JPH0432148Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] <Industrial field of application> This invention allows players to input balls or receive prize balls ejected from a prize ball outlet, and arrange these balls in a line to play a game. This invention relates to a ball supply tray for a pachinko machine.

<Conventional technology> A conventional ball supply tray forms a ball alignment section that aligns the balls in a line by gently sandwiching the width between the side surface that stands up from the front end of the bottom section and the front surface of the opening/closing panel in a straight line. Ta.

<Problems that the invention aims to solve> However, in recent years, with the formation of special prize formats, pachinko machines that can generate a large number of winning balls in a short period of time have been developed. The ball supply tray of a pachinko machine from which prize balls are ejected is
A problem is likely to occur for a while, in which a plurality of balls flowing down toward the ball alignment section compete with each other and stay in the vicinity of the connection between the ball storage section and the ball alignment section. When such a trouble occurs, the player has to break up the stuck balls with his hands and let them flow down, which is not only troublesome but also makes the game less enjoyable.

<Means for solving the problem> The present invention was proposed in view of the above, and the prize ball ejector is provided on the surface of the opening/closing panel provided with the prize ball outlet and the ball passage opening through which the prize ball is ejected. A ball supply tray for a pachinko machine that has a bottom section that slopes gently downward from the exit toward the ball passage port, and the ball supply tray has an open top surface that faces the prize ball discharge port and is surrounded by side sections. The ball storage part and the side part of the ball storage part are extended in a gentle curve toward the surface of the opening/closing panel, and the interval between the opening/closing panel surface is set slightly larger than the diameter of the ball, so that the flow is caused by the slope of the bottom part. A ball alignment part for aligning the balls in a row, the inclined lower end of the ball alignment part faces the ball passage opening, and the inside of the curved side part has a predetermined length extending toward the front surface of the opening/closing panel. By increasing the inclination angle, the direction of the balls flowing down along the curved side surface is further changed and guided toward the front surface of the opening/closing panel, suppressing the downward pressure of the balls flowing toward the ball alignment part and regulating them in a line. In addition to providing a ball pressure receiving surface, the lower surface of the upper downstream side of the ball alignment section is sloped downward toward the inclined lower end of the ball alignment section, and the distance between the inclined lower end and the bottom surface of the ball alignment section is set to the ball diameter. It is characterized by forming a rectifying ceiling surface which is set slightly wider than the above-mentioned ball alignment section and regulates the balls flowing in two rows up and down through the ball alignment part into a single row up and down and flows into the ball passage opening. .

<Function> When there are few balls in the storage section of the ball supply tray, the prize balls discharged from the prize ball discharge port directly flow down to the ball alignment section through the storage section. When a large number of prize balls are discharged in a short period of time, these prize balls are stored in the storage section of the ball supply tray in two full rows, one above the other, and flow down toward the entrance of the ball alignment section. . When the ball supply tray is full, the flow pressure due to the large number of balls becomes large, but this flow pressure is effectively dispersed by the ball pressure receiving surface in the middle of the ball alignment part, which is narrowed down to one line, and the ball storage The ball alignment part, which extends in a gently curved manner toward the front surface of the opening/closing panel, moves the contact point between the balls from a straight line and positions it on a curved line, so that the downward pressure of the balls is in the same straight line direction. By preventing the flow pressure from accumulating and dispersing the flow pressure, the balls can easily move, so the synergistic effect of these forces allows the balls to be smoothly rectified in a line. Furthermore, when several balls flow down the ball alignment section in two rows, one above the other, they are regulated into one row above and below by a rectifying ceiling surface provided downstream, and flow into the ball passage opening of the opening/closing panel.

