JPH09308746A - Pachinko machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pachinko machine which can eliminate the necessity of such a special manipulation as to call a person in charge of parlor during playing. SOLUTION: A pachinko machine is provided therein with a positioning recess (positioning means) 20, a pachinko control device (manipulation control means), an alarm lamp (alarming means). Only a given ball casing 24 can be set in the positioning recess 20. In dependence upon whether the given ball casing 24 is set in the recess 20 or not, a pachinko control device controls the opening and closing of a shutter 30 provided in a lower pan (receiving pan) 22, the operation of the alarm lamp and the like. Accordingly, it is possible to eliminate the necessity of calling a person in charge of parlor so that the player can continuously enjoy in seeing a playing condition with no hindrance. Further, since the shutter 30 is opened only when the ball casing 24 is set in the positioning recess 20, and accordingly, it is possible to prevent pachinko balls from dropping when the balls are shifted into the ball casing 24 from the lower pan 22.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a pachinko machine,
The present invention relates to a technique for transferring a pachinko ball from a saucer to a ball box.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional pachinko machine dispenses a prize ball to a saucer when a hit ball enters a predetermined winning port. When the saucer becomes full of pachinko balls, the operation of the pachinko machine temporarily stops. When the operation of the pachinko machine is stopped, the player cannot continue playing the game, so the pachinko ball on the saucer is moved to a carrying ball box. Specifically, the shutter provided on the saucer is operated, or the pachinko ball is directly held by hand and transferred to the ball box. Here, when a big hit occurs during the game, more pachinko balls than usual are paid out. Therefore, the player usually lights up a notification lamp installed on the upper part of the pachinko machine. By this lighting, the hall staff brings an empty ball box to the player to prepare for the pachinko ball overflowing from the saucer. In this way, when the hall staff member brings an empty ball box, there are other cases where the player does not have an empty ball box, or even if there is a ball box, it is almost full of pachinko balls. .

By the way, a player may be absorbed in playing a game and may not notice that there is no empty ball box, or even if there is a ball box, it is full of pachinko balls.
Since the shutter etc. of the saucer can be operated by hand at any time, the player may accidentally operate the shutter etc. and spill the pachinko ball onto the floor etc. A technique for dealing with this problem is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-118782. According to this technique, the shutter of the tray is opened and closed by sliding the ball box below the tray. Therefore, it seems that the pachinko ball enters the sliding ball box and does not spill onto the floor or the like.

[0004]

However, even a pachinko machine to which the above technique is applied may open and close the shutter of the saucer with an object other than the ball box (for example, a handbag). In that case, too, the pachinko ball spilled onto the floor. Moreover, in the prior art, it is generally necessary to turn on the notification lamp in order to call the hall staff. The lighting operation is performed by the player's hand, and in that case, the player often has to temporarily take his eyes off the game board surface. Therefore, the player loses interest in continuously watching the game state.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a first object is whether the ball box is below the tray or whether the amount of balls in the box is more than a predetermined amount. It is to realize a pachinko machine capable of detecting whether or not the pachinko ball is spilled when the pachinko ball is transferred from the saucer to the ball box. The second purpose is to realize a pachinko machine that does not require special operations such as calling a hall attendant during a game.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pan for storing pachinko balls paid out by a prize, and a pachinko ball provided on the pan and stored in the pan. A pachinko machine having a ball punching hole for ejecting and a ball box detecting means for detecting only a ball box and a ball box provided below the saucer. An opening / closing control means for controlling opening / closing of the opening / closing means depending on whether or not the ball box is detected by the detecting means. According to the first aspect of the invention, the opening / closing control means controls the opening / closing of the opening / closing means depending on whether or not only the ball box is detected by the ball box detecting means. That is, since the pachinko ball is transferred from the saucer to the ball box only when the ball box is present, it is possible to prevent the pachinko ball from spilling on the floor or the like.

[0007]

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the pachinko machine according to the first aspect, the opening / closing control means has to detect the ball box by the ball box detecting means. The opening / closing means is closed.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, if the ball box detecting means does not detect the ball box, the opening / closing control means closes the opening / closing means. That is, the opening / closing means cannot be opened without the ball box. Therefore, careless operation of the opening / closing means cannot be performed, and it is possible to prevent the pachinko ball from spilling on the floor or the like.

[0008]

[Third Means for Solving the Problem] The invention described in claim 3 is a pan for storing pachinko balls paid out by winning, and a pachinko ball provided in the pan and stored in the pan. Is a pachinko machine having a ball-draining hole for discharging the ball and an opening / closing means for opening and closing the ball-draining hole, and detects the amount of balls of the pachinko ball in a ball box placed below the saucer. It is characterized by having a ball amount detecting means and an opening / closing control means for controlling opening / closing of the opening / closing means based on the ball amount detected by the ball amount detecting means.
According to the invention of claim 3, the opening / closing control means controls opening / closing of the opening / closing means based on the amount of balls detected by the ball amount detecting means. That is, since the pachinko balls are transferred from the saucer to the ball box according to the amount of balls in the ball box, it is possible to prevent the pachinko balls from spilling from the ball box to the floor or the like.

