JPH0548146B2 - - Google Patents

Abstract

A crane game machine which comprises a premium article placing face (3) for putting a large number of premium articles (4) thereon, a crane (5) having a plurality of hooks (6) for grasping a premium article (4), a driving mechanism (60) for setting the crane (5) to a position on the premium article placing face (3) and for making the crane hooks (6) grasp a premium article (4) in response to a starting operation by an operator, and a grasping force changing means (70) for changing premium article grasping force of the crane hooks (6). It is difficult to gain the premium article when the premium article grasping force is adjusted to relatively small while it is easy to gain the premium article when the premium article grasping force is adjusted to relatively large. Thus, the probability of gaining the premium article can be regulated in a recreation hall or the like where the game machine is handled.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a crane game in which prizes such as toys and sweets are grabbed using a crane-type prize capturing device that is positioned by a player's operation. Regarding machines.

[Prior Art] A conventional crane game machine includes a prize mounting surface on which a large number of prizes are placed in a housing whose upper part is covered with a transparent cover, a crane serving as a prize capturing device having a plurality of claws, and the crane. It is known that the player is provided with a drive mechanism and an operating section consisting of a coin insertion slot and a start switch operated by the player on the outer surface of the housing. When playing the game, the player inserts a coin and operates the operating section to move the crane to an arbitrary position on the prize placement surface and cause the claws of the crane to capture the prize. If the claw successfully grasps the prize, the prize is ejected outside by the crane, allowing the player to obtain the prize. In such game machines, the time and number of times a game can be played by inserting a coin once is predetermined.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such conventional crane game machines, even if the tip of the claw touches a desired prize during the game, the chance to grab it is ruled by chance. Ru. This is because while the shape and position of the prize on the prize placement surface varies, the force of the claws that grip the prize is constant, and the prize cannot be acquired unless the claws are in a state where the prize is held in place. This is because For this reason, the game often ends without the player being able to obtain the prize, and when this situation increases, a problem arises for the gaming parlor in that the player no longer plays the crane game machine. Therefore, there is a need to increase the prize acquisition rate, but in conventional crane game machines, the force of the claws that grab the prizes is constant as described above, so there is an opportunity for the claws to successfully grab the prizes and carry them away in the game hall. The problem was that it was not possible to increase the

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a crane game machine in which the acquisition rate of prizes can be adjusted by varying the force with which the claws of the crane grasp the prizes.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a prize placement surface on which a large number of prizes are placed, a crane having a plurality of claws for grasping the prizes,
A crane game machine having a drive mechanism that sets a crane to a position on a prize placement surface in response to an operator's activation operation and causes the claws of the crane to perform an action of grasping the prize, wherein the claw of the crane grasps the prize. The present invention is characterized by comprising a gripping force variable means for changing the force, and a drive control means for driving the gripping force variable means under predetermined conditions to generate a gripping force different from a normal gripping force.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the crane includes: a casing to which the claw is attached so as to be able to open and close; a movable member below the casing that moves up and down in conjunction with the opening and closing of the claw; and a weight member located above the casing. The drive mechanism includes a link connected to the movable member and the weight member via a hanging means, and the movable member is raised via the hanging means by rotating the link. and a rotary drive means that makes contact with the casing and closes the claws on the prize placement surface to grip the prize, and when the variable gripping force is not driven, the variable gripping means is a hanging means connected to the weight member. The drive control means includes a solenoid device that holds the weight member above the casing by applying tension to the casing, and when driving, releases the tension to put the weight member on the casing and puts it in a loaded state. is comprised of a manually operated switch that controls energization to the solenoid device, or a drive control circuit that drives the solenoid device with a predetermined probability.

Further, the hanging means is constituted by three chains each having one end connected to the link and the other end connected to the casing, the movable member, and the weight member.

[Function] According to the crane game machine of the present invention, the drive mechanism positions the crane on the prize placement surface and closes the plurality of claws. As a result, when the claw successfully grabs the prize, the player can win the prize, but the force of the claw that grips the prize is determined by the drive control means driving the gripping force variable means under predetermined conditions. It can be changed by twisting it.

In other words, normally, the claws grasp the prize with a fixed gripping force determined by the structure of the crane, etc., but under certain conditions, for example, the claws can grasp the prize with a predetermined probability (once per a predetermined number of games). ) or by an appropriate manual operation by an administrator of the game machine, etc., the drive control means drives the gripping force variable means. As a result, the gripping force changes, causing the claws to grip the prize with a different force than normal.

