JPH07313664A - Pachinko machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To dispense with a ball lifting means for lifting foul balls and enable preventing shortage in enclosed balls beforehand. in a ball enclosing-type PACHINKO machine. CONSTITUTION:An outlet of a prize ball discharging means 52 is provided with a prize ball flow path 62 and an enclosed ball replenishing flow path 63 which are bifurcated, and a flow path changeover damper 71 is provided at the bifurcated portion. The enclosed ball replenishing flow path 63 is joined to a gutter 60 for enclosed balls. and safe-balls collected at a collection gutter 53 and out-balls flowing into from an out-ball inlet 67 are collected in the gutter 60. Further, foul balls turning back along a guide rail are collected in a ball receptacle through a foul ball collecting path. Usually the path changeover damper 71 is held at a position for opening the prize ball flow path, and when a flat sensor 68 provided halfway in the ball enclosing gutter 60 detects shortage in enclosed balls, the path changeover damper 71 is changed over to the opening position of the enclosed ball replenishing flow path, to replenish PACHINKO balls discharged from the prize ball discharging means 52 to the enclosed ball gutter 60 as 'enclosed balls'.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a so-called enclosed ball type pachinko machine which constitutes a circulation cycle for returning a pachinko ball fired on a game board surface by a launcher to the launcher side.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A pachinko machine of the enclosed ball type is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 53-69738 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 12617.
As shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4, the enclosed balls enclosed in the circulation cycle are synchronized with the operation of discharging the pachinko balls stored in the ball tray one by one to the outside of the machine (ball distribution path on the island). Are sent to the launching device one by one and are launched on the game board surface. This enclosed ball system is an advantage that the use of illegal balls can be eliminated because the ball to be rented and used by the player in the ball tray is completely separated from the launch ball (enclosed ball) to be launched on the game board surface. There is.

Even in the case of this enclosed ball system, as in other models, the shooting ball sometimes occasionally returns back on the guide rail to become a foul ball during the game. If this foul ball returns to the firing position, it will not be possible to fire the subsequent ball to the game board surface.Therefore, a fal ball drop port is provided at the bottom of the guide rail to drop the foul ball from this fal ball drop port. I am trying. Since the fall position of the foul ball must be lower than the launch position due to the structure of the pachinko machine, the fal ball is lifted in order to return the foul ball to the enclosed ball gutter again in the above-mentioned publication. A lifting device is provided.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned conventional structure has a drawback that the structure becomes complicated and the cost becomes high because a lifting ball device for lifting the foul ball to the enclosed ball gutter is required. Moreover, when the front glass door of the pachinko machine is opened due to a board surface problem, etc., the enclosed balls fall off from the game board surface, etc. There is also a risk of causing trouble.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and therefore an object thereof is to eliminate the need for a lifting ball device for lifting a foul ball and to prevent a shortage of enclosed balls in the enclosed ball type. Another object of the present invention is to provide a pachinko machine that can prevent such problems and can prevent troubles such as inability to fire due to insufficient enclosed balls.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention constitutes a circulation cycle for returning a pachinko ball launched on a game board surface by a launcher to the launcher side, and a lower front portion of the pachinko machine. In synchronism with the operation of discharging the pachinko balls stored in the ball saucer provided on the outside of the machine one by one, the enclosed balls enclosed in the circulation cycle are sent to the launching device one by one. In a pachinko machine that is designed to launch onto the game board surface, the enclosed ball returning from the guide rail for guiding the launch ball is returned to the ball tray as a "fal ball", and is launched onto the game board surface. A launch confirmation sensor that confirms the launch ball or foul ball, a prize ball discharging device that discharges a specified number of pachinko balls replenished from the prize ball tank, and a discharge device that discharges the prize ball discharging device. Flow that switches the flow path between the prize ball flow path that causes the pachinko ball to flow down to the ball tray as a "prize ball" and the enclosed ball supply flow path that replenishes the pachinko ball as an "inclusion ball" to the circulation cycle. A path switching means, and an enclosed sphere amount detecting means for detecting whether or not the enclosed amount of the enclosed spheres enclosed in the circulation cycle is equal to or less than a predetermined amount,
Normally, the flow path switching means is held at the prize ball flow path open position, and the pachinko balls discharged from the prize ball discharge device are made to flow down to the ball tray as "prize balls", and the enclosed amount of the enclosed balls is When the amount becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the flow path switching means is switched to the enclosed ball replenishing flow path opening position based on the detection signal of the enclosed ball amount detection means to operate the prize ball discharging device, thereby the prize ball. The pachinko balls discharged from the discharging device are provided as a "encapsulated ball" so as to be replenished into the circulation cycle by a control means (claim 1).

Further, it is preferable to provide a ball removing means for removing the enclosed ball in the circulation cycle (claim 2). In this case, the control means ignores the detection signal of the enclosed sphere amount detecting means when the sphere removing means is opened to the sphere removing position, and detects the enclosed sphere amount after the sphere removing means is closed. It is preferable to control so as to replenish the enclosed sphere in the circulation cycle by the detection signal of the means (claim 3).

