JPH09140885A - Ball tank for pachinko machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the need for a tank rail by providing a passage part of a dented cross-sectional shape in the longitudinal bottom of a box open on its upper side, in such a way that the passage part is inclined, using the downstream end of the passage part as a ball outlet, and providing dumping grooves for causing foreign objects to drop onto the bottom wall surface of the passage part. SOLUTION: A ball tank 8 is formed into a rectangular box 8a open on its upper side, which is made up of a rear wall 15 making contact with a mechanism plate, a front wall 16 opposed to the rear wall 15, a left wall 17, a right wall 18, and a bottom part 19. In almost the center of the length of the bottom 19 of the rectangular box 8a, a passage part 20 of a dented cross-sectional shape is formed throughout the length of bottom into a downwardly inclined shape that extends form the left wall 17 to the right wall 18 of the rectangular box 8a, with its downstream end opened to form a ball outlet 21. The longitudinal bottom 19 of the rectangular box 8a except the passage part 20 is inclined in the opposite direction to the inclination of the passage part 20. Dumping grooves 25 for dumping foreign objects such as dust clinging to pachinko balls, and nails or screws in the ball tank 8 are provided in the bottom wall surfaces of ball passages 23, 24.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ball tank for storing pachinko balls supplied from a supply path above a pachinko machine and guiding the balls to a pachinko ball dispensing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recent pachinko machines are provided with a start winning opening, a variable display device, a big winning opening, etc. on a game board, and when the game ball wins the starting winning opening, the pattern of the variable display device is changed. , When the display at the time of the stop displays a predetermined big hit symbol, it becomes a specific game state (big hit) and the one having a game content that repeats the operation of opening the special winning opening is mainstream. .

On the other hand, a mechanism board made of synthetic resin is mounted on the back surface of the game board so as to be openable and closable, and a circuit for controlling the above-mentioned game contents is provided in a window hole formed in substantially the center of the mechanism board. A board box that houses the boards is provided. Further, as is well known, a ball tank and a tank rail that communicates with a drop port provided at the bottom of the ball tank are arranged on the upper part of the mechanism plate, and the pachinko ball in the ball tank is inserted through the tank rail. It leads to the pachinko ball dispensing device.

By the way, in recent pachinko machines, a large circuit board is required in accordance with the sophistication of the game contents, and thus the board box for housing the circuit board is also enlarged. As a result, it is becoming difficult to mount the mechanism plate on the window hole. It seems that this can be easily solved by enlarging the window hole of the mechanism plate, but the mechanism plate is equipped with the above-mentioned ball tank, tank rail, and back parts of the pachinko ball dispensing device. In addition, the size of the window is also limited, and it is impossible to enlarge the window.

Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, an outlet is formed on one side wall of the ball tank, and a passage portion for aligning the pachinko balls to the outlet is formed at the bottom of the ball tank. By doing so, it is proposed that the window hole of the mechanism plate can be enlarged without using the tank rail (see, for example, JP-A-7-51452).

[0006]

However, in this conventional ball tank, since the front and rear side walls of the ball tank are bulged inward, the passage is formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the ball tank. However, the ball pressure of the pachinko balls in the ball tank is concentrated in the passage portion, and ball jamming occurs in the passage portion, so that the pachinko balls in the ball tank cannot flow out from the outlet. Further, since the passage is formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the ball tank, there is a problem that the volume in the ball tank is reduced and the amount of stored pachinko balls is reduced.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the passage portion for guiding the pachinko balls in the ball tank to the pachinko ball dispensing device is formed integrally with the ball tank to eliminate the need for a tank rail, and the ball pressure applied to the passage portion is effective. It is an object of the present invention to provide a ball tank for a pachinko machine that can be smoothly relaxed to allow the pachinko ball in the ball tank to smoothly flow out from the passage portion.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a ball tank of a pachinko machine according to the present invention has a rectangular box body having an upper surface opened from the bottom to the side in the length direction from one side to the opposite side. A passage portion having a concave cross-section is provided toward the side, a downstream end portion of the passage portion is formed as a ball outlet, and a discharge groove for dropping foreign matter is provided on a bottom wall surface of the passage portion. I am trying.

