JPH10216301A - Device for game - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately repond to abnormal condition so as to supply fixed filling balls by determining that the abnormal condition concerning the supply of filling balls is caused when a difference between the number of balls introduced into a pinball game (Pachinko) machine and a predetermined number is larger than a designated difference at the time of supplying filling balls. SOLUTION: When a difference between the number of balls actually supplied to the interior of each Pachinko game machine and a predetermined number of balls to be supplied to each Pachinko game machine is not within the error permissible range, the occurrence of the abnormal supply condition is informed. Thus, it can easily be recognized that the disadvantages such as the failure of a supply part 507, ball jams in supply trough 508a, 508b and the like are caused in the supply passage. Accordingly, it is possible to deal with the supply abnormal condition such as recovery work for the abnormal condition. Further, when the abnormal supply condition is caused, the additional supply of balls to the Pachinko game machine 1 or discharge of balls from the Pachinko game machine is executed according to the condition where the balls are insufficient or excessive.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game machine provided in a game arcade or the like, and more particularly, to a ball game in which a game is performed by repeatedly firing a ball enclosed in a ball game machine. The present invention relates to a game device capable of replenishing a ball with a ball used as the enclosed ball.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A ball game machine in which a game is performed by repeatedly firing an enclosed ball sealed inside a ball game machine is known as a conventional game device of this kind. There is a game device capable of replenishing balls used as enclosed balls.

In such a ball game machine, the ball is repeatedly used inside the ball game machine. However, since the ball is contaminated by repeated use, it is necessary to appropriately replace the ball with a new ball. There is. For this reason, in the conventional gaming machine, the old ball is discharged from the ball game machine, and then a predetermined number of new balls are supplied into the ball game machine to replace the ball. Is performed. Then, in the ball-and-ball game machine, the replenished ball is newly used for the game as an enclosed ball.

In such a gaming machine, the balls to be replenished inside the ball game machine are determined in advance by a ball sending device provided at a predetermined position on the game machine installation island where the ball game machine is installed. A number of the game machines are sent out through a supply gutter and are guided into the supply destination ball game machine via internal introduction paths provided corresponding to the respective ball game machines.

[0005]

However, in the above-described gaming machine, a predetermined number of balls are sent out for replenishment. In some cases, the number of balls actually introduced into the ball game machine may be smaller or larger than a predetermined number to be supplied. If the number of enclosed balls inside the ball-and-ball game machine becomes extremely smaller than a predetermined number, an abnormal state occurs in which the number of balls required for executing the game is insufficient. Also, if the number of enclosed balls inside the ball game machine becomes extremely larger than the predetermined number, the balls overflow from the inside of the ball game machine, or the circulation of the enclosed balls is hindered by excessive enclosed balls, An unusual condition occurs, such as clogging.

[0006] When such an abnormal state occurs, the execution of the game in the ball game machine and the management of the balls enclosed in the ball game machine are hindered. It was necessary to determine whether such an abnormal condition had occurred.

The present invention has been conceived in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to ascertain that when a ball is supplied to a ball-and-ball game machine, an abnormal condition relating to the supply of an enclosed ball has occurred. It is to provide a possible gaming device.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a ball game machine in which a game is performed by repeatedly firing a ball sealed inside a ball game machine. A game device capable of replenishing balls for use,
When the replenishment of the enclosing ball is performed, a ball sending unit that sends out a predetermined number of balls for replenishment of the enclosing ball, and when the replenishment of the enclosing ball is performed, the ball sending unit transmits the ball. An internal introduction path for introducing the sent ball into the ball game machine, and the number of balls to be introduced into the ball game machine via the internal introduction path when refilling the enclosed ball, and When the difference from the predetermined number is larger than a predetermined difference, a supply abnormality judging means for judging that an abnormal state relating to the supply of the enclosed ball has occurred is included.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, the refilling of the enclosed ball leads the ball into the ball game machine through the internal introduction path. When the number of balls to be supplied is less than the predetermined number, the ball game machine further includes an additional replenishment control unit that performs control to replenish the insufficient number of balls to the ball game machine. I do.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when replenishment of the enclosed balls is performed by the operation of the ball sending means, a predetermined number of balls are delivered for replenishment of the enclosed balls. You. When the replenishment of the enclosed ball is performed, the ball sent from the ball sending means is guided into the ball game machine through the internal introduction path. When the difference between the predetermined number and the number of balls guided into the ball game machine via the internal introduction path when the enclosed balls are replenished by the action of the replenishment abnormality determination means is larger than a predetermined difference Then, a determination is made that an abnormal state has occurred regarding the replenishment of the enclosed balls. In this way, due to excessive or insufficient replenishment of the enclosed balls inside the ball game machine, the number of balls actually introduced into the ball game machine and the predetermined number to be sent out for replenishment If the difference between the number and the number becomes larger than a predetermined difference, it is determined that an abnormal state has occurred. Based on the determination result, it is recognized that such an abnormal state has occurred. It is possible. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately deal with such an abnormal state.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, the following operation is performed.
When the number of balls guided into the ball game machine via the internal introduction path during the supply of the enclosed balls becomes smaller than a predetermined number by the function of the additional supply control means, the number of the balls becomes insufficient. Is controlled to additionally replenish the ball with the ball game machine. In this way, when the number of balls that are actually guided into the ball game machine at the time of replenishment of the enclosed balls is insufficient, the shortage balls are additionally replenished. The number of replenished balls becomes constant. Further, even if it is determined that an abnormal state has occurred with respect to the replenishment of the enclosed ball, the additional state of the ball automatically returns from the abnormal state to a normal state by additional replenishment of the ball. Since there is no need to perform a coping operation, the convenience in the management of replenishment of the enclosed balls is high.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, a game device capable of replenishing balls used as enclosing balls in a pachinko game machine of an enclosing ball type as an example of a ball and ball game machine is shown. The replenishment target of the ball is not limited to the pachinko game machine, but may be another ball game machine such as a coin game machine or an arrangement type pachinko game machine. That is, the present invention is a gaming device capable of replenishing a ball used as the above-mentioned ball to a ball game machine in which a game is performed by repeatedly firing and firing a ball sealed inside a ball game machine. It is applicable to any gaming device.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a game machine installation island provided with a game device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1A is a plan view of the gaming machine installation island 500, and FIG. 1B is a front view of the gaming machine installation island 500.

Referring to FIG. 1, a gaming machine installation island 500 includes:
It is provided in a game store (game room). Game machine installation island 500
Includes a representative unit 500a having a unit-type mounting structure and a plurality of continuous units 500b having a unit-type mounting structure arranged on both left and right sides thereof. Each unit of the representative unit 500a and the continuous unit 500b has two
A total of four pachinko gaming machines 1 are provided on the back side of FIG.

The representative unit 500a is a game machine installation island 5
This unit is installed at the center of the unit 00, and the left and right sides are configured to be connectable to the continuous unit 500b.
The connecting unit 500b is a unit that is provided on both the left and right sides of the representative unit 500a, and the left and right sides are configured to be connectable to the representative unit 500a and another connected unit 500b.

The gaming machine installation island 500 having such a configuration is as follows.
An arbitrary number of the connected units 500b may be replaced with the representative unit 500.
It is possible to connect them on the left and right of a. Therefore, the gaming machine installation island 500 is connected to the connected unit 500.
It is possible to arbitrarily select the number of pachinko gaming machines 1 installed and the length of the gaming machine installation island 500 in the longitudinal direction according to the number of installations of b. An island edge decorative plate 510 is attached to both sides of the continuous unit 500b at both left and right ends of the gaming machine installation island 500.

In each of the representative unit 500a and the continuous unit 500b, a space (hereinafter referred to as an internal space) is provided between the pachinko gaming machine 1 on the front side in the figure and the pachinko gaming machine 1 on the back side in the figure. Is formed. Therefore, in the gaming machine installation island 500, the pachinko gaming machines 1 arranged on the front side in FIG.
An internal space is formed between the pachinko gaming machines 1 arranged on the rear side in the figure.

Above the central portion of the internal space of the representative unit 500a, there is provided a supply unit 507 for supplying refillable balls to all the pachinko gaming machines 1 in the gaming machine installation island 500. Above the internal space of the gaming machine installation island 500, on the left side of the supply unit 507 in the figure, a plurality of pachinko gaming machines 1 (the pachinko gaming machine 1 on the front side in the figure and on the left side of the figure) of the supply unit 507 A replenishing gutter 508a is provided in the back side pachinko gaming machine 1 (including the pachinko gaming machine 1) to guide refillable balls for replenishment. Further, above the internal space of the gaming machine installation island 500, on the right side of the supply unit 507 in the drawing, a plurality of pachinko gaming machines 1 (the pachinko gaming machines 1 and A replenishing gutter 508b is provided in the pachinko gaming machine 1 on the rear side in the figure for guiding refillable balls for refilling the enclosed balls.

The supply gutter 508a extends from the position of the supply unit 507 to the position of the left end of the gaming machine installation island 500 in the drawing, and descends from the supply unit 507 to the end of the gaming machine installation island. It is inclined. The supply gutter 508b is connected to the supply unit 5
07 to the right end of the gaming machine installation island 500 in the drawing, and is inclined in such a manner as to descend from the supply unit 507 side to the gaming machine installation island end side. Supply balls are individually sent from the supply unit 507 to the supply gutter 508a and the supply gutter 508b.

In each of the supply gutter 508a and the supply gutter 508b, a plurality of connecting pipes 606 are connected in the middle of the path. The connecting pipes 606 are provided corresponding to the respective pachinko gaming machines 1, and a passage for introducing the ball guided by the connected supply gutter is formed inside the corresponding pachinko gaming machine 1. Tube.

Below the central portion of the internal space of the representative unit 500a (below the supply section 507), the supply section 5 is provided.
A lifting / polishing unit 505 is provided for lifting the pachinko balls to the 07 and polishing the pachinko balls. Between the pumping / polishing unit 505 and the supply unit 507, there is provided a pumping gutter 506 through which pachinko balls to be pumped from the pumping / polishing unit 505 toward the supply unit 507 are guided. .

Below the internal space of the gaming machine installation island 500, on the left side of the lifting / polishing unit 505 in the figure, a plurality of pachinko gaming machines 1 (front in the figure) arranged on the left side of the lifting / polishing unit 505 in the figure. (Including the pachinko gaming machine 1 on the side and the pachinko gaming machine 1 on the back side in the figure) is provided with a collecting gutter 509 a for collecting the balls discharged and guiding the balls to the lifting / polishing unit 505. Further, below the internal space of the gaming machine installation island 500, on the right side of the lifting / polishing unit 505 in the drawing, a plurality of pachinko gaming machines 1 arranged on the right side of the lifting / polishing unit 505 in the drawing.
A collecting gutter 509 b for collecting balls discharged from the pachinko gaming machine 1 on the front side in the figure and the pachinko gaming machine 1 on the back side in the figure and guiding the balls to the lifting / polishing unit 505 is provided. .

The collection gutter 509a extends from the left end of the gaming machine installation island 500 to the position of the lifting / polishing unit 505, and extends from the end of the gaming machine installation island 500 to the lifting / polishing unit 50.
It is inclined in a manner descending toward 5. Also, the collection gutter 50
9b extends from the right end in the figure of the gaming machine installation island 500 to the position of the lifting / polishing unit 505, and descends from the gaming machine installation island end to the lifting / polishing unit 505. It is inclined. A circulation passage 511a, which is a passage connecting between the supply gutter 508a and the collection gutter 509a, is provided at the left end of the gaming machine installation island 500 in the drawing. The supply gutter 508b and the collection gutter 50 are provided at the right end of the gaming machine installation island 500 in the drawing.
A circulation passage 511b is provided, which is a passage connecting between the first passage 9b and the second passage 9b.