[0009]

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the pachinko machine according to the third aspect, the opening / closing control means has the ball amount detected by the ball amount detecting means. It is characterized in that the opening / closing means is closed when the amount exceeds a certain amount. According to the invention described in claim 4, when the amount of balls detected by the amount detecting means is equal to or more than the predetermined amount, the opening / closing control means closes the opening / closing means. That is, the opening / closing means cannot be opened when the sphere amount is equal to or larger than the predetermined amount. Therefore, careless operation of the opening / closing means cannot be performed, and it is possible to prevent the pachinko ball from spilling on the floor or the like.

[0010]

A fifth aspect of the present invention is the pachinko machine according to the first to fourth aspects, in which the opening / closing control means drives the launching device and / or displays the display device. It is characterized by controlling. According to the invention of claim 5, the opening / closing control means controls the drive of the launching device and the display of the display device when the ball box is not present or when the ball quantity is equal to or more than the predetermined quantity even if the ball box is present. . In this way, the player is warned of the state of the saucer, the ball box, etc., and it is possible to reliably prevent the pachinko ball from spilling when the pachinko ball is transferred from the saucer to the ball box.

[0011]

[Sixth Means for Solving the Problem] The invention according to claim 6 is provided with an informing means for informing a hall clerk, a saucer for storing the pachinko balls paid out by winning, and the saucer provided in the saucer. A pachinko machine having a ball punching hole for discharging the pachinko balls stored in the cage tray and an opening / closing means for opening and closing the ball punching hole, which is provided below the tray and detects only the ball box. It is characterized by having a ball box detecting means and an informing control means for controlling the operation of the informing means depending on whether or not the ball box is detected by the ball box detecting means. According to the invention described in claim 6, the notification control means controls the operation of the notification means depending on whether only the ball box is detected by the ball box detection means. That is, since the notification means is activated when there is no ball box, it is not necessary to perform a special operation for calling the hall staff during the game. Therefore, the player does not lose interest in continuously watching the game state.

[0012]

[Seventh Means for Solving the Problems] According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an informing means for informing a hall clerk, a saucer for storing a pachinko ball paid out by a prize, and a saucer provided in the saucer. A pachinko machine having a ball punching hole for discharging the pachinko balls stored in the tray and an opening / closing means for opening and closing the ball punching, and entering a ball box placed below the saucer. The present invention is characterized by having a sphere amount detecting means for detecting the sphere amount of the pachinko balls present, and an informing control means for controlling the operation of the informing means based on the sphere amount detected by the sphere amount detecting means. According to the invention described in claim 7, the notification control means controls the operation of the notification means based on the ball amount detected by the ball amount detection means. That is, when the amount of balls in the ball box becomes a predetermined amount or more, the notifying means is activated, so that it is not necessary to perform a special operation for calling a hall attendant during the game. Therefore, the player does not lose interest in continuously watching the game state.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] First, a first embodiment of the present invention embodies control processing in the jackpot state.
This will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 1 shows a front view of a pachinko machine installed on an island. FIG. 2 shows a ball box detecting means. FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the pachinko machine. FIG. 4 is a view showing the lower plate, and FIG. 4 (A) shows a plan view and FIG. 4 (B) shows a front view. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the pachinko controller.
FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the ball box monitoring process in the big hit state.

In FIG. 1, a plurality of pachinko machines 12 are installed on the island 10. At the top of each pachinko machine 12, a ball box notification lamp 11 and a jackpot notification lamp 1
3. A call notification lamp 14 is provided. The ball box notification lamp 11 is turned on when the ball box 24 is not in a predetermined position, or when the ball box 24 is present and the amount of balls is equal to or more than a predetermined amount. The jackpot notification lamp 13 lights up when the gaming state becomes "jackpot". The call notification lamp 14 lights up when the player presses the call button 15, and calls the hall attendant. The "lighting" includes blinking. In the pachinko machine 12, a display device 16 is provided on the game board surface,
The lower plate is provided with an upper plate 18, a lower plate 22, a launching device 28 for launching a hit ball (pachinko ball), and the like. Here, the lower plate 22 is one mode of the receiving plate, and there is another mode in which only the upper plate 18 or both the upper plate 18 and the lower plate 22 are used as the receiving plates. These upper plate 18 and lower plate 22
Stores a prize ball (pachinko ball) paid out when a hit ball enters a predetermined winning opening. The display device 16 displays symbols and other information.

Generally, the prize balls are first dispensed to the upper plate 18, and when the upper plate 18 is full, the prize balls are dispensed to the lower plate 22. The pachinko ball paid out to the upper plate 18 is the launcher 2
It is sent to No. 8 and is hit again on the game board surface as a hit ball.
Also, when the lower plate 22 is full of prize balls, the pachinko machine 12
Therefore, the player moves the pachinko balls overflowing in the lower plate 22 to the ball box 24 placed on the shelf plate 26.
Further, in FIG. 2, a positioning recess 20 is provided in the lower portion of the pachinko machine 12. The positioning recess 20 embodies a positioning means described later.