Further, the ball tray has a large capacity so as to store several hundreds or more of pachinko balls, and at least a part of its bottom surface is constituted by a movable bottom plate which is vertically tiltable. The movable bottom plate may be elastically supported by elastic supporting means (claim 4).

[0009]

According to the above-mentioned structure of the first aspect, the enclosed ball returning backward from the guide rail for guiding the launch ball becomes a "foul ball" and is collected in the ball tray through the foul ball collecting passage. Therefore, every time a foul sphere is generated, the number of enclosed spheres decreases by one, but when the enclosed amount of the enclosed spheres becomes less than or equal to a predetermined amount, it is detected by the enclosed sphere amount detection means, and the detection signal The control means switches the flow path switching means to the enclosed ball replenishment flow path opening position to operate the prize ball discharging device, and supplies the pachinko balls discharged from the prize ball discharging device as "enclosed balls" into the circulation cycle. This eliminates the need for a lifting ball device for lifting the foul ball, and prevents a shortage of enclosed balls. In normal times, that is, when the enclosed amount of the enclosed balls is larger than a predetermined amount, the flow path switching means is held at the prize ball passage open position, and the pachinko balls discharged from the prize ball discharge device are “prize balls”. It flows into the ball saucer. Further, during the game, a launch ball or a foul ball to be launched to the game board surface is confirmed by a launch confirmation sensor, and a pachinko ball discharged from the ball tray 25 and a launch ball (excluding the foul ball) to be launched to the game board surface. The relationship is controlled so as to be kept exactly 1: 1.

If a ball removing means is provided in the circulation cycle as in the second aspect, the enclosed balls can be regularly replaced or cleaned by the ball removing means. In this case, the ball removing means may be configured to be opened and closed by the driving force of the drive source, or may be opened and closed manually. In either case, during the ball removal, the above-mentioned enclosed ball amount detection is performed. It is necessary to stop the refilling operation of the enclosed ball by the detection signal of the means.

Therefore, in claim 3, the enclosed ball replenishing operation during ball removal is automatically stopped by the control means. That is, the control means ignores the detection signal of the enclosed sphere amount detecting means when the sphere removing means is opened to the sphere removing position, and circulates by the detection signal of the enclosed sphere amount detecting means after the sphere removing means is closed. It is controlled to automatically replenish the enclosed ball in the cycle. As a result, the processing from the stop of the enclosed ball replenishing operation during ball removal to the execution of the enclosed ball replenishment operation after completion of the ball removal is automated. Needless to say, the operation of replenishing the enclosed sphere during the removal of the sphere may be stopped manually.

By the way, the ball saucer of the conventional pachinko machine is
There are two ball receiving trays, so-called "upper plate" and "lower plate". The upper plate receives the pachinko balls discharged as prize balls, and the pachinko balls are lined from the outlet to the rectifier. It is a ball saucer that is aligned and flowed down, while the lower saucer is
It is an auxiliary ball saucer that collects prize balls when the pachinko balls on the upper plate are full. The reason why two ball trays are required in this way is that when the capacity of the upper tray is increased, the back pressure applied to the pachinko ball on the downstream side in the upper tray (the load received from the back pachinko ball) becomes too large. This is because the back pressure causes the pachinko balls to form a bridge and the ball flow becomes worse.Therefore, the volume of the conventional upper plate is at most about 100 spheres so as not to hinder the ball flow. Was the limit. This number of pachinko balls will quickly disappear when there are few prizes (so-called slump condition), so the player interrupts the game and transfers the pachinko balls from the lower plate to the upper plate during the game. It requires a lot of work, which is not only troublesome, but also causes the game to entertain.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the capacity of the ball tray is increased so as to store several hundred or more pachinko balls, and at least a part of the bottom surface thereof can be tilted in the vertical direction. It is constituted by a movable bottom plate, and this movable bottom plate is elastically supported by elastic supporting means. In this ball saucer, the movable bottom plate is pushed down against the repulsive force of the elastic supporting means by its weight as the amount of pachinko balls stored increases, and the downward slope becomes smaller (here, "the downward slope becomes smaller"). Means that the descending slope approaches 0 ° or becomes 0 ° or less).
With this configuration, even if the amount of pachinko balls stored in the ball saucer becomes larger than before, the back pressure per pachinko ball becomes smaller, and the back pressure applied to the pachinko balls on the downstream side is suppressed to an appropriate level. , It is possible to prevent the pachinko balls from forming a bridge on the downstream side and impairing the ball flow.

