JPH08299572A - Game ball lifter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a game ball lifter which prevents the curving of soft bodies by thermal expansion, improves the elasticity of the soft bodies and prevents the partial wear of the soft bodies during lifting of the game balls. CONSTITUTION: This game ball lifter has an openable and closable door 66 which is arranged to face a lifting belt 25 and the soft elastic bodies (soft bodies) 25 which are arranged at this door 66 and hold pinballs PB between this door and the lifting belt 25 and impart lifting force thereto. The soft elastic bodies 71 are so arranged that spacings D are formed between the flanks 71A of the soft elastic bodies 71 and guide rails 74 facing these flanks 71A when the projections 72 of the soft elastic bodies 71 are arranged with the rising part 74A of the guide rails 74 of the upper door 66. Plural contact parts 73A parted from each other are formed on the surfaces of the soft elastic bodies 71 facing the door 66. Guide surfaces 73c which prevent the interference of the pinballs PB with the guide rails 74 by limiting the moving quantity at which the pinballs move in a transverse direction are formed at the soft elastic bodies 71.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game ball lifting device for supplying game balls to a predetermined height in a pachinko hall.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a pachinko machine yard (called an "island" because it is scattered in the pachinko hall) is installed in parallel in a pachinko hall, where a group of pachinko machines are installed facing outward. A game ball lifting device is used that collects and polishes the game balls discharged from each pachinko machine in the machine yard, lifts them to a predetermined height while polishing, and supplies them again to the game ball refilling path of each pachinko machine. .

Inside the pachinko machine yard, there is provided a storage tank whose bottom plate is inclined downward toward the game ball lifting device. A predetermined number of game balls are stored in advance in this storage tank in order to increase the absolute amount of game balls circulating in the pachinko machine yard, and the game balls stored in the storage tank are passages formed downstream of the storage tank. It is polished by a game ball lifting device, conveyed to the upper part of the pachinko machine yard, and returned to the storage tank again after passing through each pachinko machine.

By the way, in the conventional game ball lifting device, the opening and closing door is arranged to face the endless belt, and the game ball is sandwiched between the endless belt and the endless belt to give a lifting force to the game ball. The body was fixed with an adhesive. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the plate-shaped flexible body 200 is set to have a width substantially equal to the distance between the side plates 211A and 211B of the door 210 having a U-shaped horizontal cross section, and the rear surface of the front plate 212. Was attached to. The ambient temperature of the game ball lifting device rises, and the game ball P
The flexible body 200 is thermally expanded by frictional heat or the like due to friction between the game ball PB and the flexible body 200 during B pumping. Due to this thermal expansion, the flexible body 200 is curved and floats up, and the game ball PB
Will be a driving obstacle. That is, the gap between the flexible body 200 and the endless belt (not shown) is set in advance so as to give an elastic force that does not suppress the lifting of the game ball PB.
When the flexible body 200 bends and floats up, the game ball PB is further urged toward the endless belt side, and the elastic force above the preset value is applied to the game ball PB, which becomes a traveling obstacle of the game ball PB and the game is played. There may be a case where the ball PB is not smoothly lifted up or abnormal wear of the flexible body 200 itself occurs.

Further, since the flexible body 200 is formed in a flat plate shape, the game ball PB is pressed to the endless belt side only by the elastic force of the flexible body 200.

