JPH10127917A - System for monitoring circulation of pachinko balls in island - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To always monitor the ball circulating operation of an island, to speedily recognize the generation of any circulation abnormality when the abnormality occurs, and to report it. SOLUTION: This system is provided with supplied ball detection parts 8 respectively installed on respective pachinko stands 1 so as to detect and count the balls supplied from an upside ball beam 4 to the respective stands, out ball detection parts 9 respectively installed on the respective pachinko stands 1 so as to detect and count the out balls discharged from the respective stands into a downside ball beam 5, inflow ball detection parts 10 for detecting and counting the balls flowing from the downside ball beam 5 into a ball tank 6, and outflow ball detection parts 12 for detecting and counting the balls flowing out of a ball lift part 7 to the upside ball beam 4. Then, the detected outputs of these respective ball detection parts are summed up and compared at an island controller 13 to discriminate normality/abnormality in the ball circulating operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for monitoring the operation of a ball circulation mechanism on an island comprising a group of pachinko machines in a pachinko parlor, and in particular, to automatically determine whether the ball circulation in the island is normal or abnormal. About the system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a large number of pachinko machines in a pachinko parlor are arranged in a group of a large number of pachinko machines called islands. The two rows arranged in one row in this manner are configured so that the back surfaces thereof face each other.

[0003] A large number of pachinko machines constituting one island are provided with the following common ball circulation mechanism. That is, the ball circulation mechanism includes an upper ball gutter and a lower ball gutter, a ball tank, and a ball lift. Then, balls are dropped and supplied from the upper ball gutter to a large number of pachinko machines constituting the island. Further, the pachinko balls (out balls) discharged from each pachinko machine are dropped and discharged on the lower ball gutter located below the pachinko balls. The out ball that has fallen into the lower ball gutter flows into the ball tank, where it is temporarily stored. The balls collected in the ball tank in this manner are transported upward by the ball lift unit and flow into the upper ball gutter. By circulating the pachinko balls in units of islands as described above, the pachinko balls are supplied to each pachinko machine without excess or shortage.

[0004]

In the above-described conventional island ball circulation mechanism, normal ball circulation operation is caused by improper design or breakdown of equipment or intentional misconduct of a player. May be inhibited. For example, out balls discharged from a pachinko machine may spill out of a lower ball gutter, or balls flowing out of a ball lift into an upper ball gutter may spill out of the ceiling of a store.

[0005] Conventionally, when such an abnormality of the ball circulation operation occurs, it is not recognized until a staff member or a player in the store sees it. For this reason, the abnormal situation of the ball circulation becomes large and the countermeasure is urgently required. Therefore, not only is the clerk's recovery work difficult, but also annoying to the player who can interrupt the game.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and constantly monitor the ball circulation operation of the island, and a circulation abnormality occurs. Then, there is a need to provide an island pachinko ball circulation monitoring system that can promptly recognize and notify the same.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a pachinko ball circulation monitoring system according to the present invention collects pachinko balls discharged from a plurality of pachinko machines and supplies the pachinko machines to each pachinko machine. A monitoring system for monitoring pachinko balls circulating on a ball circulation mechanism in an island, wherein ball detection means is provided on each of an upstream side and a downstream side of a pachinko ball path constituting the ball circulation mechanism. Then, the number of passing balls of the pachinko balls detected by the ball detecting means on the upstream side is compared with the number of passing balls of the pachinko balls detected by the ball detecting means on the downstream side to determine whether the ball circulation operation in the ball circulation mechanism is normal. -An abnormality is determined (claim 1).

That is, when the number of balls counted by the upstream ball detecting means is compared with the number of balls counted by the downstream ball detecting means, pachinko balls circulate smoothly in the ball circulation mechanism. In such a case, the number of the balls is substantially the same or within a certain range although there is a certain delay by appropriately installing each ball detecting means. Therefore, if the number of balls on the upstream side is extremely large, it can be determined that the ball is jammed somewhere in the path to the ball detection means on the downstream side, or that the ball is separated from the path. Conversely, if the number of balls on the upstream side is smaller, it is determined that the ball may run out, or that clogging or the like has occurred further upstream on the upstream ball detection means, and that the supply has stopped. it can. In addition,
The determination method / algorithm is not limited to the above, but in any case, the presence or absence of an abnormality can be determined based on the ball number information. .

