JPH06335567A - Pachinko game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the PACHINKO game machine by which game balls are discharged automatically, when remaining balls in a hit ball supply pan decrease. CONSTITUTION:This PACHINKO game machine is constituted so that when the number of balls to be discharged runs low in a hit ball supply pan 6, an output of a ball detector 9 is derived, and in the case remainder information exists in a card at the time of its derivation, a prescribed number of game balls are discharged to the hit ball supply pan 6. In such a way, a player can concentrate on a game without caring about the number of remaining balls in the hit ball supply pan 6, and does not miss a chance generated in the game.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ball-and-ball game machine for paying out a predetermined number of game balls to a hitting ball supply tray by a player's operation with a recording medium on which ball lending information is recorded inserted. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a ball-ball game machine in which a predetermined number of game balls are paid out to a hitting ball supply plate by a player's operation in a state where a recording medium (for example, a magnetic card) in which ball lending information is recorded is inserted. Has provided that a predetermined number of game balls are paid out to the hitting ball supply plate every time the player operates the ball lending switch, provided that the remaining ball lending information is recorded on the magnetic card.

[0003]

By the way, during the game, the player may become crazy about the game and may not notice that the number of hit balls remaining on the hit ball supply plate has decreased. In such a case, when a state occurs in which the gaming state becomes a chance to win a large number of winning balls immediately before the hitting ball is interrupted, the hitting ball needs to be continuously fired even though the hitting ball needs to be continuously fired. Since it does not remain in the supply tray, you have to hurry to operate the ball lending switch to borrow the game balls. However, it takes some time for the game balls to be paid out after the ball lending switch is operated, and moreover, the balls are fired and reach the predetermined prize winning device, so an advantageous chance is missed during that time. There was an inconvenience that it would end up. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a ball game machine in which game balls are automatically paid out when the number of remaining balls in the hitting ball supply plate is small.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a predetermined number of game balls are hit by a player's operation with a recording medium in which ball lending information is recorded inserted. In a ball game machine for paying out to a supply dish, there is a ball detection means for detecting that the number of remaining balls of the hit ball supply dish has reached a predetermined number, and there is an output of the ball detection means and the recording medium is present. An automatic ball lending control means for paying out a predetermined number of game balls to the hitting ball supply plate when there is remaining ball lending information, is provided.

[0005]

The output of the ball detection means is derived when the number of remaining balls in the hit ball supply plate reaches a predetermined number. Then, if the recording medium has residual ball lending information when the output is derived, a predetermined number of game balls are paid out to the hit ball supply plate. For this reason, the player can concentrate on the game without paying attention to the number of remaining balls on the hitting ball supply plate, and never miss a chance that occurs in the game.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the overall configuration of a pachinko game machine 1 as an example of a ball game machine according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. 1 is a front view of the pachinko gaming machine 1, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a ball detector 9 provided in the pachinko gaming machine 1, and FIG. 2 is a rear surface of a game board 30 of the pachinko gaming machine 1. It is a figure. In FIG. 1, a pachinko gaming machine 1 has a frame-shaped front frame 2 as is well known, and a frame-shaped opening of the front frame 2 is provided with a door holding frame 3 around the frame. A glass door frame 4 having a glass plate is provided on an upper portion of the holding frame 3, and a front door plate 5 having a hitting ball supply tray 6 is provided at a lower portion thereof so as to be openable and closable. On the lower surface of the front frame 2, an extra ball receiving tray 20 for storing extra prize balls overflowing from the hit ball supply tray 6 is provided, and an operation handle 21 for firing a hit ball is also provided. Further, the front frame 2 is provided with a game effect lamp 22 which lights up or blinks when the game state becomes a predetermined specific game state on the upper part thereof, and a locking device (not shown) on the opening side portion thereof. A lock decoration for decorating the periphery of the lock is provided, and an operation lamp 23 for displaying that the pachinko game machine 1 is in operation by performing a hitting ball firing operation is built in the lock decoration.

The hitting ball supply tray 6 will be described in more detail. The hitting ball supply tray 6 connects the prize ball payout opening 7a formed on the upstream side and the supply opening 7b formed on the downstream side. As described above, the storage alignment path 8 is formed, and the ball detector 9 is provided on the back of the bottom surface in the middle of the storage alignment path 8. The ball detector 9 detects a ball remaining on the ball supply plate 6 and has a structure as shown in FIG. That is, the ball detector 9 stores the substrate 12 integrally formed with the coil housing 11 for housing the coil for detecting the presence or absence of a ball by the magnetic change in the switch case 10 and closing the back cover 14. The metal plate 13 having substantially the same shape as the substrate 12 is interposed between the back cover 14 and the substrate 12. Also, switch case 1
0 and the back cover 14 are the engagement protrusions 14 provided on the back cover 14 in a protruding manner.
By engaging a and 14b with engaging recesses 10a and 10b formed in the switch case 10, they can be easily combined. It should be noted that a speaker 19 for generating a sound effect is built in the lower space on the upstream side of the hit ball supply tray 6.

In addition, the hitting ball supply tray 6 is provided with an operation section which is operated when borrowing a game ball through a card unit 50 provided adjacent to the pachinko gaming machine 1. Ball rental switch 15 and return switch 17
And a mode changeover switch 18 are provided, and a frequency display LE is provided between the ball lending switch 15 and the return switch 17.
D16 is provided. The ball lending switch 15 is operated when borrowing a game ball from the card unit 50, and the return switch 17 is for returning the card inserted into the card insertion slot 55 of the card unit 50 at the end of the game. It is a thing. The fact that the card has been inserted into the card insertion slot 55 can be seen from the fact that the card insertion display lamp 54 provided in the card unit 50 is lit. Further, the frequency display LED 16 is
The balance of the card inserted in the card insertion slot 55 of the card unit 50 is displayed. Further, the mode changeover switch 18 is a manual mode in which game balls to be borrowed are operated by operating the ball lending switch 15, and when the remaining amount of the hit balls of the hit ball supply tray 6 is no longer detected by the ball detector 9. The automatic mode for automatically paying out game balls, or one of the modes is set.