Further, although the flexible body 200 is attached to the door 210, the game balls PB are provided on the side plates 211A and 211B which serve as guides for limiting the widthwise movement of the game balls PB formed of, for example, soft synthetic resin. Since the materials are lifted while coming into contact with each other, there has been a problem that the side plates 211A and 211B are partially worn.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In consideration of the above facts, the present invention prevents the bending of the flexible body due to thermal expansion, improves the elastic force of the flexible body, and prevents partial wear of the flexible body when the game ball is lifted. It is an object to provide a game ball lifting device.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an endless belt arranged vertically and an endless belt arranged on the opposite side of the endless belt via a hoisting path of the endless ball. A support member, and a flexible body that is arranged on the lifting path side of the support member, faces the endless belt, and holds a game ball between the endless belt and imparts a lifting force to the game ball. The ball lifting device is characterized in that an absorbing means for absorbing the expansion of the flexible body in the width direction is provided at an end portion in the width direction of the flexible body.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided the game ball lifting device, wherein the absorbing means is positioned at an end portion in the width direction of the flexible body, which is displaced from an extension line in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the traveling surface of the game ball. The formed engaging means and locking means for limiting the amount of movement of the flexible body in the width direction are provided at a portion of the support member corresponding to the engaging means of the flexible body, and the side surface of the flexible body and It is characterized in that the flexible body is arranged so that a gap is formed between the locking means corresponding to the side surface.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the game ball lifting device, wherein the flexible body is provided with a plurality of protrusions spaced apart from each other on the surface facing the support member so as to contact the support member. Is characterized by.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the game ball hoisting device, wherein the protrusion is arranged or formed along a direction in which the game ball is conveyed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the game ball lifting device, wherein the flexible body is provided with a guide portion for limiting a moving amount of the game ball moving in the width direction so as not to interfere with other members. Is characterized by.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game ball lifting device, wherein the guide portion is linearly formed at an end portion in a direction orthogonal to a carrying direction in which the game ball travels, along the carrying direction of the game ball. It is characterized by that.

[0014]

In the above structure, the rotation of the endless belt causes
The game ball is sandwiched between an endless belt and a flexible body and is then pumped.
When the flexible body thermally expands due to frictional heat generated when the game ball is lifted, the flexible body also extends in the width direction, but this thermal expansion is absorbed by the absorbing means.

Further, since the flexible body is separated from the support member in the portion between the projecting portions of the flexible body, the elasticity for sandwiching the game ball between the endless belt and the elastic force of the flexible body is elastic. Power is generated. Further, since the movement amount of the game ball in the width direction is limited by the guide portion, it does not interfere with other members.

[0016]

【Example】

(First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a game ball lifting device according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a detached state of a door.

A plurality of pachinko machine yards are provided in the pachinko machine yard, and a large number of pachinko machines are installed outward in these pachinko machine yards, and the game ball lifting device 10 shown in FIG. 1 is provided inside. It is arranged. In this game ball lifting device 10, the base 12 is fixed to the floor,
The support plate 14 is fastened and fixed onto the base 12 with bolts. A bracket 30 is fixed on the support plate 14, and a lower roller 20 shown by a broken line in FIG. 1 is rotatably and horizontally supported by a bearing (not shown). On the lower half of the lower roller 20, the lifting belt 2 which is an endless belt.
Part of No. 5 is wrapped around and sent back.

Below the lower roller 20, a biting chute 40 shown by a broken line in FIG. 1 is fixed to the bracket 30 and covers the lower portion of the lower roller 20. A soft material (not shown) is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the bite chute 40, and a pachinko ball PB (two points in FIG. 3), which is a game ball, is provided between the bite chute 40 and the outer periphery of the lifting belt 25 wound around the lower roller 20. (See the chain line) The spacing is slightly smaller than one. As a result, a pachinko ball P located behind the gaming ball lifting device 10 (in the direction of the arrow RE in the figure) near the end of the bite chute 40.
B is guided between the lifting belt 25 and this bite chute 40 (direction of arrow A), and along the peripheral surface of the lower roller 20 in front of the game ball lifting device 10 (direction of arrow FR) and above (arrow UP). Direction).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bracket 3
A base column 50 is erected on the top of 0 via a mounting base 42. A bracket 44 is fixed to the lower end of the base column 50, and a motor 60 is installed. The driving force of the motor 60 is transmitted to the lower roller 20 via a V belt (not shown) in the cover 62. That is, when the motor 60 is driven, the clockwise (arrow B direction) rotational force in FIG. 1 is transmitted to the lower roller (driving roller) 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, the base column 50 has a U-shaped horizontal cross-section, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper roller 46 is rotatably horizontally provided at the upper end of the base column 50. It is pivotally supported. As shown in FIG. 2, the lifting belt 25 partially wound around the lower roller 20 has another portion wound around the upper roller 46 and circulates between the upper roller 46 and the lower roller 20. To do. The surface portion of the lifting belt 25 fed from the lower roller 20 to the upper roller 46 serves as a lifting path PW for the pachinko balls PB as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of guide rollers 28 are axially supported by the base column 50 in the upper and lower intermediate portions in parallel with the lower roller 20 and the upper roller 46 at a predetermined interval with the axis center horizontal. As shown in FIG. 2, the peripheral surfaces of these guide rollers 28 protrude from the windows formed in the base column 50 and come into contact with the back surface of the lifting belt 25 to be lifted, and the middle portion of the lifting belt 25 is rearward ( It suppresses bending in the direction of arrow RE), smoothes the movement of the lifting belt 25, and has a flexible elastic body (flexible body).
71, the spacing between the polishing cloth 90 or the polishing cloth 90 and the lifting belt 25 is kept constant to ensure the lifting of the pachinko balls PB.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a discharge chute 42 covers the upper portion of the upper roller at the upper end of the base column 50. The discharge chute 42 is the pachinko ball PB that has been pumped.
To the rear (the direction of arrow RE), and the pachinko ball PB between the lifting belt 25 and the guide gutter (not shown) to drop it.
The spacing is slightly narrower than one.

