JPH0549753A - Excess ball returning device for ball counting machine in pachinko (japanese pinball) playing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the return of excess balls by transferring balls in a pool provided in a branch line from a ball conveying lane with the use of a ball and screw conveyer so as to count the balls, and then by returning the balls into a return chute. CONSTITUTION:In order to exchange gained balls with a premium, when the gain balls are charged into a hopper 3 on a ball counting machine 1, the balls drop onto a ball conveying lane 8 through an opening 3a, and are moved in the direction of the arrow J. Accordingly, they are counted by a ball counting sensor 11. Then the balls B are led to a pool 16 being guided by guide plates 14, 15, since a part of the lane 8 laterally changes its direction, which is indicated by a display cylinder 4. If balls B which is in excess of a number to be reduced into the premiums are present, the balls B are shifted through in grooves by rotating a ball and screw conveyer so that they interfere with a ball counting sensor 28 for counting the balls. The balls are pushed out into a chute 22 and are pooled in a return chute 7. When the number of excess balls B comes a calculated value, the ball and screw conveyer 17 are stopped. Accordingly, several tenths of the excess balls in the chute 7 may readily be returned to a player.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a pachinko parlor,
The present invention relates to a device for returning a surplus ball to a customer when a surplus ball that cannot be converted into a prize is generated when a payout is calculated and exchanged for a prize.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally used pachinko ball counting machines do not have a device for returning surplus balls, but recently, as a pachinko ball returning device, it has been used as a practical pachinko machine No. 62-125576 or No. 3-43884. Etc. have been proposed.

[0003]

In a pachinko parlor having a pachinko ball counter which is widely used at present, surplus balls (several pieces or more) that cannot be converted into prizes are calculated when payouts are calculated and exchanged for prizes. If several dozen) occur, the surplus balls should be returned to the customer, but the conventional pachinko ball counting machine did not have such a return mechanism.

Further, the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-125576.
And the pachinko ball returning device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-43884, the balls are arranged one by one by a belt conveyor or the like, and the balls are sent one by one. There is a problem that the amount of balls stored is small and it may not be possible to immediately return a large amount.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, a part of a large number of ball transfer lanes having ball counting sensors arranged in parallel below a pachinko ball charging hopper. Is turned to the side and a pool for pooling the balls discharged from this lane is provided.The bottom plate of this pool is tilted so that the ball screw can be rotated by the motor along the bottom edge of the bottom plate. A control plate is installed above the ball screw to guide the balls in the groove of the ball screw along the ball screw. It is moved to a position where it interferes with the ball counting sensor installed in the ball and counts, and when the ball comes off the side edge of the control plate, the ball force is sent to the return chute part by the spring force of the rocking piece. ball Make up the remainder ball return device in a number machine.

Further, the lower end of the bottom plate of the pool described above is made to face the lower end of the standing ball screw, and the ball screw is rotated to guide the ball fitted in the groove of the ball screw upward. A plate is provided, and the ball moving upward along this control plate moves the spring-loaded oscillating piece to a position where it interferes with the ball counting sensor provided above and counts, and the ball comes off the upper end of the control plate. At this time, the balls can be sent to the return chute part by the spring force of the rocking piece.

[0007]

As described above, in the present invention, a part of a large number of ball transfer lanes is diverted to store balls in a pool provided on the side, and balls accumulated in several rows in this pool are connected to a ball screw. By rotating, the balls are transferred one by one in the axial direction and counted, and the balls are sent out to the return chute unit. Therefore, according to this counting machine, even dozens of surplus balls can be easily returned. be able to.

In a device using a vertical ball screw, the balls in the pool rise from the lower part to the upper part of the ball screw and are then sent to the return chute unit. It can be increased by the length of the ball screw. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the effect that the returned balls are easily taken out and the usability is improved.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the figure, 1 is a pachinko ball counter, 2 is a box-shaped counter main body, 3 is a hopper provided on the upper surface of the counter main body 2, 3a is an opening of the hopper 3, and 4 is the calculated number of pachinko balls. The display cylinders 5 and 6 are disk lights for signals provided on both sides of the display cylinder 4 so as to be rotatable and blinkable. 7 is a return chute for returning surplus balls.