By the way, a game board 30 is detachably attached to the rear side of the front frame 2 behind the glass door frame 5. This game board 30 is provided with a guide rail 31 for guiding a hitting ball in a substantially circular shape.
The inner area surrounded by 1 constitutes a game area 32, and in this game area 32, game devices such as a variable display device, a variable winning ball device, and a winning opening are arranged. More specifically, a variable display device 33 having a plurality of rotary drum mechanisms is arranged in the approximate center of the game area 32, and a start winning port 34 and a variable winning ball device 35 are provided below the variable display device 33. Are arranged. The starting winning opening 34 is for rotating the rotary drum mechanism of the variable display device 33. Therefore, the ball hitting the starting winning opening 34 is guided to the back surface of the game board 30 and is shown in FIG. As described above, the starting prize winning ball detector 46 provided on the prize winning ball collecting cover body 45 detects it. Further, the variable winning ball device 35 has an opening / closing plate 36 that is driven to open / close by a solenoid 37, and the inside of the opening / closing plate 36 is divided into three.
The center thereof is set as the specific winning area, the specific winning ball detector 38 faces the specific winning area, and the winning ball detectors 39a and 39b are provided on the left and right. In addition to the above-described configuration, the game board 30 is provided with an outlet 40 at the lowermost part of the game area 32, and is provided with winning openings 42a and 42b on the left and right of the center of the game area 32. A payout lamp 43 and a ball-out lamp 44 are provided in the. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, a flow-down concave path 41 is provided on the back surface of the outlet 40 so that the balls entering the outlet 40 are guided toward the lower edge of the game board 30.

The contents of the game on the game board 30 constructed as described above are such that when a ball hits the starting winning opening 34 and the starting winning ball detector 46 is turned on, the rotary drum mechanism of the variable display device 33 rotates. Is started, and the rotation is stopped when a fixed time (for example, 5 seconds) has elapsed. Then, when the combination of symbols displayed on the variable display device 33 at the time of stop is a predetermined combination of big hit symbols, the big hit game state is entered and the opening / closing plate 36 of the variable winning ball device 35 is held for a predetermined time (for example, 25 Seconds) or a predetermined number (for example,
Open until 10 winning balls are generated. Then, when the hit ball enters the specific winning area and the specific winning ball detector 38 is turned on while the opening / closing plate 36 is open, the continuation right is generated and the opening operation of the opening / closing plate 36 is repeated again. The continuation right is allowed to be generated a predetermined number of times (for example, 16 times). Therefore, in the big hit game state, there is a chance to win a large amount of winning balls in a short time. Since a very big chance for the player in the big hit game state occurs based on the display result of the variable display device 33 once, it may occur at the time when there are almost no remaining balls on the hitting ball supply tray 6. In such a case, the hit balls do not remain on the hit ball supply tray 6 in spite of the necessity of continuously firing the hit balls to win the hit balls in the specific winning area of the variable winning ball device 35. You have to operate the ball lending switch 15 to borrow a game ball. However, it takes some time for the game balls to be paid out after the ball lending switch 15 is operated, and moreover, the balls are shot and reach the specific winning area of the variable winning device 35, so during that time. Although there is an inconvenience of losing an advantageous chance (establishment of the continuation right), in the present embodiment, if the mode change switch 18 is set to the automatic mode, the ball detector 9 detects the absence of a hitting ball. Since the game balls are automatically paid out to the hit ball supply tray 6 at the time of detection, the above-mentioned inconvenience does not occur.

By the way, on the back surface of the game board 30, as shown in FIG. 3, the various prize holes or prize balls provided on the front surface of the game board 30 are provided along with a predetermined prize path. Among the prize balls guided to the prize ball collecting cover body 45, the prize balls winning the opening / closing plate 36 are relatively large in number of prize balls (for example, a prize ball collecting cover body 45). , 15), and the winning balls that have won the winning openings other than the opening / closing plate 36 are controlled to pay out a relatively small number of prize balls (for example, 5). Then, in order to distinguish such winning balls, whether the signals from the winning ball detectors 38, 39a, 39b are sent to the payout control circuit board 152 described later,
Alternatively, a payout number signal is sent from the game control circuit board (not shown) to the payout control circuit board 152. Further, a game relay board 47 that relays wires extending from switches, lamps, drive sources, etc. provided on the game board 30 is attached to the back surface of the winning ball aggregate cover body 45.

A pachinko gaming machine 1 configured as described above
As shown in FIG. 1, the card unit 50 provided on the side of the card has a usable indicator lamp 51 for displaying whether or not it is in a usable state, and a fraction (100 yen) in the balance information recorded in the card. If there is a number less than), the fraction display switch 52 for displaying the fraction on the frequency display LED 16 and whether or not the card unit 50 corresponds to which side of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is displayed. A connecting stand direction indicator 53 and a card insertion indicator lamp 54 for indicating that a card is being inserted into the card unit 50.
A card insertion slot 55 for inserting a magnetic card as a recording medium and a card unit lock 56 for opening the card reader mechanism provided on the back surface of the card insertion slot 55 for inspection are provided. . The card unit 50 configured as described above is controlled by a unique control circuit, but the switches 15, 17, 18 and the display LE provided on the pachinko gaming machine 1 side are provided.
Since it is necessary to connect D16 and the payout control circuit board 152, an interface board 138 is provided on a mechanism board 60, which will be described later, provided on the back surface of the pachinko gaming machine 1. The card unit 50 may be built in the pachinko gaming machine 1.