The ball circulation mechanism includes, for example, an upper ball gutter for supplying balls to the plurality of pachinko machines from above, and a lower ball gutter for receiving pachinko balls discharged from each of the pachinko machines and collecting them in a ball tank. And a ball lift for transferring the pachinko balls collected in the ball tank upward and flowing into the upper ball gutter.

In this case, the combination of the upstream and downstream detecting means is reflected in the quality of the quick and accurate abnormality determination depending on the combination of the installation positions. Out ball detection means (upstream) for detecting and counting pachinko balls discharged from the lower ball gutter into the lower ball gutter, and inflow ball detection for detecting and counting pachinko balls flowing into the ball tank from the lower ball gutter. Means (downstream side), a passing ball detection means (upstream side) for detecting and counting pachinko balls moving from a ball tank to the ball lift section, and an upper ball gutter from the ball lift section. A combination of outflow ball detection means (downstream side) for detecting and counting pachinko balls flowing out to the outside (claim 3), or outflow for detecting and counting pachinko balls flowing out of the ball lift to the upper ball gutter. It may be a combination of the detection means supply ball detecting means for counting and detecting the pachinko balls supplied from the (upstream) and upper ball trough each pachinko machine (downstream) (claim 4). Of course, any combination other than these combinations may be used, and such a combination may be used alone, but a plurality of combinations may be used as described in the embodiment.

Further, as is apparent from the above specific example, each of the upstream and downstream ball detecting means does not necessarily need to be constituted by one device, and one or both of them is constituted by a plurality of detecting devices. It may be configured. In the case of a plurality of such devices, the total number of balls counted by each device is obtained, and the determination can be made based on the total number.

The comparison processing of the number of passing balls is as follows.
For example, the difference between the number of passing balls on the upstream side and the number of passing balls on the downstream side may be obtained, and when the difference is equal to or more than a certain value, it may be determined that there is an abnormality (claim 5). In this case, the determination can be made based on four simple arithmetic operations. Of course, in the present invention, the difference is not limited to this.

Still further, at least a part of the ball detecting means may be configured to use a means capable of detecting a moving direction of a pachinko ball. By doing so, for example, when a pachinko ball flows backward or retreats a small distance, it is erroneously recognized as a ball passing and the number of balls is added and the final abnormality / normal judgment is erroneously determined. . Of course, it is not necessary to use the detecting means for detecting the moving direction, and depending on the required performance or when there is no mechanical backflow or the like, even if it detects the passage of the ball according to the specification, It can be monitored and judged with sufficient accuracy.

[0014]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an island pachinko ball circulation monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a large number of pachinko machines 1 installed in a pachinko parlor are divided into a large number of pachinko machine groups called islands 2 and arranged. And on each island 2,
In addition to dozens of pachinko machines 1, dozens of ball machines 3 installed in a section called a sand bar between adjacent pachinko machines 1 are included, and each pachinko machine 1 and ball machine 3 A ball circulation mechanism that circulates and supplies pachinko balls is configured.

The ball circulation mechanism includes an upper ball gutter 4, a lower ball gutter 5, a ball tank 6, and a ball lift section 7, and the pachinko balls (out balls) discharged from the pachinko machine 1 are temporarily lowered. Collected and stored in the ball tank 6 via the side ball gutter 5,
The pachinko balls stored in the ball tank 6 are once raised by the ball lift unit 7 and flow into the upper ball gutter 4 to be supplied to each pachinko machine 1. The pachinko balls on the upper ball gutter 4 are also given to the ball lending machine 3 and supplied to the pachinko machine 1 from the ball lending machine 3 directly or through the hands of a player. By circulating the pachinko balls in units of islands as described above, the pachinko balls are supplied to each pachinko machine without excess or shortage.