In front of the base column 50 (in the direction of the arrow FR), upper and lower doors 66 and 68, which are support members, are arranged so as to be openable and closable through insertion / removal hinges 65A and 65B shown in FIG. As will be described in detail, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a vertical shaft-shaped support portion 65 that constitutes one of the hinges is provided at one lateral end of the base post 50.
A is vertically fixed at a predetermined interval with a vertical axis as a vertical axis. Further, the upper and lower doors 66 and 68 are bent at right angles at both side ends in a horizontal sectional shape, and side plates 67A and 67 are provided.
The tubular portion 6 having a U shape, which is B, and which constitutes the other side of the hinge at a position corresponding to the support portion 65A on one side plate 67A.
5B is fixed with the axis center vertical. That is, the upper and lower doors 66 and 68 are located on the opposite side of the lifting belt 25 via the lifting path PW of the pachinko balls PB by the rotation of the cylindrical part 65B supported by the support part 65A. The road PW is rotatably arranged from a closed state (state of FIG. 1) to an open state (state of phantom lines in FIG. 2).

As shown in FIG. 2, a flexible elastic body 71 is arranged inside the upper door 66, and a polishing cloth 90 is arranged inside the lower door 68. The flexible elastic body 71 and the polishing cloth 90 are arranged on the upper and lower doors 66, respectively. , 68 are opposed to the lifting belt 25 in the closed state. That is, the flexible elastic body 71 and the polishing cloth 90 are
In the closed state (the state of FIG. 1) of the lifting passages PW of the 6, 68, the lifting belt 25 is located on the lifting passages PW side of the upper and lower doors 66, 68.
The pachinko balls PB are sandwiched between the pachinko balls PB and the lifting belt 25, and the lifting force is applied to the pachinko balls PB.

The door has a two-tiered structure so that the polishing cloth 90 can be easily exchanged so that an ordinary adult can reach the upper end of the polishing cloth 90 without using a stepladder or the like. It was done. That is, the height of the game ball lifting device 10 is set in advance so that the pachinko balls PB can be conveyed above the pachinko machine yard and flow down naturally, so that the vertical height of the door is considerably high. Become. Therefore, the length of the polishing cloth 90 (the length in the vertical direction of the lower door 68) can be reached at the upper end without the use of a stepladder or the like by an ordinary adult, and the pachinko balls PB can be sufficiently fed. Limiting to the extent of polishing, the portion above this height sends the pachinko balls PB to the discharge chute 42, that is, the pachinko balls PB are sandwiched with the lifting belt 25 to give a lifting force to the pachinko balls PB. The body 71 is provided, and the doors are configured in upper and lower two stages so as to correspond to them. Since the flexible elastic body 71 imparts the lifting force to the pachinko balls PB as described above, the number of times of replacement is smaller than that of the polishing cloth 90.

The upper and lower doors 66 and 68 have hinges 65.
On a side plate 67B opposite to B, a plurality of substantially L-shaped hook portions 85A constituting one of the fasteners for holding the upper and lower doors 66 and 68 in a closed state are vertically arranged. On the other hand, the base pillar 50 has stoppers 85B that constitute the other fastener at positions corresponding to the hooks 85A, respectively. By locking the hooks 85A, the upper and lower doors 66, 68 are closed. Hold. In order to maintain the closed state of the upper and lower doors 66 and 68, various kinds of fasteners can be applied in addition to the fasteners having the above configuration.