Next, the structure of the mechanism plate 60 provided on the back surface of the pachinko gaming machine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9. FIG. 4 is a rear view of the mechanism plate 60, and FIG.
It is the front view seen from the back of the prize ball payout device 97 portion provided in the mechanism plate 60, FIG. 6 is a side sectional view thereof, and FIG. 7 is the winning ball processing device 1 provided in the mechanism plate 60.
15 is a front view seen from the rear surface of FIG. 15, and FIG.
9 is an exploded perspective view of the passage cover body 132 that covers the lower back surface of FIG. 9, and FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing the attachment structure of the payout control circuit board box 149 attached to the mechanism plate 60.

Further, in the figure, the mechanism plate 60 is provided with a ball tank 65 that mainly stores prize balls and a ball alignment rail 69 that guides the prize balls stored in the ball tank 65 while aligning them downstream. An upper base unit 61,
An intermediate base unit 62 that is provided with a prize ball payout device 97 that mainly pays out prize balls based on winning, and a lower base unit 63 that is mainly provided with a processing mechanism that processes hit balls including wins that are driven into the game board 30, It is constructed by assembling divided parts. As shown in FIG. 4, the mechanism plate 60 of this embodiment, which is configured by assembling the three base units 61 to 63 as described above, has an overall “U” shape when viewed from the rear,
With the mechanism plate 60 closed, one side of the game board 30 is opened. Therefore, even if the back surface structure of the game board 30 is complicated (some game boards have a large rearward projecting area and amount of the winning device, and some have complicated wiring), the mechanical board The opening / closing operation of 60 can be smoothly performed. In the illustrated embodiment,
A connection temporary member 64 for connecting the upper base unit 61 and the lower base unit 63 is provided on the opposite side of the intermediate base unit 62. However, the connection temporary member 64 is not always necessary, and the winning ball aggregate cover body is not required. Depending on the structure of 45, it is required.

Therefore, the structure of the mechanism plate 60 will be described below for each base unit. First, in the upper base unit 61, as shown in FIG. 4, a ball tank 65 that stores a large amount of prize balls, and a plurality of rows of prize balls supplied from the ball tank 65 (two rows in the case of the present embodiment). ), And a prize ball payout device 97, which will be described later, with respect to the prize balls guided by the ball alignment rail 69.
Curve gutter 74 that turns to the direction, and the curve gutter 74
The terminal boards 78 provided above the terminals are provided at predetermined positions.

The ball tank 65 is provided at a predetermined position of the upper base unit 61 (at this position, a concave portion is formed in conformity with the side surface shape of the ball tank 65) by means of mounting pieces provided on both right and left sides thereof. It can be attached with screws. Further, the ball tank 65 is formed in a box shape with an open upper surface, and a drop port 68 communicating with the ball alignment rail 69 is opened on the downstream side of the bottom surface thereof.
The bottom surface is formed by a plurality of inclined bottom surfaces that are inclined toward. In addition, on the inclined bottom surface of the upper part of the drop port 68,
A ball deficiency detection lever 66 that is swingably supported is provided, and a ball deficiency detector 6 is provided below the ball deficiency detection lever 66.
7 is fixed. This ball deficiency detector 67 derives a prize ball supply request signal to a management computer (not shown) provided in the game hall when the prize tank is insufficient in the ball tank 65, and a ball out provided in the game board 30. The lamp 44 is adapted to be turned on. The ball deficiency detection lever 66 turns off the ball deficiency detector 67 when the prize balls in the ball tank 65 are placed, and when the prize balls in the ball tank 65 are insufficient and cannot be placed. The ball starvation detector 67 is turned on and the above signal is output. The wiring extending from the ball depletion detector 67 is once connected to the terminal board 78 by relay, and then the signal line is connected from the terminal board 78 to the management computer.

The ball alignment rail 69 arranged on the downstream side of the ball tank 65 is attached in an inclined shape from one end to the other end of the upper base unit 61, and a partition wall 69a is erected at the center of the inside thereof. ing. This partition wall 69a
Are formed gradually higher in order to surely align the prize balls that have flowed out of the drop port 68 of the ball tank 65 in the left and right two rows as they go downstream. Also, ball alignment rail 6
A ball leveling member 70 is hung at the upper part on the downstream side of 9 so that the prize balls flowing down in two steps on the ball alignment rail 69 are one step. Furthermore, the ball leveling member 70
A ball stopper metal fitting 71 and a ball leveling metal fitting 72 are provided on the downstream side of the. The ball stop fitting 71 is for temporarily stopping the balls stored in the ball alignment rail 69 at the time of failure or inspection, and the ball leveling fitting 72 is for finally arranging the balls in one stage. Is. Further, when the ball aligning rail 69 is fixed to the mechanism plate 60, the inclination position of the ball aligning rail 69 is adjusted by adjusting the fixing position of the adjustment slot 73 formed on the upstream side of the ball aligning rail 69. The angle can be adjusted.

Further, on the downstream side of the ball aligning rail 69, a curved trough 74 having an inverted "V" -shaped passage is formed. This curve gutter 74 is a ball alignment rail 6
9, the prize balls that flow down in two rows in the front-rear direction (as viewed from the back surface of the mechanism plate 60) are changed to flow in two rows in the left-right direction (also viewed from the back surface of the mechanism plate 60), and their bending A ball drop opening is formed in the portion, and the ball drop valve 75 is configured to be openably and closably closed. The ball drop valve 75 is configured to close or open the ball drop port by an operation of inserting a ball drop pin from the front surface of the pachinko gaming machine 1. In addition, a ball-draining upper passage 76 is formed below the ball-draining port.