In FIG. 3, the positioning recess 20 is formed in an elongated shape so that only the positioning projection 24a of the ball box 24 can be fitted therein. The positioning protrusion 24 a is a portion that projects outward from the upper portion of the ball box 24. Also,
A positioning sensor 40 is provided in the positioning recess 20, and a sphere amount sensor 42 is provided near the lower side thereof. The positioning sensor 40 embodies the spherical box detecting means, and is a sensor for detecting whether or not the positioning convex portion 24a of the spherical box 24 is fitted into the positioning concave portion 20 and positioned. A micro switch is used for the positioning sensor 40, and outputs a positioning signal when the ball box 24 is positioned in the positioning recess 20.
The positioning sensor 40 may be provided not only at one position in the positioning recess 20 but also at a plurality of positions at predetermined intervals. When the positioning sensors 40 are provided at a plurality of positions, it is possible to more accurately detect where the ball box 24 is located, depending on which positioning sensor 40 has detected the ball box. On the other hand, the ball amount sensor 42 is a specific embodiment of a ball amount detecting means, and is a sensor for detecting whether or not the pachinko balls in the ball box 24 are full.
For example, a proximity sensor is used as the ball amount sensor 42,
When the pachinko ball is full, it outputs a full signal. As with the positioning sensor 40, the ball amount sensor 42 may be provided at a plurality of locations.

In FIG. 4 (A), the lower tray 22 is provided with a ball hole 32 for discharging the stored pachinko balls, and a shutter 30 for opening and closing the ball hole 32. The shutter 30 embodies an opening / closing means, and can be slid in the lateral direction of the drawing (direction of arrow D2) by a solenoid 34, and can also be manually slid by a lever 22a. The lever 22a is biased in a predetermined direction (rightward in FIG. 4A) by a spring 22b. Also,
As shown in FIG. 4B, the lever 22 a is a slide frame 22.
It can be slid in c and is connected to the shutter 30. Therefore, when the lever 22a is slid to the left by hand, the pachinko ball in the lower plate 22 will have the ball removal hole 3
Emitted from 2. On the other hand, when the lever 22a is released, the shutter 30 closes the ball hole 32 by the urging force of the spring 22b.

Here, the switching button 22d provided on the lower plate 22 is a button for designating whether the shutter 30 is automatically operated or manually operated. That is, when the switch button 22d is turned on (automatic mode), the shutter 30 is automatically opened and closed according to a ball box monitoring process described later, and when it is turned off (manual mode), the opening and closing of the shutter 30 is operated by the player with the lever 22a. it can.

In FIG. 5, a pachinko machine control device 100 is provided in the pachinko machine 12, and is a device embodying an opening / closing control means and a notification control means. The pachinko controller 100 includes a CPU (processor) 110, RO
It is composed of an M102, a RAM 112, an input processing circuit 104, and an output processing circuit 114. CPU110
Controls the entire pachinko machine 12 according to a pachinko control program stored in the ROM 102. The pachinko control program includes a program for a ball box monitoring process and a full predicting process described later. The RAM 112 includes sensors (positioning sensor 40, ball amount sensor 4
2. Various data such as signal data from sensors such as the full sensor 50) are stored.

The input processing circuit 104 receives signals, etc. sent from the positioning sensor 40, the ball amount sensor 42, the full sensor 50, etc., converts them into a data format that can be processed by the pachinko controller 100, and sends them to the CPU 110 etc. On the other hand, the output processing circuit 114 outputs the signal data from the CPU 110 and the like to the ball box notification lamp 11 and the jackpot notification lamp 1.
3, notification lamps such as call notification lamp 14 and display device 1
6, sending to various devices such as the launching device 28 and the solenoid 34. It should be noted that the signal data is converted into an analog signal corresponding to the device for sending. It should be noted that each of the above components is coupled to the bus 116.

Next, the ball box monitoring process executed by the pachinko controller 100 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, the CPU 110 executes the ball-box monitoring program stored in the ROM 102 shown in FIG. 5 when the jackpot state and the switching button 22d shown in FIG. 4B are turned on. It is realized by doing. In this jackpot state, the jackpot notification lamp 13 shown in FIG. 1 is turned on.

In FIG. 6, first, it is detected whether the ball box 24 is below the lower plate 22, that is, whether it is positioned in the positioning recess 20 (step S1).
0). Specifically, the determination is made based on the presence or absence of the positioning signal output from the positioning sensor 40 shown in FIG. If the ball box 24 is below the lower plate 22, (YE
S), it is determined whether or not the ball box 24 is full of pachinko balls (step S14). Specifically, the ball amount sensor 42
It is determined by whether or not the full signal is output from. If the ball box 24 is not full of pachinko balls (N
The shutter 30 is opened (O) (step S12), and the process returns to step S14. In this way, the pachinko balls overflowing in the lower plate 22 are discharged to the ball box 24, and when the ball box 24 is filled with the pachinko balls after that, the processing from step S16 is executed.

In step S10, the ball box 24 is placed in the lower plate 2.
2 below, or in step S14
When 4 is full of pachinko balls, after waiting for a predetermined time [for example, about 10 seconds] (step S16), the ball box notification lamp 11 is turned on (step S18), and the shutter 30 is closed (step S24). . The person in charge of the hall can turn which of the pachinko machines 12 by turning on the jackpot notification lamp 13.
It is possible to know whether or not is a big hit, and it is possible to grasp the situation such as no ball box by looking at the ball box notification lamp 11. Therefore, the player can ask the hall attendant to bring the empty ball box 24 without doing anything. The ball box notification lamp 11 does not have the ball box 24 or the ball box 2
The corresponding lamp will light up depending on the situation, such as when 4 is full. In this way, by turning on the lamp corresponding to the situation, the player's request can be grasped accurately and quickly, and the subsequent measures can be swiftly dealt with. The ball box notification lamp 11 may be provided not only on the top of the pachinko machine 12 but also on the end of the island 10 or may display the situation on a hall computer or the like. In this case, identification information unique to each pachinko machine 12 (for example,
It is sufficient to display a machine number indicating the place where the pachinko machine 12 is installed. Further, by forcibly closing the shutter 30 in step S24, it is possible to prevent the pachinko ball from spilling from the ball box 24.