Thereafter, as the storage amount of the pachinko balls becomes smaller, the weight of the pachinko balls applied to the movable bottom plate becomes smaller, and the movable bottom plate is pushed back upward by the elastic supporting means, so that the downward slope of the movable bottom plate becomes larger. As a result, the back pressure applied to the pachinko ball on the downstream side is always automatically adjusted to an appropriate level, and a smooth ball flow is ensured.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a schematic configuration of the entire pachinko machine will be described with reference to FIG. A game board 12 is attached to the front surface of the machine frame 11 of the pachinko machine, and a central winning device 13 and various winning openings 14a, 14 are provided on the front surface (game board surface) of the game board 12.
b and 14c are provided, and an out ball discharge port 21 is provided at the center of the lower end of the game board 12. In addition, machine frame 11
On the lower right side of the lower part, the operation handle 15 and the firing motor 1
6, a launching device 1 including a ball hammer 17, a launch rail 18 and the like
9 is provided. The pachinko ball (enclosed ball) fired along the launch rail 18 by the hammer 17 of the launching device 19 is guided to the upper part of the game board surface by a guide rail 20 extending in an arc shape.

A ball tray 25 having a large capacity so as to store several hundred or more pachinko balls is provided in the lower front portion of the machine frame 11. The configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 4 (right side view in vertical section), FIG. 5 (front view in vertical section), and FIG. 6 (left side view in vertical section of the rectifier portion). The ball receiving tray 25 receives the pachinko balls that have flowed in from the inflow port 30 provided on the front surface of the machine frame 11,
This pachinko ball is made to flow forward toward the outlet 31 provided at the front of the ball tray 25. The bottom surface of the ball receiving tray 25 is composed of a movable bottom plate 26, and the front end portion of the movable bottom plate 26 is supported on the side wall of the ball receiving tray 25 via a shaft 27 so that the shaft 27 serves as a fulcrum.
Is supported so that it can be tilted in the vertical direction.

The rear side of the movable bottom plate 26 is supported from below by a spring 28 which is an elastic supporting means. When the amount of pachinko balls stored is small, the rear side of the movable bottom plate 26 is pushed up by the repulsive force of the spring 28. , Movable bottom plate 2
The descending slope of 6 becomes large. The maximum gradient of the movable bottom plate 26 is regulated by the protrusion piece 26a provided at the upstream end (rear end) of the movable bottom plate 26 hitting a stopper portion 29 formed on the rear wall of the ball tray 25. It Then, as the amount of pachinko balls stored in the ball tray 25 increases, the weight of the pachinko balls pushes the movable bottom plate 26 against the repulsive force of the spring 28 as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. It becomes smaller (in this embodiment, the downslope finally becomes 0 ° or less).

In this embodiment, a rising wall 26b is integrally formed on the other side of the movable bottom plate 26 except for one side on the downstream side. The rising wall 26b receives a pachinko ball to receive the ball receiving tray 25. The contact resistance between the inner surface of the and the pachinko ball is reduced, and the movable bottom plate 26 can be smoothly moved up and down. Further, the movable bottom plate 26 is inclined downward from both left and right sides toward the central part so that the movable bottom plate 26 naturally flows from the left and right side parts toward the outlet 31 side in the central part.

On the other hand, the pachinko balls flowing out from the movable bottom plate 26 to the outflow port 31 flow into the straightening path 32 (see FIG. 5) provided in the front part of the ball tray 25, and are aligned in a straight line in the straightening path 32. While flowing to the left side, it is guided to the rectifier 33 provided on the left side of the ball tray 25. The rectifying path 32
On the upper wall surface of the middle part of the ball, a ball leveling plate 34 for leveling the flow of the pachinko balls is provided in a state of being urged downward by a spring 35. A ball outlet 36 is provided in the upstream portion of the rectifying path 32, and the ball outlet 36 can be opened and closed by a ball removing member 37. The ball-removing member 37 is normally held in a position to close the ball-removing port 36 by the elastic force of the spring 38, and the player slides the lever 39 (see FIG. 4) of the ball-removing member 37 to the right. As a result, the ball outlet 36 is opened.

As shown in FIG. 6, the rectifier 32 described above is rotated by an electromagnetic solenoid 40 about a shaft 41 as a fulcrum and an upper lever 42 about a shaft 43 as a fulcrum. A lower switch 44 is provided, and a proximity switch 45 for detecting passage of a pachinko ball is provided between the upper lever 42 and the lower lever 44. In this case, when the electromagnetic solenoid 40 is turned off, as shown in FIG. 6, only one pachinko ball enters the proximity switch 45 from the rectifying path 32 and is held in a state of being received by the lower lever 44.

After that, when the electromagnetic solenoid 40 is turned on, the plunger 46 is attracted upward, and the upper lever 42 rotates clockwise about the shaft 41 as a fulcrum, and in conjunction therewith, the lower lever 44 moves. Rotates counterclockwise around the shaft 43 as a fulcrum, and the pachinko balls in the proximity switch 45 fall into the discharge path 47 and are discharged to the outside of the machine (ball distribution path on the island) through the discharge path 47. At this time, only one pachinko ball falls from the proximity switch 45 to the discharge path 47,
The subsequent pachinko ball is stopped in front of the proximity switch 45 by the rotated upper lever 42. Then, each time one pachinko ball falls from the proximity switch 45, a firing command signal is output from the proximity switch 45 to the control circuit 61 (see FIG. 10) which is the control means.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, a prize ball tank 50 is provided on the upper rear surface of the machine casing 11, and prize balls (pachinko balls) are supplied into the prize ball tank 50 from a ball distribution path on the island. It is supposed to be done. The prize balls in the prize ball tank 50 are supplied to the prize ball discharging device 52 located on the right side of the central portion on the rear surface of the machine frame 11 by the tank rail 51.