Next, the flow of balls in the gaming machine installation island 500 will be described. The replacement of the enclosed ball inside the pachinko gaming machine 1 is performed at a predetermined timing that does not hinder the game, such as after the end of the business hours of the gaming shop (game room) in which the pachinko gaming machine 1 is installed. When replacing the enclosed ball, first,
The enclosed ball inside the pachinko gaming machine 1 is discharged to the outside as a discharged ball. Basically, such balls are discharged simultaneously from all the pachinko gaming machines 1 in the gaming machine installation island 500. The discharged balls discharged from the pachinko gaming machine 1 are:
Guided by the collection gutter 509a and the collection gutter 509b,
It is collected by the lifting / polishing unit 505. The balls thus collected are polished for a predetermined time in the lifting / polishing unit 505. When the polishing is finished, the polished ball will
It is pumped to the supply unit 507 through the pumping gutter 506.

When the polishing of the balls is completed, the supply balls are simultaneously sent from the supply unit 507 to the supply gutter 508a and the supply gutter 508b. In this case, the supply gutter 508a and the supply gutter 508 are set as the number of the supply gadgets as a unit of sending out a predetermined number as the number of balls enclosed in the pachinko gaming machine 1.
b. And such a supply gutter 50
The supply balls guided by each of the supply gutter 8a and the supply gutter 508b are arranged in a predetermined order (for example, the order in which the connection position of the connecting pipe 606 in the flow path of the supply gutter 508a and the supply gutter 508b is closer to the supply unit 507). Then, one unit of the transmission is guided into each pachinko gaming machine 1 through the connection pipe 606.

In each of the supply gutter 508a and the supply gutter 508b, at a portion where each connecting pipe 606 is connected, a flow path switching device 600 described later is provided. That is, in each of the supply gutter 508a and the supply gutter 508b, a plurality of flow path switching devices 600 are provided.
These flow path switching devices are configured not to switch the flow path of the supply ball to the corresponding connection pipe 606 side in the normal state, and are driven in a predetermined order,
The flow path of the ball is switched to the corresponding connection pipe 606 side. Thereby, the supply balls guided by each of the supply gutter 508a and the supply gutter 508b are supplied into each pachinko gaming machine 1 in a predetermined order, one unit at a time. In addition, when the flow paths of all the flow path switching devices are not switched to the side of the connection pipe 606, the ball guided by the supply gutter 508a is guided to the collection gutter 509a through the circulation passage 511a, and the ball is guided by the supply gutter 508b. The guided ball is a circulation passage 5
It is led to the recovery gutter 509b via the 11b.

Next, the configurations of the representative unit 500a and the continuous unit 500b will be described in detail. Here, the representative unit 500a will be described as an example.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the representative unit 500a. A discharge ball receiver 52 for receiving a discharge ball discharged from the inside of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is provided at a lower portion of each pachinko gaming machine 1.
5 are provided. Discharge ball receiver 525 and recovery gutter 50
9a (or the collection gutter 509b), discharge balls in the discharge ball receiver 525 are collected by the collection gutter 509a (or the collection gutter 50).
A connecting pipe 607 for guiding to 9b) is provided. A connecting pipe 607 for detecting and counting the number of discharged balls
A discharged ball counter 525a for detecting discharged balls entering the inside is provided. With such a configuration, the discharged ball discharged from the inside of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is received by the discharged ball receiver 525, and is guided to the collection gutter 509a (or the collection gutter 509b) via the connection pipe 607. Then, at that time, the discharged balls are detected by the discharged ball number counter 525a. The number of discharged balls of each pachinko gaming machine 1 can be counted based on the detection of the discharged ball counter 525a. Such a discharged ball receiver 525, the connecting pipe 607, and the discharged ball number counter 525a are similarly provided in the continuous unit 500b.

Also, the collection gutter 509a and the collection gutter 509
At a predetermined position on each upstream side of b, a passing ball detector 200 for detecting passage of a ball guided by each collecting gutter is provided. In the case of the continuous unit 500b, the passing ball detector 200 is connected to the collecting gutter 509a or the upstream side of the collecting gutter 509b provided in the continuous unit 500b (the connecting portion of each connecting pipe 607 of the four pachinko gaming machines 1). Upstream). As described above, the passing ball detector 200 is provided in each unit, but it is checked whether there is a passing ball detector 200 that does not detect the passage of the ball for a predetermined period or more when the ball is discharged from the pachinko gaming machine 1. By doing so, it is possible to recognize that clogging has occurred on the upstream side of the passing ball detector 200.
Here, the flow path switching device 600 and the connecting pipe 606 described above are omitted.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the representative unit 500a. In FIG. 3, the representative unit 500a
Is viewed from the side. Referring to FIG. 3, a supply unit 507 is provided above the internal space of pachinko gaming machine 1, and a lifting / polishing unit 505 is provided below the internal space of pachinko gaming machine 1. The supply unit 507 is located directly above the lifting / polishing unit 505. Lifting gutter 506
Is a lifting / polishing unit 50 in the internal space of the pachinko gaming machine 1.
5 to the supply unit 507.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the representative unit 500a. Referring to FIG. 4, representative unit 500a
The underframe 513b is attached to the upper portions of the lower supports 516a and 516b that support the lower part of the vehicle. The underframe 513b extends over the front of the pachinko gaming machine 1. Underframe 513b
The base plate 513a is mounted thereon.

On the lower supports 516a and 516b, there are middle supports 518a and 518a for supporting an intermediate portion of the representative unit 500a.
518b and 518c are attached. Middle column 51
8a is attached to the left side of the representative unit 500a in the figure. The middle column 518c is a representative unit 500a.
Is attached to the right side in the drawing. Middle pillar 518b
Is located at the center of the internal space of the representative unit 500a. A spacer fixing portion 514 for attaching a spacer 515 for partitioning the pachinko gaming machines 1 arranged sideways is attached to each of the middle supports 518a, 518b, 518c.

On the middle supports 518a, 518b, 518c, the upper support 5 supporting the upper part of the representative unit 500a is provided.
19a and 519b are attached. Upper column 519
Outside the upper pillars 519a and 519b, upper pillars 520a and 520b that support portions of the representative unit 500a that extend beyond the upper pillars 519a and 519b are provided.
A curtain plate 512 is attached to the outside of the upper overhang columns 520a and 520b. The base of the lifting gutter support member 506a that supports the lifting gutter 506 is attached to the middle support 518b. A part of the midway of the lifting gutter 506 is fixed to the lifting gutter support member 506a.

The pachinko gaming machine 1 is mounted between a lower portion of each of the upper overhang columns 520a and 520b and an upper portion of the underframe 513b. Tilt adjusting legs 517 are attached to the four sides (four corners) of the back surface of the members constituting the legs provided below the lower supports 516a and 516b. By adjusting the length of each of the four tilt adjusting legs 517, the tilt of the representative unit 500a can be adjusted. Such a configuration is the same in the continuous unit 500b.

Next, the pachinko gaming machine 1 provided on the gaming machine installation island 500 will be described in detail. FIG. 5 is a front view of the pachinko gaming machine 1 provided on the gaming machine installation island 500. FIG. 6 is a plan view of an operation panel (operation panel 6) provided in the pachinko gaming machine of FIG. Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 shows a pachinko gaming machine 1 which is a pachinko gaming machine as an example of a ball-and-ball game machine, and a payout display device 506 capable of displaying the number of balls possessed by the player as the number of payouts. Are shown. As described above, in the gaming machine installation island 500, a plurality of pachinko gaming machines 1 are horizontally arranged in parallel, and a plurality of pachinko gaming machines 1 are similarly horizontally arranged in parallel on the back side. I have.

The pachinko gaming machine 1 is a ball-enclosed pachinko gaming machine of a type in which pachinko balls (enclosed balls) enclosed therein are circulated and used for games. Therefore,
A player playing a game with the pachinko gaming machine 1 does not directly hold a pachinko ball, but plays a game based on a score displayed at a predetermined position on the pachinko gaming machine 1. This score is called the number of balls or the number of balls. In the following embodiments, the number of balls and the number of balls are the same, but their names differ depending on where they are displayed. In addition, each of the number of possessed balls and the number of payout balls in this embodiment includes a score obtained by the player as a result of the game and a score obtained before the start of the game. In this embodiment, the number of balls or the number of payouts is scored, and the score is based on the same concept as in the case of a conventional pachinko game machine in which a prize ball (payout) is paid out according to a game result. Is represented as the number of balls so that the player can play the game.

A payout display device 506 is provided for each pachinko gaming machine 1. Payout display device 50
Numeral 6 is arranged in the upper part of the corresponding pachinko gaming machine 1. On the payout display device 506, various displays are made according to the gaming status of the pachinko gaming machine 1. For example, the display mode of the payout display device 506 becomes a specific display mode each time the number of payouts acquired by the player in the game reaches a predetermined number. In addition, with the occurrence of a big hit or the occurrence of a probability change described later, the display mode changes to a display mode that can recognize the change.
As a result, a player other than the player playing the game with the pachinko gaming machine 1 can easily grasp the gaming situation at a certain pachinko gaming machine 1. The payout display device 506 is mounted on the upper portion of the pachinko gaming machine 1 so that the gaming situation can be displayed in various display modes, and the pachinko gaming machine 1 is easily attached to the line of sight of a patrol player. is there. The player's willingness to play is further improved by taking the eyes of many players by displaying the payout display device 506.

In order to play a game with this pachinko gaming machine 1, an I / O having an information storage unit for storing various information is provided.
A membership card consisting of a C card is required. In the member card, various information such as member information, card balance information, information on the number of balls held, information on the amount of accumulated balls, and security information are stored in the information storage unit. That is, various information is recorded on the membership card by storage in the information storage unit. Here, the member information is information for specifying a player who is a member. The card balance is the balance of the amount owned by the player, and the amount can be used for the game. The number of possessed balls is information on the number of possessed balls including the possessed balls converted from the card balance to the possessed balls and the possessed balls obtained as a result of the game. The security information is information for improving the security of the information on the member card.

[0040] The value of the accumulated ball is a value equivalent to the possessed ball owned by the player deposited in the game hall. The amusement arcade allows a player holding a membership card to deposit a ball held as one of the services. In this way, a player depositing a possessed ball into a game hall is called a ball storage. This coin can be exchanged for a prize later, and can also be reused for a game.

In the upper part of the pachinko gaming machine 1, a card individual processing device 501 (FIG. 1) for processing a membership card is provided.
1) is provided. This individual card processing device 5
01 is provided individually corresponding to each pachinko gaming machine 1. On the front frame 3 of the pachinko gaming machine 1, there is provided an operation unit 5 having an operation panel 6 capable of performing the operations of dropping and storing balls as described above.

As described above, since the pachinko gaming machine 1 is a point-giving pachinko gaming machine, it is necessary for a player to withdraw a predetermined number of balls from the card balance using a membership card when playing a game. is there. That is, the amount of the card balance is converted into a possessed ball at a predetermined conversion rate. Such conversion to a ball is called withdrawal. Such debits are also called ball rentals. The ball that has been withdrawn in such a manner can be used by a player of the pachinko gaming machine 1. Such withdrawal of a ball is performed by a player inserting a membership card into a card insertion / ejection port provided in the individual card processing device 501 and performing a predetermined operation on the operation panel 6 by the player. Can be. In addition, the above-mentioned savings can also be performed by the player performing a predetermined operation on the operation panel 6 in a state where the membership card is inserted into the individual card processing device 501.

When the member card is inserted into the card insertion / ejection slot of the individual card processing device 501, the information stored in the member card is read. The card balance included in the read information is displayed on the amount display section 7 provided on the operation panel 6. In addition, the number of possessed balls deducted from the card balance is displayed on the possessed ball display unit 8. The ball count displayed on the ball display unit 8 in this way can be used for a game, and is updated and subtracted during the game.

Here, the configuration of the operation panel 6 will be described with reference to FIG. The operation panel 6 is provided on the upper surface of the operation unit 5. The operation panel 6 includes a display changeover switch 9, a ball lending switch 10, a suspend switch 11, a return switch 12, a card ball lending LED 17a, and a ball lending amount LED 17 in addition to the above-described amount display section 7 and ball holding display section 8.
b, automatic ball lending LED 17c, possessed ball LED 18a, and cumulative possessed LED 18b. These various display units, various switches, and various LEDs are mounted on an operation board 19 which is a circuit board mounted on the back side of the operation panel 6.