Thereafter, the empty ball box 24 is placed in the positioning recess 20.
When the positioning is performed at step S10, S14,
S12 is executed. By this execution, the pachinko balls can be transferred from the lower plate 22 to the ball box 24 without spilling. The above processing is executed as long as the jackpot state continues.
Then, when the jackpot state ends, the process shifts to a process described in a second embodiment described later.

According to the above-described embodiment, the pachinko controller 100 (opening / closing control means) operates the shutter 30 (opening / closing means) depending on whether or not only the ball box 24 is detected by the positioning sensor 40 (ball box detecting means). Control opening and closing. That is, the shutter 30 is provided only when the ball box 24 is present.
Is opened and the pachinko balls are transferred from the lower plate 22 (sauce plate) to the ball box 24. In this case, if the ball box 24 is not detected by the positioning sensor 40, the pachinko controller 1
00 closes the shutter 30. That is, the player cannot open the shutter 30 without the ball box 24. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the pachinko ball from spilling on the floor or the like. Therefore, the shutter 30 is not opened carelessly, and it is possible to prevent the pachinko ball from spilling on the floor or the like. In addition, the pachinko controller 100 based on the amount of sphere detected by the sphere amount sensor 42 (sphere amount detecting means).
(Opening / closing control means) controls opening / closing of the shutter 30.
In this case, if the sphere amount detected by the sphere amount sensor 42 is equal to or larger than the predetermined amount, the pachinko controller 100 closes the shutter 30. That is, the shutter 30 cannot be opened when the sphere amount is equal to or larger than the predetermined amount. That is, since the pachinko balls are transferred from the lower plate 22 to the ball box 24 according to the amount of balls in the ball box 24, the pachinko balls can be prevented from spilling from the ball box 24 to the floor or the like. Therefore, the shutter 30 is not opened carelessly, and it is possible to prevent the pachinko ball from spilling on the floor or the like. Further, if the ball box 24 is not present, or if the ball box 24 is present and the amount of balls is equal to or more than the predetermined amount, the pachinko control device 100 stops the driving of the launching device or performs a predetermined display on the display device 16. . In this way, the player is warned of the state of the lower plate 22, the ball box 24, and the like, and it is possible to reliably prevent the pachinko ball from spilling when the pachinko ball is transferred from the lower plate 22 to the ball box 24.

Then, based on whether or not only the ball box 24 is detected by the positioning sensor 40, or based on the ball amount detected by the ball amount sensor 42, the pachinko controller 100 (informing control means) causes the ball box informing lamp 11 to operate. Controls the operation of (notification means). That is, when there is no ball box 24 or when the amount of balls in the ball box 24 exceeds a predetermined amount,
The ball box notification lamp 11 is turned on. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform a special operation for calling the hall staff during the game, and the player does not lose interest in continuously watching the game state. Other positioning recesses 20 (positioning means)
Only a predetermined ball box 24 can be positioned in the box.
Therefore, the positioning sensor 40 can reliably detect whether or not the ball box 24 is below the lower plate 22 without being positioned by an object other than the ball box 24 such as a handbag. Therefore, malfunction can be prevented.

If necessary, in the ball box monitoring process shown in FIG. 6, in order to inform the player that the ball box 24 is full of pachinko balls, it is displayed on the display device 16 (step S20), The launching device 28 may be stopped [or payment of the prize ball may be stopped] to interrupt the game (step S22). Depending on these processing steps, the ball box 24 is not in a predetermined position, or the ball box 2
Even when 4 is in a predetermined position, when the pachinko ball is almost full, the pachinko control device 100 performs a predetermined display on the display device 16 and controls such as stopping the launch device 28. In this way, the player can be warned of the state of the lower plate 22, the ball box 24, etc., and can be surely prevented from spilling when the pachinko ball is transferred from the lower plate 22 to the ball box 24. Furthermore, in step S20, the display of the symbols displayed on the display device 16 may be temporarily stopped until the ball box 24 and the like are ready. In this way, the display device 16 (that is, the operation of the pachinko machine 12) is stopped, so that the player does not lose the chance of a big hit or the like which has been lost in the past.

In the conventional pachinko machine, when the player wants to move a pachinko ball from the lower plate 22 to the ball box 24 in the big hit state, the player has to press the call button to call the hall attendant. At that time, since the player looks away from the game board surface, it may be uninteresting to continuously watch the game state, and it may not be possible to cope with a change in the progress of the game. According to the present invention, since these problems are solved, the player can keep the interest in continuously watching the game state and deal with the change in the progress of the game. Further, even when the hall attendant was called, the hall attendant did not understand the request for the ball box 24 or the like unless he went to the player who called. For this reason, the ball box
Depending on the game state before the player brought the game, the lower plate 22 might be full of pachinko balls and lose the chance. According to the present invention, the ball box notification lamp 11 and the call notification lamp 14 are provided on the upper portion of the pachinko machine 12, the end of the island 10, or the like, so that the ball box notification lamp 11 can be operated without directly going to the player. Depending on the lighting contents, it becomes possible to go to the player with the empty ball box 24 in advance. Therefore, the hall staff does not have to spend time twice, and the player can concentrate on the game.