In the lower part of the rear face of the machine casing 11, there is provided a central winning device 13 and a collecting gutter 53 for collecting safe balls that have entered the respective winning openings 14a, 14b, 14c.
As shown in FIG. 1, an evidence ball detector 54 is provided at the downstream of the collecting trough 53. This evidence ball detector 54
Is a proximity switch 55 that detects the passage of a proof sphere (safe sphere), a movable iron piece 56 that receives the proof sphere that has entered the proximity switch 55, an electromagnet 57 that attracts the movable iron piece 56, and a movable iron piece 56. Shaft 58 by rotational displacement
And a ball stopper cam 59 that rotates in a clockwise direction with the fulcrum as a fulcrum.

When the electromagnet 57 is turned off, the evidence sphere detector 54 is held in a state where only one evidence sphere enters the proximity switch 55 from the collecting gutter 53 and is received by the movable iron piece 56. After that, when the electromagnet 57 is turned on, the movable iron piece 56 is attracted to the left, and the evidence ball inside the proximity switch 55 falls into the enclosed ball gutter 60. At this time, there is only one evidence ball that falls into the enclosed ball gutter 60.
The trailing evidence ball is stopped in front of the proximity switch 55 by a ball stop cam 59 that rotates clockwise in association with the suction of the movable iron piece 56. In this way, every time one evidence ball falls from the proximity switch 55, the proximity ball 55 outputs a evidence ball detection signal to the control circuit 61 (see FIG. 10), and the prize ball ejecting device 52 wins the prize each time. A ball discharging operation is performed to discharge a predetermined number of pachinko balls.

The discharge port of the prize ball discharging device 52 is shown in FIG.
As shown in, the prize ball flow path 62 and the enclosed ball replenishment flow path 63 are provided so as to branch, and the downstream side opening 62a of the prize ball flow path 62 is provided.
Is connected to the inflow port 30 of the ball tray 25 via the prize ball sink case 64 as shown in FIG. Further, between the lower end of the guide rail 20 and the upper end of the launch rail 18, there is provided a foul ball dropping port 65 for dropping the foul ball returning from the guide rail 20. The collection passage 66 connects to the prize ball sink case 64, and the foul balls are collected in the ball receiving tray 25.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the enclosed sphere replenishing flow path 63 is connected to the enclosed sphere gutter 60. An out ball inlet 67 is provided in the middle of the enclosed ball replenishing flow passage 63, and the out ball discharged from the out ball outlet 21 at the lower end of the game board surface is enclosed ball replenishing passage 63 from the out ball inflow 67. It flows into the inside and is collected by the enclosed ball gutter 60. A flat sensor 68 is provided as a means for detecting the amount of enclosed balls in the middle of the enclosed ball gutter 60, and when the storage amount of the enclosed balls in the enclosed ball gutter 60 becomes smaller than the position of the flat sensor 68, This flat sensor 68
The control signal from the control circuit 61
It is designed to be output to.

The prize ball flow path 62 and the enclosed ball supply flow path 6 described above.
A flow path switching damper 71 is provided as a flow path switching unit at the branch portion of 3. The flow passage switching damper 71 is driven by the rotary solenoid 72, and in a normal state, that is, when the amount of enclosed balls is larger than the position of the flat sensor 68, the rotary solenoid 72 is turned off and the flow passage switching damper 71 returns. A pachinko ball discharged from the prize ball discharge device 52 is held at the prize ball flow path open position shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 by a spring (not shown), passes through the prize ball flow path 62, and serves as a "prize ball". It flows into 25.

After that, the amount of the enclosed spheres decreased,
When the enclosed sensor shortage signal (enclosed ball replenishment command) is output from the flat sensor 68 to the control circuit 61, the rotary solenoid 72 is turned on and the passage switching damper 71 is shown in FIG. At the same time as switching to the open position, the prize ball ejecting device 52 is operated, and a predetermined number of pachinko balls ejected from the prize ball ejecting device 52 are supplied to the enclosed ball gutter 60 as “enclosed balls”. In such a refilling operation of the enclosed sphere, the enclosed amount of the enclosed sphere is determined by the flat sensor 68.
Is repeated, that is, until the enclosed ball shortage signal (enclosed ball replenishment command) is released.

Further, a ball removing port 73 is provided at the downstream portion of the enclosed ball gutter 60, and the ball removing port 73 is provided with the ball removing member 74.
It can be opened and closed by (ball removing means).
As shown in FIG. 7, the ball removing member 74 is supported rotatably in the vertical direction about a shaft 75 as a fulcrum, and is opened / closed by an electromagnetic solenoid 76. Normally, the electromagnetic solenoid 76 is turned off, and the plunger 77 is projected downward by the spring 78 to hold the ball removing member 74 at the horizontal position (the position where the ball removing port 73 is closed). Then, when the electromagnetic solenoid 76 is turned on, the plunger 77 is attracted upward, and in conjunction with this, the ball removing member 74 is interlocked.
Rotates downward, and the ball outlet 73 is opened.