Various amounts are digitally displayed on the amount display section 7. The amount display unit 7 displays the amount in units of, for example, 100 yen. A plurality of display modes for displaying the amount on the amount display unit 7 are provided. As the display mode, three types of modes are set, a card ball lending mode, a ball lending mode, and an automatic ball lending mode. These display modes are sequentially switched each time the display changeover switch 9 is pressed. Therefore, the display changeover switch 9
Is pressed to select a display mode.

When the card ball lending mode is selected, the card ball lending LED 17a is turned on, and the card balance is displayed on the amount display section 7. When the ball-saving mode is selected, the ball-amount LED 17b is turned on, and the ball-amount is displayed on the amount display section 7. When the automatic ball lending mode is selected, the automatic ball lending LED 17c is turned on, and the card balance amount is displayed in the amount display section 7.
Will be displayed.

In the pachinko gaming machine 1, when performing a ball lending operation, it is possible to select one operation mode from two modes, a manual ball lending mode and an automatic ball lending mode.
The manual ball lending mode is an operation mode in which a ball is lent by a predetermined amount (a predetermined number of balls) every time the player operates the ball lending switch 10. The manual ball lending mode is set when the card ball lending mode is selected by operating the display changeover switch 9. When the ball lending switch 10 is operated, ball lending is executed.

The automatic ball lending mode is an operation mode in which ball lending is automatically performed in units of a predetermined amount (predetermined number of balls) when the number of possessed balls decreases to a predetermined value. The automatic ball lending mode is set when the automatic ball lending mode is selected by operating the display changeover switch 9. When the ball lending switch 10 is operated once, automatic ball lending is started.
Is operated again, automatic ball lending ends.

When the ball lending is performed by executing the manual ball lending mode or the automatic ball lending mode, a predetermined card balance amount (for example, 500 yen) is withdrawn and a predetermined number of withdrawn balls (for example, 125 points) ) Is given to the player. The number of withdrawn balls is added and updated and displayed on the held ball display unit 8. The display of the number of balls by the ball display unit 8 is performed by digital display. At this time, the money amount display unit 7
Then, the card balance amount is subtracted and updated and displayed for the number of withdrawn balances.

The ball display section 8 displays the normal ball number or the total ball number. When the normal ball number is displayed, the ball LED 18a is turned on, and when the total ball number is displayed, the accumulated ball LED 18b is turned on. This switching is performed by the display changeover switch 9. Here, the number of possessed balls means the number of points that can be used for the game at the target pachinko machine, and specifically, refers to the number before being stored on the member card for the exchange of prizes. The number of balls indicates all the points obtained by the player and still stored on the member card, including those stored on the member card for prize exchange (cannot be used for games).

When the display changeover switch 9 is operated to select the ball storage mode, it is possible to store the ball. When the player operates the ball lending switch 10 in such a state in which the ball storage mode is selected, the number of balls held displayed on the ball holding display unit 8 is stored.

When the return switch 12 is pressed, the game in the pachinko gaming machine 1 can be completed.
In this case, the number of ball positions displayed on the ball position display section 8 is added to the number of ball positions recorded on the member card before the game is started, updated and stored, and displayed on the amount display section 7. The card balance amount is updated and recorded on the member card as the card balance. Then, the membership card for which the update record has been completed is ejected.

When the interruption switch 11 is pressed, the game in the pachinko gaming machine 1 can be interrupted.
The pachinko gaming machine 1 is provided with a function for interrupting a game, similarly to a well-known game machine. That is, when the player operates the interruption switch 11, the information on the current number of balls held in the inserted membership card, and
Predetermined interruption information such as information on the machine number of the pachinko gaming machine 1 in which the game has been interrupted and information indicating that the game has been interrupted is written, and the member card is ejected. When such an operation of the interruption switch 11 is performed, the pachinko gaming machine 1
, The acceptance of another member card is prohibited, so that the game using the member card other than the member card in which the interruption information is stored as described above is prohibited.
That is, the game can be resumed in the pachinko gaming machine 1 in which the game is interrupted only after the member card storing the interrupt information as described above is used. The predetermined display that the game is being interrupted may be performed using the analog display 51.

When the player operates the hit ball operation handle 4 in a state where the ball is present, the pachinko balls enclosed in the pachinko gaming machine 1 are fired one by one, and the game area 1
It is driven into 00. The hit pachinko balls are detected one by one by a hitting ball sensor 37d described later, and the number of held balls displayed on the held ball display unit 82 is decremented and updated one by one each time there is detection.

The foul ball, which is a pachinko ball that has not reached the gaming area 100 because the firing momentum is too weak, is collected from a foul ball inlet (not shown) and detected by a foul ball sensor (see FIG. 9). . Each time a foul ball is detected, the number of ball positions displayed on the ball display unit 8 is added and updated one by one. As a result, the player hits the ball in the game area 100.
Can be effectively used again without detecting the hit ball sensor 37d (see FIG. 7).

When a hit ball hit in the game area 100 wins the starting port, it is detected by the starting winning ball sensor 117 (see FIG. 10), and the variable display device 101 starts variable display of symbols. In addition, the fact that the hit ball wins the starting port 105 is particularly called a starting winning.

Variable display device 1 based on occurrence of start winning
At 01, variable display of symbols such as numbers is started. And
If the variable stop result of the variable display device 101 becomes a predetermined specific display mode (for example, 777), a so-called big hit occurs. If a big hit occurs, the solenoid 130
Is excited, the open / close plate 111 provided in the variable winning ball device 109 is opened, and the big winning opening 110 is opened,
This is the first state that is advantageous for the player. The first state is established when a predetermined number (for example, 10) of the pachinko balls in the variable winning ball apparatus 109 is won or a predetermined period (for example, 30 seconds) elapses, whichever is earlier. A second state that is terminated and disadvantageous to the player,
That is, the opening / closing plate 111 is closed and the special winning opening 110 is closed.

If the ball hits the starting port 105 again while the variable display device 101 is variably displaying, the start prize is stored, and after the variable display device 101 is variably stopped, it is waited until the variable display device 101 can be variably started again. The variable display device 101 is variably started again based on the winning start. The upper limit of the start winning prize memory is set to “4”, and the starting prize storing number at the present time is displayed on the start winning prize number display 104.

A pachinko ball that has entered the variable winning ball device 109 while the variable winning ball device 109 is in the first state is detected by the 10 count sensor 116 or the specific winning ball sensor 115 (see FIG. 10). You. If the pachinko ball is detected by the specific winning ball sensor, the repetition continuation control of controlling the variable winning ball device 109 to the first state again after the first state of the variable winning ball device 109 for that time is completed. Is performed. The upper limit number of executions of the repetition continuation control is set to, for example, 16 times. The number of times such repetition continuation control is executed is called the number of rounds. In the pachinko gaming machine 1, when the big hit state occurs, the continuous control can be repeatedly executed from the first round to a maximum of the 16th round. The numerical value indicating the first round number is displayed on the round number display 103 including a 7-segment LED display.

After the repetition continuation control ends, the so-called big hit state ends, and the open / close plate 111 does not open unless a big hit occurs again. In addition, when the state shifts to such a state, if the big hit that occurred before the state shift is caused by a particular combination of special symbols, the probability of the big hit occurring increases. Such a gaming state in which the jackpot probability has fluctuated is particularly called a probability fluctuation state (abbreviation, probable change). Such a state in which the jackpot probability fluctuates continues, for example, until the jackpot occurs twice thereafter. In the pachinko gaming machine 1, a predetermined symbol (numerical value) is determined as a lucky number among combinations of symbols (numerical values) in which a big hit occurs. When the display result of the symbol (numerical value) when the big hit occurs matches the lucky number determined by the game hall, a certain privilege is given to the player as a special service. For example, this privilege can be used continuously for a game without exchanging valuables given in connection with the occurrence of the jackpot.

The hit ball is variable winning ball device 109, starting port 10
5. If a prize is won in a prize area such as the normal prize port 108 or the normal prize port 112, a predetermined number of balls held according to the prize are given to the player. The number of balls held to the player is
The added ball is updated and displayed on the ball display section 8. Pachinko balls that did not win any of the winning areas are collected by the out port 113 provided below the gaming area 100.

The front frame 2 of the pachinko gaming machine 1 has
A game effect lamp 14, which performs a predetermined lighting display or a predetermined blinking display according to a game state such as occurrence of a big hit,
15 are provided. Speakers 13, 13 for generating predetermined sound effects such as voices according to the gaming state are provided on the left and right sides of the front frame 2 of the pachinko gaming machine 1. Further, in the game area 100, a game effect lamp 10b is provided above the variable display device 101, and a predetermined lighting display or a predetermined blinking display is performed according to a game state such as occurrence of a big hit. Further, at the left and right ends in the game area 100, there are provided game effect lamps 107 for performing a predetermined lighting display or a predetermined blinking display according to a game state such as occurrence of a big hit.

On the other hand, in the payout display device 506, various displays are performed according to the gaming state of the pachinko gaming machine 1. For example, each time a player has a predetermined number of balls (for example, 1000 points (pieces), 2000 points (pieces), 3
Lamps (not shown) provided on the payout display device 506 are sequentially turned on at 000 points (pieces). Also,
With the occurrence of a big hit or the transition to the probability variation state, a specific blinking display is performed.

Further, a saucer portion 16 having a saucer shape is provided below the operation unit 5. The tray section 16 is provided with an ashtray 16a and an accessory case 16b.

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the pachinko gaming machine 1. On the back side of the pachinko gaming machine 1, an intermediate frame 46 is provided. The intermediate frame 46 is rotatably supported on one side by a wooden frame 1 a constituting an outer frame of the pachinko gaming machine 1, and is fixed on the opposite side by a frame lock mechanism 38. The game board fixing lever 2 is provided at a plurality of positions on the edge of the intermediate frame 46.
0a, 20b, and 20c are provided. On the back side of the pachinko gaming machine 1, the game board 114 is accommodated in the intermediate frame 46 and is fixed by the game board fixing levers 20a, 20b, 20c. By the game board fixing lever 20c,
One end of a rear circulation path unit 25 described later is also fixed.

An upper mechanism plate 40a and a lower mechanism plate 40b are provided at the center of the game board 114 on the back of the pachinko gaming machine 1, and the variable display device 101 is mounted at the center. A relay board 41 for relaying signals is attached near the variable display device 101 in the upper mechanism plate 40a.

At the upper end of the game board 114 on the back of the pachinko game machine 1, a game control board 39 on which a game control circuit comprising a microcomputer for controlling the game of the pachinko game machine 1 as described above is formed. Installed. The game control board 39 is provided with connectors 39a to 39h to which wires for inputting and outputting signals are connected. Pachinko machine 1 normal winning opening 108,1
The winning ball that has entered the 12, the starting port 105, or the variable winning ball device 109 is guided to the back side of the game board 114.
At a position below the variable display device 101 on the back surface of the game board 114, a rear circulation path unit 25 constituting a part of a circulation path of pachinko balls in the pachinko gaming machine 1 is provided. The rear circulation path unit 25 is formed as a unit so that the circulation path of the pachinko balls provided on the rear side (back side) of the pachinko gaming machine 1 can be collectively removed. , The game board 114 is provided separately.

The winning ball guided to the back of the game board 114 is
The winning balls are collected by the winning ball collecting cover 25b formed in the rear circulation path unit 25. Winning ball set cover 25
The winning balls collected by b are guided by the winning ball passage 25a formed in the rear circulation path unit 25. The winning ball passage 25a is formed to be inclined in one direction. In the winning ball passage 25a, the winning ball moves from the upper side of the channel to the lower side of the channel by its own weight. A winning ball processing device 29 for performing processing for detecting one winning ball is provided on the downstream side of the winning ball passage 25a.

From the winning ball passage 25a to the winning ball processing device 29
A prize ball sensor 34 (see FIG. 10), which is a detector for detecting a prize ball, is provided on the path of the prize ball reaching inside. The winning ball that has been processed by the winning ball processing device 29 is led to the winning ball contact 29a.

On the other hand, the out ball collected from the out port 113 is guided to the back side of the game board 114 from the out ball communication port 36. The out ball guided to the back side of the game board 114 is an out ball passage 27c, an out ball passage 27b, and an out ball communication port 2 formed in the rear circulation path unit 25.
7a. Out ball passage 27c, 27b
Are connected in the order of 27c and 27b from top to bottom.