A ball passage portion which is supplied from the upper ball gutter 4 to each of the pachinko machines 1 is supplied with a ball sensor, such as a limit switch, for detecting and counting pachinko balls.
Is provided. When the pachinko balls are directly supplied from the upper ball gutter 4 to the ball lending machine 3 side, the supply ball detection unit 8 is also provided in the passage to the ball lending machine 3 side.
Further, an out-ball detecting portion 9 for detecting and counting balls by a ball sensor such as a limit switch is provided in an out-ball passage portion which is discharged from each pachinko machine 1 to the lower ball gutter 5.

Further, at the outlet of the lower gutter 5 is provided an inflow ball detector 10 for detecting and counting the balls flowing from each lower gutter 5 into the ball tank 6 with a ball sensor such as a proximity switch. Have been. In addition, a pachinko ball flowing into the ball lift unit 7 (lifted by the ball lift unit 7) is provided in a passage (an entrance portion of the ball lift unit 7) transferred from the ball tank 6 to the ball lift unit 7 by a proximity switch or the like. A passing ball detector 11 that detects and counts by a ball sensor is provided. Further, at the entrance of the upper gutter 4, there is provided an outflow ball detector 12 for detecting and counting the balls flowing out of the ball lift unit 7 into the upper gutter 4 by a ball sensor such as a proximity switch.

As described above, on the predetermined path of the ball circulation mechanism, various detection units for detecting the passage of pachinko balls are provided. The output signals of the unit 8, the outgoing ball detecting unit 9, the incoming ball detecting unit 10, the passing ball detecting unit 11, and the outgoing ball detecting unit 12 are supplied to an island controller 13 which is a control device provided for each island 2. You. The island controller 13 is composed of a computer, and performs arithmetic processing on an output signal of each of the above-described ball detection units according to a predetermined algorithm, thereby obtaining an island 2.
Is determined as normal or abnormal in the ball circulation operation.

The outline of the ball circulation monitoring process of the island controller 13 is shown in the flowchart of FIG. When the island 2 is in the normal operation mode and each pachinko machine 1 is operating (ST100, ST101), the process proceeds to step 2 and the supply ball detecting unit 8 and the out ball detecting unit 9 of each pachinko machine 1
(ST102), the inflow ball detection unit 10, the passing ball detection unit 11, and the outflow ball detection unit 12
(ST103).

The state of the ball circulation mechanism (whether the pachinko ball circulation operation is normal or abnormal) is obtained based on the number of balls (total value) obtained by the detection units 8 to 12 (ST104).
Specifically, the following is performed.

(1) Out ball detection section 9 of each pachinko machine 1
Is compared with the total number of outgoing balls counted in step (1) and the number of outgoing balls (number of outgoing balls entering the ball tank 6) counted by the inflowing ball detection unit 10, and there is no large difference between the two. If it is normal, if a large difference is detected to some extent continuously, it is determined to be abnormal. An abnormality in this case is a jam or a drop in the path of the lower gutter 5.

(2) The number of balls counted by the passing ball detecting unit 11 is compared with the number of balls counted by the outflowing ball detecting unit 12. If there is no large difference between them, it is normal, and a large difference is detected to some extent continuously. Is determined to be abnormal. The abnormality in this case is the ball lift 7
And ball spillage in the path from the upper to the upper gutter 4.

(3) The number of balls counted by the outflow ball detector 12 (the number of balls poured into the upper gutter 4) and the number of pachinko machines 1
Is compared with the total number of supply balls counted by the supply ball detection unit 8, and it is determined that the two are normal if there is no large difference therebetween and abnormal if the large difference is detected to some extent continuously. An abnormality in this case is a jam or a drop in the path of the upper gutter 4.

If the result obtained as described above is normal (the movement of the ball is correct), the process returns to step 100 and monitoring is continued. On the other hand, if there is an abnormality, the process jumps to step 106 and performs a predetermined abnormality process (S
T105, 106).