On the other hand, a rectifier 8 is provided at the downstream end of the enclosed ball gutter 60.
1 (see FIG. 8) is attached. This rectifier 81
Is provided with a rectifying lever 83 in the rectifying case 82, and the rectifying lever 83 is moved up and down with an electromagnetic solenoid 84 (see FIG. 1) about a shaft 85 as a fulcrum to flow from the enclosed ball gutter 60 into the rectifying case 82. The enclosed balls are received one by one by the rectifying lever 83 and sent to the firing position. The enclosed spheres fired from the launch position to the game board surface are collected in the collecting gutter 53 and returned to the inclusion sphere gutter 60 if they become safe balls, and if they become out balls, they are enclosed from the out sphere inlet 67 at the lower end of the game board surface. It flows into the supply channel 63 and returns to the enclosed ball gutter 60. As described above, the circulation cycle is configured to return all the fired enclosed balls to the enclosed ball gutter 60.

In this embodiment, the collecting gutter 53, the enclosed ball supply channel 63, the prize ball channel 62 and the enclosed ball gutter 60 are integrated into a back pack 85 (see FIG. 2), and the right side of the back pack 85 is formed. Is attached to the back surface of the machine casing 11 by a hinge (not shown), and the left side of the back pack 85 is an engaging lever (not shown).
Are engaged and fixed by. Furthermore, when the back pack 85 is opened, a ball stopper lever 86 (see FIGS. 8 and 9) is provided at the downstream portion of the enclosed ball gutter 60 so that the enclosed ball does not spill out from the downstream end of the enclosed ball gutter 60. It is provided.

A ball stopper 86a is formed at the center of the tip of the ball stopper lever 86, and two stopper protrusions 86b, which are longer than the ball stopper 86a, are formed on the upper and lower sides of the stopper 86a. The ball stop lever 86 is, as shown in FIG.
With the shaft 87 serving as a fulcrum, the torsion coil spring 88 is used to
This ball stopper lever 8 is urged to rotate in the counterclockwise direction of
The two stopper projections 86b at the tip of 6 are held in a state of being inserted into both upper and lower sides of the enclosed ball gutter 60. Then, in the state where the back pack 85 is attached to the back surface of the machine casing 11, the tips of the two stopper protrusions 86b abut against the back surface of the machine casing 11, so that the ball stopping portion 86a becomes the enclosed ball gutter 60.
It is held so that it does not project inside.

On the other hand, when the back pack 85 is opened, the tip of the stopper protrusion 86b is separated from the back surface of the machine frame 11,
Simultaneously with the opening of the back pack 85, the ball stopper lever 86 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 8 by the torsion coil spring 88, and the ball stopper portion 86a is projected into the enclosed ball gutter 60. 86a prevents the enclosed sphere from falling in the enclosed sphere gutter 60.

Further, as shown in FIG.
A firing confirmation sensor 90 for confirming the foul ball is provided at the end (near the foul ball dropping port 65), and a pachinko ball discharged from the rectifier 33 on the side of the ball saucer 25 is output by the firing confirmation sensor 90. Exactly 1: 1 relationship between the ball and the launch ball (excluding foul ball) that is launched to the game board surface
Control to keep on. Note that the position of the launch confirmation sensor 90 is not limited to the end of the launch rail 18, and may be provided in the foul ball collection passage 66 or above the guide rail 20 to reach the game board surface. It is also possible to detect (excluding the foul ball).

According to the enclosed ball type pachinko machine constructed as described above, each time one pachinko ball flowing out from the ball tray 25 is discharged from the rectifier 33 to the outside of the machine (ball distribution path on the island), A firing command signal is output from the proximity switch 45 to the control circuit 61, and each time the rectifier 81 on the side of the launching device 19 operates, the enclosed balls gutter 60 sends the enclosed balls one by one to the launching position 19, and the hitting mallet 17 Guide rail 20
Is fired to the game board surface along. Then, the safe balls are collected by the collecting gutter 53 and returned to the enclosed ball gutter 60, and the out balls flow into the enclosed ball supply channel 63 from the out ball inlet 67 at the lower end of the game board surface and return to the enclosed ball gutter 60.

In a normal state, that is, when the enclosed amount of the enclosed sphere is larger than the position of the flat sensor 68, the rotary solenoid 72 for switching the flow path is turned off, and the flow path switching damper 7 is turned on.
1 is held at the prize ball passage open position shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 by a return spring (not shown). In this state, each time the proximity switch 55 of the evidence ball detector 54 detects an evidence ball, the proximity switch 55 outputs an evidence ball detection signal to the control circuit 61, and each time the prize ball ejecting device 52 causes the prize ball ejector 52 to win the prize ball. A predetermined number of pachinko balls are discharged by performing the discharging operation, and the pachinko balls pass through the prize ball flow path 62 and serve as "prize balls".
Received in 5.