<Example> The present invention will be described in detail below based on the example shown in the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pachinko machine 1 has a glass frame 3 and an opening/closing panel 4 pivotally attached to the window portion of a frame-shaped front frame 2 so as to be openable and closable, and a ball supply tray 5 on the front side of the opening/closing panel 4. The ball supply tray 5 receives the prize balls discharged from the prize ball discharge port 6 of the connection gutter which is attached to the opening on one side of the opening/closing panel 4.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ball supply tray 5 has decorative bodies 5b, 5 on the front surface of a plastic supply tray main body 5a.
c, 5d, etc. are installed. The supply tray main body 5a is
A ball storage part 9 with an open back surface is formed by forming a bottom part 7 that is slightly inclined downward toward either the left or right side, and by raising a side part 8 from the inclined upper edge and front edge of the bottom part 7. A ball fly-out prevention member 10 is formed on the upper surface portion and extends substantially horizontally toward the bottom surface portion 7 at the upper end edge of the side surface portion 8 having a height approximately twice the diameter of the ball. In addition, the connecting corner between the bottom surface part 7 and the side surface part 8 is a curved surface with a smaller radius than the ball surface at the inclined upper end side located in front of the prize ball outlet 6, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the lower end of the slope is formed of a curved surface with a radius larger than that of the spherical surface.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the above-mentioned bottom part 7 has a part on the sloped upper end side that is slightly inclined downward by θ with respect to the horizontal plane toward the front end side of the bottom part 7, and the other part is It is located at a very slight downward slope or horizontally with respect to the horizontal plane toward the opposite open back side. The connection between the above part and the other part is smoothly continuous so that the ball can roll smoothly.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the ball supply tray 5 according to the present invention has a part on the inclined lower end side of the bottom part 7 of the side part 8 of the ball storage part 9 that is gently curved toward the surface of the opening/closing panel 4. A ball aligning part 1 that extends and sets the distance between it and the surface of the opening/closing panel 4 to be a little larger than the ball diameter, and aligns the flowing balls by the inclination of the bottom part.
1, and the side surface portion 8 in the middle of the ball alignment portion 11 is steeply inclined toward the open back side by a predetermined length, that is, the angle of inclination toward the front side of the opening/closing panel 4 is increased by a predetermined length. By increasing the number of balls flowing down along the curved side surface, the direction of the balls flowing down is further changed and guided toward the surface side of the opening/closing panel 4, thereby suppressing the flow pressure of the balls flowing toward the ball alignment section 11 and regulating them in a line. A ball pressure receiving surface 12 is formed. By setting the width of the downstream side of the ball pressure receiving surface 12 to be slightly larger than the diameter of the balls, the balls are finally aligned in a line, and a ball flow downward direction converting part 13 is provided at the inclined lower end of the ball aligning part 11. has been formed.

Ball flow downward direction conversion unit 13 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8
In this embodiment, a substantially triangular rib-shaped flow direction converting member 15 having a curved oblique side 14 having a larger curvature than the curvature of the spherical surface is arranged almost horizontally with the curved oblique side 14 facing upstream of the sphere alignment section 11. It is constituted by providing. Further, above the upstream side of the ball flow downward direction converting section 13, there is a rectifying ceiling surface 16 whose lower surface is inclined downward toward the inclined lower end of the ball alignment section 11.
extends from the upper end of the side surface portion 8 and faces the inclined lower end of the rectifying ceiling surface 16 and the bottom surface portion 7 of the ball alignment portion 11.
The distance between the ball and the ball is set slightly wider than the ball diameter.

In this embodiment, a metal reinforcing member 17 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is removably fitted to the side edge of the bottom part 7 of the ball alignment part 11 in order to prevent the bottom part 7 from being worn out and to prevent the adhesion of dirt. It's on.

To attach the ball supply tray 5 configured as described above to the opening/closing panel 4, the open back of the ball storage section 9 should face the front of the opening/closing panel 4, and the inclined upper end side of the bottom section 7 should be placed in front of the prize ball outlet 6. and is removably fixed with screws or the like with the outlet of the ball flow downward direction converting part 13 facing the ball passage opening 18 of the opening/closing panel 4. Therefore, the above-mentioned reinforcing member 1
When replacing the ball supply tray 7, the ball supply tray 5 is removed from the opening/closing panel 4 by loosening screws or the like.

