JPH06170051A - Game ball discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the game ball discharge device which can feed out smoothly a game ball by preventing generation of a ball bite, in the game ball discharge device of a lead screw type. CONSTITUTION:A coil spring 61A is rotated by a motor 60 in the direction for intersecting with guide passages 12, 13, and while supporting a game ball which flows down along the guide passages 12, 13 by two points of each wind of the spring 61A, the game is allowed to slide and fed out downward. The coil spring 61A is formed in a tapered shape toward the upper part of the guide passages 12, 13. Between its taper and the guide passages 12, 13, a 'play' is generated toward the upper part of the guide passages 12, 13, and by its 'play', ball pressure of the game ball which flows down to the coil spring 61A from the guide passages 12, 13 can be dispersed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game ball discharging device for awarding a game ball or renting a game ball.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a pachinko gaming machine, a storage tank for storing pachinko balls is attached to the upper rear surface of the gaming board,
This storage tank is connected to a pachinko ball (game ball) discharging device via a guideway or the like. Then, the pachinko balls in the storage tank are sent out to a supply plate or the like on the front of the game board by a pachinko ball discharging device as prize balls or ball rental balls.

As a conventional example, there is a game ball discharging device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-58972. This game ball discharging device is provided with a cylindrical lead screw in which a ball support portion for supporting the game ball is spirally formed on the outer periphery. The rotating shaft of the lead screw is attached in parallel with the supply passage through which the game ball from the supply gutter flows down, the lead screw is exposed to the passage through the notch of the supply passage, and the ball support portion projects into the passage. . Then, when the lead screw is rotated by the drive motor, the game ball moves from the passage to the ball support portion and is sent downward as the ball support portion rotates.

[0004]

However, since the lead screw has a columnar shape, a space where only one game ball passes through the lead screw and the passage in the portion where the game ball moves from the supply passage to the lead screw. There is only one, so there is no play. Therefore, the ball pressure of the game ball waiting in the supply passage may cause ball damage, and the ball pressure may be concentrated on the ball support portion, resulting in an excessive load on the drive motor. Therefore, in the game ball discharging device according to the present invention, the component portion (rotating body) corresponding to the lead screw is formed in a taper shape toward the upper side of the passage to prevent the occurrence of ball damage and smoothly rotate the rotating body. It is an object of the present invention to provide a game ball discharging device capable of playing.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the first invention is to rotate in a direction intersecting a guide passage for guiding an inflowing game ball inside, and along the guide passage along with the rotation. A rotating body provided with a separating and sending section that separates and sends out the game balls flowing down by one, a rotating means for rotating the rotating body, and a detecting means for detecting the game balls sent out by the rotating body. In a game ball discharging device for discharging a predetermined number of game balls, the rotating body is formed in a taper shape toward the upstream of the guide passage. A second invention is the game ball discharging device according to the first invention, wherein the rotating body is constituted by a coil spring.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the rotating body is formed in a taper shape so as to become gradually narrower toward the upstream side of the guide passage, and the distance between the separating / delivering portion of the rotating body and the guide passage is increased. It gradually expands to play.
Therefore, the game balls flowing down along the guide passage are diffused within the play range, and the ball pressure is dispersed.
After that, the game balls are gradually gathered into one line with the rotation of the separating and delivering portion of the rotating body and are delivered downward. According to the second aspect of the invention, each winding of the coil spring serves as the separating / delivering portion.
Then, the game balls flowing down along the guide passage are diffused within the play range. Further, the ball pressure of the game ball flowing down the guide passage is absorbed by the swing of the coil spring. After that, the game balls are gradually gathered into one line with the rotation of the separating and delivering section and delivered downward.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of a pachinko gaming machine as a gaming machine using the gaming ball discharging device 6 according to the present invention. 3 to 6 show an embodiment of the game ball discharging device 6 according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire pachinko gaming machine as seen from the front, and FIG. 2 is a rear view of the pachinko gaming machine. 1 indicates a pachinko gaming machine, 2 indicates a ball lending machine for pachinko ball lending, and these gaming machine 1 and ball lending machine 2 are integrally assembled. The ball lending machine 2 has a card reader, a ball lending control device (not shown), etc. built therein, and the ball lending control device is a ball ejection control device 5 (FIG. 2) that constitutes the back mechanism 3 of the pachinko gaming machine. See)) is connected. And the player inserts and removes the prepaid card 2
When the button is inserted into a and the conversion button 2b is pressed, a signal relating to a ball lending is exchanged between the ball lending control device and the ball ejection control device 5, and the game ball ejection device 6 connected to the ball ejection control device 5 plays a game. Balls (pachinko balls) are being rented.