Furthermore, beginners often do not know that the launching device 28 will stop when the lower plate 22 is full of pachinko balls, and thus lose the chance even if a big hit or the like occurs. According to the present invention, even a beginner can certainly enjoy a chance of a big hit or the like. Then, if the ball box monitoring process is executed as it is, it is impossible to meet the request of the player who wants to play a game while the pachinko balls are stored in the lower plate 22 to some extent. In the above-described embodiment, the lower plate 22 is provided with the switching button 22d to meet such a request of the player, and the player who does not like the operation of the lever 22a such as a beginner can automatically open and close the shutter 30. It can be carried out. Therefore, the pachinko machine 12 to which the present invention is applied corresponds to various players, and the lower plate 22 and the ball box 2 can be used.
It is possible to prevent the pachinko balls from spilling from 4 and the like.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment embodies control processing in a normal state, and will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the ball box monitoring process in the normal time. This ball box monitoring process is in a normal gaming state and
This is realized by the CPU 110 executing the ball-box monitoring program stored in the ROM 102 shown in FIG. 5 when the switching button 22d shown in FIG. Since the specific configuration of the pachinko machine 12 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted. In this normal state, the jackpot notification lamp 13 in FIG. 1 is off.

In FIG. 7, the same elements as the processing elements shown in FIG. 6 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.
The procedure different from the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is as follows. First, when the ball box 24 is below the lower plate 22 in step S10 (YES), it is determined whether or not the lower plate 22 is full of pachinko balls (step S11). If it is determined in step S11 that the lower plate 22 is full of pachinko balls (YES), the process proceeds to step S14 to determine whether or not the ball box 24 is full of pachinko balls, and if not (NO). The process proceeds to step S24 to close the shutter 30. In addition, in order to inform the player that the ball box 24 is full of pachinko balls, display processing may be executed after step S16 as necessary (step S20). By this processing procedure, when there is no ball box 24 or when the lower plate 22 is full of pachinko balls, the shutter 30 is immediately closed to prevent the pachinko balls from spilling from the ball box 24. Further, by executing a processing procedure different from the jackpot state, the ball box notification lamp 11 is turned on more than necessary, and information such as that the ball box 24 is full of pachinko balls is displayed on the display device 16, etc. Can be suppressed. Furthermore, by determining whether or not the lower plate 22 is full of pachinko balls in step S11, the number of times empty ball boxes 24 are added can be kept low.

Even in the normal gaming state, there may be a situation in which the lower plate 22 and the ball box 24 are full of pachinko balls due to payout for a prize in the general winning opening. However, in the normal game state, many prize balls are not paid out at one time. Therefore, it happens that the lower plate 22
Even if is full of pachinko balls, it is expected to decrease thereafter. Therefore, in the ball box monitoring process shown in FIG. 7, the ball box notification lamp 11 shown in FIG. 6 is turned on (step S18) and the launcher is stopped (step S2).
2) is not included. It should be noted that these processes should be performed in the case of a pachinko machine in which a large number of prize balls are paid out even if a prize is awarded through a general winning opening.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a case where the switching button 22d shown in FIG. 4B is turned off (manual mode) will be described with reference to FIGS. here,
FIG. 8 shows a sectional view of the lock mechanism, and FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of processing executed when the switching button is turned off.

The player can switch the opening and closing of the shutter 30 to the manual mode by operating the switching button 22d. In this case, the player slides the lever 22a to open the shutter 30 and enable the ball removal. As a case in which the opening and closing of the shutter 30 is switched to the manual mode in this way, for example, the following cases can be considered. If you want to play with a certain amount of pachinko balls stored in the lower plate 22 If you want to feel the increase in prize balls that are paid out when you hit the jackpot by opening the shutter 30, you can replace the empty ball box 24 with balls. When the player himself / herself wants to decide the timing of replacement, such as when the amount of balls in the box 24 is changed about the eighth minute, or when it is changed about half.

In FIG. 8, the lower plate 22 is provided with a lock mechanism for locking the opening and closing of the shutter 30.
Specifically, the stopper 84 is provided at the tip of the shaft 82 of the solenoid 80. The solenoid 80 is connected to the pachinko controller 100 described above, and its operation is controlled by the pachinko controller 100.
The stopper 84 can advance and retreat in the direction of arrow D4 up to the position where the lever 22a slides. When the stopper 84 is advanced to the left in the drawing, the slide of the lever 22a is locked and the opening and closing of the shutter 30 is locked. On the other hand, when the stopper 84 is retracted to the right in the drawing, the lever 22a slides freely and the shutter 30 opens and closes freely.

In FIG. 9, it is first determined whether or not there is the ball box 24 (step S30). Specifically, it is determined by the presence or absence of the positioning signal output from the positioning sensor 40. If the ball box 24 is present, it is next determined whether or not the ball box 24 is full of pachinko balls (step S).
32). Specifically, the determination is made based on the presence or absence of the sphere amount signal output from the sphere amount sensor 42. If there is the ball box 24 and the ball box 24 is full of pachinko balls, or if the ball box 24 does not exist, the shutter 30 is locked by the above-described lock mechanism (step S36). Therefore, the lever 22a cannot slide, and the ball cannot be removed from the lower tray 22. This state is empty ball box 2
4 (or ball box 2 not full of pachinko balls)
It is maintained until 4) is set.