In the ball supply tray 5 installed as described above, when there are few balls in the ball supply tray 5, the prize balls discharged from the prize ball outlet 6 roll toward the side surface 8, spread, and then become balls. It flows into the alignment section 11.

Therefore, the downward pressure of the balls is small at the entrance portion of the ball alignment portion 11 where the distance between the side surface portion 8 and the surface of the opening/closing panel 4 gradually narrows, and it is possible to prevent the balls from stagnation in this portion. In addition, if the prize ball is ejected forcefully from the prize ball ejection port 6, the side part 8
Since the radius of the curved surface of the connecting corner portion between the base portion 7 and the bottom surface portion 7 is smaller than the radius of the sphere, it is difficult for the connecting corner portion to convert the downward direction of the sphere upward. Furthermore, even if the ball rises along the side surface 8, it hits the ball flyout prevention member 10 and falls into the ball supply tray 5. Therefore, the balls discharged from the prize ball discharge port 6 can be effectively prevented from flying out of the ball supply tray 5.

On the other hand, when a plurality of balls ejected from the prize ball outlet 6 or balls thrown in by the player flow into the ball alignment section 11 in a line in the front and back width direction between the side surface section 8 and the opening/closing panel 4, these balls As the width of the ball alignment section 11 becomes narrower, the number of rows is gradually reduced and the number of rows is restricted to one row. Then, when the ball passes through the pressure receiving surface 12,
Since the flow path width on the downstream side of the ball pressure receiving surface 12 is the width of one ball, these balls are aligned in a line. In addition, in the present invention, the downstream pressure of the balls stored upstream from the ball pressure receiving surface 12 and stored on the ball pressure receiving surface 12 side is also applied to the ball pressure receiving surface 12, which is a vertical wall surface, and is dispersed. Therefore, the downward pressure of the balls accumulated on the upstream side, which is applied to the balls flowing down to the downstream side of the ball pressure receiving surface 12, can be effectively reduced. Moreover, the ball alignment part 11, which extends in a gently curved manner toward the front surface of the opening/closing panel 4 on the side surface 8 of the ball storage part 9, is arranged so that the contact points between the balls are located on a curved line, with the points of contact between the balls removed from the straight line. The flow pressure of the ball is prevented from accumulating in the same linear direction, and the flow pressure is dispersed to ensure ease of movement of the ball. Therefore, due to these synergistic effects, the balls flowing down the ball alignment section 11 are smoothly and reliably aligned in a line.

The tip of the balls aligned in a line by the action of the ball alignment section 11 as described above is moved to the ball flow downward direction conversion section 13.
comes into contact with the curved oblique side 14 of the flow direction conversion member 15, and the flow direction is approximately changed by the action of the curved oblique side 14.
It is converted 90 degrees and enters the ball passage hole 18 of the opening/closing panel 4. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, even if the balls are stacked in two rows, one above the other, on the upstream side of the ball flow downward direction converting section 13, the downward flow pressure of the upper balls is also distributed and applied to the rectifying ceiling surface 16 side. Therefore, the balls are smoothly regulated in a vertical line, and the movement of the first ball in the downward direction converting part 13 is facilitated, and ball clogging in the ball alignment part 11 can be effectively prevented. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the curvature of the curved hypotenuse 14 is set larger than the curvature of the sphere, so that the direction of flow of the sphere can be smoothly changed, and wear and damage to the curved hypotenuse 14 can be reduced. I can do it.

The balls that have passed through the ball passage port 18 are directed to a ball flow down passage 19 provided on the back side of the opening/closing panel 4, as shown in FIG.
and is supplied to the ball supply device 20. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, a shutter member 21 of the ball extraction mechanism is provided in the middle of the ball flow lower passage 19, and a stepped portion 22 is formed downstream of the ball passage opening 18. There is also a stepped portion 2 between the ball waiting portion 23 and the shutter member 21 located on the downstream side.
4 is formed.