Therefore, the pachinko balls stored in the ball tank naturally flow down to the downstream side while being aligned in the passage portion at the bottom of the ball tank and discharged from the ball outlet. At this time, the ball pressure of the pachinko ball stored in the ball tank is received by the bottom of the ball tank and is hardly applied to the pachinko ball flowing down the passage, so that ball passage is not generated in the passage and smooth. It is possible to let it out.

Further, since foreign matter such as dust and nails adhering to the pachinko ball flowing down the passage portion and nails and screws mixed in the ball tank are discharged from the discharge groove of the passage portion, the pachinko ball smoothly flows down. Is guaranteed.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a rear view of a pachinko machine equipped with a ball tank according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an upper portion of a front frame. In the figure, 1 is a front frame of a pachinko machine, 2 is a game board which is detachably attached to the rear surface of the front frame 1, and a winning ball collecting cover 3 is arranged on the back surface of the game board 2. A substrate box 4 is mounted on the back surface of the cover 3. The board box 4 accommodates a circuit board for driving and controlling operations such as a start winning opening provided on the surface of the game board 2, a variable display device, and a big winning opening.

Reference numeral 5 is a mechanism plate made of synthetic resin which is mounted on the back surface of the game board 2 so as to be openable and closable. This mechanism board 5 is a game board 2
Has a plate-shaped portion 6 facing the back surface thereof, and a window hole 7 for opening the substrate box 4 is formed in the approximate center of the plate-shaped portion 6. Above the window hole 7 and on the back surface of the plate-like portion 6, a ball tank 8 according to the present invention is fixed. Further, on the back surface of the plate-shaped portion 6 located on the right side of the window hole 7, a pachinko ball payout device 9 and a bent rail 10 for guiding the pachinko ball stored in the ball tank 8 to the pachinko ball payout device 9 are provided. Further, below the pachinko ball payout device 9, a discharge gutter 11 for guiding the paid out pachinko ball as a prize ball to a hitting ball supply tray (not shown) on the front surface of the front frame 1 is formed. Further, in the plate-like portion 6 below the window hole 7, various back parts such as a winning ball discharging processing device 13 for discharging and discharging the winning balls collected in the winning ball collecting portion 12 and an out ball discharging gutter 14 are provided. It is provided.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ball tank 8 according to the present invention,
4 is a plan view, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional front view, and FIG. 6 is a vertical side view. Next, a specific structure of the ball tank 8 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. The ball tank 8 is configured as a rectangular box body 8a whose upper surface is opened by a rear side wall 15 in contact with the mechanism plate 5, a front side wall 16 facing the rear side wall 15, a left side wall 17, a right side wall 18 and a bottom portion 19. . A passage portion 20 having a concave cross-section is formed over the entire length, which is the bottom portion 19 of the rectangular box body 8a and approximately at the center in the length direction. This passage 20 is a rectangular box 8
It is formed in a downward slope from the left side wall 17 of a to the right side wall 18, and its downstream end is opened to form a ball outlet 21. On the other hand, the bottom portion 19 in the lengthwise direction of the rectangular box body 8a excluding the passage portion 20 has the passage portion 2 as shown in FIG.
It is tilted in the direction opposite to the tilt of 0. Further, an inclination toward the passage portion 20 is provided in the direction perpendicular to the length direction.

The passage portion 20 is formed so as to become gradually deeper from the upstream end side toward the downstream end side. Further, a partition wall 22 is provided on the inner bottom surface of the passage portion 20 from approximately the central portion to the downstream end portion. The partition wall 22 allows the pachinko balls to flow down toward the ball outlet 21 while being aligned in two rows. Ball passages 23 and 24 are formed in. As shown in FIG. 5, the partition wall 22 is formed so as to be gradually higher toward the downstream end, and the height of the downstream end is formed to be slightly lower than the diameter of the pachinko ball.

Further, on the bottom wall surfaces of the ball passages 23 and 24, there are provided discharge grooves 25 for discharging dust attached to the pachinko balls and foreign matters such as nails and screws mixed in the ball tank 8. As shown in FIG. 4, the discharge groove 25 is provided in the ball passage 2
The pachinko balls 3 and 24 are provided along the side ends of the ball passages 23 and 24 so that they do not hinder the flow of the pachinko balls. Although the ball passages of the passage portion 20 are described as two rows in the above-mentioned embodiment, they may be one row or three rows.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ball tank 8 integrally provided with the passage portion 20 as described above is fixed to the plate-shaped portion 6 of the mechanism plate 5 by applying a rear side wall 15 and fixing it by a suitable fixing means such as a screw. To be done. Then, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, by connecting the ball outlet 21 of the passage portion 20 and the bending rail 10, the pachinko balls stored in the ball tank 8 can be sent to the pachinko ball dispensing device 9. Has become.