For example, if the normal gripping force is set relatively small, the prize acquisition rate is relatively low, but under certain conditions, by driving the gripping force variable means, the gripping force of the claw can be adjusted relatively. You can increase the prize acquisition rate by increasing the size.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a crane game machine configured to place a large number of prizes on a turntable provided in a housing, as an embodiment of the present invention. This crane game machine includes a housing 1 having a substantially prismatic shape, and transparent glass 2 is fitted into the upper front and left and right sides of the housing 1 so that the inside can be seen. Inside the housing 1, a disc-shaped turntable 3 is installed at approximately the same height as the lower end of the glass part 2, and a large number of prizes 4 are placed on its upper surface. A crane 5 is suspended above the turntable 3, and four claws 6 extend downward from the crane 5. As will be described in detail later, the crane 5 is driven in the vertical direction by a drive mechanism housed in the upper part of the housing 1, and opens and closes the claw 6 in synchronization with the vertical movement.

Next, a portion of the front of the housing 1 located below the glass 2 is a door 7 that can be opened by rotating to the right as shown in FIG.
At the top of this door 7, there are two coin insertion slots 8 and 9, a start switch 10 as an operation unit operated by the player at the start of the game, and a handle 11 for manually rotating the turntable 3 as described later. are attached so that they can be operated from the outside. In this embodiment, the number of games that can be played with one coin insertion is two types: once and multiple times (for example, 4 times), and in order to allow the player to select one of them, as described above. Two coin insertion slots 8 and 9 are provided in the. When playing a game, when a predetermined number of coins are inserted into any of the insertion slots, the coin detection means provided inside is activated, and the game is started one by one.
Set the control unit of the game machine to perform the game once or multiple times. Further, in this game machine, a speaker 12 that generates a predetermined sound effect when the crane 5 is operated is installed below the start switch 10.

A knob 13 is attached to the center of the left end of the door 7, and when the knob 13 is turned with the door 7 closed, a pair of upper and lower clasps provided on the back side of the door 7 will open, as shown in FIG. 14 and 15 are activated so that the door can be locked or unlocked. Furthermore, door 7
A rectangular opening 16 is provided in the center of the door 7 to take out the prize held by the crane 5 as described later. It's blocked by. Note that a handle 19 is provided on the outside of the cover plate 18.

As shown in FIG. 2, the prize receiving member 17 includes an opening cover plate 18 located at the front, fan-shaped side plates 20 and 21 extending perpendicularly to the rear of the door 7 from both left and right ends of the opening cover plate 18, and the cover plate 18. The left and right side plates are composed of a lower plate 22 that is inclined downward from the lower end and extends rearward along the lower ends of the left and right side plates 20, 21, and a locking plate 23 that is curved downward in an arc shape from the rear edge. The corner portions 20 and 21 are attached rotatably in a direction perpendicular to the door 7 by a shaft pin 24 provided on the back surface of the door 7. In addition, arcuate notches 25 are formed in each of the left and right side plates 20 and 21, and a guide pin 26 protruding into the opening 16 of the door 7 is slidably fitted into each notch. , to act as a guide when the prize receiving member 17 rotates.

As shown in FIG. 2, the prize receiving member 17 described above usually has a downwardly extending tip portion of the locking plate 23 that is attached to the door 7.
By coming into contact with the back surface of the cover plate 18, the cover plate 18 is positioned inside the opening 16 to close it, and has the function of receiving and holding the prize 4 grasped by the crane 5 and discharged by the lower plate 22 as described later. .
In this state, when the handle 19 is pulled from the outside of the door 7, the prize receiving member 17 rotates and opens the opening 16, allowing the player to take out the prize.

Next, regarding the means for rotating the turntable 3 when the player operates the handle 11,
This will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. First, the shaft 27, which is the center of rotation of the handle 11, is located at the door 7.
A friction wheel consisting of a roller 28 made of a high-friction material such as rubber is fixed to the shaft end of the shaft. On the other hand, the turntable 3 has a central shaft 32 on a base plate 31 that can be pulled out from inside the housing 1 toward the front (front side) when the door 7 is opened.
The substrate 31
A part of the front edge is cut out. When the board 31 with the turntable 3 attached is stored in the housing 1 and the door 7 is closed, the roller 28 that rotates together with the handle 11 is positioned in the notch of the board 31, as shown in FIG. and comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the bottom surface of the turntable 3. Therefore, when the handle 11 is rotated, the turntable 3 rotates due to friction with the roller 28, but when the handle 11 is rapidly rotated, slippage occurs around the roller 28, and the turntable 3 is rotated by the rotation of the roller 28. become unable to follow. Therefore, it becomes difficult to align the turntable 3 with respect to the crane 5,
It can make the game more interesting.