As an example of the abnormal processing, an alarm may be generated to notify a staff member. Also, it is preferable to notify the user of which part is abnormal because recovery afterwards becomes easy. If the ball is clogged in the upper gutter 4, if the ball is left as it is, pachinko balls are sequentially supplied to the upper gutter 4 from the ball lift 7, and there is a risk of overflowing. 7 is stopped. Similarly, when there is an abnormality in the ball lift section 7, the processing of the ball lift section 7 is stopped, and other appropriate processing is performed in accordance with the abnormal state to prevent the abnormal state from expanding. So that recovery work can be performed.

After completion of the abnormal processing or even during the abnormal processing, there is a possibility that an abnormality may occur in other parts. Therefore, as shown in FIG. Is also good. Further, the monitoring process may be temporarily terminated by the abnormal process.

Although the illustrated flowchart describes the monitoring process during normal operation, the scope and state of the present invention are not limited to this. That is, in general, during the opening preparation before shifting to normal operation, or vice versa, immediately after closing, etc., the ball circulation mechanism is operated to circulate the pachinko balls, causing the pachinko balls to contact each other, or to contact the wall surface of the passage or the like. By doing so, a process of removing dirt or the like attached to the surface of the pachinko ball may be performed. Therefore, the monitoring system of the present invention can be implemented even during the operation of the ball circulation mechanism performed before opening and / or after closing. That is, the present invention can be applied to a case where a pachinko ball sometimes moves on the ball circulation mechanism.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the sensor units of the inflow ball detection unit 10, the passing ball detection unit 11, and the outflow ball detection unit 12. The ball detection units 10 to 12 in this part need to detect a large number of balls with high efficiency. Therefore, gates G1, G2,... Are arranged to align the balls flowing in the passage from the ball troughs 4, 5 and the ball tank 6 to the ball lift unit 7 in a plurality of rows, and the pachinko balls passing through each gate in one row are provided. Proximity switch 1
4 for detection.

The proximity switch 14 may be composed of, for example, two sensors arranged in a predetermined relative positional relationship as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in the figure, two proximity sensors 14 are provided at predetermined positions in the ball passage.
a and 14b are arranged in series in the ball moving direction at predetermined intervals. In this example, the interval between the sensors 14a and 14b is set to be substantially equal to the radius of the pachinko ball 15.

Here, when the pachinko ball 15 passes through the positions of the two sensors 14a and 14b, a square wave signal having a width inversely proportional to the passing speed is output (this is a ball detection signal). Further, in this example, the detectable distance of each of the sensors 14a and 14b is smaller than the radius of the pachinko ball 15. Thereby, the installation position of the sensor can be changed to the pachinko ball 15.
Passes through, the sensor cannot detect the front end of the pachinko ball 15 (which is separated from the sensor by the radius of the pachinko ball or more). Therefore, many pachinko balls 15
Even if they are arranged in a line and flow without leaving a gap, each sensor output does not remain on, but becomes a square wave signal corresponding to each of the pachinko balls 15.

If the pachinko ball 15 is moving rightward, the outputs of both sensors 14a and 14b are:
The timing chart is as shown in FIG. Therefore, at the rising timing when the output of the first sensor 14a is turned on, the output of the second sensor 14b is always turned off. Also, at the rising timing when the output of the second sensor 14b is turned on, the output of the first sensor 14a is always turned on.

Conversely, if the pachinko ball 15 is moving to the left, the operation is reversed, and the time chart for both sensors is as shown in FIG. 4B. Therefore, at the rising timing when the output of the first sensor 14a is turned on,
The output of the second sensor 14b is always on. Also, at the rising timing when the output of the second sensor 14b is turned on, the output of the first sensor 14a is always turned off.

As described above, the two sensors 14a and 14b
The moving direction of the pachinko ball can be detected by judging the order of the phase difference of the detection signal output from the CPU. Therefore, if the detector is provided with a sensor capable of discriminating the direction, even if the pachinko ball flows backward (including a small amount of backward movement), the direction can be detected by detecting the direction. The number of pachinko balls that have moved in a different direction (for example, if they have moved in the opposite direction,
This is handled by subtracting the number of balls), so that it is possible to more accurately determine whether there is an abnormality.