The upper base unit 61 is provided with a terminal board 78 in addition to the above-mentioned structure. The terminal board 78 has a power connector 80 to which an external power supply line is connected, a power switch 81, an external (for example, management). Computer) and the pachinko game machine 1 signal line connecting the ball break information output terminal 79a, launch control signal input terminal 79b, ball lending information output terminal 79c and supply information output terminal 7
The printed circuit board is provided with 9d and the like.

Further, the upper base unit 61 is provided with connecting projections 77 on the lower left and right sides of the curve gutter 74. The connecting projection 77 is fitted with the connecting concave projection 82 formed at the upper end of the intermediate base unit 62, and is connected to the upper base unit 61 and the intermediate base unit 62.
And to assemble. Specifically, the connecting concave protrusion 8
2 is formed with a recess into which the connecting projection 77 is fitted. After the recess is fitted into the connecting projection 77, a screw is integrally screwed from above the connecting recess projection 82 to form an upper portion. The base unit 61 and the intermediate base unit 62 are firmly connected.

Next, the structure of the intermediate base unit 62 will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 5, the connecting concave protrusions 8 are provided above and below the intermediate base unit 62.
2 is formed, and a beading intermediate passage 83 is formed on the side thereof.
Are formed. The connecting concave projection 82 is for connecting and fixing the upper base unit 61, the lower base unit 63, and the intermediate base unit 62, and as described above, is connected to the connecting projection 77 of the upper base unit 61. 82 is connected and fixed, and the lower connecting concave protrusion 82 is connected to the connecting protrusion 102 of the lower base unit 63 described later.
By connecting and fixing the upper base unit 61
The intermediate base unit 62 and the lower base unit 63 are integrally connected with each other. The method of connecting and fixing the connecting protrusion 102 of the lower base unit 63 and the lower connecting concave protrusion 82 is the same as the method of connecting and fixing the connecting protrusion 77 of the upper base unit 61 and the upper connecting concave protrusion 82. Is the same. Further, the beading intermediate passage 83 communicates with the beading upper passage 76 and allows the prize balls punched by the beading valve 75 to flow down.

By the way, in the intermediate base unit 62,
The passage body 84 is fixed to the upper portion thereof, and the prize ball payout device 97 is fixed below the passage body 84. More specifically, the passage body 84 has free gift ball passages 86a and 86b for flowing down two rows of free gift balls whose flow direction is converted to the left and right by the curve gutter 74.
Ball detection sensors 87a and 87b are arranged to face the upstream side of 6b. The ball detection sensors 87a, 87b detect the presence or absence of a prize ball in the prize ball passages 86a, 86b. When either one of the ball detection sensors 87a, 87b no longer detects the prize ball, the prize ball payout is performed. Device 97
The rotation of the stepping motor (not shown) is stopped to immobilize the payout of the prize balls. The ball detection sensors 87a and 87b are locked by the locking pieces 88 at positions where 27 to 28 prize balls are detected in the two rows of prize ball passages 86a and 86b from the prize ball payout device 97. Has become.

In addition, the passage body 84 is formed in a curved shape to the left and right at the central portion thereof so as to weaken the ball pressure of the prize balls flowing down inside, and a stop hole 89 is formed at the center of the curved portion.
Are formed. A mounting boss (not shown) projecting from the intermediate base unit 62 is fitted into the back surface of the stop hole 89. After the stop hole 89 is fitted into the mount boss, a set screw is screwed. The passage body 84 is fixed to the intermediate base unit 62. It should be noted that the passage body 84 can be mounted at a predetermined position by the locking projection 85 provided on the intermediate base unit 62 before screwing the set screw. After finishing, the passage body 84 is finally fixed to the intermediate base unit 62 by screwing a set screw.

Further, a ball stopper 90 is provided below the passage body 84. As shown in FIG. 6, the ball stopper 90 is a stopper piece 91 that is pivotally supported by a support shaft 93 and has a stopper portion 91a at its tip protruding and retracting into and from the prize ball passages 86a and 86b through a hole 92. And an operating pin 95 that engages with an engaging portion 94 formed in the upper rear part of the stopper piece 91, and a spring 96 provided around the operating pin 95, and the operating pin 95 slides in the vertical direction. It is supported freely. Then, in a normal use state in which the prize ball payout device 97 is mounted in a normal state, the lower end of the operating pin 95 contacts the case 98 of the prize ball payout device 97 as shown in FIG. Lever 9 pushed up against the urging force of spring 96
Since the middle of 5 and the engaging portion 94 are engaged to rotate the stopper piece 91 in the direction of retracting from the prize ball passages 86a and 86b, the prize balls flowing down the prize ball passages 86a and 86b are It is supplied to the prize ball payout device 97 on the downstream side. On the other hand, when the prize ball payout device 97 is mounted in the reverse direction, the lower end of the operating pin 95 falls into the hole 99 formed in the case 98 as shown in FIG. Since it is moved downward by the urging force of 96, the engagement state between the middle of the operating pin 95 and the engagement portion 94 is released, so that the stopper portion 91a of the stopper piece 91 is released.
Is projected from the hole 92 to the prize ball passages 86a and 86b, so that the prize balls flowing down the prize ball passages 86a and 86b are not supplied to the prize ball payout device 97 on the downstream side. As described above, the ball stopping device 90 supplies the prize balls to the prize ball payout device 97 or stops the supply thereof. For example, when the prize ball payout device 97 fails, the prize ball payout device 97 By removing the ball payout device 97, the flow of the prize ball is automatically stopped, and the prize ball payout device can be removed only after the ball removing operation for all the prize balls is completed as in the conventional case. By comparison, the prize ball payout device 97 can be removed extremely easily and quickly. Also, the illustrated prize ball payout device 97
Since it is housed in a rectangular parallelepiped case 98, it may be difficult to know the normal direction in the up and down direction, and it may be installed in the upside down direction. However, even in such a case, as described above, When it is mounted in the opposite direction, the flow of the prize balls is stopped.

