JPH0341987A - Warning device for pinball game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the working rate of a game machine from being lowered by dividing the number of hit pinballs, which is displayed by an out ball counting pulse, with operating time and generating a warning signal when the result of the calculation is less than a prescribed limit value. CONSTITUTION:When an electric ball ejecting mechanism is used for a long period, speed for ejecting pinball is made instable by the fatigue of a spring for pinball ejection in nonuniformity in the friction force of a movable part and the emitted pinballs do not arrive at the surface of a panel, otherwise, the pinballs are bounded back by nails on the surface of the panel and returned to the side of an electric ball ejecting mechanism 7. Then the newly ejected pinballs collide and the rate of the ejected pinballs to arrive at the surface of the panel is lowered. In such a state, a numerical signal S5 to be acquired in a division circuit 16 is lowered and when the signal is less than a set limit value Nmin, a comparator circuit 18 generates a warning signal Sa. Accordingly, it is easily known without fail that the ejecting speed is made instable. Then the cause of a bad condition can be early removed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Purpose of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an alarm device for a pachinko game machine in which the firing of pachinko balls onto the board is performed by an electric ball firing mechanism.

(Prior Art) The electric ball firing mechanism of a pachinko game machine generally includes a firing pestle that is rotatably provided and that fires pachinko balls at its free end, and a firing pestle that is always moved in the pachinko ball firing direction. a tension coil spring that biases and whose biasing force can be adjusted by rotating an operating dial; a motor that is energized in response to rotating the operating dial; and a motor that is provided to be rotated by the motor and rotates. The firing punch is configured in combination with a cam that rotates the firing punch against the tension coil spring and then returns the firing punch by the spring force of the tension coil spring. In other words, such an electric ball firing mechanism fires the pachinko balls in response to the operation of the operation dial, and the firing speed of the pachinko balls depends on the amount of rotation of the operation dial and the tension coil: the spring of the f spring. It can be changed by adjusting the force.

(Issue 8 to be solved by the invention) By the way, in the above-mentioned electric top firing mechanism, fatigue of the tension coil spring due to long-term use or non-uniformity of the frictional force of the movable parts, etc. , it is inevitable that the firing speed of the pachinko balls becomes unstable.

However, in a pachinko game machine equipped with an electric top firing mechanism that is in a malfunctioning state, the landing positions of the pachinko balls fired onto the board will vary greatly; Usually, players are unable to shoot the pachinko balls to the desired location, resulting in a poor winning rate, which causes players to shy away from the pachinko ball, resulting in a decrease in its operating rate. Therefore, if such a pachinko game machine occurs, it is best to detect it as soon as possible and repair or replace the electric top firing mechanism, in order to increase the operating rate of the pachinko game machine and the business efficiency of the pachinko hall. becomes important in however,
It is difficult for pachinko halls to easily detect when the firing speed of pachinko balls due to the electric top firing mechanism has become unstable. The reality is that they have accepted the decline.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to automatically detect and issue an alarm when the firing speed of pachinko balls by the electric upward firing mechanism in a pachinko game machine becomes unstable. To provide an alarm device for a pachinko game machine that can generate a signal and has the effect of preventing a decrease in the operating rate of the pachinko game machine due to malfunction of an electric top firing mechanism.

[Structure of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problems)] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a system for collecting balls from a pachinko game machine in which the ejection of pachinko balls onto the board is performed by an electric top ejection mechanism. a counter that outputs an out-ball counting pulse indicating the number of pachinko balls; a measuring device that measures the operating time of the electric top firing mechanism; and a measuring device that divides the number of pachinko balls driven in as indicated by the out-ball counting pulse by the time measured by the measuring device. The apparatus is configured to include a calculation means for calculating the number of pachinko balls driven per unit time by doing so, and an alarm means for generating an alarm signal when the calculation result by the calculation means is below a predetermined limit value. .