The game board 1a on the front side of the game machine 1 is provided with a game area 1b. In the game area 1b, for example, a variable display device for executing a variable display game for generating a right of special game, a player is provided. A variable prize winning device or the like for performing a special game is provided (not shown). The variable display device, the variable winning device, etc. are the back mechanism 3 of the pachinko gaming machine.
It is connected to the game board control device 4 (see FIG. 2) that constitutes the, and each operation is controlled. The game board control device 4 is connected to the ball discharge control device 5, and the ball discharge control device 5 controls the game ball discharge device 6 on the basis of the prize ball data from the game board control device 4 to obtain a predetermined number. I am trying to pay out the prize balls.

The game ball discharging device 6 has two guideways 3b.
The game balls are supplied from the storage tank 3a via the game balls, and the balls or prize balls discharged from the game ball discharging device 6 are supplied to the pachinko game machine 1 via the downflow gutter 7 at the front side of the supply plate 1c. To be supplied to.

Next, a configuration example of the game ball discharging device 6 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the game ball discharging device 6, and FIG. 4 is a rotating body 61.
A coil spring 61A (described later) is attached to the spring seat 61.
5 is a front view of the case where the coil spring 61A is attached to the spring seat 61B, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a case where the coil spring 61A is attached to the spring seat 61B, and FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the game ball discharging device 6 uses the side wall of the casing 7 to form the guide passages 12 and 13, respectively, and supports the motor 60 and the rotating shaft 60A of the motor 60 in the casing 7. 62 and a rotating body 61 which is rotated by the motor 60 are respectively housed, and discharge sensors 14 and 15 as detecting means for detecting a game ball sent by the rotating body 61 are attached, respectively.

The casing 7 is composed of cases 7a, 7b, 7
c is fixed with screws or the like, and these cases 7a, 7
b and 7c are made of transparent synthetic resin. The flat surface portion 7A of the casing 7 is provided with game ball entrances 8 and 9 which are respectively connected to the two guide paths 3b, and the bottom surface portion 7B is provided with game ball entrances corresponding to the game ball entrances 8 and 9, respectively. Outlets 10 and 11 are provided respectively. Then, guide passages 12 and 13 are provided to guide the game balls flowing into the game ball inlets 8 and 9 to the game ball outlets 10 and 11, respectively. The guide passage 1
2 and 13 are vertical inflow portions 12A and 13A and inclined portions 12B and 13B that are inclined to reduce the ball pressure of the game ball.
And vertical outflow portions 12C and 13C (see FIG. 6). Optical sensors are used as the discharge sensors 14 and 15, and the optical sensors are provided to the passages 12 and 13 via mounting holes (not shown) provided in the front portion 7C.
After being inserted toward, the engaging portions 14A and 15A are engaged. Therefore, the optical sensor can be attached / detached to / from the game ball discharging device 6 from the outside with one touch.

The rotating body 61 has the guide passages 12, 13
While rotating in a direction intersecting with, the game balls guided in the guide passages 12 and 13 respectively, the game ball outlets 10 and 11
To send to each. In this embodiment, the rotating body 61 includes the coil spring 61A and the coil spring 61.
And a coil spring attachment portion (spring seat) 61B for attaching A.

A configuration example of the rotating body 61 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The coil spring 61A divides the game balls flowing down along the guide passages 12 and 13 along with the rotation thereof and sends out the balls one by one.
It is made of a conical coil spring that tapers upstream 2,13. The winding direction of the coil spring 61A is "right", and the interval (pitch) 61D of each winding is formed to have a width such that the game ball can be slid while supporting the game ball at two points of each winding. . Then, each winding of the coil spring 61A serves as a separating / sending unit that separates and sends the game balls one by one. The taper formed on the coil spring 61A has an outer diameter ratio of the seat portion 61a of the spring to the tip portion 61b of the spring of about 10: 7.
Is formed. Although the number of turns of the coil spring 61A is "4" in this embodiment, the number of turns depends on the length of the spring facing the guide passage because the pitch of each turn is determined by the width of the game ball. Become.
Further, the outer diameter ratio of the taper is not limited to 10: 7 and can be variously changed.