The prize ball payout device 97 attached below the intermediate base unit 62 is housed in a rectangular parallelepiped case 98, and four left and right sides of the case 98 are formed in the intermediate base unit 62. Positioning protrusion 10
It is mounted by bringing the lower end of the case 98 into contact with 0 and engaging the lower end of the case 98 with the elastic engaging piece 101 formed in the lower part of the intermediate base unit 62 in that state. Also, case 9
Although the specific configuration of the prize ball payout device 97 configured in FIG. 8 is omitted, it is a type in which a screw is rotated by a stepping motor to count balls one by one. The balls paid out by the prize ball paying-out device 97 are not limited to prize balls based on winnings, and the game ball to be lent out is paid out by the prize-ball paying-out device 97.

Next, the structure of the lower base unit 63 will be described. In FIG. 4, on the front surface side of the lower lower base unit 63 (the side that comes into contact with the game board 5), a prize ball collecting gutter 103 is provided in an inclined shape in the middle thereof.
The winning ball collecting gutter 103 receives the winning balls that have won in the variable winning device 35 of the game board 30 and guides them to the winning ball processing device 115, which will be described later, and the downstream side allows the winning balls to flow down one by one. It is the winning ball guiding passage 105. A dust removal hole 104 is formed along the inclination of the winning ball collecting gutter 103. Also, 10 winning balls set gutter
An out-ball guiding passage 106 that guides out balls from an out-port 40 provided on the game board 30 is also formed below 3. The end of the out-ball guiding passage 106 merges with a lower-ball-draining passage 107 described later.

On the other hand, on the rear surface side of the lower base unit 63, a prize ball payout passage 108 is formed on one side upper part thereof,
An upper plate communication port 110 is formed at the lower end of the prize ball payout passage 108. The upper plate communication port 110 guides a prize ball to the hitting ball supply plate 6 provided on the front surface of the pachinko gaming machine 1. Further, beside the prize ball payout passage 108, a lower punching passage 107 communicating with the beveling intermediate passage 83 is provided.
Is formed. The beading lower passage 107 is formed from one side to the center of the lower base unit 63, and in the middle thereof, communicates with the prize ball payout passage 108 and a prize winning ball outlet 121 described later, and finally the out ball. It merges with the guide passage 106.

A switching lever 109 is arranged between the prize ball payout passage 108 and the ball drop lower passage 107. The lower end of the switching lever 109 is pivotally supported by a support shaft so that the switching lever 109 is rotatable, and as shown by the solid line in FIG. Discharge the prize balls discharged to the upper plate communication port 110
4 and, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 4, when tilted to the left, the prize balls discharged from the prize ball payout device 97 are guided to the ball drop lower passage 107 and the pachinko game machine 1
It is designed to be discharged to the outside. The switching operation of the switching lever 109 can be performed by manually operating an operation pin (not shown) provided on the upper portion of the switching lever 109. Further, it is desirable that the switching lever 109 is provided with a spring member that is biased so as to maintain the state when tilted to the left or right. In addition,
The switching lever 109 may be switched by an electric drive source such as a solenoid.

A communication passage 111 is connected to the other side of the upper plate communication port 110, and a surplus ball passage 112 is connected to the end of the communication passage 111. Then, when a large number of prize balls based on the winnings are paid out and the hitting ball supply tray 6 is filled with the prize balls, and finally reaches the upper plate communication port 110 and further prize balls are continuously paid out, the prize balls contact each other. Passage 1
It is guided to the surplus ball passage 112 via 11 and then discharged to the surplus ball receiving tray 20 via a connection gutter (not shown). And when more prize balls are paid out,
The surplus ball receiving tray 20 is also full, but when it reaches the full tank detecting plate 113 portion provided on one side wall of the surplus ball passage 112, the full tank detecting plate 113 is pressed by the prize ball and the spindle at the upper end is supported. It swings toward the outside with the center, whereby the full tank detector 114 is turned on, and the prize ball payout device 9
The driving of the stepping motor 7 is stopped to disable the prize ball payout operation, and the driving of the hitting ball launching device is stopped if necessary.

The prize ball payout passage 108, the ball drop lower passage 107, the communication passage 111, and the surplus ball passage 112 described above.
The rear surface is covered with a passage cover body 132 fixed by screws as shown in FIG. 8, and a mounting opening 133 is formed at a position corresponding to the winning ball processing device 115 portion described below. The mounting opening 133 is openably / closably covered by an opening / closing lid 134 that opens / closes around the support shaft 135. The opening / closing lid 134 is formed in a concave shape, and the interface board 138 for electrically connecting the card unit 50 and the component on the pachinko gaming machine 1 side is housed in the concave portion. Further, on the lower one side of the lower base unit 63, a storage section 148 for storing a substrate box 149 for storing the prize ball payout control board 152 for controlling the operations of the prize ball processing apparatus 115 and the prize ball payout apparatus 97 is formed. Has been done.

Therefore, first, the configuration of the winning ball processing device 115 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the winning ball processing device 115 is integrally formed on the mounting base 116. Therefore, the mounting portion 118 formed around the mounting base 116 is mounted on the lower base unit 63 so as to project therefrom. By inserting it into the boss and screwing it with screws,
It can be easily attached to the lower base unit 63. In addition, around the mounting base 116, the reinforcing rib 117 is formed.
Is formed to strengthen the overall rigidity. Further, when the mounting base 116 is attached to the lower base unit 63, the winning ball inlet 119 formed in the lower base unit 63 and the winning ball flow-down path 1 formed in the mounting base 116.
The start end portion of 20 coincides with each other, whereby the winning balls are guided to the winning ball processing device 115. In addition, the winning balls that have been processed by the winning ball processing device 115 are the lower ball passage 1 of the lower base unit 63.
It is adapted to be discharged to the prize winning ball outlet 121 formed at a position communicating with 07.