(Function) When a game is being played on a pachinko game machine, that is, when the electric top firing mechanism is activated and pachinko balls are fired onto the board, the counter indicates the number of pachinko balls that have been hit. Now outputs counting pulses,
Further, the measuring means measures the operating time of the electric upper firing mechanism. Then, the calculating means calculates the number of pachinko balls driven in per unit time by dividing the number of pachinko balls driven in as indicated by the out ball count pulse by the measurement time by the measuring means.

By the way, the number of pachinko balls fired per unit time in a pachinko game machine is approximately equal to the number of pachinko balls fired per unit time when the electric top firing mechanism is operating normally. If the firing speed of pachinko balls by the electric top firing mechanism becomes unstable, it will decrease. In other words, if the firing speed of the pachinko balls is unstable, the pachinko balls that are fired toward the board may return to the electric ball firing mechanism without reaching the board, or they may bounce off the nails on the board. At the same time, a phenomenon occurs in which the newly fired pachinko balls collide with the returned pachinko balls, which reduces the rate at which the fired pachinko balls reach the board. .

Therefore, when the firing speed of pachinko balls by the electric top firing mechanism becomes unstable, the number of pachinko balls driven per unit time calculated by the calculating means as described above also decreases. When the calculation result by such calculation means is below a predetermined limit value, the alarm means generates an alarm signal, and the alarm causes the ejection speed of the pachinko balls by the electric top ejection mechanism to become unstable. You will be notified that this has happened.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 2 shows the front appearance of the pachinko game machine 1. In this FIG. 2, reference numeral 2 denotes a storage tank provided at the upper part of the back of the pachinko game machine 1, and the pachinko balls in this storage tank 2 are placed in the ball tray 3 on the front of the pachinko game machine 1 as safe balls (prize balls). ). Reference numeral 4 denotes a replenisher for replenishing pachinko balls into the storage tank 2, which is disposed above the storage tank 2 and communicates with a gutter (not shown) through which pachinko balls flow through a ball supply pipe 5. . This replenisher 4 is operated when the tank switch 2a provided in the storage tank 2 detects that there are no more pachinko balls in the storage tank, and once it is activated, the balls are removed. Pachinko balls supplied through a supply pipe 5 are stored in a storage tank 2
It is designed to supply only a certain amount within. Further, the replenisher 41 is provided with a function of counting the supplied pachinko balls as described above, and is configured to output one safe ball counting pulse Ps every time 10 pachinko balls are counted, for example. There is.

The pachinko game machine 1 is provided with a counter 6 for counting the number of hit pachinko balls (out balls) collected from the pachinko game machine 1. This counter 6 is configured to output one out ball counting pulse PO every time it counts 10 pachinko balls, for example. Further, reference numeral 7 denotes an electric ball firing mechanism equipped with an operation dial 7a, which is rotatably provided, although not shown in detail, and uses its free end to shoot the pachinko balls in the ball tray 3 into the pachinko game machine 1. A firing punch that fires to the board surface 1a, a tension coil spring that always biases the firing punch in the direction of pachinko ball firing and whose biasing force can be adjusted by rotating the operating dial 7a, and rotating the operating dial 7a. A motor is energized in response to an operation, and the firing punch is rotated by the motor, and the firing punch is rotated against the tension coil spring according to the rotation of the motor. This is a well-known structure that is constructed by combining a cam that is rotated back by a spring force.

8 is an angle sensor provided corresponding to the operating dial 7a, which is operated when the operating dial 7a changes from a non-operating state to a rotating state, that is, when the electric ball firing mechanism 7 enters an operating state. It outputs a detection signal Sm.

Now, as shown in FIG. 1, the above-mentioned safe ball counting pulse Pg, out ball counting pulse PO, and operation detection signal Sm are used to centrally control a large number of pachinko game machines 1 installed in a pachinko hall. Centralized management device 9 for management
This central management device 9 will be explained below. Although the central management device 9 is actually constructed using a computer, it is shown in FIG. 1 as a combination of functional blocks. Furthermore, the first
For convenience of explanation, the figure shows four replenishers corresponding to one pachinko game all. Only the relationship between the needle counter 6 and the angle sensor 8 and the central control device 9 is shown.