Note that an opening 33 is provided in the circular disk surface of the turntable 3 for discharging the prize 4 held by the claw 6 of the crane 5, and a corresponding opening 34 is also provided in the base plate 31. Also,
In the housing 1, below the opening 34 of the base plate 31, a passage 35 is formed for guiding the prize 4 to the lower plate 22 of the prize receiving member 17 described above.

Next, a crane as a prize capturing device and its drive mechanism will be explained.

First, the crane 5 includes a dome-shaped casing 41 in which four claws 6a, 6b, 6c, and 6d are housed, two each facing each other, so as to be openable and closable, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6. This casing 41
The top part is formed as a cylindrical part 42, and a pair of protrusions 43a, 43 each having a hole are provided at the upper side of the cylindrical part 42.
3b is provided. And the protrusions 43a, 4
A further pair of rings 46a, 46b are connected to the pair of rings 44a, 44b passed through the holes 3b via small rings 45a, 45b, and one end of a first chain 47 is connected to this pair of rings.

Further, the second chain 48 is connected to the casing 41
It is connected to the upper end of a movable member 50 that is housed within the movable member 50 so as to be vertically movable. The lower end of this movable member 50 protrudes in all directions, and each of the claws 6a to 6a is attached to each of the protruding ends.
The tips of the protrusions extending substantially perpendicularly from the base end of 6d are rotatably connected by a shaft pin 51. Each claw 6
The base ends of a to 6d are each connected to one end of a connecting rod 53 by a shaft pin 52, and the other end of each connecting rod 53 is connected to the casing 41 by a shaft pin 54, respectively. Note that the lower end of the cylindrical portion 42 protrudes downward inside the casing 41.

Furthermore, a third chain 49 is attached to the upper end of the cylindrical weight member 55 located above the casing 41.
They are connected via a pair of rings 56a and 56b. This third chain 49, as described later,
The weight member 55 is set to be held above the casing 41 or placed on the casing 41 by a solenoid device provided as a grip force variable means for changing the force of the claw 6 of the crane 5 to grip the prize.

The three chains 47, 48 and 49 pass through a cylindrical part 57 hanging from the internal ceiling of the housing 1, as shown in FIGS. Figure 7).

As shown in FIG. 7, the drive mechanism 60 includes a rotary power section 61 consisting of a motor and a transmission gear, and a first link 63 whose one end is fixed to the rotary output shaft 62.
and a second link 65 which is connected to form a substantially L-shape by a connecting shaft 64 provided at the other end of the link 63, and is fixed to a mounting plate 66 erected at the upper part of the housing 1. ing. The free end of the second link 65 is connected to the first chain 4 connected to the casing 41 of the crane 5 as described above.
The upper ends of the second chain 48 and the third chain 49 are connected to the first connecting shaft 64, which connects the two links 63 and 65 in an L-shape. is connected. In addition,
The upper end of the third chain 49 may be connected to the second connection shaft 67.

A solenoid device 70 is attached to the mounting plate 66 of the drive mechanism 60 as a gripping force variable means for changing the force with which the claw of the crane 5 grips the prize. This solenoid device 70 includes a plunger 72 having a hook 71 at its tip that engages with the third chain 49, and a spring 7 that causes the plunger 72 to protrude when the solenoid is not energized.
3, and the solenoid is supplied with power from a predetermined power source via a manual switch or a drive control circuit (not shown). When the plunger 72 is protruded, the hook 71 at the tip of the plunger is connected to the third chain 4 as shown in FIG.
9 to apply tension, the weight member 55 is moved through the third chain 49 as shown in FIG.
is held above the casing 41. On the other hand, when the solenoid is energized, the plunger 72 is retracted against the reaction force of the spring 73, releasing the tension on the third chain 49. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the weight member 55 is placed on the casing 41 and is loaded thereon.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

First, in the standby state, the drive mechanism 60 holds the crane 5 in an upper position and suspends it by pulling the first chain 47 as shown in FIG. 1, while the second chain 48 is not pulled. Therefore, the movable member 50 of the crane 5 is in the lowered position as shown in FIG. 5A, with the claws 6a to 6d open. Further, the solenoid device 70 is not energized, the plunger 72 protrudes as shown in FIG. 7, and the hook 71 at the tip applies tension to the third chain 49, thereby moving the weight member 55 to the casing 41 as shown in FIG. It is held above.

Here, when the player inserts a predetermined number of coins into either of the two coin insertion slots 8 and 9,
The user can play the game a corresponding number of times.