When the ball box 24 is present and the ball box 24 is not full of pachinko balls, the lock mechanism is unlocked (step S34). This state is maintained until the empty ball box 24 is not set, or even if it is set, until the pachinko ball is full. In this case, it is desirable that the ball amount sensor 42 detect the ball box 24 as close as possible to a pachinko ball. As a result, the range in which the timing of ball box replacement can be selected is increased, and it is possible to meet the demands of many players. In FIG. 8, the solenoid 80
Although the stopper 84 is operated to lock the shutter 30 by the above, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured by an actuator such as a motor. Alternatively, the lock may be mechanically released by setting the ball box 24 via a link mechanism or the like.

In the above embodiment, if the ball box 24 is not present or if the ball box 24 is full, the lever 22a is locked in step S24. In this case, even if the player accidentally tries to slide the lever 22a, the lever 22a cannot be slid because it is locked by the lock mechanism, and the shutter 30 cannot be opened. Therefore, the shutter 30 cannot be opened carelessly and the pachinko ball can be prevented from spilling on the floor or the like.

[Other Embodiments] The pachinko machine 1 described above
Structure, shape, size, material of other parts in 2
The number, arrangement, operating conditions, and the like are not limited to the above embodiment. For example, each of the following modes to which the above-described embodiment is applied can be implemented. (1) The positioning means can be realized in other modes.
For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a positioning plate 60 is provided on the upper side of the shelf plate 26 that is in contact with the pachinko machine 12. Then, the positioning plate 60 is provided with the positioning sensor 40 and the ball amount sensor 42, and the positioning concave portion 62 which is fitted with the positioning convex portion 24b of the ball box 24 is provided. A perspective view of the ball box 24 is shown in FIG. Further, if the front surface of the positioning plate 60 is inclined according to the outer shape of the ball box 24, it is possible to perform accurate positioning. In this way, only the predetermined spherical box 24 can be positioned on the positioning plate 60, and the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained. (2) Further, as shown in FIG. 11 (B), a plurality of detection lines 24c (transmitting means) that are exposed partially or around the inner wall side of the ball box 24 may be provided in the vertical direction. In this case, on the pachinko machine 12 side, it is necessary to provide a sphere amount detecting means (for example, one corresponding to the sphere amount sensor 42) for detecting through the terminal 24d to which detection line 24c the pachinko sphere is in contact. In this way, by transmitting the information according to the ball amount of the pachinko balls contained in the ball box 24 to the ball amount detecting means, the state in the ball box 24 can be surely grasped. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the pachinko ball from spilling from the ball box 24.

(3) The amount of pachinko balls paid out in the jackpot state and the pace at which the amount increases are different depending on the type of the pachinko machine 12. Therefore, it is more convenient to continue playing the game by using the ball box 24 having the size and shape according to the type of the pachinko machine 12. Therefore,
In the above (1) and (2), a type discriminating means for discriminating the type of the spherical box 24 may be further provided based on the positioning convex portion 24b of the spherical box 24 and the detection line 24c. That is,
When a plurality of positioning protrusions 24b and detection lines 24c are provided on the ball box 24, the positioning protrusions 24b
The type discriminating means discriminates the type of the ball box 24 depending on how many b and the number of the detection lines 24c are provided and at what position. The type determining means determines whether the ball box 24 is large or small, what shape the ball box 24 has, or the like. Therefore, the player has a ball box 24
You can continue to enjoy the game without worrying about the type.

(4) Although a micro switch is used as the positioning sensor 40 and a proximity sensor is used as the sphere amount sensor 42, other sensors may be used without being limited to this application. For example, there are optical sensors and magnetic sensors. An example using an optical sensor will be described below with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13. (4a) FIG. 12 shows the positioning recess 2 of the pachinko machine 12.
An example in which the optical sensor 70 is provided at 0 is shown. With this optical sensor 70, it is possible to determine whether or not the positioning convex portion 24a of the ball box 24 is positioned in the positioning concave portion 20. This makes it possible to determine whether or not the ball box 24 is below the lower plate 22 in the front-back direction of the pachinko machine 12. (4b) FIG. 13 shows an example in which a plurality of optical sensors 25 are provided on the front side of the pachinko machine 12 at predetermined intervals. In this example, when there is no ball box 24 as shown in FIG. 13A, all seven optical sensors 25 do not detect the ball box 24. On the other hand, when there is the spherical box 24 as shown in FIG. 13B, the three optical sensors 25 detect the spherical box 24.
Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the ball box 24 is positioned at a predetermined position depending on which of the optical sensors 25 detects the ball box 24. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether or not the ball box 24 is below the lower plate 22 in the left-right direction of the pachinko machine 12. (4c) In the mode (4b), it is possible to determine whether or not the ball box 24 is positioned at a predetermined position even when a plurality of micro switches are provided on the shelf plate 26 at predetermined intervals. .