As shown in FIG. 3, the flexible elastic body 71 is guided toward the upper side of the upper door 66 toward the side plates 67A and 67B, and the movement in the width direction is restricted. Two guide rails 74, which are locking means, are arranged respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, these guide rails 74 are a rising portion 7 that is a part of a locking means that rises in the direction of the lifting belt 25 at a right angle from the fixed portion to the upper door 66.
4A is provided. The leading end of the rising portion 74A serves as a holding portion 74B that is a part of the locking means that is bent at a right angle in the direction toward each other and faces each other.

As shown in FIG. 3, the flexible elastic body 71 is inserted between the rising portions 74A of the pair of guide rails 74 in the upward direction (arrow UP direction). Further, as shown in FIG. 2, holes 84 forming a part of the attachment means are formed in the lower end portion of the upper door 66 near both end portions in the width direction. That is, a plate-shaped fixture 80 which constitutes another part of the attachment means shown by the broken line in FIG. 2 is penetrated through the lower end of the flexible elastic body 71 along the width direction of the flexible elastic body 71. As shown in FIG. 3, holes 80A are formed at both ends of the fixture 80 at positions corresponding to the holes 84 that constitute the attachment means of the upper door 66. The hole 80A of the fixture 80 and the upper door 6
A bolt 81 that constitutes still another part of the attachment means is inserted into the hole 84 of 6 and fastened with a nut 82 from the opposite side (arrow FR side) of the upper door 66. In addition, the above-mentioned attachment means is attached to the upper door 66.
Also, what is arranged at the lower end of the flexible elastic body 71 is that a normal adult stepladder can be used when the upper door 66 is simply opened without removing the upper door 66 from the base column 50 (the state of the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2). This is so that the flexible elastic body 71 can be inserted into and removed from the guide rail 74 from below in a state where the above is not used, and can be fixed and removed by the bolt 81 and the nut 82.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the flexible elastic body 7
Reference numeral 1 is a flat plate shape, and an upper door 6 is provided in the front (direction of the arrow FR).
6 A plurality of abutting portions 73A, which are trapezoidal protrusions that are in contact with the back surface and are tapered, are linearly formed at appropriate intervals along the conveying direction (vertical direction) of the pachinko balls PB. That is, a plurality of contact portions 73A are formed on the surface facing the back surface of the upper door 66, separated from each other, and contact the upper door 66. Therefore, the flexible elastic body 71 is separated from the upper door 66 in the portion between the contact portions 73A, and, due to the elasticity of the flexible elastic body 71, the pachinko ball PB is elastically coupled with the lifting belt 25. Creates elasticity for the purpose of sandwiching.

The rear surface (in the direction of arrow RE) of the flexible elastic body 71 is a traveling surface 73B of the pachinko balls PB facing the lifting path PW, and guide surfaces 73C as guide portions are provided at both ends in the width direction. Each is formed. 3 and 4
As shown in, the guide surface 73C is an inclined surface that gradually approaches the lifting belt 25 from the flat traveling surface 73B. At the tip of the guide surface 73C, a protrusion 72 that is an engaging means that projects in the width direction is provided with side plates 67A, 6 of the upper door 66.
It is projected toward the 7B side. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the protrusion 72 is formed at a position displaced from the extension line in the width direction of the traveling surface 73B toward the lifting belt 25. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, when the protrusion 72 of the flexible elastic body 71 is engaged with the rising portion 74A of the guide rail 74 of the upper door 66, the side surface 71A of the flexible elastic body 71 faces the side surface 71A. The guide rail 74 is arranged such that a gap D is formed between the guide rail 74 and the rising portion 74A. The gap D absorbs thermal expansion due to temperature change, and the flexible elastic body 71
Is for preventing swelling toward the lifting belt 25.