Next, the player rotates the turntable 3 by turning the handle 11 so that a desired prize among the many prizes 4 placed on the top surface of the turntable comes directly under the crane 5. At this time,
The rotation of the handle 11 is transmitted to the turntable 3 via the roller 28, which is a friction wheel, so if the handle 11 is rotated rapidly or stopped suddenly, the roller 28 slips and the turntable 3 is rotated.
It becomes difficult to rotate the handle as per the handle operation, which increases the fun of the game.

After the above-mentioned positioning of the turntable 3 is completed by operating the handle, the start switch 10 is then pressed. In this way, the rotational power section 61 of the drive mechanism 60
is activated, causing the substantially L-shaped links 63 and 65 to rotate. As a result, the crane 5 is lowered via the first chain 47 suspending the crane 5. This lowering of the crane 5 is performed by the second link 65
The lowering of the first chain 47 due to the rotation is continued until it stops. When the descent has stopped, the crane 5 is in a position where the claw 6 can grasp the prize 4 on the turntable 3, and the approximately L-shaped link 63
and 65 pulls the second chain 48 instead of the first chain 47, thereby lifting the movable member 50 in the crane 5 and closing the claws 6a to 6d. is determined in advance. Closing of the claws 6 is performed by rotating the opposing claws in a direction toward each other as the movable member 50 rises. Thereby, if the prize 4 is successfully grasped by the claws 6, the prize 4 can be acquired.

When the claw 6 closes as described above, the crane 5 then begins to ascend. This is an L-shaped link 63
With the rotation of 65, the protruding lower end of the movable member 50 lifted by the second chain 48 comes into contact with the cylindrical lower end of the casing 41, as shown in FIG. 5B. Become. The crane 5 is thus pulled up by the second chain 48 and returned to its initial upward position. When this position is reached, the L-shaped links 63 and 65 again tension the first chain 47 and move the crane 5
While hanging, the second chain 48 is not pulled, so the movable member 50 descends and opens the claw 6. As a result, the prize (if any) held by the claw 6 falls downward.

Therefore, if the crane 5 is able to grasp the prize 4 with its claws 6, the player can hold the handle 1 by the time the rising crane 5 reaches the upper position.
1 to rotate the turntable 3 so that its opening 33 is directly below the crane 5. If this is done successfully, the claw 6 opens and the prize 4 falls into the passage 35 through the opening 33 of the turntable 3 and the opening 34 of the base plate 31, and is received by the prize receiving member 17. Therefore, the player can pull the handle 19 to open the opening 16 of the door 7 and take out the prize as described above.

This is how one game ends,
When the number of games is 1 when inserting a coin, the drive mechanism 60 stops with the crane 5 returning to the raised position and the claw 6 opened. On the other hand, if a plurality of games are selected, the crane 5 and the drive mechanism 60 repeat the above operations for the selected number of times.

The above operation is performed while the weight member 55 is held above the casing 41 by applying tension to the third chain 49. At this time, the force of the claws of the crane 5 that grips the prize is determined by the weight of the casing 41. This is because the claw 6 of the crane 5 is closed by raising the movable member 50 until it comes into contact with the casing 41 as shown in FIG. This is because if the force exceeds the closing force, the casing 41 is pushed up via the connecting rod 53 at the proximal end of the claws 6a to 6d, opening the claws 6a to 6d again. The lighter the prize, the easier it will be to push it up, and the less force the claws will have to grip the prize. As a result, even if the claws closed on the prize placement surface successfully capture the prize, the probability of being able to lift it is small, and the prize acquisition rate is low.

Therefore, when increasing the closing force of the claw to increase the prize acquisition rate, the weight member 55 is placed on the casing 41 by releasing the tension applied to the third chain 49 in the above embodiment. to add weight. That is, for example, when the administrator of the crane game machine turns on the power switch of the solenoid device 70, the solenoid is energized, the plunger 72 is retracted, and the tension in the third chain 49 is released. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6A, the weight member 55 rests on the casing 41 and applies weight thereto.

In this state, when the player operates the start switch 10 to start the rotary power section 61 of the drive mechanism 60, the crane 5 descends to a position above the prize placement surface as in the case of FIG. Close the claws 6a to 6d as shown in B. Assuming that the prize 4 is successfully grasped by the claws 6, the force for grasping the prize has increased by the weight of the weight member 55, so the probability of being able to lift the prize 4 is greater than in the case of FIG. As a result, it becomes easier for players to win prizes.