The spring seat 61B is the coil spring 61A.
It is made of a disk having a groove 61c on its outer circumference so that the seat portion 61a can be wound and the coil spring 61A can be attached. As shown in FIG. 5, a notch 61e for locking the starting end 61d of the coil spring 61A is provided on the surface of the spring seat 61B so as to prevent the coil spring 61A from idling. Further, a rotary shaft mounting portion 61f for fixing the rotary shaft 60A of the motor 60 is projectingly provided at the center of the back surface of the spring seat 61B.

A ball bearing is used for the bearing portion 62, and even if the winding shaft of the coil spring 61A is displaced by the ball pressure, the displacement causes the displacement of the winding shaft 6 of the motor 60.
0A is not affected. The motor 60
Is to apply a rotational force to the rotating body 61 via the rotating shaft 60A.

Next, the mounting state of the motor 60, the rotating body 61, and the bearing portion 62 will be described with reference to FIG. An internal mounting portion 16 is provided inside the casing 7,
The internal mounting portion 16 mounts the motor 60 and the bearing portion 62 so that the winding shaft of the coil spring 61A is parallel to the inclined portions 12B and 13B. Therefore, the inner mounting portion 16 is formed by the inclined portions 12B, 1
The rear surface portion 7 of the casing 7 so as to be substantially orthogonal to 3B.
It is a plate-shaped member (not shown in detail) bridging the inner wall of D and the inner walls of the vertical outflow portions 12C and 13C and is formed integrally with the casing 7. The mounting portion 16 is provided with a rotating body mounting portion 16A.
By 6A, the seat portion 61a of the coil spring 61A is connected to the upper end portions 12c and 13 of the vertical outflow portions 12C and 13C.
C (not shown), and its tip portion 61b can be located near the upper ends 12b and 13b (not shown) of the notches 17 provided in the inclined portions 12B and 13B. Therefore, the bearing portion 62 is attached to the rotating body attaching portion 16A, and the motor 60 is fixed to the back surface of the rotating body attaching portion 16 via a screw or the like. With such a configuration, the widths 12D and 13D (not shown) of the portions where the game balls move from the guide passages 12 and 13 to the rotary body 61 have one or more widths of the game balls. The space created becomes play and the ball pressure can be relieved.

Next, the operation of the game ball discharging device 6 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. First, based on a discharge command signal from the ball discharge control device 5, when the motor 60 starts rotating, its rotational force is transmitted to the spring seat 61B via the bearing portion 62, and the coil spring 61A rotates clockwise. . As a result, the game balls in the guide passages 12 and 13 are sent downward while the two balls are supported by the front and rear windings of the spring for each ball. In this case, the spring 61A
Since there is play at the top of the ball, the ball pressure will be dispersed. There is also a case where the coil spring 61A is rocked by the ball pressure (state shown by parallel diagonal lines), but the coil spring 61A can absorb the rocking force and send out the game ball. The displacement of the rotary shaft 60A due to the swinging force is absorbed by the bearing portion 62 and does not affect the motor 60. Therefore, the game balls are gradually gathered into one line with the rotation of the coil spring 61A and sent downward. Then, the discharge number is counted based on the detection signals of the discharge sensors 14 and 15, and when the predetermined number is discharged, the motor 60 is stopped based on the discharge stop signal from the ball discharge control device 5. Has become.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the game ball discharging device 100 when the rotating body of the above embodiment is attached to the storage tank 3a to form the game ball discharging device 100. Conventionally, it has been difficult to directly discharge a predetermined number of game balls from a storage tank in which game balls are irregularly dispersed. Therefore, the rotating body is attached to the downstream side 101A of the tank 101 to configure the tank itself as a game ball discharging device. The game ball discharging device 100 is configured by attaching a rotating body device 102 to a downstream portion 101A of a tank 101. The rotating body device 102 includes a coil spring 103 and a coil spring 103 that are tapered toward the upstream portion 101B of the tank 101.
03, a spring seat 104 for mounting 03, a motor 105 for applying a rotational force to the spring seat 104, a stopper device 106 for braking the rotation of the motor 105, and a mounting plate 1 for mounting the motor 105 and closing the downstream side 101A of the tank 101.
And 07. And the downstream side 101A
Reflection type optical sensor 1 so as to form the passage of the game ball
08 is attached.