1 to 7 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which the upper portion of the counter main body 2 of FIG. 1 is removed, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view thereof. FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining the operation corresponding to FIG. 2.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a large number of ball counting sensors (1 in this embodiment) are provided below the hopper 3.
The lane 8 for ball transportation of 6) is provided. That is, each lane supports a ball B, and a support plate 9 inclined downward toward the back of the pachinko ball counter 1, and a guide on which the ball B can be rotatably fitted on both sides of the support plate 9. A ball counting sensor 11 that counts the number of balls B that have passed through the lane is arranged at the lower end of each lane.

A bottom plate 12 is provided so as to be connected to the support plate 9 and inclined downward toward the back. Most of the balls B exiting from the lanes roll on the bottom plate 12. Then, it is discharged to the outside from a discharge chute 13 provided on the back surface of the counter main body 2. In the present invention, a part of the ball transport lane 8 (2 lanes out of 16 lanes in this embodiment) is discharged. The guide plates 14 and 15 are turned to the side (downward in FIGS. 2 and 4), and a pool 16 for pooling the balls B discharged from the turned lane is provided on the side of the bottom plate 12.

The pool 16 has a size capable of storing several tens of balls B, and the bottom plate 16 is inclined so as to descend toward the front side from the back of the counter main body 2, and the bottom plate 16 is maximized. A ball screw 17 is provided along the lower edge 16a so as to be rotatable by a motor (not shown).

FIGS. 5 to 7 show the details of the portion to which the ball screw 17 is attached. The ball screw 17 allows the ball B to be fitted in approximately half in the thread groove thereof, and is attached to the lowermost edge 16a of the bottom plate 16. The thread 17a of the ball screw 17 is provided so as to project above the surface of the bottom plate 16. Reference numeral 18 is a shaft of the ball screw 17, 19 is a bearing, and 20 is a pulley fixed to the shaft 18, which is driven by a motor (not shown).

Further, 21 is on both sides of the pool 16,
A guide wall is provided upright at an appropriate height for guiding the ball B, and 22 is a chute bottom plate provided on the opposite side of the bottom plate 16 so as to sandwich the bottom plate 16 and the ball screw 17, and 23 are provided on both sides of the chute. It is a standing guide wall. Further, a ball B fitted in the thread groove of the ball screw 17 above the ball screw 17.
Control plate 2 for holding the ball B and guiding the ball B held along with the rotation of the ball screw 17 in the axial direction of the ball screw 17.
4 is provided with its base portion 24a fixed to the bottom plate 22.

That is, when the ball screw 17 rotates in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 6, the ball B fitted in the thread groove of the ball screw 17 moves in the direction of arrow C in FIG. When the base 25a of the rocking piece 25 with a spring is attached to the outside of the guide wall 21 in the direction of arrow C via a hinge 27 having a spring 26 (see FIG. 6), when the ball B moves in the direction of arrow C. In addition, as shown in (a) to (c) of FIG.
5 in the direction of arrow D (see FIG. 7B),
When the ball B further moves in the direction of arrow C from the state shown in FIG. 7C, the ball B comes off the side end 24b of the control plate 24 as shown in FIG. The ball B is pushed out by the spring force of 25 as shown by arrow E in FIG. 7 (d).

Reference numeral 25b is an interference plate formed by bending the free end of the rocking piece 25. When the rocking piece 25 is rotated to the position shown in FIG. 7C, it interferes with the interference plate 25b. 1
A ball counting sensor 28 for counting is provided outside the guide wall 23 via a bracket 29. 28a (see FIG. 6)
Is a gap into which the interference plate 25b is fitted. Further, 29 is a ball guide plate which is obliquely erected on the bottom plate 22, and when the ball B is pushed out as shown by an arrow E as shown in FIG. To guide you to.