During this game, the foul ball returning backwards on the guide rail 20 falls from the foul ball dropping port 65 into the foul ball collecting passage 66 and is collected in the ball tray 25. Therefore, the amount of the enclosed sphere decreases each time a foul sphere is generated, but when the enclosed amount of the enclosed sphere becomes less than the position of the flat sensor 68, the flat sensor 68 outputs the enclosed sphere shortage signal (the enclosed sphere). A replenishment command) is output to the control circuit 61. As a result, the rotary solenoid 72 is turned on, the flow path switching damper 71 is switched to the enclosed sphere replenishment flow path open position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1, and the prize ball discharging device 52 is activated. A predetermined number of pachinko balls discharged from 52 flow into the enclosed ball supply channel 63 as "enclosed balls" and are supplied to the enclosed ball gutter 60. Such a refilling operation of the enclosed sphere is repeated until the enclosed amount of the enclosed sphere exceeds the position of the flat sensor 68, that is, until the enclosed sphere shortage signal (enclosed sphere replenishment command) is released.

As a result, when the enclosed ball shortage signal (enclosed ball replenishment command) is released, the rotary solenoid 72 is turned off, and the flow path switching damper 71 is shown by a solid line in FIG. 1 by a return spring (not shown). It is switched to the prize ball flow path opening position, and returns to the prize ball discharge control based on the above-mentioned evidence ball detection signal.

As is clear from the above description, according to the enclosed ball type pachinko machine of this embodiment, the guide rail 2
The foul ball that returns 0 is the foul ball recovery passage 6
6, the flow path switching damper 71 is automatically switched to the enclosed ball replenishment flow path opening position when the amount of the enclosed balls is reduced to a predetermined amount or less.
Since the pachinko ball discharged from 2 can be supplied to the enclosed ball gutter 60 as an "enclosed ball", it is not necessary to lift the foul ball to the enclosed ball gutter 60, which eliminates the need for a conventional ball raising device and encloses it. The shortage of balls can be prevented in advance, and troubles such as inability to fire due to a shortage of enclosed balls can be prevented. In this case, the pachinko ball supplied to the enclosed ball gutter 60 is a pachinko ball supplied from the ball distribution channel of the island, so even if the player puts an illegal ball in the ball saucer 25, There is no room for the illegal ball to enter as a "filled ball" in the circulation cycle of the pachinko machine in which the game is played by the player, and the crime prevention performance is not impaired.

Moreover, during the game, since the launch ball or foul ball to be launched to the game board surface is confirmed by the launch confirmation sensor 90, the pachinko ball discharged from the rectifier 33 on the ball tray 25 side and the game board surface. It can be controlled to keep the relationship to the firing ball (excluding foul ball) fired exactly 1: 1.

On the other hand, when the enclosed balls are replaced or cleaned after the pachinko hall is closed, the control mode is switched to the ball removal mode by a ball removal switch (not shown). In this ball removal mode, the ball removal electromagnetic solenoid 76 is turned on, the plunger 77 is attracted upward, and in conjunction with this, the ball removal member 74 rotates downward and the ball removal port 73 is opened. The enclosed ball is extracted from the ball removing port 73. At this time, the control circuit 61 ignores the detection signal of the flat sensor 68 for detecting the enclosed ball amount, and when the control mode is switched from the ball removal mode to the normal mode, that is, the electromagnetic solenoid 76 is turned off and the ball removal member. Flat sensor 68 after 74 is closed
In response to the enclosed ball shortage signal (enclosed ball replenishment command) output from, the enclosed ball gutter 60 is controlled to automatically replenish the enclosed ball. As a result, the processing from the stop of the enclosed ball replenishing operation during the ball removal to the execution of the enclosed ball replenishment operation after the ball removal is completed is automated, and the replacement operation of the enclosed balls can be performed very easily.

However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration,
It goes without saying that the enclosed ball replenishing operation during ball removal may be stopped manually. Further, the ball removing member 74 (ball removing means) may be manually opened and closed.

By the way, the ball saucer of the conventional pachinko machine is
Two ball pans called "upper plate" and "lower plate" were required. The reason is that when the capacity of the upper plate is increased, the back pressure applied to the pachinko ball on the downstream side in the upper plate ( This is because the load received from the pachinko ball in the back) becomes too large and the back pressure causes the pachinko ball to form a bridge and the ball flow deteriorates. In order not to cause any trouble, the limit was at most about a hundred and a dozen. This number of pachinko balls is
When the number of prizes is low (so-called slump condition), it will be lost immediately, so during the game the player must interrupt the game and transfer the pachinko ball from the lower plate to the upper plate many times. Not only that, it is not only troublesome, but it also causes the game to entertain.