As shown in FIG. 2, two guide rails 76 for guiding the insertion of the polishing cloth 90 toward the side plates 67A and 67B are arranged at both sides on the inner side of the back surface of the lower door 68. At the lower end of the polishing cloth 90, a pocket-shaped hook 9 is provided.
2 is formed. The hook portion 92 is formed by sewing both ends in the width direction of the polishing cloth 90 with the sewing thread 90A along the longitudinal direction while the lower end of the polishing cloth 90 is bent. Notches 77 are formed at both ends in the width direction at the lower end of the lower door 68, and the lower end portion of the lower door 68 between these notches 77 is a projecting piece 68A. The polishing cloth 90 is obtained by covering the protrusion 68A with the hooking portion 92 and polishing cloth 90.
The lower end side of the is locked to the lower door 68.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a stopper 96 is arranged outside the upper end of the lower door 68 near the upper end. The stopper 96 is a plate member having a U-shaped horizontal cross section so as to cover the outside of the lower door 68.
B is pierced through both ends of the stopper 96 and screwed to the lower door 68 to be fixed. That is, the upper portion 95 is folded back at the upper end of the lower door 68 while the hook portion 92 is hooked on the lower door 68, and is clamped between the stopper 96 and the lower door 68 to be fixed. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the length of the polishing cloth 90 is set to be slightly longer than the length of the lower door 68 in the vertical direction.

Next, the attachment / detachment when replacing the soft elastic body 71 and the polishing cloth 90 according to this embodiment will be described.

In order to attach the flexible elastic body 71 to the upper door 66, for example, the projections 72 on both sides of the flexible elastic body 71 are guided by the upper door 66 when the upper door 66 is opened (state shown in phantom line in FIG. 2). The flexible elastic body 71 is inserted into the rail 74 from below.
Insert from the bottom to the top. As shown in FIG. 3, the flexible elastic body 71 is inserted up to the position where the fixture 80 corresponds to the hole that constitutes the attachment means of the upper door 66, and the flexible elastic body 71 has the hole of the fixture 80 and the upper door 66. The bolt 81 is inserted into the hole of the attachment means and fastened with the nut 82 from the outside of the upper door 66.

The removal of the flexible elastic body 71 is carried out in the reverse order of the above-mentioned mounting procedure. That is, the flexible elastic body 7
1 is removed by opening the upper door 66 and then removing the bolt 81 fastening the fixture 80 of the flexible elastic body 71 and pulling the flexible elastic body 71 downward along the guide rail 74.

To attach the polishing cloth 90 to the lower door 68,
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, with the lower door 68 opened, the polishing cloth 90 is inserted between the guide rails 76 so that both sides of the polishing cloth 90 correspond to the guide rails 76 of the lower door 68. In this case, the hook portion 92 of the polishing cloth 90 is attached to the lower door 68.
The polishing cloth 90 is inserted into the guide rail 76, the polishing cloth 90 is pulled up, and the hooking portion 92 is put on the projection piece 68A and locked. In this insertion, the polishing cloth 90 is used as the guide rail 76.
Specifically, flip up the polishing cloth 90 so that it does not come off.
Avoid rising. Since both sides of the polishing cloth 90 are engaged with the guide rails 76, the lower door 68 is more reliably locked in the left-right direction.

As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper end 95 of the polishing cloth 90 is folded back at the upper end of the lower door 68. The polishing cloth 90 is pulled by pulling the folded upper end portion 95 downward.
After the tension is applied, that is, in the state where the polishing cloth 90 is not loosened, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper end portion 95 is fixed by being sandwiched between the stopper 96 and the lower door 68. Stopper 96
Is the bolt 96 with the stopper 96 with the upper end 95 sandwiched.
Fix with B.

The removal of the polishing cloth 90 is carried out in the reverse order of the above-mentioned mounting procedure. That is, when removing the polishing cloth 90, the bolt 96B is loosened after the lower door 68 is opened, and the stopper 96 is lifted to release the locked state of the upper end portion 95 of the polishing cloth 90. The polishing cloth 90 on the back side of the lower door 68 is pulled out along the guide rails 76, and the engagement between the protruding piece 68A and the hooking portion 92 of the polishing cloth 90 is released to remove the polishing cloth 90 from the lower door 68. After the flexible elastic body 71 and the polishing cloth 90 are replaced, the upper and lower doors 66 and 68 are held closed by the fasteners 85A and 85B.