That is, in FIG. 1, 10 is a first counting circuit provided to receive the safe ball counting pulse Ps from the replenisher 4, which accumulates the input safe ball counting pulse Ps and calculates the accumulated value. The calculation results are sequentially output as a numerical signal Sl indicating the number of safe balls of the corresponding pachinko game machine 1. 11 is a second counting circuit provided to receive the out ball counting pulse Po from the counter 6, which accumulates the input out ball counting pulse Po and calculates the accumulated result for the corresponding pachinko game. It is sequentially output as a numerical signal S2 indicating the number of out balls of machine 1. 12 is the first and second counting circuit 1
A subtraction circuit is provided corresponding to each pair of 0 and 11, and this is a subtraction circuit that calculates the value indicated by the numerical signal S2 (corresponding to the number of out balls) from the numerical value indicated by the numerical signal S1 (corresponding to the number of safe balls). is sequentially subtracted, and the subtraction result is output as a numerical signal S3 indicating the difference in the number of balls between the number of out balls and the number of safe balls. Although not shown, the numerical signal S3 is used for controlling the pachinko game machine 1 to stop.

Further, numeral 13 denotes a totalizing circuit which totalizes the numerical signal S2 from the counting circuit 11 and outputs the cumulative result as an out ball number signal S4 indicating the cumulative number of pachinko balls driven into the corresponding pachinko game machine 1. Reference numeral 14 denotes a timer serving as a measuring means, and is configured to receive an operation detection signal Sm from the angle sensor 8 at its trigger terminal T, and receive clock pulses Pc of a constant period from a clock generation circuit 15 at its clock terminal CK. . This timer 14 executes a timer operation of counting clock pulses Pc only during the manual operation period of the operation detection signal Sm, and calculates the cumulative value of the timer operation time by the operation time of the electric top firing mechanism 7, for example, in minutes. It is output as a time signal sh shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a division circuit which is an arithmetic means, which divides the number of pachinko balls entered, which is indicated by the out ball number signal S4 from the cumulative circuit 13, by the time signal sh from the timer 14, and divides the division result into a unit time ( A numerical signal S indicating the number of pachinko balls driven per minute) is output.

17 is a memory circuit, which includes 1
A limit value Nl1in (eg r90J) lower by a predetermined value than the average number of pachinko balls fired per minute Ns is stored. Reference numeral 18 denotes a comparison circuit serving as an alarm means, which compares the numerical signal S5 and the limit value Nm1n, and satisfies S5≦N.
An alarm signal Sa is generated when the a+in state is reached. Although not shown, when the alarm signal Sa is generated, a message containing, for example, a message indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the electric top firing mechanism 7 is sent to the machine of the pachinko game machine 1 to which the alarm signal Sa is generated. It will be printed out along with the number information.

By the way, the number of pachinko balls fired per unit time in the pachinko game machine 1 is approximately equal to the number of pachinko balls fired per unit time (usually 100 balls/minute) when the electric upper firing mechanism 7 is operating normally. The numbers are equal. On the other hand, when the electric top firing mechanism 7 is used for a long period of time, fatigue of the tension coil spring (not shown) for firing pachinko balls or failure of the frictional force of the movable parts of the electric top firing mechanism 7 may occur. It is inevitable that the firing speed of the pachinko balls becomes unstable due to uniformity, and if this happens, the number of pachinko balls fired per unit time will decrease. In other words, if the firing speed of the pachinko balls is unstable, the pachinko balls fired toward the board surface 1a may return to the electric firing mechanism 7 side without reaching the board surface 1a, or the nails on the board surface 1a may At the same time, a phenomenon occurs in which the newly fired pachinko balls collide with the returned pachinko balls, causing the fired pachinko balls to bounce back toward the board surface 1a.
The rate of achieving this decreases.