The upper side of the flow path of the out ball passage 27c is connected to the out ball communication port 36, and the lower side of the flow path of the out ball path 27b is connected to the out ball communication port 27a.
Therefore, the out ball collected from the out port 113 moves by its own weight and passes from the out ball communication port 36 to the out ball communication port 27a via the out ball paths 27c and 27b.
Guided to. Out ball passage 27c and out ball passage 2
An out ball sensor 35, which is a detector for detecting an out ball, is provided at a connection portion with 7b. Therefore, out balls collected from the out port 113 are detected one by one by the out ball sensor 35.

When a predetermined condition is satisfied, pachinko balls are supplied from outside the pachinko gaming machine 1 to the pachinko gaming machine 1. A pachinko ball that is replenished in such a manner is called a replenishment ball. The rear circulation path unit 25 has a supply ball passage 2 for guiding a supply ball supplied from the outside.
8 are provided. The replenishment ball passage 28 extends in the up-down direction, and the replenishment ball supplied through the connection pipe 606 described above is guided in from the upper end. The lower end of the supply ball passage 28 is connected to a supply ball communication port 29a. The replenishment ball guided from the outside of the pachinko gaming machine 1 into the replenishment ball passage 28 via the connection pipe 606 described above moves downward by its own weight and is guided to the replenishment ball communication port 29a. Supply ball passage 2
A supply ball sensor 49, which is a detector for detecting a supply ball, is provided in the middle of 8. Therefore, the replenishment balls replenished inside the pachinko gaming machine 1 are detected one by one by the replenishment ball sensor 49.

The above-mentioned out ball contact port 27a, winning ball contact port 29a, and replenishment contact port 28a are provided side by side, and are connected to an enclosed ball contact port (not shown). Accordingly, the winning prize ball, the outgoing ball, and the replenishment ball, which have been guided as described above, merge at the enclosed ball communication port. And the ball which joined is game board 1 without distinction
14 is guided to the surface side.

Further, the foul ball collected from the above-described foul ball inlet 47c is not guided to the back side of the game board 114, but is guided to the front circulation path unit 300 provided on the front side of the game board 114 for processing. After that, it is merged with other balls. Therefore, in the gaming machine 1, winning balls, out balls, and foul balls are all circulated inside. The configuration of the front circulation path unit 300 will be described later with reference to FIGS.

Before replenishing the above-mentioned replenishing balls,
The enclosed balls inside the pachinko gaming machine 1 are discharged to the outside.
Such discharge of the enclosing ball is performed by exciting the flow path switching solenoid 315 (see FIG. 9) provided in the front circulation path unit and operating the flow path switching plate 314 to change the flow path of the enclosing ball.
This is performed by switching from a flow path leading to a ball hitting device 37 described later to a flow path leading to a discharge ball communication port 32a described later.
Such a ball discharged to the outside is called a discharged ball.

At the lower end of the rear circulation path unit 25,
A discharge ball communication port 32a for guiding the discharge balls to the back side of the game board 114 is provided. In the discharge ball contact 32a,
One end of the discharge ball passage 31 is connected. The other end of the discharge ball passage 31 is connected to an outlet of the discharge ball in the pachinko gaming machine 1. The discharged ball is discharged to the outside of the pachinko gaming machine 1 from the discharged ball communication port 32a through the discharged ball passage 31 by its own weight. The discharged ball discharged from the outlet of the discharged ball in the pachinko gaming machine 1 is supplied to the discharged ball receiver 525 described above. In the middle part of the discharge ball passage 31,
Discharge ball sensor 33 which is a detector for detecting discharge balls
Is provided. Therefore, the discharged balls discharged to the outside of the pachinko gaming machine 1 are detected one by one by the discharged ball sensor 33.

At the lower end of the intermediate frame 46, a ball hitting device 37 for projecting and firing a pachinko ball is mounted. The hitting device 37 includes a hitting hammer 37a,
b, a hitting motor 37c, and a hitting sensor 37d. The pachinko balls joined as described above are
It is guided to a predetermined hitting ball firing position along the inclination of the firing ball guide passage formed in the front circulation path unit.

The ball guided to the hit ball firing position is fired by the hit ball hammer 37a. The hit ball hammer 37a is intermittently swung by the driving force of the hit ball motor 37c. In conjunction with the intermittent swing of the hitting hammer 37a, an interlocking elevating rod 37b is interlocked.
Moves up and down, acts on a firing ball feeder (not shown), and the firing ball feeder supplies pachinko balls one by one to a hit ball firing position according to the vertical movement. Then, the pachinko ball supplied to the hitting ball firing position is hit by the hitting hammer 37.
a, and is driven into the game area 100. As described above, the pachinko balls enclosed in the pachinko gaming machine 1 are repeatedly circulated and used for the pachinko gaming machine 1.

At the base of the hitting ball hammer 37a, a hitting ball sensor 37d for detecting that a hitting ball has been fired is provided. The hit ball sensor 37d includes a hit ball hammer 37.
The light sensor that detects the swing of d detects that the hit ball has been fired by detecting the light blocking state of the detection light due to the swing of the hitting hammer 37d for firing the hit ball. The detection output of the hit ball sensor 37d is provided to a table control device 42, which will be described later, and used for calculating the number of balls.

At the lower end of the rear circulation path unit 25 described above, a table controller 42 is mounted. The stand control device 42 is composed of a microcomputer, and mainly calculates and manages the number of balls held in the pachinko gaming machine 1 and controls the operation of the operation panel 6 of the pachinko gaming machine 1.

The interface section 23 is provided adjacent to the game control board 39 described above. The interface unit 23 includes a printed board and a plate-shaped member to which the printed board is attached. The interface unit 23 includes an information input / output terminal 23a for connecting a signal line between the outside (for example, a management computer) and the pachinko gaming machine 1, a power socket 23b to which an external power supply line is connected, a power switch 23c, Further, a connector 23d is provided. The wiring 43 connects between the connector 23d and the connector 39h of the game control board 39.

The unit / interface connecting member 21 extending vertically along the frame of the intermediate frame 46 is mechanically connected between the interface section 23 and the rear circulation path unit 25. ing. Therefore, the interface section 23 and the rear circulation path unit 25 are connected by the unit / interface connecting member 21.

Units in the interface unit 23
A part of the side to which the interface connecting member 21 is connected and a part of the rear circulation path unit 25 to which the unit / interface connecting member 21 is connected are provided in the intermediate frame 46. Shaft support member 30
a. The unit / interface connecting member 21 is formed by using the shaft supporting members 30a and 30a as a rotation axis.
The interface portion 23 and the rear circulation path unit 25 which are connected to each other are simultaneously rotatable. That is, the interface unit 23 and the rear circulation path unit 25 can rotate around the unit / interface connecting member 21. The interface unit 23 and the rear circulation path unit 25 thus configured are fixed by fixing levers 22 provided on the interface unit 23 side and the rear circulation path unit 25 side, respectively.

When the interface section 23 and the rear circulation path unit 25 are fixed by the fixed lever 22, the rotation described above becomes impossible.
The rotation described above is possible in a state where the fixing by the above is released.

A wiring space 24 for extending wiring is provided at the right end of the rear circulation path unit 25.
b is provided. The wiring space 24b is formed to extend vertically from the lower end to the upper end of the rear circulation path unit 25. Further, a wiring space 24a, which is a space for extending the wiring over the entire length, is formed in the unit / interface connecting member 21 so as to extend in the vertical direction. These wiring spaces 2
4b and the wiring space 24a are connected at the ends. Therefore, the wiring space 24b and the wiring space 24a provide a continuous wiring space between the lower end of the rear circulation path unit 25 and the interface unit 23.

The stand control device 42 is provided with a connector 42a for inputting and outputting various information.
Further, a connector 24c is provided at the lower end of the wiring space 24b.
Is provided. Connector 42a and connector 24c
Are connected by a wiring 45. Wiring space 2
In the space formed by the wiring space 4b and the wiring space 24a, a wiring 44 is provided, and the connector 24c and the connector 23d are connected by the wiring 44. Therefore, the base controller 42 and the game control board 39 are connected by wiring, and the base controller 42 and the game control board 39 respond to the winning of the game ball via the wiring. Information (signal) relating to the magnitude of the application to the ball is transmitted.

According to the configuration of the back side of the pachinko gaming machine 1 described above, the following effects can be obtained. A path for circulating pachinko balls on the back side of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is unitized by a rear circulation path unit 25. For this reason, in a case where a problem such as clogging occurs in a path for circulating the pachinko balls, the rear circulation path unit 25 is separated from other components to thereby provide a rear side (back side) of the pachinko gaming machine 1. , The circulation path of the pachinko balls can be collectively separated from other parts. Therefore, according to such a configuration, the pachinko ball circulation path on the back side of the pachinko gaming machine 1 can be easily maintained.

Further, since the path for circulating the pachinko balls on the rear side (back side) of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is unitized by the rear side circulation path unit 25, the rear side (back side) of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is provided. In (2), the path for circulating the pachinko balls can be made compact.

Further, since the path for circulating the pachinko balls on the back side of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is unitized by the rear circulation path unit 25, the rear side of the pachinko gaming machine 1 during the production of the pachinko gaming machine 1 In the work of assembling the components on the side (back side), a path for circulating the pachinko balls can be assembled collectively. Therefore, the operation of assembling the components on the rear side (back side) of the pachinko gaming machine 1 at the time of manufacturing the pachinko gaming machine 1 can be facilitated, and the working time can be shortened.

Further, since a path for circulating pachinko balls on the back side of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is unitized by the rear circulation path unit 25, the back side (back side) of the pachinko gaming machine 1 as described above. In addition to facilitating the work of assembling the parts of (1), the work of removing the parts on the rear side (back side) of the pachinko gaming machine 1 can also be facilitated. That is, the work of attaching and detaching components on the rear side (back side) of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is facilitated. For this reason, maintenance work of components on the rear side (rear side) of the pachinko gaming machine 1 can be facilitated.

Further, the rear circulation path unit 25 is rotatable about the vertical axis, and can be easily rotated separately from other components only by releasing the fixing by the fixing lever 22. . Therefore, if the rear circulation path unit 25 is rotated, the rear circulation path unit 25
Can be maintained from the back side, so that it is not necessary to remove the rear circulation path unit 25 for maintenance, and maintenance can be performed extremely easily.

Further, the rear circulation path unit 25 includes:
The table controller 42 is attached, and the table controller 4
2 is connected to the game control board 39 via a plurality of wires, but the rear circulation path unit 25 and the interface unit 23 are mechanically connected, and the wires are housed (buried) in the wiring space of the connecting portion. ) Has been. For this reason, when performing the maintenance described above, the wiring 43 connected between the game control board 39 and the interface unit 23 is simply removed from the connector 23d or the connector 39h, and the rear circulation is performed as described above. Path unit 25
Can be rotated. Therefore, maintenance of the rear circulation path unit 25 can be easily performed without the need for complicated removal and installation work of the wiring provided on the rear side (back side) of the pachinko gaming machine 1. That is, the wiring process for the control device is facilitated.

Further, since most of the wiring is housed (buried) in the wiring space of the connecting portion, the wiring processing is easy even when performing an exchange operation for replacing the game board 114 with another game board. Therefore, such replacement work can be facilitated, and as a result, such replacement work can be shortened.

Further, since the wiring processing is easy as described above, it is possible to reduce the possibility of disconnection of the wiring during the maintenance work and the replacement work of the game board 114 as described above.

Next, the configuration of the front circulation path unit 300 will be described. FIG. 8 shows the front circulation path unit 30.
0 is a front perspective view of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 8, front circulation path unit 3
Reference numeral 00 denotes a transparent resin member. Therefore, the ball passing through the inside of the front circulation path unit 300 can be visually recognized from all directions. At the left end of the front circulation path unit 300, the front circulation path unit 30
Unit shaft support hole 30 into which a shaft for supporting 0 is inserted
7 are provided. The front circulation path unit 300 includes:
It is rotatable around the unit shaft support hole 307 as a rotation center.

A unit locking lever 310 is provided at the right end on the front side of the front circulation path unit 300.
The rotation of the front circulation path unit 300 is locked by the unit locking lever 310, and when the locked state by the unit locking lever 310 is released, the front circulation path unit 300 can freely rotate. become.