As mentioned above, the operation to increase the prize acquisition rate is, for example, 1/10 or 1/20 (1 in 10 games or 20 games).
This is done by driving the solenoid device 70 with a probability of In that case, the solenoid device 7
A drive control circuit is provided that supplies power to 0 with the above probability.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a configuration in which a spring 58 is interposed between the lower end of the cylindrical portion 42 of the casing 41 and the laterally projecting lower end of the movable member 50 in the crane 5 of the above embodiment. In this case, the force of closing the claws 6a to 6d, and therefore the force of grasping the prize, can be adjusted depending on the elasticity of the spring 58. Note that the force with which the claws grip the prize can also be adjusted by controlling the solenoid drive current so as to appropriately change the tension applied to the third chain 49 from the solenoid device 70 in FIG.

Although the illustrated embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the table on which the prize is placed is not limited to the disk-shaped turntable of the embodiment, but may be a fixed flat surface. In that case, the drive mechanism of the crane is configured to move the crane not only up and down, but also forward, backward, left and right. Further, the gripping force variable means is not limited to the weighting method using a weight member as in the embodiment, but may be any other means as long as it can appropriately change the force for closing the claws of the crane.
Furthermore, as a means for suspending the crane, in addition to chains, ropes and other rigging can be used.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention provides a prize placement surface for placing a large number of prizes, a crane having a plurality of claws for grasping the prizes, and a crane for placing the prizes in response to a player's activation operation. A crane game machine having a drive mechanism that is set at a position on a placing surface and causes the claw to perform an action of grabbing a prize, comprising: a gripping force variable means for changing the gripping force of the claw of the crane; and a gripping force variable means that changes the gripping force under predetermined conditions. Since it is equipped with a drive control means that drives the variable means and generates a gripping force that is different from the normal gripping force, the claw usually holds the prize with a fixed gripping force determined by the structure of the crane, etc. the gripping force of the claw is changed by the drive control means driving the gripping force variable means under predetermined conditions;
You can make it possible to grab the prize with a force different from normal.

Therefore, it is difficult to obtain prizes with normal gripping force, but by driving the gripping force variable means, it is possible to relatively increase the gripping force of the claws, making it easier to obtain prizes. This has the effect that the prize acquisition rate can be adjusted as necessary in a game hall or the like that manages the game.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention;
The figure shows a state in which the front door of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 is opened, Fig. 3 shows the interlocking state of the turntable and handle in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the crane section. , FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are longitudinal cross-sectional views showing the operation of the crane's claws, FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the drive mechanism of the crane, and FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing another configuration of the crane section. . 1...Housing, 2...Glass part, 3...Turntable, 4...Prize, 5...Crane, 6
...claw, 7...door, 8,9...coin slot,
10...Start switch, 11...Handle, 13
... Knob, 14, 15 ... Clasp, 16 ... Opening, 17 ... Prize receiving member, 18 ... Opening cover plate, 19 ... Handle, 28 ... Roller, 31 ... Board, 33, 34 ... ...Opening, 35...Passway, 41...
...Casing, 42...Cylindrical part, 47, 48, 4
9... Chain, 50... Movable member, 55... Weight member, 58... Spring, 60... Drive mechanism, 61... Rotating power section, 63, 65... Link, 70... Solenoid device, 72... …Pranjiya.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A prize placement surface on which a large number of prizes are placed, a crane having a plurality of claws for grasping the prizes, and a crane positioned on the prize placement surface in response to an operator's activation operation. and a drive mechanism that causes the claws of the crane to perform an action of grasping a prize, the crane game machine comprising: a gripping force variable means that changes the force with which the claws of the crane grip the prize; driving the force variable means;
A crane game machine characterized by comprising a drive control means for generating a gripping force different from a normal gripping force. 2. The crane includes a casing to which the claw is attached so that it can be opened and closed; a movable member below the casing that moves up and down in conjunction with the opening and closing of the claw; and a weight member located above the casing. The drive mechanism includes a link connected to the movable member and the weight member via a hanging means, and by rotating the link, the movable member is raised via the hanging means and brought into contact with the casing. and rotational driving means for closing the claws on the prize placement surface to grip the prize, and when the gripping force variable means is not driven, the gripping force variable means applies tension to the hanging means connected to the weight member. The solenoid device holds the weight member above the casing, and when driven, releases the tension so that the weight member is placed on the casing to be in a loaded state, and the drive control means controls the solenoid device to 2. The crane game machine according to claim 1, further comprising a manually operated switch that controls energization of the solenoid device, or a drive control circuit that drives the solenoid device with a predetermined probability. 3. The crane game according to claim 2, wherein the hanging means is constituted by three chains each having one end connected to the link and the other end connected to the casing, the movable member, and the weight member. Machine.