can be reduced, and stable and accurate ball feeding operation can be continued from beginning to end.

[Example of change]

The ball feeding device to which the present invention is applied can of course be applied to a manual firing device, and is not limited to the illustrated embodiment and can be modified as appropriate. For example, the ball rectifier 21 is
It can be molded separately from the plate body 5 and set in communication with the alignment path 7, or it can be molded integrally with the ball feeding switch 27. Concerning the first and second control valves 39 and 43 on the switch 27 side, the opening/closing pieces 41 and 44 of both opening and closing pieces may be displaced as necessary, such as by raising and lowering the valves contrary to what is shown in the drawings, or by opening and closing them using tilting or sliding. Adding a difference to the amount or displacement time, or setting the displacement direction in the opposite direction. Modified techniques such as the following are recommended.

If there is only one control valve, two on-off valves for restraining and releasing the ball may be placed inside and outside the control valve. At this time, it is desirable to provide the above-mentioned height difference (displacement difference) to both opening and closing pieces. Of course, any control valve may be appropriately equipped with weights, springs, etc. to facilitate smooth operation.

[Summary of the idea]

The ball feeding device of the present invention is equipped with a ball feeding switch set between the outlet side of the rectifying channel of the ball tray and the adjacent position side of the firing rail, and a ball feeding switch that is movable up and down with respect to the ball feeding switch. and a control member that can be linked to the ball-hitting member side of the firing device, and the opening/closing piece of one of the pre-operation control members closes the outlet of the feeding path in the ball feeding switch and allows passage from the ball tray side. When the first ball is accommodated, the control member is interlocked with the ball-striking operation of the ball-striking means to close and open the entrance of the feed path with one opening/closing piece, and close and open the entrance of the feeding path with the other opening/closing piece. The outlet can be opened and closed alternately with appropriate timing.

Therefore, according to the present device, the control member can stably perform the opening and closing operations at the appropriate timing in response to the operation of the firing device, so that the ball can pass from the ball tray into the feed path of the ball feed switch. The balls can be delivered one by one to the firing site in the preceding order, and the balls can be properly launched based on such ball feeding. In particular, since this device is composed of a ball feed switch and a control member, the number of component parts can be reduced, and the ball feed switch can be molded to the minimum size that accommodates one ball. The entire device can be made extremely compact.
Moreover, if the control member is incorporated in the ball feed switch as in the embodiment, the device itself can be constructed as a ball feed switch unit and can be easily handled.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the ball feeding device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the device of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment of the ball feeding device of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a front sectional view showing an embodiment of the device, FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view, and FIGS. . 1: Ball plate, 5: plate body, 7: alignment path, 10: firing site, 13: batting rod, 15: operating member, 21:
Ball rectifier, 23: Rectifier path, 24: Standby path, 27:
Ball feeding switch, 31: Inlet, 35: Feeding path, 3
6: Outlet, 39: First control valve, 40: Contact part, 4
1: Opening/closing piece, 43: Second control valve, 44: Opening/closing piece.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The pachinko balls in a ball tray attached to the front side of the front frame in a manner that can be opened and closed or detached are fed one by one toward the launch site of the launch rail installed inside the front frame, and then the balls are sent forward by the ball-striking operation of the launcher. In a pachinko game machine capable of ejecting pachinko balls toward a game board inside the frame, a ball feeding opening/closing device set between the outlet side of the rectifying channel of the ball tray and the adjacent position side of the shooting rail. and a control member that is installed to be able to move up and down with respect to the ball feed switch and that can be connected to the ball hitting member side of the firing device, and the ball feed switch accommodates one ball. A feed path capable of feeding is formed, the inlet of which communicates with the outlet side of the rectifying path of the spherical dish, and the outlet of the feed path faces a predetermined portion of the ejection rail with respect to the ejection portion, and the control member: It has first and second opening/closing pieces for the entrance and exit of the feeding path, and both opening/closing pieces are moved up and down in conjunction with the operation of the ball hitting member of the firing device, and the opening/closing pieces are moved up and down at the entrance of the feeding path. A ball feeding device characterized in that the ball feeding device and the outlet are set so that they can be opened and closed alternately.