In order to solve this problem, in the above embodiment, the ball receiving tray 25 is constructed as follows, so that the ball receiving tray 2
It is possible to increase the capacity of 5 and one plate. That is, the bottom surface of the ball tray 25 is composed of the movable bottom plate 26, and as the amount of pachinko balls stored increases, the weight of the movable bottom plate 26 increases.
Is pushed down against the repulsive force of the spring 28 so that its downward slope becomes smaller. Therefore, even if the amount of pachinko balls stored in the ball tray 25 becomes larger than the conventional one, the back pressure per pachinko ball can be reduced, and the back pressure applied to the pachinko balls around the outlet 31 can be reduced. It can be suppressed to an appropriate level, and it is possible to prevent the pachinko balls from forming a bridge around the outlet 31 and the flow of the balls from being deteriorated. Then, as the storage amount of the pachinko balls in the ball tray 25 decreases, the weight of the pachinko balls added to the movable bottom plate 26 becomes smaller, and the movable bottom plate 26 becomes the spring 2.
The movable bottom plate 26 is pushed upward by 8 and the downward slope of the movable bottom plate 26 is increased, so that the pachinko ball easily flows to the downstream side. As a result, the back pressure applied to the pachinko ball around the outlet 31 can always be automatically adjusted to an appropriate level, and a smooth ball flow can be ensured. Therefore, the capacity of the ball tray 25 can be increased without deteriorating the ball flow.

Due to the increase in the capacity of the ball tray 11, the pachinko balls that have conventionally flown into the lower tray are also one ball tray 25.
Therefore, it is not necessary for the player to interrupt the game during the game and transfer the pachinko ball from the lower plate (not shown) to the ball receiving plate 25 (upper plate) during the game. It is possible to save time and labor, and it is possible to immerse the player in the game and improve the operation rate of the pachinko hall. Moreover, by increasing the capacity of the ball tray 25, it is possible to eliminate the lower tray and replace it with a single tray, which makes it possible to innovate the design of pachinko machines and reduce costs, and also to increase the size of the game board surface. It is also possible, and it is possible to create a board structure of various winning forms that cannot be realized with the conventional structure.

In the above embodiment, the front end portion of the movable bottom plate 26 is set to the downstream side so as to be pivotally supported, but, for example, the left end portion or the right end portion of the movable bottom plate is set to be the downstream side so as to be pivotally supported. The outflow port may be formed on the side of the bottom plate. For example, the position of the pivotal support portion of the movable bottom plate and the position of the outflow port can be changed as appropriate.

In addition, according to the present invention, the drive source of the flow path switching damper 71 is changed from the rotary solenoid 72 to the motor, and the prize ball is flown into the ball receiving tray 25. A range that does not deviate from the gist, such as providing a means for detecting whether or not the prize ball storage amount is full, and providing a display or a sound to notify that effect when it is full, etc. It goes without saying that various modifications can be made within the implementation.

[0048]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the pachinko machine of claim 1 of the present invention, the foul ball returning from the guide rail is collected in the ball receiving tray through the foul ball collecting passage, and the enclosed ball is filled. When the enclosed amount of is less than a predetermined amount, the flow path switching means is automatically switched to the enclosed sphere replenishment channel open position, and the pachinko balls discharged from the prize ball discharge device are regarded as "enclosed balls". Since it can be replenished to the gutter, it is not necessary to lift the foul ball into the enclosed ball gutter, the conventional lifting device is not required, and the lack of the enclosed ball can be prevented in advance. It is possible to prevent troubles such as inability. Moreover, since the launch ball or the foul ball launched to the game board surface is confirmed by the launch confirmation sensor, the pachinko ball discharged from the ball tray 25 and the launch ball launched to the game board surface (excluding the foul ball). Can be controlled to keep the relationship to 1: 1 exactly.

Furthermore, if the ball-removing means is provided in the circulation cycle as in the second aspect, the ball-removing means can periodically replace or clean the enclosed balls.

In this case, as in claim 3, when the ball removing means is opened to the ball removing position, the control means ignores the detection signal of the enclosed ball amount detecting means, and after the ball removing means is closed. By controlling to automatically replenish the enclosed spheres in the circulation cycle by the detection signal of the enclosed sphere amount detection means,
The processing from the stop of the enclosed ball replenishing operation during the ball removal to the execution of the enclosed ball replenishment operation after the completion of the ball removal can be automated, and the replacement work of the enclosed balls can be performed very easily.

Further, in the structure of claim 4, as the amount of pachinko balls stored in the ball tray increases, the movable bottom plate is pushed down by the weight thereof against the repulsive force of the elastic supporting means, and the descending slope thereof becomes small. Since it is configured so that the back pressure per pachinko ball can be reduced even if the amount of stored pachinko balls becomes larger than before, the back pressure applied to the pachinko balls on the downstream side can be properly adjusted. It can be suppressed to a level, and it is possible to prevent the pachinko spheres from forming a bridge on the downstream side and deteriorating the ball flow. As a result, it is possible to increase the capacity of the ball saucer without deteriorating the flow of balls, and it is necessary for the player to interrupt the game during the game and transfer the pachinko balls from the lower plate to the ball saucer (upper plate). Therefore, it is possible to save the trouble of the player, and to make the player enthusiastic about the game, thereby improving the operation rate of the pachinko hall. Moreover,
By increasing the capacity of the ball tray, it is possible to eliminate the lower tray and replace it with a single tray, which will allow the pachinko machine design to be innovative and cost-reduced, as well as increase the size of the game board surface. Therefore, it is possible to create a board structure of various winning forms that cannot be realized with the conventional structure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional rear view showing a configuration of a lower portion of a back side of a pachinko machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Figure 2] Rear view of the pachinko machine