The replacement of the flexible elastic body 71 and the polishing cloth 90 is performed by removing the upper and lower doors 66 and 68, that is, by lifting the upper and lower doors 66 and 68, as shown by the solid line in FIG. It may be performed after pulling out 65B from the support portion 65A of the base column 50.

After the flexible elastic body 71 and the polishing cloth 90 are replaced, the lower roller 20 is rotated clockwise by driving the motor 60 to guide the pachinko balls PB between the lifting belt 25 and the bite chute 40. , Forward to and above the game ball lifting device 10. That is, pachinko balls PB
Is sandwiched between the lifting belt 25 and the polishing cloth 90, and the polishing cloth 9
It is pumped while being ground (sliding rotation) at 0.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a pachinko ball P
When B is pumped to the flexible elastic body 71, a pachinko ball P
B is sandwiched between the lifting belt 25 and the flexible elastic body 71, lifted, and discharged from the discharge chute 42.

Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the flexible elastic body 71 thermally expands due to a temperature change, the thermal expansion escapes through the gap D, so that the flexible elastic body 71 can be prevented from rising and the pachinko ball PB can be smoothly moved. To run.

In this embodiment, the flexible elastic body 7
Since the flexible elastic body 71 is separated from the upper door 66 in the portion between the abutment portions 73A of 1, the pachinko ball PB is elastically sandwiched between the flexible elastic body 71 and the lifting belt 25 together with the elastic force of the flexible elastic body 71. An elastic force for moving is generated, and the elastic force of the flexible elastic body 71 can be improved.

Further, in this embodiment, since the guide portion 73C is formed on the running surface 73B side of the flexible elastic body 71, the pachinko balls PB at the time of lifting hold the guide rail 74 or the like for holding the flexible elastic body 71. Without interfering with the
It is possible to prevent friction between the pachinko ball PB and the guide rail 74 or the door.

In this embodiment, it is not necessary to fix or peel the flexible body with an adhesive as in the conventional case, and the flexible elastic body 71 can be easily replaced.

Further, since the guide portions 73C are formed only at both ends in the width direction of the flexible elastic body 71, unlike the case where the hoisting passage PW is divided, the pachinko balls PB are guided by the guide portions 73C.
It runs freely between the pachinko balls PB and the lifting belt 25,
Random contact with the flexible elastic body 71 disperses wear and fatigue, and extends the replacement cycle and life of the lifting belt 25 and the flexible elastic body 71. Further, since wear and fatigue of the flexible elastic body 71 and the lifting belt 25 are dispersed, the pachinko balls PB run smoothly and the lifting capacity is maintained. (Second to Fifth Embodiments) FIGS. 5A to 5D show second to fifth embodiments of the contact portions 100 to 106 formed on the flexible elastic body 71. 5A to 5D are perspective views showing the upper end portion of the flexible elastic body 71.

FIG. 5A shows a second embodiment, in which the contact portion 100
Is an example in which a tip end that abuts on the back surface of the upper door 66 is tapered so that a plurality of pachinko balls PB are linearly formed at appropriate intervals along the conveyance direction (vertical direction).

FIG. 5B shows a third embodiment, in which the contact portion 102
Has a substantially rectangular planar shape with rounded corners. Notches 102A are provided at appropriate intervals in the length direction of the abutting portion 102, and the abutting portion 102 is cut by the notches 102A. Further, the abutting portions 102 are provided in a plurality of rows so as to project along the transport direction at appropriate intervals and are arranged in parallel.

FIG. 5C shows a fourth embodiment, in which the contact portion 104 is
Has a substantially rectangular planar shape with rounded corners. The abutting portion 104 is provided with a plurality of rows so that the length direction of the abutting portion 104 is orthogonal to the transport direction, that is, the abutting portion 102 in FIG. 5B is rotated by 90 degrees. Further, the contact portions 104 are arranged with their vertical positions displaced in the adjacent rows in the width direction of the flexible elastic body 71.

FIG. 5D shows the fifth embodiment, in which the contact portion 106 is provided.
Is formed in a truncated cone shape. The contact portions 106 are arranged at appropriate intervals along the transport direction, and also in the width direction of the flexible elastic body 71, a plurality of rows, that is, five rows in this embodiment are arranged at appropriate intervals. In the adjacent columns in the width direction of the flexible elastic body 71, the positions in the vertical direction are displaced from each other.