The ball tank 8 constructed as described above stores the pachinko balls replenished from the replenishing path above the pachinko machine (not shown). The ball passages 23, 24 of the portion 20 flow down while being aligned, and are guided from the ball outlet 21 to the pachinko ball dispensing device 9 via the bent rail 10. At this time, most of the ball pressure of the pachinko balls stored in the ball tank 8 is received by the bottom portion 19 and does not fall on the pachinko balls flowing down the passage portion 20, and as a result, the flow of the pachinko balls flowing down the passage portion 20. It is possible to guide the pachinko balls stored in the ball tank 8 to the pachinko ball dispensing device smoothly and surely without being obstructed or clogged near the ball outlet to cause ball jamming.

Further, since the passage portion 20 is formed over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the bottom portion 19 of the ball tank 8, it becomes possible to move the pachinko ball of the ball tank 8 to the passage portion 20 in a wide range. As a result, the ball pressure in the passage portion 20 is relaxed, and smooth downflow movement is obtained.

Further, since the foreign matter such as the dust attached to the pachinko ball and the nails and the screws mixed in the ball tank 8 are reliably discharged by the discharge groove 25 formed on the bottom wall surface of the passage portion 20, the mixing of the foreign matter is performed. As a result, the ball does not get clogged and the pachinko ball can flow smoothly.

In the above embodiment, the passage portion 20 is used.
Was described as being formed over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the bottom portion 19 of the ball tank 8, but, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the downstream end side of the passage portion 20 is shortened so that the bent rail 10 is joined. Good. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a ball pressure receiving plate 26 may be detachably or integrally provided above the ball outlet 21 of the passage portion 20. By thus providing the ball pressure receiving plate 26, the ball pressure applied to the ball outlet 21 portion can be further alleviated. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the inner bottom surface of the passage portion 20 may be formed in a step-like shape in the downflow direction of the pachinko ball. With this configuration, the pachinko balls flowing down the passage portion 20 can be given a ball-disrupting action, and a smoother flow of the pachinko balls is guaranteed.

[0021]

As is apparent from the above description, in the present invention, since the pachinko balls are aligned with the ball tank to form the passage portion for guiding the pachinko ball dispensing device, Unlike conventional pachinko machines, there is no need to provide tank rails or ball leveling, and the installation area of the ball tank with respect to the mechanism plate can be reduced, and as a result, a large window hole for facing the board box can be formed. You can Moreover, the storage volume of pachinko balls can be increased as compared with the conventional ball tank.

Further, since the discharge groove is provided on the bottom wall surface of the passage portion, foreign matters such as dust attached to the pachinko ball and nails and screws mixed in the ball tank are discharged to the discharge groove. It is possible to prevent the ball from clogging in the passage portion due to the mixture of the, and to allow the pachinko ball to flow smoothly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear view of a pachinko machine.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an upper portion of the front frame to which the ball tank according to the present invention is attached.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a ball tank according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the ball tank of FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional front view of the ball tank of FIG.

6 is a vertical side view of the ball tank of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional front view of a ball tank according to another embodiment in which the passage portion is shortened.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional front view of a ball tank of another embodiment in which a ball pressure receiving plate is provided on the ball tank.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional front view of a ball tank of still another embodiment in which the bottom surface of the passage portion is formed in a step shape.

[Explanation of symbols]

 8 Ball Tank 8a Rectangular Box 19 Bottom 20 Passage 22 Ball Outlet 25 Discharge Groove

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rectangular box body having an open top surface is provided with a passage portion having a concave cross-section from one side toward the opposite side surface at a bottom portion in the longitudinal direction, and a downstream end portion of the passage portion is provided. A ball tank for a pachinko machine, which is formed as a ball outlet and is provided with a discharge groove for dropping foreign matter on the bottom wall surface of the passage portion.