Therefore, when the firing speed of pachinko balls by the electric upper firing mechanism 7 becomes unstable, the numerical signal S5 (the number of pachinko balls driven per minute) obtained by the division circuit 16 decreases. When the numerical signal S5 becomes less than a predetermined limit [Nm1n, the comparator circuit 18 generates an alarm signal Sa, and also sends a message indicating that a light failure has occurred at electric ball launch m and tg7. Since the message containing the message is printed out together with the machine number information of the pachinko game machine 1 equipped with the electric firing mechanism 7, it can be confirmed that the firing speed of the pachinko balls by the electric top firing mechanism 7 has become unstable. And it's easy to know. As a result, the cause of the malfunction of the electric top firing mechanism 7 can be removed at an early stage, and a situation where the operating rate of the pachinko game machine 1 decreases due to the malfunction of the electric top firing mechanism 7 can be prevented. Become.

In the above embodiment, the angle sensor 8 is provided on the pachinko game machine 1 side in order to detect the operating state of the electric upper firing mechanism 7, but the electric firing mechanism can be used without using such an angle sensor 8. 7 operating conditions can be detected. That is, FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which the angle sensor 8 is unnecessary, and hereinafter, only the hole portions of this embodiment will be explained.

In this embodiment, one retrigger type monostable multivibrator that receives the out ball counting pulse Po from the counter 6 is provided on the central control device 8 side, and the output of this monostable multivibrator is sent to the trigger terminal of the timer 14. It is configured so that it is given to T. The time constant of one monostable multivibrator is set to be longer by a predetermined time than the time required for the electric ball firing mechanism 7 to fire 10 pachinko balls (that is, the time corresponding to the output interval of the out ball counting pulse PO). has been done. As a result, the monostable multivibrator 19 continuously outputs a pulse signal while the electric ball firing mechanism 7 is operating, and the timer 14 counts pulses only during the output period of the pulse signal. A timer operation is performed to count Pc, and the integrated value of the timer operation time is output as a time signal sh indicating the operation time of the electric ball firing mechanism 7 in minutes.

Therefore, this embodiment configured in this way also has the same effect as the above embodiment, and in particular, according to this embodiment, the angle sensor 8 is not required on the pachinko game machine 1 side. The structure of the pachinko game machine 1 is simplified. In this case, the central management device 9
Although the monostable multivibrator 19 will be added to the side, the function of the monostable multivibrator 19 can actually be obtained by the program of the central control device 9 configured by a computer, so the hardware configuration is There is no risk of complications.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, as is clear from the above description, in an alarm device for a pachinko game machine in which the electric ball firing mechanism fires pachinko balls onto the board, When the firing speed of pachinko balls becomes unstable, this can be automatically detected and an alarm signal generated, thereby preventing a decrease in the operating rate of the pachinko game machine due to malfunction of the electric ball firing mechanism. This has the excellent effect of being able to prevent this from happening.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention, with FIG. 1 being a block diagram of the electrical configuration, and FIG. 2 being a front view of the pachinko game machine. Further, FIG. 3 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 showing another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a pachinko game machine, 1a is a board, 4 is a supply device, 6 is a counter, 7 is an electric ball firing mechanism, 7a is an operation dial, 8 is an angle sensor, 9 is a central control device, 14 is a timer ( ?1pl constant means), 16 is a division circuit (arithmetic means), 1
7 is a storage circuit, 18 is a comparison circuit (alarm means), and 19 is a monostable multivibrator.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an alarm device for a pachinko game machine in which the firing of pachinko balls onto the board is performed by an electric ball firing mechanism, a counter that outputs an out-ball counting pulse indicating the number of pachinko balls that have been driven in and collected from the pachinko game machine. and a measuring means for measuring the operation time of the electric ball firing mechanism, and dividing the number of pachinko balls driven in per unit time by dividing the number of pachinko balls driven in indicated by the out ball counting pulse by the measurement time by the measuring means. 1. An alarm device for a pachinko game machine, comprising a calculation means for calculating, and an alarm means for generating an alarm signal when the calculation result by the calculation means is below a predetermined limit value.