In each of the above embodiments, the contact portions 100-106.
Is an example in which it is integrally formed with the flexible elastic body 71, but the contact portions 100 to 106 may be separately provided and fixed to the flexible elastic body 71 with an adhesive or the like. The other configurations and effects are similar to those of the first embodiment.

The structure of the absorbing means is not limited to the gap D in the above embodiment, and for example, the locking means for holding the flexible body has a shape that allows it to be deformed following the thermal expansion of the flexible body. With other means such as a means for absorbing the expansion in the width direction, an absorbing means using an absorbing material, and a reverse U-shaped notch formed at both ends of the back surface of the flexible body along the game ball conveying direction. The same applies. Further, the structure of the guide portion is such that a locking means for holding the flexible body, for example, the guide rail 74.
The rising portion 74A and the holding portion 74B may be entirely covered. Further, the longitudinal direction of the contact portion 73A is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be similarly applied even in the direction orthogonal to the game ball transport direction.

[0053]

Since the present invention has the above-mentioned structure, even if the flexible body is thermally expanded by the heat generated when the game ball is being lifted, the thermal expansion portion is absorbed by the absorbing means. Curvature can be prevented and the game ball can run smoothly.

Further, since the present invention has the above-mentioned structure, the flexible body is separated from the support member in the portion between the projecting portions of the flexible body, so that the game ball is provided between the flexible body and the endless belt in combination with the elastic force of the flexible body. An elastic force for elastically sandwiching the elastic body is generated, and the elastic force of the flexible body can be improved.

Further, since the present invention has the above-mentioned structure, the movement amount of the game ball in the width direction is limited by the guide portion, so that the game ball and the other member do not interfere with each other. Friction can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a game ball lifting device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a detached state of a door of the game ball lifting device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a flexible elastic body according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing flexible elastic bodies according to second to fifth embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a view of a flexible elastic body according to a conventional example, which is attached to the flexible elastic body as viewed from above.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Gaming Ball Lifting Device 25 Lifting Belt (Endless Belt) 66 Upper Door (Supporting Member) 71 Flexible Elastic Body (Flexible Body) 72 Projection (Engaging Means) 73A Contact Part (Projection) 100-106 Contact Part (Projection) 73B traveling surface 73C guide surface (guide portion) 74 guide rail (locking means) 74A rising portion (locking means) 74B holding portion (locking means) PB pachinko ball (gaming ball) D of flexible elastic body Gap between side surface and rising part (absorbing means)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An endless belt arranged in a vertical direction, a support member arranged on the opposite side of the endless belt through a hoisting passage of a game ball, and a hoisting passage side of the supporting member, A game ball lifting device comprising a flexible body facing the endless belt, and sandwiching the game ball between the endless belt and giving a lifting force to the game ball, wherein a widthwise end portion of the flexible body is provided. In the game ball lifting device, the absorbing means for absorbing the widthwise extension of the flexible body is provided. 2. The absorbing means is an engaging means formed at a widthwise end of the flexible body at a position deviated from an extension line in a direction orthogonal to a traveling direction of a traveling surface of the game ball, and the support member. And a locking means for limiting the amount of movement of the flexible body in the width direction at a portion corresponding to the engaging means of the flexible body, the side surface of the flexible body and the locking means corresponding to the side surface. The game ball lifting device according to claim 1, wherein the flexible body is arranged so that a gap is formed. 3. The game ball lifting device according to claim 1, wherein the flexible body is provided with a plurality of projections spaced apart from each other on a surface facing the support member for contact with the support member. 4. The game ball lifting device according to claim 3, wherein the projecting portion is formed to be arranged along or orthogonal to the conveying direction of the game ball. 5. The game ball lifting device, wherein the flexible body is formed with a guide portion for limiting the amount of movement of the game ball in the width direction so as not to interfere with other members. 6. The game apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the guide portion is formed in a straight line along a transportation direction of the game ball at an end portion in a direction orthogonal to a transportation direction in which the game ball travels. Game ball lifting device.