By the way, a right-angled winning ball downflow path 120 is formed from the lower side of the mounting base 116 to the center thereof, and the winning ball detector 122 has a locking claw 123 slightly below the bent portion of the winning ball downflow path 120. It is fixed by.
This winning ball detector 122 is a proximity type switch,
A passage hole through which the winning balls pass is formed in the front part thereof. A first ball stop member 124 and a second ball stop member 130 are swingably supported around support shafts 125 and 131, respectively, so as to sandwich the passage hole of the winning ball detector 122. The rear end of the first ball stop member 124 has a link rod 126.
Is connected to the plunger 128 of the solenoid 127 via. The solenoid 127 is detachably mounted by a locking claw protruding from the mounting base 116, and
A spring 129 is provided around the plunger 128,
The plunger 128 is always biased downward. On the other hand, on the tip side of the first ball stop member 124, a ball stop portion 124a is formed in the upper part thereof, and the second ball stop member 130 is formed in the lower part thereof.
An engaging piece 124b that engages with the second ball stopper member 1 is formed.
30, a ball stopper 130a is formed on the upper front side thereof.
Engagement recess 13 that engages with the engagement piece 124b in the middle thereof
0b is formed.

The operation of the winning ball processing device 115 will be described with reference to the solenoid 127.
In the normal state of FF, as shown in FIG. 7 (A), the ball stop portion 124a of the first ball stop member 124 does not project into the winning ball downflow passage 120, but the second ball stop member 13 does not.
The ball stop portion 130a of 0 is in a state of protruding to the winning ball downflow path 120 below the winning ball detector 122. When a winning ball is generated and flows down into the winning ball downflow path 120 in such a state, the first winning ball P1 is the winning ball detector 1
It is stopped by the ball stopper 130a while entering the passage hole 22. Therefore, the winning ball detector 122 sends a detection signal to the control circuit of the payout control circuit board 152, which drives and controls the prize ball payout device 97 to pay out a predetermined number of prize balls. In the state where the first winning ball P1 is stopped at the ball stopper 130a, the ball pressure of all the winning balls including the succeeding winning balls is the second ball stopping member 130.
Is applied to the ball stopper 130a of the
Since it is received by the support shaft 131 located directly below 0a, the load on the first ball stop member 124 due to the engagement between the engagement recess 130b and the engagement piece 124b is reduced.
This prevents the plunger 128 from rising against the biasing force of the spring 129. That is, the first and second ball stop members 124, 130 do not blindly move under the load of a large number of winning balls, and the winning balls are processed one by one without fail.

When the payout of the predetermined number of prize balls is completed, the payout control circuit board 152 causes the solenoid 1
A drive signal is sent to 27 to turn on the solenoid 127 for a predetermined time. When the solenoid 127 is turned on, FIG. 7 (B)
As shown in FIG.
The first winning ball P1 because the ball stopping portion 130a retreats from the winning ball descending path 120 while blocking the entry of the next winning ball P2 into the passage hole of the winning ball detector 122 by entering into 0.
Is opened and flows downward. Then, when the solenoid 127 is turned off after a lapse of a certain time, the state returns to the state shown in FIG. 7A again, and the prize ball payout operation by the next prize ball is performed. In the present embodiment, the time from when the winning ball detector 122 detects the winning ball to when the prize ball payout device 97 is driven is called WAIT time (also referred to as waiting time), and the WAIT time will be described later. It is designed to be controlled to change.

As described above, the winning ball processing apparatus 115 in the present embodiment temporarily holds the generated winning balls and processes one winning ball each time a predetermined prize ball is paid out. At times, etc., the generated winning balls remain as evidence balls, so there is no trouble with the player. In addition, when there is a backup function, without using such a prize ball processing device 115, all the generated prize balls are stored and the stored prize balls are discharged to the outside of the ball game machine 1. It may be done.

Next, referring to FIG. 8, the passage cover body 132
The configuration of will be described. As described above, the passage cover body 132 includes the prize ball payout passage 108 and the ball drop lower passage 1.
07, the communication passage 111, and the surplus ball passage 112 are covered with a rear surface, but a mounting opening 133 is formed at a position corresponding to the winning ball processing device 115 portion, and the mounting opening 133 supports the support shaft 135. Opening and closing lid 13 that opens and closes at the center
It is covered by 4 so that it can be opened and closed. A locking portion 134a is formed on the open side of the opening / closing lid 134, and the locking portion 13a is formed.
4 is engaged by engaging an engaging claw 136 protruding from the passage cover body 132. Further, the opening / closing lid 134 is formed with a substrate storage recess 137.
The interface board 138 is accommodated in and supported by 37.
Specifically, the upper end of the interface board 138 is locked by a locking portion 139 formed in the board housing recess 137, and a screw 141 is provided on a mounting boss 140 projecting on one lower side in the board housing recess 137. Interface board 138
The lower part of is fixed by screwing. Then, the interface board 138 is protected by the lid cover 142 while being housed and supported in the board housing recess 137. Lid cover 14
2 is formed with a connection opening 143 (a connection opening is provided in the lower portion other than the illustrated position) for connecting to the connector terminal of the interface board 138. Further, the lid cover 142 has an engagement projection 145 formed on one side thereof and an engagement groove 145 formed on the opening / closing lid 134.
By engaging with the locking claw 146 formed on the other side by engaging the locking claw 146 formed on the other side with the locking portion 147 formed on the opening / closing cover 134. There is.