[Figure 3] Front view of a pachinko machine

[Fig. 4] Vertical right side view of the ball saucer

5 is a vertical cross-sectional front view of the ball saucer taken along the line AA in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional left side view of the ball saucer taken along line BB in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional right side view of a portion around the ball removing member of the enclosed ball gutter.

FIG. 8 is a transverse cross-sectional view of a portion around a ball stopper lever of an enclosed ball gutter.

9 is a vertical cross-sectional right view taken along the line CC of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a control system.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Machine frame, 12 ... Game board, 16 ... Launch motor, 17 ...
Hammer, 18 ... Launch rail, 19 ... Launch device, 20 ... Guide rail, 21 ... Out ball outlet, 25 ... Ball saucer, 2
6 ... Movable bottom plate, 28 ... Spring (elastic support means), 31 ... Outflow port, 32 ... Rectifier path, 33 ... Rectifier, 36 ... Ball removal port,
37 ... Ball removing member, 40 ... Electromagnetic solenoid, 45 ... Proximity switch, 46 ... Discharge path, 50 ... Prize ball tank, 51 ... Tank rail, 52 ... Prize ball discharging device, 53 ... Collecting gutter, 54
… Proof sphere detector, 55… Proximity switch, 57… Electromagnet,
60 ... Enclosed ball gutter, 61 ... Control circuit (control means), 62 ...
Prize ball flow path, 63 ... Enclosed ball replenishment flow path, 64 ... Ball flow case, 65 ... Fal ball drop port, 66 ... Fal ball recovery passage, 67 ... Out ball inflow port, 68 ... Flat sensor (enclosed ball amount detecting means) ), 71 ... Flow path switching damper (flow path switching means), 72 ... Rotary solenoid, 73 ... Ball removal port, 7
4 ... Ball removing member (ball removing means), 76 ... Electromagnetic solenoid, 81 ... Rectifier, 83 ... Rectifying lever, 84 ... Electromagnetic solenoid, 85 ... Back pack, 86 ... Ball stopper lever, 86a
... ball stopper, 86b ... stopper projection, 88 ... torsion coil spring, 90 ... firing confirmation sensor.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pachinko ball stored in a ball tray provided at a lower portion of the front of the pachinko machine constitutes a circulation cycle for returning a pachinko ball fired on a game board surface by a launcher to the launcher side. In synchronism with the operation of ejecting each one to the outside of the machine, the pachinko balls enclosed in the circulation cycle (hereinafter referred to as "encapsulated balls") are sent to the launching device one by one and are launched on the game board surface. In the pachinko machine, the enclosed ball returning from the guide rail for guiding the launch ball is collected as a "fal ball" in the ball saucer, and the launch ball or foul ball launched to the game board surface is confirmed. The launch confirmation sensor, the prize ball discharging device that discharges the specified number of pachinko balls replenished from the prize ball tank, and the pachinko balls discharged from this prize ball discharging device. Winning balls "
Flow path switching means for switching the flow path between the prize ball flow path that is made to flow down to the ball receiving tray and the enclosed ball replenishment flow path that replenishes the pachinko ball as an "inclusion ball" to the circulation cycle; The enclosed sphere amount detection means for detecting whether or not the enclosed amount of the enclosed spheres enclosed in the sphere is below a predetermined amount, and normally, the flow path switching means is held at the prize ball flow path open position to perform the prize. The pachinko balls discharged from the ball discharging device are made to flow down to the ball receiving tray as "prize balls", and when the enclosed amount of the enclosed balls becomes less than a predetermined amount, based on the detection signal of the enclosed ball amount detecting means, By switching the flow path switching means to the enclosed ball replenishment flow path opening position and operating the prize ball discharging device, the pachinko balls discharged from the prize ball discharging device are supplied as "enclosed balls" into the circulation cycle. Control to control Pinball machine, characterized in that a stage. 2. The pachinko machine according to claim 1, wherein a ball removing means for removing the enclosed ball is provided in the circulation cycle. 3. The control means ignores the detection signal of the enclosed sphere amount detecting means when the sphere removing means is opened to the sphere removing position, and the enclosed sphere is closed after the sphere removing means is closed. The pachinko machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pachinko machine is controlled so as to replenish the enclosed balls in the circulation cycle according to a detection signal of the amount detecting means. 4. The ball tray has a large capacity so as to store hundreds or more of pachinko balls, and at least a part of the bottom surface of the ball tray is composed of a movable bottom plate which can be tilted in the vertical direction. The pachinko machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the movable bottom plate is elastically supported by elastic supporting means.