[0098] Enclosed balls are received from the rear circulation path unit 25 into the front circulation path unit 300 through the enclosed ball receiving port 301. The enclosed balls received in the front circulation path unit 300 are fired ball guiding paths 302a and 302.
b, 302c, and is led to the ball feeder communication port 302d shown in FIG. The firing ball guide passage 302a is provided in a rear layer of the front circulation path unit 300,
It is composed of a vertical portion for vertically dropping the ball received from the sealed ball receiving port 301 and an inclined portion for guiding the ball dropped by the vertical portion to the downstream side through an inclined passage.

The shooting ball guide passage 302 c is provided in the front layer of the front circulation path unit 300. The shot ball guiding passage 302c is inclined with the ball feeder communication port 302d formed at the downstream end of the ball in the downstream direction downstream. Launching ball guide passage 302a provided in the rear layer
A shooting ball guide passage 302b is provided so as to communicate with the shooting ball guide passage 302c provided in the front layer. Therefore, the firing ball guide paths 302a, 302
In b and 302c, the passage is bent.

In the middle part of the launch ball guiding passage 302c,
A foul ball return port 302e shown in FIG. 9 described below is formed. The foul ball collected from the above-described foul ball inlet 47c is merged into the firing ball guide passage 302c through the foul ball return port 302e.

In the intermediate layer of the front circulation path unit 300, foul balls collected below the launching ball guide passage 302c are discharged above the launching ball guide passage 302c.
Further, there is provided a rotating body 311 for transferring and discharging into the firing ball guiding passage 302c. The rotating body 311 has a disk shape, and has a plurality (five in this case) of game ball holding holes 311a penetrating in the thickness direction (axial length direction). The game ball holding holes 311a are formed at predetermined intervals on a concentric circle centered on the axis of the rotating body 311.
Further, gear teeth are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 311. That is, the rotating body 311 is
11a.

In the rotator 311 having such a structure, the game ball holding hole 311a has the front layer 300a and the rear layer 300c.
Is provided on the intermediate layer 300b. The rotating body 311 is rotated around the center of the disk as an axis,
A foul ball is held in the game ball holding hole 311a. The foul ball held in the game ball holding hole 311a is transferred upward by the rotation of the rotating body 311. The foul ball conveyed upward is dropped from the foul ball return port 302e into the firing ball guide path 302c.

Next, the foul ball transfer mechanism and the flow path switching mechanism will be described in detail. The foul ball transfer mechanism refers to a mechanism that causes the foul ball to merge with another enclosed ball.
The rotating body 311 described above is included. The channel switching mechanism refers to a mechanism for switching the channel of the enclosed ball between a state in which the enclosed ball is circulated in the gaming machine 1 and a state in which the enclosed ball is discharged out of the gaming machine 1. A solenoid 315 and a flow path switching plate 314 are included.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the foul ball transfer mechanism and the flow path switching mechanism in detail. In FIG.
(A) is a perspective view when the vicinity of the rotating body 311 is viewed from the rear side of the front circulation path unit 300,
(B) is a perspective view mainly showing a ball passage from the rotating body 311 to the discharge ball port 303d through the discharge ball guide passage and the discharge ball passage.

First, referring to FIG.
A rotator driving motor 313 for rotating and driving the rotator 311 is provided near 11. A rotating body driving gear 312 (FIG. 9) is provided on the motor shaft of the rotating body driving motor 313.
(B) is attached, and the teeth of the rotating body drive gear 312 are meshed with the teeth of the rotating body 311. Therefore, the rotating force of the rotating body drive motor 313 is transmitted to the rotating body 311 via the rotating body drive gear 312, so that the rotating body 311 is rotated.

The driving of the rotating body drive motor 313 is controlled by the above-mentioned table controller 42. Furl ball entrance 47c
Ball P1 collected by foul ball passage 3
04a and the like, and passes through the foul ball sensor 304b. In response, foul ball sensor 304b detects a foul ball. The foul ball that has passed through the foul ball sensor 304b is guided to a foul ball path 304c.

The bottom surface of the foul ball passage 304c is the rotating body 3
The foul ball in the foul ball passage 304 c is guided toward the rotating body 311. When the foul ball is detected by the foul ball sensor 304b, the rotator 311
13 for a predetermined period (for example, the rotating body 31).
When the game ball holding hole 311a faces the foul ball passage 304c due to the rotation thereof,
A foul ball enters the game ball holding hole 311a. The foul ball that has entered the game ball holding hole 311a is held in the game ball holding hole 311a, and is rotated by the rotation of the rotating body 311.
It is transferred upward.

The front and rear surfaces of the rotating body 311 where the game ball holding holes 311a are formed are connected to the front circulation path unit 30.
0 and oppose the side wall portions of the front layer 300a and the rear layer 300c. Therefore, the foul ball that has entered the game ball holding hole 311a is prevented from spilling out of the game ball holding hole 311a during the upward transfer.

Next, referring to FIG. 9 (b), the inner peripheral surface of each game ball holding hole 311a is inclined such that a portion of the rotating body 311 close to the rotation axis is inclined toward the rotation axis. I have. When the game ball holding hole 311a holding the foul ball reaches the portion of the foul ball return opening 302e, the foul ball in the game ball holding hole 311a falls from the foul ball return opening 302e into the shooting ball guide passage 302c. This is because the inner peripheral surface of the game ball holding hole 311a is inclined, and the foul ball rolls toward the foul ball return port 302e along the inclination.

The fall ball that has fallen into the shooting ball guide passage 302c merges with the other enclosed balls guided to the firing ball guide passage 302c, and flows down in the firing ball guide passage 302c. Discharge ball passages 303a, 303b, and 303c are provided below the firing ball guide passage 302c. The discharge ball passage 303a is provided in a front layer of the front circulation path unit 300. When the flow path switching plate 314 described later operates, the ball that has flowed down in the shot ball guide passage 302c is received in the discharge ball passage 303a as a discharge ball. The discharge ball passage 303a is provided with a firing ball guide passage 302c.
At the downstream end of the ball in the downstream direction, and communicates with the discharge ball passage 303b.

The discharge ball passage 303b is provided in an intermediate layer of the front circulation path unit 300. Further, a discharge ball passage 303c is provided in the rear layer of the front circulation path unit 300.
The discharge ball passage 303c communicates with the discharge ball passage 303b. These discharge ball passages 303
Each of a, 303b, and 303c has a crank shape when viewed from above from above. A discharge ball port 303d is formed on the downstream side of the discharge ball passage 303c in the downflow direction of the ball. The discharge balls guided inside the discharge ball passages 303a, 303b, 303c are guided to the outside of the front circulation path unit 300 through the discharge ball port 303d.

A discharge ball communication port 302f is provided on the bottom surface at the downstream end of the discharge ball guide path 302c. The discharge ball communication port 302f opens above the end of the discharge ball passage 303a and upstream of the ball feeder communication port 302d.

The discharge ball communication port 302f is opened and closed by a flow path switching plate 314 driven by a flow path switching solenoid 315. The flow path switching plate 314 is made of a plate-like member,
It is swung in the same plane as the bottom surface of the shooting ball guide passage 302c. The oscillation center (oscillation axis) of the flow path switching plate 314 is the front layer 3
The flow path switching plate 314 is provided in the front layer 300a while the discharge ball communication port 302f is closed.

The flow path switching solenoid 315 is provided in a portion where no ball passage is provided, that is, in an intermediate layer of the front circulation path unit 300, and a flow path switching solenoid located in a front layer of the front circulation path unit 300. It is operatively connected to the plate 314. Thus, the flow path switching solenoid 315
However, the dead space in the front circulation path unit 300 can be effectively used because the ball passage is provided in the intermediate layer using the portion where the ball passage is not provided. Therefore, the dead space in the front circulation path unit 300 can be reduced by such an arrangement of the flow path switching solenoid 315.

When the flow path switching solenoid 315 is in a non-excited state, the flow path switching plate 314 closes the discharge ball communication port 302f, and the flow path switching plate 314 is moved from the firing ball guide passage 302c to the ball feeder. It becomes a passage of the sealed ball toward the communication port 302d. On the other hand, when the flow path switching solenoid 315 is in the excited state, the flow path switching plate 314 is connected to the discharge ball communication port 302.
f is opened, and the balls flowing down the firing ball guide passage 302c are discharged through the discharge ball communication port 302f.
03a.

As described above, the flow path of the enclosed balls is switched by the flow path switching plate 314 driven by the flow path switching solenoid 315, and the state in which the enclosed balls are circulated in the gaming machine 1 or the state in which the enclosed balls are The state is switched to the state of being discharged outside.

Next, the configuration of the rear circulation path unit 25 will be described in detail. FIG. 10 shows the rear circulation path unit 25.
1 is a perspective view of the pachinko gaming machine 1 as viewed from the back side.

Referring to FIG. 10, a specific winning ball sensor 115, a count sensor 116, and a starting winning sensor 117 are provided on the back side of game board 114 at a position facing winning ball collecting cover 25b. ing. The winning ball that has won each winning area is guided to the winning ball processing device 29 through the winning ball passage 25a. The winning ball processing device 29 includes:
A winning ball sensor 34 is provided, and the winning ball is detected by the winning ball sensor 34. On the other hand, the out ball which did not win is sent from the out ball communication port 36 to the out ball sensor 3.
5 and is led to the out ball passage 27b.

The winning ball passage 25a and the out ball passage (in particular, the out ball passage 27c) are formed in layers in the front-rear direction. That is, when viewed from the back side of the pachinko gaming machine 1, the winning ball passage 25a is formed on the near side, and the out ball passage 27c is formed on the back side. Thus, the winning ball passage 25a and the out ball passage 2
7c are formed in layers in the front-rear direction.
Allows room for vertical design. For this reason, the design of the ball path in the rear circulation path unit 25 can be facilitated. Further, if the winning ball passage 25a and the out ball passage 27c are formed in layers in the front-rear direction as described above, it is not necessary to detour up and down in order to avoid one passage from the other passage. Since there is no need to avoid such a situation (e.g., a crank shape), it is possible to suppress the ball jamming in the passage that tends to occur in that case.

At the upper end of the supply ball passage 28, a tubular connecting pipe connecting portion 606a connected to the connecting pipe 606 is provided. The supply ball passage 28 is connected to the connecting pipe connection portion 60.
It is connected to the connecting pipe 606 via 6a. Therefore, the supply ball guided by the connection pipe 606 is guided into the supply ball passage 28 through the connection pipe connection portion 606a.

Next, a description will be given of a system in a game arcade where the pachinko gaming machine 1 is provided. FIG. 11 is a system block diagram showing a configuration of a system of a game device including a pachinko gaming machine 1 provided in a game arcade.

Referring to FIG. 11, gaming machines in the game arcade include a card management computer 400 and a form output device 4.
01, card issuance and payment processing device 402, card premium exchange processing device 403, and hall computer 404
A game control board 39 and a table control device 42 provided on the pachinko gaming machine 1; a card individual processing device 501, a table management device 504, a signal transmission adapter 502 provided on the game machine installation island 500; Control device 503,
A supply unit 507 and a pumping / polishing unit 505 are included.

The supply section 507 provided on the gaming machine installation island 500 is a device for supplying a supply ball to the pachinko gaming machine 1 as described above. The lifting / polishing unit 505 provided on the gaming machine installation island 500 is used for the game of the pachinko gaming machine 1 as described above, and the surface of the surface discharged from the pachinko gaming machine 1 after the amusement store closes or the like. This is a device that grinds and recycles dirty discharge balls as supply balls.

The card management computer 400 is a device for comprehensively managing the membership card, and mainly manages personal information such as the card balance of each member. The card issuance and payment processing device 402 is a device used for depositing a membership card, and a player inserts a membership card into the card issuance and payment processing device 402 and performs a predetermined operation, whereby the membership card is added to the membership card. It is possible to make a deposit and rewrite the balance. The card issuance / payment processing device 402 performs processing relating to such payment to the member card.