[0034]

According to the pachinko ball circulation monitoring system of the present invention, the movement of balls is constantly monitored at important points of the ball circulation mechanism of the island, and the number of balls counted in each part is counted and compared. It is possible to determine whether the ball circulation operation is normal or abnormal, and to promptly recognize and notify if a circulation abnormality has occurred. Therefore, it is not necessary to take an urgent countermeasure after the abnormal situation of the ball circulation becomes large as in the related art, and it is not necessary to perform troublesome post-processing or trouble the player.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an island pachinko ball circulation monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an outline of a ball circulation process by the island controller 13 in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a predetermined ball detecting unit 10 according to the embodiment.
It is a perspective view which shows the example of a specific structure of 12 ball sensors.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a more detailed configuration of the sensor of FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pachinko stand 2 Island 3 Ball rental machine 4 Upper ball gutter 5 Lower ball gutter 6 Ball tank 7 Ball lift unit 8 Supply ball detection unit 9 Out ball detection unit 10 Inflow ball detection unit 12 Outflow ball detection unit 13 Island controller 14 Proximity Switch G1, G2, ... Gate

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A monitoring system for recovering pachinko balls discharged from a plurality of pachinko machines and monitoring pachinko balls circulating on a ball circulation mechanism in an island to be supplied to each pachinko machine, wherein the ball circulation mechanism is provided. The ball detecting means is provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the pachinko ball path constituting the pachinko ball, the number of passing pachinko balls detected by the upstream ball detecting means, and the pachinko ball detected by the downstream ball detecting means. The number of passing balls is compared with the normal or normal ball circulation operation in the ball circulation mechanism.
An island pachinko ball circulation monitoring system characterized by determining an abnormality. 2. The ball circulation mechanism includes an upper ball gutter for supplying balls to the plurality of pachinko machines from above, and a lower ball for receiving pachinko balls discharged from each of the pachinko machines and collecting the balls in a ball tank. A gutter, and a ball lift section for transferring the pachinko balls collected in the ball tank upward and flowing into the upper ball gutter, wherein the upstream ball detection means includes a lower ball from each pachinko machine. Out ball detection means for detecting and counting pachinko balls discharged to the gutter, wherein the downstream ball detection means detects and counts pachinko balls flowing into the ball tank from the lower ball gutter. 2. The island pachinko ball circulation monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the system is a ball detection unit. 3. The ball circulation mechanism comprises: an upper ball gutter for supplying balls to the plurality of pachinko machines from above; and a lower ball for receiving pachinko balls discharged from each of the pachinko machines and collecting the balls in a ball tank. A gutter, and a ball lift for transferring the pachinko balls collected in the ball tank upward and flowing into the upper ball gutter, wherein the upstream ball detection means comprises a ball lift from the ball tank. The downstream ball detecting means detects and counts the pachinko balls flowing out of the ball lift section into the upper ball gutter, and detects and counts the pachinko balls moving to the upper ball gutter. The island pachinko ball circulation monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the system is a means. 4. The ball circulation mechanism includes an upper ball gutter for supplying balls to the plurality of pachinko machines from above, and a lower ball for receiving pachinko balls discharged from each of the pachinko machines and collecting them in a ball tank. A gutter, and a ball lift portion that transfers the pachinko balls collected in the ball tank upward and flows into the upper ball gutter, wherein the upstream-side ball detection means is configured to detect the upper ball from the ball lift portion. Outflow ball detection means for detecting and counting pachinko balls flowing into the gutter, wherein the downstream ball detection means detects and counts pachinko balls supplied to each pachinko machine from the upper ball gutter. The island pachinko ball circulation monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the system is a means. 5. The comparing process of the number of passing balls, wherein a difference between the number of passing balls on the upstream side and the number of passing balls on the downstream side is obtained, and when the difference is equal to or more than a predetermined value, it is determined that the number of passing balls is abnormal. The island pachinko ball circulation monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The pachinko ball circulation in an island according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the ball detecting means is capable of detecting a moving direction of the pachinko ball. Monitoring system.