Reference numeral 30 in FIGS. 2 and 4 designates an external ball replenishing port provided on the side wall of the counter main body 2 so as to be openable and closable, and in the event that the number of balls B stored in the pool 16 is insufficient,
As shown in FIG. 4, the ball B is supplied from this opening by pulling out the ball supply port 30.

8 to 11 show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the same reference numerals as those used in the drawings denote the same elements. The following is a description of only the differences from the first embodiment. That is, in this embodiment, the pool 16
The ball screw 17 is erected at a position facing the lowermost edge 16a of the bottom plate 16 so that the lower end portion 17b of the ball screw 17 is positioned so that the ball screw 17 can be rotated by a motor (not shown). 18 is a shaft of the ball screw 17, 19 is a bearing provided above and below to support the shaft 18, 20 is a pulley fixed to the lower end of the shaft 18, 31 is a drive shaft, 32 is a pulley fixed to the shaft 31, and 33 is a pulley The belt is stretched over the pulleys 20 and 32.

When the ball screw 17 rotates in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 9, the control plate 24 for guiding the ball B fitted in the thread groove of the ball screw 17 upward as shown by arrow G in FIG. A bracket 34 provided along the ball screw 17 and provided on one side of the upper end of the ball screw 17 in the direction of the arrow G has a base portion 25a of a swinging piece 25 with a spring and a spring 26 (see FIG. 6). When the ball B is attached via the hinge 27 and the ball B moves in the direction of the arrow C, the ball B moves the swing piece 25 to the arrow H as shown in (a) to (c) of FIG.
When the ball B is further rotated in the direction of arrow C from the state shown in (c) of FIG. 11 by rotating in the direction of (see (b) of FIG. 11), the ball B moves to (d) of FIG. Control board 2 as shown
The ball B is pushed out by the spring force of the rocking piece 25 as shown by an arrow I in FIG.

Reference numeral 25b is an interference plate formed by bending the free end of the rocking piece 25. When the rocking piece 25 is rotated to the position shown in FIG. 11C, it interferes with the interference plate 25b. Ball sensor 17 for ball counting sensor 28
The bracket 3 is mounted on the support plate 35 horizontally provided at the upper position of the
It is provided via 6. 28a (see FIG. 9) is an interference plate 25b
Is a gap into which is inserted. In this case, the bottom plate 22 of the chute for supporting the ball B pushed out from the upper end 24c of the control plate 24 by the swing piece 25 and transferring the ball B to the return chute 7.
Is set at a position higher than the surface of the bottom plate 16 by the height of the ball screw 17. Therefore, according to the present invention, the height of the return chute 7 can be increased.

Next, the operation of the device of the present invention constructed as described above will be described. In order to exchange the paid-out ball of the pachinko ball for a prize, the paid-out ball is put on the hopper 3 of the pachinko ball counter 1 shown in FIG. The balls put into the hopper 3 pass through the opening 3a of the hopper 3 and drop onto the ball transport lane 8 of FIG. 2, and the arrows J of FIGS.
When the ball counting sensor 11 provided at the lower end of each lane has passed, the respective counts are made, and the total value is displayed on the display cylinder 4 in FIG.

In this case, in the present invention, a part (two lanes in this embodiment) of the ball carrying lane 8 is laterally diverted, so that the ball B passing through this lane is guided by the guide plate 1.
4, 15 by the pool 16 as shown by arrow K in FIGS.
Be led to. The balls B in the pool 16 are the ball screws 17 when there are surplus balls B that cannot be converted into prizes.
As described above, the balls B fitted in the grooves of the ball screw 17 are rotated by the control plate 24 in the first embodiment as described above.
Along the direction of arrow C, the rocking piece 25 is rotated against the spring force of the rocking piece 25 in the direction of arrow D of FIG. Interference plate 25b provided at the free end
Interfering with the ball counting sensor 28 causes the ball counting sensor 28 to count one. Then, the ball B which has come off the side end 24b of the control plate 24 is pushed out onto the chute 22 by the spring force of the swing piece 25 as shown by an arrow E in FIG. When the surplus balls B have reached the calculated number, the ball screw 17 stops rotating and the delivery of the balls B is interrupted. Therefore, the customer
The surplus balls in the return chute 7 should be taken out.