Next, the structure of the board box 149 attached to the payout control circuit board housing portion 148 formed on the lower portion of one side of the lower base unit 63 will be described.
First, the board box 149 includes a support cover 150 and a lid cover 151, and the payout control circuit board 152 is housed inside the board box 149. On the payout control circuit board 152, a ball launching operation is performed when the prize ball payout device 97, the prize ball processing device 115, or the connector terminal 153 for connecting the wiring from the card unit 50, for example, the ball depletion detector 67 is operated. Select switch 154 for selecting whether or not to stop, indicator 1 for displaying the type of failure numerically
55, a reset switch 156 for resetting when the program of the control operation is out of control, etc. is provided, and the lid covers 151 are formed in a stepped shape on the left and right sides so as to be exposed to the outside, and are openings. And the lid cover 15
The stepped portion 1 is the locking portion 157. In the board box 149 formed in this manner, the lower side portion is brought into contact with the contact piece 159 protruding from the payout control circuit board housing portion 148, and the locking portion 157 on the upper side portion thereof is paid out. The lower base unit 63 is mounted by engaging with the locking claws 158 protruding from the storage portion 148.

The board box 149 mounted as described above is covered by the lid cover body 160. That is, the locking claws 161 protruding from the upper portion of the lid cover body 160.
Is engaged with a locking portion 162 formed on the lower base unit 63, and a locking claw 164 protruding from the lower base unit 63 is engaged with a locking portion 163 formed on the lower portion of the lid cover body 160. By combining them, the lid cover body 160
Is attached to the lower base unit 63, and the stopper hole 165 formed on one side of the lid cover body 160 is made to correspond to the stopper portion 166 projecting from the lower base unit 63 so as not to come off easily. Screw it with screw 167. The lid cover body 160 is provided with a wiring drawing opening 168 for drawing out a wiring to be connected.

The payout control circuit board 152 housed in the above-mentioned board box 149 receives a winning ball signal from the winning ball detector 122, derives a drive start signal to the stepping motor of the prize ball paying-out device 97, and gives a prize. Ball payout device 9
The signal from the counting detection means provided in 7 is counted, and when the count value reaches a predetermined number of payout prize balls, a drive stop signal is derived to the stepping motor to stop the payout operation of prize balls. A drive signal is given to the solenoid 127 of the winning ball processing device 115. Further, when there is a signal from the ball detection sensors 87a, 87b or the full tank detector 114, a stop signal is derived to the stepping motor when the payout operation for the winning is completed or immediately. In addition, when there are two kinds of payout prize balls as in the present embodiment, the number of prize balls having the smaller payout prize ball count is stored, and the payout operation corresponding to the stored value is prioritized. It should be done to. By doing so, even if the stored value is erased due to a power failure or the like, it is possible to pay out with a relatively large number of payout prize balls to the player. If this is not taken into consideration, either may be designed to be stored. Similarly, when there is a ball lending request signal from the card unit 50, a predetermined number (25/100 yen) of game balls are paid out by the prize ball payout device 97 by the same operation as above.

The structure of the mechanism plate 60 is as described above, but a board box for accommodating the game control circuit board for controlling the game operation may be attached to the back surface of the mechanism plate 60. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 4, the box mounting base 170 is fixed to the base mounting portion 169 formed at an appropriate position of the rib formed on the upper back surface of the lower base unit 63, and Box mounting base 1
A board box accommodating the game control circuit board may be detachably attached to 70. In addition, when the board box for the game control circuit board is directly attached to the back surface of the game board 30, it may be made to protrude from the U-shaped space of the mechanism plate 60 to the outside. Further, when the mechanism plate 60 configured as described above is provided on the back surface of the pachinko gaming machine 1,
This is performed by pivotally supporting one side so as to be openable and closable and locking the other side by mechanism plate fastening members 171 provided above and below the mechanism plate 60.

The configuration of the pachinko gaming machine 1 according to the embodiment has been described above. The payout control circuit board 15 is described above.
A part of the operation controlled by the control circuit formed in No. 2 will be described below with reference to FIGS. Figure 10
11 is a flow chart showing an operation based on a ball lending request signal of a game ball from the card unit 50, and FIG. 11 and FIG.
[Fig. 6] is a flow chart showing an operation of controlling a time interval of a payout operation of prize balls. First, the payout operation of the game balls will be described. In step 10, the mode changeover switch 18
Is determined to be the automatic mode. If the automatic mode is not selected, it is determined in step 20 whether the ball lending switch 15 has been operated. If the ball lending switch 15 is operated, the process proceeds to step 40 described later. On the other hand, when the mode change switch 18 is selected to the automatic mode, the ball detector 9 is selected in step 30.
By this, it is determined whether or not there are any remaining balls in the hit ball supply tray 6 (upper tray), and if not, it is determined in step 40 whether or not the remaining amount information is recorded on the card inserted in the card unit 50. If there is remaining amount information, a lending process of a predetermined number of game balls is performed in step 50. On the other hand, if there is no balance information, the game ball lending process is not performed. In the step 30, the ball detector 9
The 20th ball of the upper plate 6 is detected, and when the detector 9 continuously detects the absence of a ball for a predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds), it determines that there is no remaining ball. There is. As a result, the game balls are not lost until the game balls are actually paid out from the detection of the presence or absence of the remaining balls, and the game can be played with peace of mind, and the ballless state and the ballless state of the remaining balls caused by the spots of the falling balls. Is surely distinguished to prevent the payout operation of the game ball which has been mistaken. In addition, when the automatic mode is selected, a display lamp or the like may be provided for notifying that effect.

As described above, in this embodiment, the output of the ball detector 9 is derived when the number of balls to be fired becomes small in the hitting ball supply tray 6, and when the card has balance information when the output is made. Since a predetermined number of game balls are paid out to the hitting ball supply plate 6, the player can concentrate on the game without paying attention to the number of balls remaining in the hitting ball supply plate 6 and never miss a chance that occurs in the game. It should be noted that the position of the ball detector 9 for detecting the number of remaining balls of the hit ball supply tray 6 is preferably a position where there is a margin in the number of remaining balls in consideration of the time from the detection to the payout. Even at the position where it is detected that the value becomes "0", the payout operation of the game balls is surely performed earlier than the operation of the ball lending switch after the conventional remaining ball number is exhausted.