When a player receives a deposit, the card issuance / receipt processing device 402 sends the card to the card management computer 400.
The player's membership information, membership card security information, and sales information are supplied. The sales information in this case is a deposit amount. Card management computer 400
Checks the received member information and security information against the member information and security information of the managing member, and if the received information is valid, calculates the managing member's card balance as sales information Update based on Then, the updated card balance and information permitting rewriting of the information are stored in the card management computer 400.
To the card issuance and payment processing device 402. Upon receiving the information, the card issuance and payment processing device 402 recognizes the payment and rewrites the card balance of the member card.

In the pachinko gaming machine 1, various game control information and various management information are transmitted between the game control board 39 and various sensors and various driving units related to the game control. From the game control board 39 to the table controller 4
2, winning prize information (information indicating that there is a valid prize), jackpot information (information indicating that a jackpot has occurred),
In addition, information such as probability variation information (information indicating that a probability variation state has occurred) is provided. Information for generating various game sound effects such as voices from the speaker 13 is given from the stand control device 42 to the game control board 39.

In the pachinko gaming machine 1, the number of winning balls (the number of safe balls) detected by the winning ball sensor 34.
, Information on the number of out balls detected by the out ball sensor 35, information on the number of foul balls detected by the foul ball sensor, information on the number of shot balls detected by the hit ball sensor 37d, and information detected by the replenishment ball sensor 49 The table control device 42 receives the information on the number of supplied balls and the information on the number of discharged balls detected by the discharged ball sensor 33.

The platform control unit 42 performs an operation for obtaining the number of held balls based on information on the number of pachinko balls detected by each sensor. The information on the number of balls obtained by such calculation is provided as sales information from the table controller 42 to the table management device 504. Further, information on the number of replenished balls and information on the number of discharged balls are also displayed on the table. It is provided from the control device 42 to the table management device 504.

Further, the platform controller 42 operates the operation panel 6
The information for generating a game effect sound such as a voice according to the operation of the game machine is given to a predetermined speaker of the pachinko gaming machine 1.

Further, the platform control device 42 gives game information to the platform management device 504 provided on the gaming machine installation island 500. The game information in this case is composed of effective winning information, big hit information, and probability change information. Also,
Operation information of the operation panel 6 is provided from the operation board 19 of the pachinko gaming machine 1 to the table management device 504.

In the gaming machine installation island 500, a card individual processing device 501 and a table management device 504 are provided for each pachinko gaming machine 1. The card individual processing device 501 is a device for individually processing the stored information of the membership card of the player who intends to play a game with the pachinko gaming machine 1 in correspondence with the pachinko gaming machine 1. Further, the individual card processing device 501 can transmit various types of information to and from the card management computer 400 and to the stand management device 504, respectively. For example, card information such as a card balance is provided from the individual card processing device 501 to the stand management device 504.

The table management device 504 is a device mainly for managing the number of balls possessed by the player using the corresponding pachinko gaming machine 1. Specifically, in the stand management device 504, the card balance and the accumulated ball amount sent from the individual card processing device 501, the information on the number of balls to be sent from the stand control device 42, and the information sent from the operation board 19 are sent. Based on the operation information of the operation panel 6 that comes, the calculation for updating the card balance, the accumulated ball amount and the number of possessed balls is performed. And the table management device 50
4 is a return switch 12 sent from the operation board 19
Based on the operation information, the individual card processing device 501 is controlled, such as updating the stored information of the member card.

[0133] Further, the table management device 504, based on the information managed by it, displays the display units such as the money amount display unit 7 and the number of held balls display unit 8 provided on the operation panel 6 and the payout display device. 506 are performed. Thereby, on the operation panel 6, the money amount display unit 7, the number of possessed balls display unit 8, the card ball lending LED 17a, the ball accumulation amount LED
17b, the automatic ball lending LED 17c, the possessed ball LED 18a, and the accumulated ball LED 18b can be displayed, and the display of the payout display device 506 is performed.

The card management computer 400 provides the individual card processing device 501 with setting information which is information for setting business contents such as information for setting a date and time and information for setting a lucky number.
The setting information is provided from the individual card processing device 501 to the table management device 504 and used for various managements in the table management device 504, and is also provided to the table control device 42 via the table management device 504. The setting information given to the table controller 42 is used for various controls in the table controller 42.

The card management computer 400 sends the card balance, the number of balls held, the number of balls
And, the game information is given via the individual card processing device 501. The card management computer 400 updates the member's management information such as the card balance, the number of balls held, and the number of balls saved based on the information given from the individual card processing device 501, and updates the member based on the given game information. The management information on the game such as the game status is updated.

[0136] The hall computer 404 is a computer that manages various information in the game arcade. Table controller 4
2 to the hall computer 404, the sales information and the game information as described above are given, and the table management device 504 is provided.
, The hall computer 404 is provided with information on the number of possessed balls. The hall computer 404 manages predetermined information based on sales information and game information. Also, the game control board 39 and the table control device 42 are provided with the game prohibition command information for prohibiting the game by the pachinko game machine 1 from the hall computer 404. The game prohibition instruction information is output when the hall computer 404 determines that an illegal act has occurred. Upon receiving the game prohibition command information, each of the game control board 39 and the stand control device 42 causes the pachinko game machine 1
The processing for prohibiting the game by is performed.

The reduction machine control device 503 is a device for performing an enclosed ball discharging and replenishing control for replenishing replenishing balls into the pachinko gaming machine 1 after discharging the enclosed balls in the pachinko gaming machine 1. A card exchange signal is provided from the card management computer 400 to the reduction machine control device 503 via the signal transmission adapter 502. The enclosed ball exchange signal is a signal for instructing exchange of the enclosed ball in the pachinko gaming machine 1.

Upon receiving the encapsulated ball exchange signal, the reduction machine control device 503 sends the encapsulated ball discharge signal for driving the above-described flow path switching solenoid 315 for discharging the encapsulated ball of the pachinko gaming machine 1 to the base control device. 42, the supply unit 5
07 and the driving / polishing unit 505 are supplied with drive signals. The table controller 42 controls the flow path switching solenoid 315 according to the received ball discharge signal to switch the flow path of the ball to the discharge side. As a result, the gaming machine installation island 50
The enclosed balls in the pachinko gaming machine 1 in the area 0 are simultaneously discharged to the outside. Then, the supply unit 507 and the lifting / polishing unit 50
Each of 5 operates according to the received drive signal. In the operation, after the supply balls are polished by the lifting / polishing unit 505, they are pumped to the supply unit 507, and the polished supply balls are supplied from the supply unit 507 into the pachinko gaming machine 1 from which the balls have been discharged. Will be replenished.

When the replenishment of such replenishment balls is completed, a replenishment completion signal indicating that fact is supplied to the card management computer 400 via the signal transmission adapter 502. If an abnormal state occurs during the replenishment operation of the replenishment ball, a replenishment abnormality signal indicating this is provided to the card management computer 400 via the signal transmission adapter 502. When receiving the replenishment completion signal, the card management computer 400 determines that the replenishment operation has been completed.
Further, upon receiving the replenishment abnormality signal, the card management computer 400 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the replenishment operation,
A predetermined abnormality handling process is performed.

The card prize exchange processing device 403 is a device for exchanging the number of balls and the amount of coins stored in the member card for prizes. When a prize exchange is performed, the card prize exchange processing device 403 reads the member information and the security information from the member card, and supplies the information to the card management computer 400.

The card management computer 400 checks the received member information and security information with the member information and security information of the managing member. If the information received is determined to be legitimate as a result of the collation, the card management computer 400 sends, from the card management computer 400, information for permitting the managed member to exchange the number of balls and the amount of accumulated balls. Card prize exchange processing device 4
03.

When the card prize exchange processing device 403 receives the information for permitting the prize exchange, the prize exchange is executed, and the prize exchange information indicating the number of divested balls and the amount of accumulated coins is exchanged with the card management computer 400. Given to. Upon receiving the prize exchange information, the card management computer 400 manages the member who has exchanged the prize by subtracting and updating the number of balls held and the amount of accumulated coins by the amount of the exchange of the prize.

The card output from the card management computer 400 to the form output device 401 is performed by the card management computer 40.
0, form output information for outputting the information managed in a form in a predetermined format. When receiving the form output information, the form output device 401 outputs a form in a predetermined format.

A foul ball transfer mechanism for circulating foul balls, a prize ball processing device 29, and a channel switching solenoid 315 described below for discharging a sealed ball from the pachinko gaming machine 1 are provided with the above-described table control device. 42 are individually controlled.

Next, the configuration of the supply section 507 will be described in detail. FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating a detailed configuration of the supply unit 507. Referring to FIG. 12, supply unit 507 includes supply gutter 5
07a, an alignment passage 507b, an out-of-ball detector 507c, ball supply pipes 507d and 507e, a ball delivery device 507f, and a ball delivery device support plate 507g.

The lifting gutter 506 supplies balls to the supply gutter 507.
a main portion 506a for guiding the ball to the bottom of the supply gutter 507, and a lifting end portion 506b for guiding the ball guided to the bottom of the supply gutter 507a and then discharging the ball into the supply gutter 507a. The lifting main portion 506a extends linearly in the vertical direction, and the lifting end portion 506b is curved such that the discharge end (exit) of the ball faces downward.

The supply gutter 507a has a saucer shape.
The balls discharged from the lifting end 506b of the lifting gutter 506 are stored. In the lower part of the supply gutter 507a, a ball is supplied to the supply gutter 5
A ball sending device 507f for sending the ball to the balls 08a and 508b is provided. The ball sending device 507f supplies the ball with a supply gutter 508.
a, a ball sending unit 5071f for sending the ball to a
b. a ball sending unit 5072f for sending the ball to the b.

At the side of the supply gutter 507a, two alignment passages 507b, 507b (only one is shown) are provided. Each of the alignment passages 507b is a passage that aligns the balls stored in the supply gutter 507a in a line and guides the balls to the outside of the supply gutter 507a, and is provided one by one across the supply gutter 507a. A ball supply pipe 507e that guides the ball toward the ball sending-out portion 5071f is connected to the end of the one of the alignment passages 507b in the downstream direction of the ball. At the end of the alignment passage 507b in the downflow direction of the ball, the ball is delivered to the ball delivery section 5.
A ball supply pipe 507d for guiding toward 072f is connected.

Further, a ball-break detector 507c for detecting a ball in the alignment passage 507b is provided at a downstream end of the alignment passage 507b. This burnout detector 507
c indicates that the ball no longer exists in the supply gutter 507a,
Alternatively, when the balls in the alignment passage 507b are deficient due to clogging of the balls in the alignment passage 507b, the balls are not detected. Therefore, by judging the state of the detection output of the cutout detector 507c, the cutout state of the supply unit 507 can be determined for each alignment passage 507b.

Each of the ball delivery units 5071f and 5072f has a screw shaft (not shown) having a spiral groove formed on the outer periphery thereof, and a motor (not shown) for rotating the screw shaft. ing. Ball sending part 5071f, 5
In each of 072f, the ball guided from the corresponding ball supply pipe is guided along the spiral groove by the rotation of the screw shaft, and is sent out to the corresponding supply gutter. Ball sending section 5071
The number of balls to be sent from each of f and 5072f to the corresponding supply gutter is determined by the rotation amount of the screw shaft. In this embodiment, the number of balls to be supplied to each pachinko gaming machine 1 at the time of replenishment of the balls is predetermined, and the predetermined number of balls is supplied by rotating the screw shaft by the rotation amount at the time of replenishing the balls. Is sent from the ball sending units 5071f and 5072f. Each of the ball delivery units 5071f and 5072f is provided with a delivery ball number counter that counts the number of balls delivered to the corresponding supply gutter by detecting the rotation amount of the screw shaft. The information on the count value of the number-of-sending-balls counter is provided to the reduction machine control device 503. Thereby, in the reduction machine control device 503, the ball sending section 50
The number of balls sent by each of 71f and 5072f can be recognized.

In this embodiment, the ball sending device 507f is connected to two ball sending units 5071f and 5072f.
However, the present invention is not limited to this. The ball sending device 507f may be configured with one ball sending unit, and the ball sending unit may send the ball to both the supply gutter 508a and the supply gutter 508b. Further, in this embodiment, an example has been described in which the ball delivery device 507f is configured by a ball delivery unit having a screw shaft and a motor, but is not limited thereto.
The ball sending device 507f may adopt another configuration as long as it can send a predetermined number of balls.