In the second embodiment, the ball screw 17 is erected and the ball B on the bottom plate 16 is moved upward by about the height of the ball screw 17 and is provided at a position higher than that of the first embodiment. Since the balls B are sent out to the return chute 7, it is possible to easily insert the ball receiving container and the like below the return chute 7.

[0025]

As described above, in the present invention, the balls B are stored in the pool 16 provided on the side by dividing a part of a large number of the ball transport lanes 18, and the balls B are accumulated in several rows in the pool 16. Since the balls B are transferred one by one in the axial direction of the ball screw 17 by the rotation of the ball screw 17 and counted, and the balls B are sent to the return chute 7,
According to this counter, it is possible to easily return even a large number of dozens of surplus balls.

Further, in the apparatus using the vertical ball screw 17, the ball B in the pool 16 is raised from the lower part to the upper part of the ball screw 17 and then sent to the return chute 7, so that the position of the return chute 7 is conventionally changed. The height of the ball screw 17 can be increased by about the length of the ball screw 17. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the effect that the returned balls are easily taken out and the usability is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pachinko ball counter equipped with the device of the present invention.

2 is a plan view showing a state in which an upper portion of a counter body of the apparatus of FIG. 1 is removed.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view corresponding to FIG. 2 for explaining the operation.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a ball screw mounting portion.

6 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

7 (a) to 7 (d) are operation explanatory views showing the main part of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the present invention with the upper part of the counter body removed.

9 is a partial plan view showing a main part of FIG.

10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line YY of FIG.

11 (a) to (d) are operation explanatory views showing the main part of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Pachinko ball counter 2 Counter main unit 3 Hopper 4 Indicator light 5,6 Disc light 7 Return chute 8 Ball transfer lane 9 Support plate 10 Guide plate 11 Ball counting sensor 12 Bottom plate 13 Discharge chute 14, 15 Guide plate 16 Drainage area (Bottom plate) 17 Ball screw 18 Shaft 19 Bearing 20 Pulley 21 Guide wall 22 Bottom plate (shoot) 23 Guide wall 24 Control plate 25 Oscillating piece 26 Spring 27 Hinge 28 Ball counting sensor 29 Bracket 30 Ball supply port 31 Drive shaft 32 Pulley 33 Belt 34 Bracket 35 Support Plate 36 Bracket B Ball

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A part of a large number of ball carrying lanes having a ball counting sensor arranged in parallel below a pachinko ball loading hopper is deflected laterally and discharged from this deflected lane. A pool for pooling balls is provided, and the bottom plate of this pool is tilted so that the ball screw can be rotated by a motor along the bottom edge of the bottom plate, and the ball inside the groove of the ball screw is located above this ball screw. A control plate that guides the ball along the ball screw is provided, and the ball that moves laterally along this control plate moves to a position where the swinging piece with a spring interferes with the ball counting sensor provided outside and counts. At the same time, when the ball comes off the side edge of the control plate, the ball force is sent to the return chute section by the spring force of the rocking piece, and the surplus ball returning device in the pachinko ball counting machine. 2. A ball fitted into a groove of the ball screw by rotating the ball screw such that the lower end of the ball screw standing upright faces the lowermost edge of the bottom plate of the pool described in claim 1. A control plate that guides upwards is provided, and the ball that moves upward along this control plate moves to a position where the swinging piece with spring interferes with the ball counting sensor provided above to count and control the ball. A surplus ball returning device in a pachinko ball counter, wherein balls are sent out to a returning chute part by a spring force of the swinging piece when the upper end of the plate is disengaged.