Next, the operation of controlling the time interval of the prize ball payout operation will be described. In FIG. 11, in step 100, it is determined whether or not there is winning information based on the detection signal from the winning ball detector 122. If so, in step 110, it is determined whether or not there is a tank ball by the detection signal from the ball starvation detector 67 of the ball tank 65. If there is no tank ball, in step 120 the counter value is 1
Is added, and after waiting until the balls are replenished in the ball tank 65 in step 130, a prize ball (prize ball) payout process is performed in step 140. On the other hand, if there is a tank ball when the winning information is derived, the counter value is decremented by 1 in step 150, and then the waiting time (WAIT) set at that time is executed in step 160, In step 170, the waiting time is waited until the waiting time is completed. Then, in step 180, a prize ball payout process is performed.

By the way, W executed in step 160
The AIT time is set by the control shown in FIG. That is, in step 200, the steps 120 and 1
In step 50, it is determined whether or not the value of the counter to be added / subtracted is "+5". If it is determined that it is "+5", in step 210 the WAIT time is set to the upper limit of 3
It is determined whether it is seconds. If the WAIT time is not 3 seconds, 0.5 seconds are added to the WAIT time in step 220, and the process proceeds to step 260 to clear the counter value. On the other hand, when the upper limit is 3 seconds, the subroutine is terminated without performing the process of step 220. Steps 200, 210, 2 described above
The processes of Nos. 20 and 260 indicate that the WAIT time is lengthened when the state in which there are no balls in the ball tank 65 continues five times (the number of times of integration) when the winning information is derived. This means that the state in which there are no balls in the ball tank 65 continues multiple times in a short time, which means that the payout operation of the prize balls is faster and the supply operation to the ball tank 65 is delayed. In order to cope with this delay, the WAIT time from when the prize ball detector 122 detects a prize ball to when the prize ball payout device 97 is driven is lengthened, so that the prize ball payout interval is lengthened and replenished. It is intended to compensate for the delay in movement.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 200 that the counter value is not "+5", step 2
In step 30, it is determined whether or not the counter value is "-5", and when it is determined that it is not "-5", the following processing is not performed. That is, when the counter value is between "+5 and -5", the WAIT time is not changed. When it is determined in step 230 that it is “−5”, in step 240, the WAIT time is 0, which is the lower limit.
It is determined whether it is seconds. If the WAIT time is not 0 seconds, 0.5 seconds is subtracted from the WAIT time in step 250, and the process proceeds to step 260 to clear the counter value. On the other hand, if the lower limit is 0 second, the subroutine is terminated without performing the process of step 250. Steps 230, 240 described above
The processes of 250 and 260 indicate that the WAIT time is shortened when the state in which there are balls in the ball tank 65 continues five times (the number of times of integration) when the winning information is derived. This means that the state in which there are balls in the ball tank 65 continues a plurality of times in a short time, which means that the supply operation to the ball tank 65 is sufficiently in time for the payout operation of the prize balls.
Corresponding to this, the WAI from when the prize-ball detector 122 detects the prize-ball to when the prize-ball payout device 97 is driven.
It is intended to shorten the time T and thereby shorten the prize ball payout interval to speed up the process of winning prize balls.

In the above embodiment, the WAIT time is the time from when the prize ball detector 122 detects a prize ball to when the prize ball payout device 97 is driven. However, the prize ball detector 122 wins. After detecting a ball or after the prize ball payout device 97 pays out a predetermined number of prize balls, the solenoid 1
The time for exciting 27 may be set, or the waiting time may be set by another time. Further, the set value may be set arbitrarily.

[0047]

As is apparent from the above description, in the present invention, the output of the ball detection means is derived when the number of balls to be fired becomes small in the hitting ball supply tray,
When there is residual ball lending information in the recording medium when the output is derived, a predetermined number of game balls are paid out to the hitting ball supply plate, so the player determines the number of remaining balls in the hitting ball supply plate. You can concentrate on the game without worrying about it, and you will not miss the chances that occur in the game.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachinko game machine as an example of a ball game machine according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a ball detector provided on a hit ball supply tray.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the game board of the pachinko gaming machine.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the mechanism plate.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the prize ball payout device portion provided on the mechanism plate as viewed from the back side.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a prize ball payout device portion.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the winning ball processing device viewed from the back side.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a passage cover body that covers a prize ball discharge passage portion.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the lower part of the mechanism plate.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a ball lending operation of a game ball.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation for controlling the operation interval of the prize ball payout operation.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation of controlling an operation interval of the prize ball payout operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Pachinko game machine (ball game machine) 6 Hitting ball supply plate 9 Ball detector (ball detector) 15 Ball lending switch 16 Degree display LED 17 Return switch 18 Mode selection switch 30 Game board 50 Card unit 55 Card insertion slot 60 Mechanism Plate 61 Upper base unit 62 Intermediate base unit 63 Lower base unit 65 Ball tank 67 Ball deficiency detector 97 Premium ball payout device 115 Prize winning ball processing device 122 Prize winning ball detector 138 Interface board 149 Board box 152 Discharge control circuit board

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A ball-ball game machine in which a predetermined number of game balls are paid out to a hit ball supply tray by a player's operation in a state where a recording medium in which ball lending information is recorded is loaded, A ball detecting means for detecting that the number has reached a predetermined number, and a predetermined number of game balls when the output of the ball detecting means is present and there is residual ball lending information in the recording medium. An automatic ball lending control means for paying out to a ball game machine.