Note that when the ball supplying member 25 swings in the direction of raising the tip around the shaft 26, the first ball supported by the tip moves to the ball mounting portion 27 of the ball supplying member 25.
When the ball falls upward and the tip of the ball supply unit 25 swings in a downward direction, the ball on the ball placement unit 27 is supplied from the ball supply port onto the launch rail, and the spring part of the launch rod enters. is supplied to the ball firing position.

<Effects of the invention> As explained above, according to the invention, a large amount of prize balls discharged from the prize ball outlet in a short period of time is stored in the ball storage part of the ball supply tray, and these prize balls are stored in the ball storage part of the ball supply tray. When the balls are lined up along the side surface of the ball storage section, the ball alignment section, which extends in a gentle curve toward the opening/closing panel surface side of the ball storage section, removes the contact points between the balls from a straight line. By positioning the ball on a curved line, the downward pressure of the sphere can be prevented from accumulating in the same straight line direction, and the downward pressure of the sphere can be dispersed. Therefore, even if the ball storage portion is filled with balls, ease of movement of the balls can be ensured. Further, since the ball pressure receiving surface suppresses the downward pressure of the balls and further increases the ease of movement of the balls, the balls can be smoothly and reliably aligned in a line in the width direction while flowing down. Moreover, since the rectifying ceiling surface formed on the upper surface of the downstream side of the ball aligning section restricts the balls stacked in two rows up and down into a single row up and down, it is possible to reliably eliminate the problem of balls staying in the ball storage section, and It is also possible to reliably eliminate the ball getting stuck near the ball passage opening of the opening/closing panel.

Therefore, with the ball supply tray according to the present invention, the problem of balls stopping on the ball supply tray during the game is eliminated, and therefore, the player is freed from the trouble of breaking the balls by hand every time the ball stops, and can play with peace of mind. You can get absorbed in the game.

Further, the rectifying ceiling surface of the ball supply tray according to the present invention can be integrally molded as a part of the ball supply tray without attaching any separate member. Therefore,
Assembling the ball supply tray is easy.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 1 is a front view of a pachinko machine, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the ball supply tray, and Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the ball supply tray as seen from the pachinko machine side. A perspective view, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the ball alignment section, and FIG.
The figure is a sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 3, and Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 3.
7 is a front view of the ball flow downward direction converting section, FIG. 8 is a plan view of the ball flow downward direction converting section, and FIG. 9 is a front view of the ball supply device. In the figure, 1 is a pachinko machine, 4 is an opening/closing panel, 5 is a ball supply tray, 6 is a prize ball outlet, 7 is a bottom part, 8 is a side part, 9 is a ball storage part, 10 is a ball flyout prevention member, 1
1 is a ball alignment part, 12 is a ball pressure receiving surface, 16 is a rectifying ceiling surface, 18 is a ball passage port, and 20 is a ball supply device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A surface of an opening/closing panel provided with a prize ball discharge port and a ball passage port through which prize balls are discharged has a bottom portion that slopes gently downward from the prize ball discharge port toward the ball passage port. The ball supply tray for a pachinko machine has a ball storage part that faces the prize ball outlet and is surrounded by a side surface and has an open top surface, and a side surface of the ball storage part that can be opened and closed. The ball aligning part extends in a gentle curve toward the panel surface side and sets the distance between it and the opening/closing panel surface to be slightly larger than the diameter of the sphere, and aligns the flowing balls by the inclination of the bottom part. The inclined lower end of the ball aligning section faces the ball passage opening, and the inside of the curved side surface is provided along the curved side surface by increasing the angle of inclination toward the opening/closing panel surface side by a predetermined length. The direction of the falling balls is further changed and guided toward the surface of the opening/closing panel to receive the ball pressure receiving surface that suppresses the downward pressure of the flowing balls and regulates them to line up in a line. In this method, the lower surface is inclined downward toward the inclined lower end of the ball aligning section, and the distance between the inclined lower end and the bottom surface of the ball aligning section is set slightly wider than the diameter of the ball. A ball supply tray for a pachinko machine, characterized in that a rectifying ceiling surface is formed that regulates balls flowing in two rows above and below into a single row above and below and causes them to flow into the ball passage opening.