(5) The ball box notification lamp 11 or the call notification lamp 14 is applied to the notification means, but it may be applied to a means for notifying the hall staff by wire / wirelessly. For example, a transmitter is connected to the pachinko control device 100 of the pachinko machine 12 to notify the hall staff directly or indirectly by wire / wirelessly. As a method for directly informing the hall staff member, the hall staff member may have a portable communication device such as a transceiver or a pager and send the transmission data to the portable communication device. On the other hand, as a method of indirectly informing the hall clerk, transmission data may be sent to the hall computer or the like and displayed on a display device such as the hall computer or the like to be transmitted to the hall clerk. At this time, by including unique identification data for each pachinko machine 12 in the transmission data,
It is possible to easily identify which pachinko machine 12 is. (6) Although the shutter 30 is applied to the opening / closing means, another opening / closing member such as a door or a lid may be applied. Similarly,
Instead of the solenoid 34, a driving means such as a cylinder or a motor may be applied. Even in the modes (5) and (6) described above, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

[0043]

Other Embodiments The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. This embodiment has aspects of the invention other than the aspects of the invention described in the claims.
Embodiments of the present invention will be enumerated below, and related explanations will be provided as necessary.

[Mode 1] Informing means for informing a hall clerk, a saucer for storing the pachinko balls paid out by winning, and a ball removal hole provided in the saucer for discharging the pachinko balls stored in the saucer And a pachinko machine having a shutter for opening and closing the ball hole, a ball amount detecting means for detecting the ball amount of the pachinko balls stored in the saucer, and a ball amount detecting means for detecting the ball amount. And a motion control unit that controls the opening and closing of the shutter and / or the operation of the notification unit based on the amount of balls. [Related Explanation of Aspect 1] According to this aspect, the operation control means controls the opening and closing of the shutter and the operation of the notifying means in advance based on the amount of pachinko balls stored in the pan by the amount detecting means. Therefore, you do not have to do any special operation such as calling the hall staff during the game,
It is possible to prevent the pachinko balls from spilling when transferring from the saucer to the ball box.

[Aspect 2] In the pachinko machine according to Aspect 1, the operation control means drives and / or drives the launching device.
Alternatively, a pachinko machine characterized by controlling the display of a display device. [Related Explanation of Aspect 2] According to this aspect, when the ball box is not at the predetermined position, or even when the ball box is at the predetermined position, when the pachinko ball is almost full, the operation control means drives the launching device or Controls the display on the display device. In this way, the player is warned of the state of the saucer, the ball box, etc., and it is possible to reliably prevent the pachinko ball from spilling when the pachinko ball is transferred from the saucer to the ball box.

[Mode 3] In the pachinko machine according to claim 1 or 2, the operation control means stops the display of the symbol displayed on the display device. [Related Explanation of Aspect 3] According to this aspect, the display device (that is, the operation of the pachinko machine) is stopped, so that the player does not lose the chance of a big hit or the like, which has been lost in the past.

[Mode 4] A ball box used for a pachinko machine having a positioning means capable of positioning at a predetermined position, the ball box having a positioning member corresponding to the positioning means. . [Related Explanation of Aspect 4] According to this aspect, since only the spherical box having the positioning member can be positioned by the positioning means, it is not positioned by another object such as a handbag.

[Aspect 5] In the pachinko machine according to Aspect 4, when the pachinko machine has a sphere amount detecting means for detecting the sphere amount of the pachinko spheres contained in the sphere box, the sphere of the pachinko sphere A ball box having a transmission means for transmitting information according to the amount to the sphere amount detection means. [Related Explanation of Aspect 5] According to this aspect, since information according to the sphere amount of the pachinko sphere is transmitted to the sphere amount detecting means,
The state inside the ball box can be surely grasped. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the pachinko ball from spilling from the ball box.

[Mode 6] Notification means for informing a hall clerk, a saucer for storing the pachinko balls paid out by winning, and a ball removal hole provided on the saucer for discharging the pachinko balls stored in the saucer And a pachinko machine having an opening / closing means for opening / closing the ball hole, the type detecting means being provided below the tray and detecting the type of the ball box, and the type detecting means A pachinko machine comprising: an operation control unit that controls the opening and closing of the opening and closing unit and / or the operation of the notification unit based on a ball box. [Related Explanation of Aspect 6] According to this aspect, the operation control means opens and closes the opening and closing means depending on the type of the ball box, such as whether the ball box is large or small, or what shape the ball box has. Control the operation of the notification means. Therefore, the player can continue the game state without worrying about the type of ball box.

[Mode 7] Notification means for informing the hall staff member, a saucer for storing the pachinko balls paid out by winning, and a ball hole for discharging the pachinko balls stored in the saucer. And a pachinko machine having an opening / closing means for opening and closing the ball hole, the positioning means being provided below the saucer and capable of positioning only the ball box at a predetermined position, and the ball box for the positioning means. A pachinko machine, wherein the pachinko machine comprises: an operation control means for controlling the opening / closing of the opening / closing means and / or the operation of the notifying means depending on whether or not the position is positioned. [Related Explanation of Aspect 7] According to this aspect, it is possible to position only the predetermined ball box in the positioning means, and the operation control means opens and closes the opening / closing means depending on whether or not the ball box is positioned in the positioning means. Control the opening and closing of and the operation of the notification means. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform a special operation such as calling a hall attendant during the game. In addition, since the player does not have to perform a special operation during the game, the fun of continuously watching the game state is not lost.