A game ball discharging device 10 having such a structure
At 0, when the motor 105 starts rotating based on the discharge command signal from the ball discharge control device 5, the rotational force is transmitted to the spring seat 104, and the coil spring 103 rotates clockwise. As a result, the game balls in the tank 101 are sent to the downstream side 101A so as to be scraped out. And the passage 1 made by the mounting plate 107
It is converted into a single flow path by 09 and discharged. At this time, the discharge number is counted based on the detection signal of the optical sensor 108, and when a predetermined number is discharged, the motor 105 is discharged based on a discharge stop signal from the ball discharge control device 5.
Is stopped. At the same time, the electromagnet 106A constituting the stopper device 106 is demagnetized, and the braking piece 106B engages with the locking piece 106c of the braked body 106C fixed to the rotary shaft of the motor 105 by the restoring force. ing. In such a game ball discharge device 100, a predetermined game ball can be discharged directly from the storage tank 101, so that the configuration of the game machine itself can be simplified. The stopper device 106 may be omitted and the game ball discharging device may be configured.

In the above embodiment, the rotating body is constituted by the coil spring, but the rotating body is formed of synthetic resin which is tapered toward the upstream of the guide passage, and the game ball can be sent to the outer periphery of the rotating body. You may form and provide the convex part as a delivery part in spiral shape. Although the coil spring has a conical shape, it may be a cylindrical coil spring.

In the above embodiment, a game machine represented by a pachinko game machine has been described, but any game machine using a spherical game medium can be applied. In the above embodiment, the present invention is carried out with respect to a game ball discharging device for awarding a game ball or lending a game ball, but any device can be used as long as it is a device for separating the flowing down game balls. May be For example, it can be implemented in a winning ball payout device or the like that pays out the game balls that are the basis of the prize balls when the discharge of the prize balls is completed.

[0023]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the rotating body is formed in a taper shape so as to become gradually narrower toward the upstream side of the guide passage, and the separating delivery portion and the guide are formed upward. The gap with the passage gradually expands to allow play. Therefore, the game balls flowing down along the guide passage are diffused within the play range, and the ball pressure is dispersed. After that, the game balls are gradually gathered into one line with the rotation of the separating and delivering portion of the rotating body and are delivered downward. Therefore, the ball pressure is not concentrated on the separating / delivering portion of the rotating body, and it is possible to prevent the game balls from being smoothly delivered and the occurrence of ball crushing. According to the second aspect of the invention, each winding of the coil spring serves as the separating / delivering portion. Then, the game balls flowing down along the guide passage are diffused within the play range. Further, the ball pressure of the game ball flowing down the guide passage is absorbed by the swing of the coil spring. After that, the game balls are gradually collected in one line with the rotation of the separating and sending part and sent downward, so that the rotating body can be rotated smoothly and the game balls can be sent smoothly and the occurrence of ball damage can be prevented. it can. Further, since the coil spring is inexpensive, the manufacturing cost of the game ball discharging device can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pachinko game machine to which a game ball discharging device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, as seen from diagonally front.

FIG. 2 is a back view of the pachinko gaming machine.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the game ball discharging device as seen from the left oblique direction.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a rotating body.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view in which a coil spring and a spring seat forming a rotating body are disassembled.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a mounting state inside the game ball discharging device.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view illustrating an operation of the game ball discharging device.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the rotating body according to the present invention attached to a storage tank.

[Explanation of symbols]

 6 Gaming Ball Discharge Device 12, 13 Guide Passage 14, 15 Detecting Means 60 Rotating Means 61 Rotating Body 61A Coil Spring 61D Separation and Sending Section

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A separation feed for rotating inflowing game balls in a direction intersecting a guide passage for guiding the inside, and accompanying the rotation, separating the game balls flowing down along the guide passage for each ball and sending them out. In a game ball discharging device for discharging a predetermined number of game balls, comprising a rotating body provided with a section, rotating means for rotating the rotating body, and detecting means for detecting the game balls sent by the rotating body. The game ball discharging device, wherein the rotating body is formed in a tapered shape toward the upstream of the guide passage. 2. The game ball discharging device according to claim 1, wherein the rotating body is a coil spring.