Next, the flow path switching device 600 will be described in detail. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the flow path switching device 600. In FIG. 13, (a) shows an operation state of the flow path switching device 600 when the flow path of the ball is switched to the pachinko gaming machine 1 side, and (b) supplies the flow path of the ball. The operation state of the flow path switching device 600 when switching to the gutter side is shown.

Here, the flow path switching device 600 provided in the supply gutter 508a is a representative example,
00 will be described. The channel switching device 600 includes a channel switching member 601, a channel switching bottom plate 601a, and a channel switching arm 6.
01b, a rotary solenoid 602, and a rotary solenoid mounting portion 603.

The channel switching device 600 is provided for the pachinko gaming machine 1
It is provided corresponding to each. Channel switching device 600
When the ball is not supplied to the corresponding pachinko gaming machine 1, the flow path of the ball P is supplied to the supply gutter 508 as shown in FIG.
When switching to the a side and refilling the corresponding pachinko gaming machine 1 with balls, the flow path of the ball P is switched to the pachinko gaming machine 1 side as shown in FIG.

A gaming machine direction passage 604 for guiding a ball toward the pachinko gaming machine 1 is provided for each pachinko gaming machine 1. This gaming machine direction passage 604 is
The supply gutter 508a is formed on the bottom side of the supply gutter 508a so as to communicate the supply gutter 508a and the connection pipe 606 of the pachinko gaming machine 1 side. For this reason, the supply gutter 508a is provided with a flow path switching port that is an introduction port to the gaming machine direction passage 604. The channel switching port is opened and closed by a channel switching member 601. In the gaming machine direction passage 604, a supply ball detector 605 for detecting a supply ball supplied through the gaming machine direction passage 604 and supplied to the inside of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is provided. Based on the detection output of the supply ball detector 605, the number of supply balls actually supplied into the pachinko gaming machine 1 is recognized.

The channel switching member 601 is provided in the gaming machine direction passage 6.
The flow path switching bottom plate 601a which constitutes a part of the bottom surface of the supply gutter 508a when the flow path switching port to 04 is closed, and a switching arm 601b for operating the flow path switching bottom plate 601a. A flow path switching bottom plate 601a is attached to the tip of the switching arm 601b. Switching arm 60
1b is attached to a rotary solenoid 602. The rotary solenoid 602 is mounted on the rotary solenoid mounting portion 603, and swings the switching arm 601b according to its excitation state.

When the switching arm 601b is swung upward, the flow path switching bottom plate 601a is lifted into the internal space of the supply gutter 508a as shown in FIG.
At, the flow path switching port to the gaming machine direction passage 604 is opened.
In the supply gutter 508a, the upper end of the flow path switching bottom plate 601a is supplied so that the upper end of the flow path switching bottom plate 601a does not contact the upper wall of the supply gutter 508a when the flow path switching bottom plate 601a is lifted into the internal space of the supply gutter 508a. A bottom plate escape portion 508c for allowing the gutter 508a to escape to the outside is provided. The bottom plate relief portion 508c is formed in a manner in which a part of the upper wall of the supply gutter 508a is bent upward.

[0158] As shown in FIG.
When 1a is lifted into the internal space of the supply gutter 508a and the flow path switching port to the gaming machine direction passage 604 is opened, the ball P moves from the supply gutter 508a through the gaming machine direction passage 604 and the connection pipe 606, It is guided inside the pachinko gaming machine 1.

On the other hand, when the switching arm 601b is swung downward, as shown in FIG.
1a moves on the same plane as the bottom surface of the supply gutter 508a, and a flow path switching port to the gaming machine direction passage 604 is opened in the supply gutter 508a. When the flow path switching port to the gaming machine direction passage 604 is opened in the supply gutter 508a in this way, the flow path switching bottom plate 601a forms a part of the bottom surface of the supply gutter 508a and is guided by the supply gutter 508a. The ball P flows over the flow path switching bottom plate 601a and flows downstream in the downflow direction.

As described above, the flow path switching device 600 can switch the flow path of the replenishing balls to the flow direction of the supply gutter 508a or the direction of the gaming machine direction passage 604 (toward the pachinko gaming machine 1). is there. Therefore, the flow path switching device 60
0, the flow path of the replenishment balls is switched to the direction of the gaming machine direction passage 604 (the side of the pachinko gaming machine 1),
The balls sent from the ball sending device 507f can be supplied to the pachinko gaming machine 1. By switching the flow path of the replenishing balls by such a flow path switching device 600 sequentially in a predetermined order, the balls are sequentially supplied to the pachinko gaming machines 1.

Next, the structure of the lifting / polishing unit 505 will be described in detail. FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the lifting / polishing unit 505.

Referring to FIG. 14, in pumping / polishing section 505, the end of recovery gutter 509a and recovery gutter 509
The end of b is connected to the collection ball collecting part 509c.
Further, an end of a polishing circulation switching path 505f described later is also connected to the collected ball collecting section 509c. A collection ball outlet 509d for deriving a collected ball is provided in a part of the collected ball collection unit 509c, and a ball inside the collection ball collection unit 509c is drawn out from the collection ball outlet 509d. .

A collecting tub 505b is provided below the collecting ball outlet 509d. In addition, the collection ball outlet 5
Near the outside of 09d, a rectifying plate 505m for rectifying the flow of the balls led out from the collected ball outlet 509d is provided. The balls led out from the collected ball outlet 509d are rectified by the rectifying plate 505m and then collected by the collecting tub 505.
b.

In the vicinity of the collecting tub 505b, there is provided a lifting / polishing motor 505h for feeding balls to a lifting gutter 506 for lifting and polishing the balls. Lifting polishing motor 505
h is attached to the motor support plate 505i, and performs an operation of sending the balls guided into the collection tub 505b to the lifting gutter 506 for lifting and polishing the balls.

In the lifting gutter 506, the collected ball collecting section 50
A polishing cassette mounting portion 505c for detachably mounting a polishing cassette 550 for polishing balls is provided above the position 9c. The polishing cassette 550 includes a polishing cloth 553 for polishing a ball and a cassette reel 551,
552 is a cassette wound around. Here, the polishing cloth 55
Numeral 3 is a tape-shaped cloth coated with silicone oil, which has a function of polishing the ball and at the same time giving silicon oil to the surface of the ball to improve the flow of the ball. Apart from this, for example, the polishing cloth 553 itself may be made of the same material as nylon pellets used for ordinary ball polishing, or the same effect can be obtained by using Teflon or the like. In the polishing cassette 550, the cassette reel 5
The polishing cloth 553 wound around the cassette reel 552 is sequentially sent to the polishing position by rotating the 51 at a predetermined speed.

The polishing cassette 5 is installed in the inner space of the lifting gutter 506.
50 polishing positions are facing, at which polishing cloth 553 is fed at a predetermined speed from top to bottom. The ball guided in the pumping gutter 506 is the polishing cloth 55 at the polishing position.
3 and is lifted upward. By the contact with the polishing cloth 553 at such a polishing position, the ball passing through the pumping gutter 506 is polished. The polishing cloth 553 used for polishing in the polishing cassette 550 is sequentially wound around a cassette reel 551.

In the middle of the lifting gutter 506, the lifting gutter 50
A ball circulating path 505f for circulating the ball for polishing by returning the ball guided and polished by 6 to the collected ball collecting part 509c halfway is provided. The polishing circulation path 505f is provided between a predetermined location above the polishing position of the polishing cassette 550 in the pumping gutter 506 and the collection ball collecting section 509c, and forms a passage connecting them.

Above the upper end of the polishing circulation path 505f, a flow path of the ball guided by the lifting gutter 506 is formed along a flow path toward the supply section 507 along the lifting gutter 506, and a polishing circulation path. A polishing circulation switching motor 505e is provided as a driving source for performing an operation of switching to one of a flow path toward the collection ball collecting portion 509c along the 505f.

FIG. 15 is a vertical sectional view of the lifting / polishing unit 505. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the mechanism for driving the polishing cassette 505 and the mechanism for lifting the balls in the lifting gutter 506 when viewed from the right side in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 15, a lifting sprocket 505k, which is driven to rotate by a lifting polishing motor 505h, is provided at the end of the lifting gutter 506. The balls in the collecting tub 505b are guided to the lifting sprocket 505k along the inclination of the bottom of the collecting tub 505b. The lifting sprocket 505k sequentially lifts the balls one by one by rotating, thereby lifting the balls upward from the end of the lifting gutter 506.

A cassette driving section mounting member 558 is mounted on the back side of the polishing cassette mounting section 505c. A concave portion for mounting various mechanism members is formed in the cassette driving portion mounting member 558, and a cassette winding motor 554 is mounted outside the concave portion. Gears 555 and 556 and a cassette engaging gear 557 are mounted in the recess of the cassette driving section mounting member 558. The gear 555 is connected to the cassette winding motor 55
4 is driven to rotate. Gear 556 is gear 5
55, the rotation of the gear 555 is transmitted to the gear 556, and the gear 556 is rotated.

A cassette engaging gear 557 is provided at the center of rotation of the gear 556, and the cassette engaging gear 557 is rotated with the rotation of the gear 556. The cassette engaging gear 557 is a cassette reel 551 of the polishing cassette 550 attached to the polishing cassette attaching portion 505c.
It is provided at a position where it meshes with. Therefore, the cassette engaging gear 55 by the driving force of the cassette winding motor 554
7, the cassette reel 551 of the polishing cassette 550 is rotated, and the polishing cloth 553 is wound.

The polishing circulation path 505 in the pumping gutter 506
A long hole-shaped opening 506c whose longitudinal direction is the vertical direction is formed at the connection portion f. An opening 506c;
Between the inlet of the polishing circulation path 505f, a fan-shaped polishing circulation path switching plate 505g is provided so as to open and close the opening 506c. The polishing circulation path switching plate 505g is oscillated by a polishing circulation switching motor 505e.

If the polishing circulation path switching plate 505g is interposed between the opening 506c and the entrance of the polishing circulation path 505f due to the swinging state of the polishing circulation path switching plate 505g, it is lifted. The flow path of the ball guided by the gutter 506 is switched to a flow path toward the supply unit 507 along the lifting gutter 506. On the other hand, when the polishing circuit switching plate 505g is not interposed between the opening 506c and the entrance of the polishing circuit 505f due to the swinging state of the polishing circuit switching plate 505g, the pumping gutter is used. The flow path of the balls guided by 506 is along the circulation path for polishing 505f, and the collected ball collecting section 50
9c. Specifically, during the ball polishing operation, the polishing circulation switching motor 505e operates the polishing circulation path switching plate 505g to open the opening 506c. On the other hand, during the lifting operation, the opening 506c is closed so that the ball operates toward the supply unit 507.

FIG. 16 is another longitudinal sectional view of the lifting / polishing unit 505. In FIG. 16, the polishing cassette 55
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the mechanism for driving the ball 0 and the mechanism for lifting the ball in the lifting gutter 506 as viewed from the front in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 16, the ball guided to ball collecting section 509c is guided along the inclination of the bottom surface of ball collecting section 509c, and is collected through collection ball outlet 509d.
5b. The figure shows a state in which the balls guided to the lower part of the lifting sprocket 505k due to the inclination of the bottom surface of the collection tub 505b are continuously lifted upward along with the rotation of the lifting sprocket 505k. .

A reverse rotation preventing hook 505n for preventing reverse rotation of the lifting sprocket 505k is provided near the lifting sprocket 505k. As a result, the reverse rotation of the lifting sprocket 505k is prevented, so that, for example, when the power is turned off, during a power failure, or when the lifting polishing motor 505h is broken, the balls in the lifting gutter 506 are rotated by the lifting sprocket 505k. The inconvenience of reversing by reverse rotation is prevented.

As shown in the figure, at the polishing position of the polishing cassette 550, a large number of balls come into contact with the polishing cloth 553 at the same time. Therefore, the balls pumped by the pumping gutter 506 come into contact with the polishing pad 553 for a predetermined distance during the pumping and are polished. in the meantime,
Since the ball to be pumped is polished while rotating due to the contact friction with the polishing pad 553, the surface of the ball to be pumped can be polished over substantially the entire surface.