[Mode 8] Informing means for informing a hall clerk, a saucer for storing the pachinko balls paid out by a prize, and a ball removal hole provided in the saucer for discharging the pachinko balls stored in the saucer And a pachinko machine having an opening and closing means for opening and closing the ball punching hole, and a ball amount detecting means for detecting the ball amount of the pachinko ball in a ball box placed below the saucer. And a motion control means for controlling the opening / closing of the opening / closing means and / or the operation of the informing means based on the ball quantity detected by the ball quantity detecting means. [Related Explanation of Aspect 8] According to this aspect, the operation control unit controls the opening / closing of the opening / closing unit and the operation of the notifying unit based on the amount of balls detected by the amount of balls detecting unit. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform a special operation such as calling a hall clerk during a game, and it is possible to prevent a pachinko ball from spilling when transferring from the saucer to the ball box.

[Aspect 9] In the pachinko machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and 1 to 8, whether or not a ball box is detected by the ball box detecting means and / or is detected by the ball amount detecting means. A pachinko machine having a lock mechanism for locking the opening / closing means based on the amount of balls. [Related Explanation of Aspect 8] According to this aspect, the opening / closing means is locked based on whether the ball box is below the tray or whether the amount of balls in the ball box is a predetermined amount or more. Therefore, the opening / closing means cannot be opened carelessly, and the pachinko ball can be prevented from spilling on the floor or the like.

[0053]

According to the present invention, the opening / closing means is opened / closed depending on whether the ball box is below the tray or whether the amount of balls in the box is more than a predetermined amount. It is possible to prevent the pachinko balls from spilling when they are transferred from the box to the ball box.
Further, since the notification means is automatically operated, the player does not have to perform a special operation, and the fun of continuously watching the game state is not impaired.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachinko machine installed on an island.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a ball box detecting means.

FIG. 3 is a first sectional view of the pachinko machine.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a saucer.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a pachinko controller.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a ball box monitoring process at the time of a big hit.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a ball box monitoring process in a normal time.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a lock mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a ball box monitoring process executed when a switch button is turned off.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of another pachinko machine.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a ball box.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of another pachinko machine.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a ball box detecting means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Island 11 Ball Box Notification Lamp (Notification Means) 12 Pachinko Machine 13 Big Hit Notification Lamp 14 Call Notification Lamp (Notification Means) 16 Display Device 18 Upper Plate (Saucepan) 20 Positioning Recess (Positioning Means) 22 Lower Plate (Saucepan) 24 Balls Box 26 Shelf plate 28 Launching device 30 Shutter (opening / closing means) 32 Ball removal hole 34 Solenoid (driving means) 40 Positioning sensor 42 Ball quantity sensor 50 Full sensor 52 Dispensing passage 60 Positioning plate 62 Positioning recess (positioning means) 100 Pachinko controller

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toru Saiki 1 Nishinogawa, Okimura, Nishiharu-cho, Nishikasugai-gun, Aichi Daiichi Shokai Co., Ltd. (72) Isao Sengoku Nishinokawa, Nishiharu-cho, Nishiharu-cho, Aichi Prefecture Nishinokawa 1 Address inside Daiichi Shokai Co., Ltd.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A saucer for storing the pachinko balls paid out by winning, a ball removal hole provided in the saucer for discharging the pachinko balls stored in the tray, and an opening / closing means for opening and closing the ball removal hole. A pachinko machine having a box, which is provided below the tray and detects only the ball box, and the opening / closing means depending on whether or not the ball box is detected by the ball box detection means. An opening / closing control unit for controlling opening / closing of the pachinko machine. 2. The pachinko machine according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing control means closes the opening / closing means if a ball box is not detected by the ball box detecting means. 3. A saucer for storing the pachinko balls paid out by winning, a ball hole provided in the tray for discharging the pachinko balls stored in the tray, and an opening / closing means for opening and closing the ball hole. A pachinko machine having a ball amount detecting means for detecting the amount of ball of a pachinko ball contained in a ball box placed below the saucer, and a ball detected by the ball amount detecting means. Based on quantity
A pachinko machine comprising: an opening and closing control unit that controls opening and closing of the opening and closing unit. 4. The pachinko machine according to claim 3, wherein the opening / closing control means closes the opening / closing means when the sphere amount detected by the sphere amount detecting means becomes a predetermined amount or more. Machine. 5. The pachinko machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the opening / closing control means controls the driving of the launching device and / or the display of the display device. 6. A notification means for informing a hall clerk, a saucer for storing the pachinko balls paid out by winning, and a ball removal hole provided in the saucer for discharging the pachinko balls stored in the saucer. A pachinko machine having an opening / closing means for opening / closing the ball punching hole, which is provided below the tray and detects only the ball box and the ball box detecting means detects the ball box. And a notification control means for controlling the operation of the notification means according to whether or not the pachinko machine is operated. 7. An informing means for informing a hall clerk, a saucer for storing the pachinko balls paid out by winning, a ball removal hole provided in the saucer for discharging the pachinko balls stored in the saucer. A pachinko machine having an opening / closing means for opening / closing the ball-punching hole, the ball amount detecting means for detecting the ball amount of the pachinko ball in a ball box placed below the saucer, Based on the sphere amount detected by the sphere amount detection means,
A pachinko machine comprising: a notification control unit that controls the operation of the notification unit.