Next, the structure of the connection between the representative unit 500a and the continuous unit 500b will be described in detail.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the connecting portion of the supply gutter among the connecting portions between the representative unit 500a and the continuous unit 500b. The configuration of the connection part of the supply gutter between the units is the same, and FIG. 17 shows the connection part of the supply gutter 508a as a representative example.

Referring to FIG. 17, supply gutter 508a is divided into units. A slit 582 is formed on the side surface of each of the divided supply gutters 508a so that the inside state of the supply gutter 508a can be visually recognized from outside. Since the slit 582 is formed as described above, the inside of the supply gutter 508a can be seen from the outside, so that it is possible to easily grasp that a trouble such as a clogging has occurred inside the supply gutter 508a. . In addition, a rod-shaped ball-jam removing device having a thin tip is inserted from the slit, whereby the ball-jam can be easily eliminated.

The supply gutter 508a is connected at a connection portion of the unit. A flange-like joint 580 is formed at a connection portion of the supply gutter 508a, and the supply gutter 508a is connected between the units by fixing the joints 580 to each other with a connection screw 581. In each unit, the supply gutter 508a is mounted on a gutter support member 521.

The gutter support member 521 is a U-shaped member, and has fine adjustment slots 521a formed on both sides, and two positioning holes 521b formed in the center. These fine adjustment long holes 521a and positioning long holes 521b are formed along the longitudinal direction of the gutter support member 521, respectively. The gutter support member 521 is attached to the upper column 519a or 519b of each unit with both sides on which the fine adjustment long holes 521a are formed facing downward, as described later with reference to FIG.

The supply gutter 508a is provided below the supply gutter 508a.
a fixed base 583 extending in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of a
Is provided. At both ends in the longitudinal direction of the fixed pedestal 583, position adjusting slots 584 are formed along the longitudinal direction of the supply gutter 508a. The supply gutter 508a is mounted on the gutter support member 521 by being screwed with a fixing screw 585 that penetrates the position adjustment elongated hole 584 of the fixed base 583 and the positioning elongated hole 521b of the gutter support member 521 from above. .

Since the positioning slot 521b is formed in a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the supply gutter 508a, the position of the fixing screw 585 in the positioning slot 521b is adjusted so that the extending direction of the supply gutter 508a is adjusted. The mounting position of the supply gutter 508a can be adjusted in the direction intersecting. In addition, the position adjusting slot 584 is provided with the supply gutter 508.
a, the position of the fixing screw 585 is adjusted in the position adjusting slot 584 so that the supply gutter 508a extends in the extending direction of the supply gutter 508a.
It is possible to adjust the mounting position of a.

As described above, since the mounting position of the supply gutter 508a can be adjusted by the positioning long hole 521b and the position adjusting long hole 584, the mounting work of the supply gutter 508a including the connection work between the supply gutters 508a can be performed. It can be facilitated. The configuration of the connecting portion of the supply gutter 508b is the same as the configuration of the connecting portion of the supply gutter 508a shown in FIG.

The structure of the recovery gutters 509a and 509b is the same as the structure of the supply gutters 508a and 508b. The configuration of each connecting portion of the collection gutters 509a and 509b between the units is substantially the same as the configuration of each connecting portion of the supply gutters 508a and 508b described above. Specifically, the recovery gutter 5
09a and 509b are the gutter support members 52 shown in FIG.
1 using the same gutter support member 521 as the lower support 516.
a, 516b. In that case, the gutter support member 5
Reference numeral 21 is attached to the lower supports 516a and 516b in such a manner that the vertical direction of the gutter support member 521 shown in FIG. 17 is reversed. Then, the collecting gutters 509a and 509b are connected to each other as shown in FIG.
The supply gutter 508a is attached to the lower side of the gutter support member 521 with the up-down direction reversed.

FIG. 18 is a front view showing a structure of a connecting portion between the representative unit 500a and the continuous unit 500b. In FIG. 18, the connection of the upper columns 519a and 519b in each unit is described.
The lower column 516a and 516b in each unit are shown as connected. Each of the representative unit 500a and the continuous unit 500b has the same configuration of the column portion of the unit. Therefore, FIG. 18 shows a connection mode between specific units on the side where the supply gutter 508a and the recovery gutter 509a are provided as a representative example of a connection mode between other units. Specifically, the representative unit 500a and the adjacent unit 50 next to the representative unit 500a are shown on the left side of FIG.
0b, and the connection between the connected unit 500b and the adjacent connected unit 500b shown on the left side of FIG. 18 is shown. In FIG. 18,
The supply gutter 508a and the recovery gutter 509a are located on the near side in the figure, but are indicated by broken lines for simplicity to make the figure easier to see.

Referring to FIG. 18, upper columns 519a, 5
The supply gutter 508a is attached to 19b, and the lower support 516
The collection gutter 509a is attached to the a and 516b. A plurality of height adjustment holes 523a, 523b, 523c are formed in each of the upper columns 519a, 519b at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction of the columns. These height adjustment holes are provided with numerals indicating the positions of the height adjustment holes in order to facilitate grasping the position in the height direction. A gutter support member 521 that supports the supply gutter 508a is attached to any of these height adjustment holes.

The gutter supporting member 521 is attached by attaching the both sides of the gutter supporting member 521 to the upper support 519a or the upper support 51.
9b, and the slot 52 for fine adjustment of the gutter support member 521.
1a and any of the height adjustment holes 523a, 523b,
This is carried out by being screwed to the upper support 519a or the upper support 519b by a mounting screw 522 that penetrates the 523c.

In each unit, the gutter support member 521
By changing the height adjustment hole for installing
It is possible to adjust the height of the mounting position of 08a. Further, in each unit, the gutter support member 521
The fine adjustment long hole 521a is formed in the vertical direction, so that the position of the mounting screw 522 in the fine adjustment long hole 521a is adjusted so that the gutter supporting member 5 in the vertical direction can be adjusted.
It is possible to finely adjust the mounting positions of the supply gutter 21 and the supply gutter 508a.

In the unit to be connected, a gutter support member 521 is attached to a height adjustment hole having the same height as an adjacent unit. In that case, the gutter supporting member 521 of the unit on the downstream side of the supply gutter 508a among the adjacent units is used.
The height of the mounting position of the gutter support member 521 is adjusted using the fine adjustment slot 521a such that the height of the gutter support member 521 is lower than the gutter support member 521 of the upstream unit.

The structure of the connecting portion of the supply gutter 508b is the same as the structure of the connecting portion of the supply gutter 508a shown in FIG.

As shown in the figure, the gutter supporting member 521 on the downstream side of the supply gutter is attached to the gutter supporting member 521 on the upstream side of the supply gutter, as shown in the drawing. This is performed using the height adjustment hole one step below. Thereby, the supply gutter is inclined. Further, as shown in the figure, in the connected unit 500b, a height adjustment hole in which the gutter support member 521 of the adjacent unit is attached at a connection portion with the adjacent representative unit 500a or the connected unit 500b. Height adjustment holes of the same height are used. Further, the fine adjustment slot 52
By making a fine adjustment of the mounting position by 1a, a slight height difference is provided between the gutter support member 521 of the adjacent unit at the connecting portion with the adjacent unit, so that the supply gutter is inclined at the connecting portion.

Each of the lower supports 516a and 516b has a plurality of height adjusting holes 524a, 524b and 524c.
Are formed at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction of the column. These height adjustment holes are provided with numerals indicating the positions of the height adjustment holes in order to facilitate grasping the position in the height direction. A gutter support member 521 that supports the collection gutter 509a is attached to any of these height adjustment holes.

To attach the gutter support member 521, both sides of the gutter support member 521 are brought into contact with the lower supports 516a or 516b, and the fine adjustment slot 521a and any height adjustment holes 524a, 524a, 524b, 524c
The lower support 516 is formed by a mounting screw 522 that penetrates the
a or 516b.

In each unit, the gutter supporting member 521
By changing the height adjustment hole for installing
It is possible to adjust the height of the mounting position of 09a. Further, in each unit, the gutter support member 521
The fine adjustment long hole 521a is formed in the vertical direction, so that the position of the mounting screw 522 in the fine adjustment long hole 521a is adjusted so that the gutter supporting member 5 in the vertical direction can be adjusted.
It is possible to finely adjust the mounting positions of the 21 and the recovery gutter 509a.

In a unit to be connected, a gutter support member 521 is attached to a height adjustment hole having the same height as an adjacent unit. In that case, the gutter supporting member 521 of the unit on the downstream side of the collection gutter 509a among the adjacent units is used.
The height of the mounting position of the gutter support member 521 is adjusted using the fine adjustment slot 521a such that the height of the gutter support member 521 is lower than the gutter support member 521 of the upstream unit.

The structure of the connecting portion of the collecting gutter 509b is the same as the structure of the connecting portion of the collecting gutter 509a shown in FIG.

As shown in the drawing, the gutter supporting member 521 on the downstream side of the collecting gutter is attached to the gutter supporting member 521 on the upstream side of the collecting gutter. This is performed using the height adjustment hole one step below. Thereby, the collection gutter is inclined. Further, as shown in the figure, in the connected unit 500b, a height adjustment hole in which the gutter support member 521 of the adjacent unit is attached at a connection portion with the adjacent representative unit 500a or the connected unit 500b. Height adjustment holes of the same height are used. Further, the fine adjustment slot 52
By finely adjusting the mounting position according to 1a, a small height difference is provided between the gutter support member 521 of the adjacent unit at the connection part with the adjacent unit, and the collection gutter is inclined at the connection part.

As described above, the height adjustment holes 523a, 523b, 523c are formed in the upper support 519a and the upper support 519b.
Is provided, it is possible to arbitrarily adjust the position of the supply gutter in the height direction in each of the connected units 500b. Furthermore, by providing the height adjustment holes 524a, 524b, and 524c in the lower supports 516a and 516b, the height of the collection gutter can be arbitrarily adjusted in each of the continuous units 500b. In this way, the height of the supply gutter and the collection gutter can be arbitrarily adjusted in the connected unit 500b, so that the connected unit 500b having the same configuration can be provided at any position of the gaming machine installation island 500. Can be used. Therefore, since the connected units 500b can be shared in the gaming machine installation island 500, the design and manufacture of the units can be facilitated.

According to the gaming machine installation island 500 having such a configuration, if one type of the connected unit 500b is designed and manufactured, the connected unit 500b is connected to the gaming machine installation island 500.
Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the unit of the gaming machine installation island 500 can be reduced as compared with the related art. Further, by performing the work of connecting the representative unit 500a and the continuous unit 500b, the gaming machine installation island 500 can be easily configured, thereby facilitating the installation of the gaming machine installation island 500 in the game arcade. be able to.

Further, the upper support 519a and the upper support 5
By providing the height adjustment holes 523a, 523b, 523c in 19b, the height of the supply gutter can be easily adjusted in the continuous unit 500b. The height adjustment holes 52 are provided in the lower supports 516a and 516b.
By providing 4a, 524b, and 524c, the height of the recovery gutter can be easily adjusted in the continuous unit 500b. Thus, the continuous unit 5
00b, it is easy to adjust the positions of the supply gutter and the collection gutter in the height direction.
The workability (easiness of work) at the time of installation work can be improved.

The gutter supporting member 521 has a fine adjustment slot 5.
Since the height of the gutter support member 521 can be finely adjusted by providing the 21a, a difference in height can be given to a mounting position of the gutter support member 521 at a connection portion of a unit to be connected. As a result, the supply gutter and the recovery gutter can be inclined at the connection part of the unit. Further, a fine adjustment slot 521a is formed in the gutter support member 521.
Since the height of each of the supply gutter and the recovery gutter can be easily finely adjusted, the mounting work of the supply gutter and the collection gutter including the connection work between the supply gutters and the connection work between the recovery gutters is provided. Can be facilitated, and the workability (easiness of work) of such work can be improved.

Also, the gaming machine installation island 500 is connected to the representative unit 500a and the continuous unit 50 of the unit type mounting structure.
0b, and supply gutter 508 in each unit.
a, 508b and the collecting gutters 509a, 509b can be easily adjusted, so that the layout of the gaming machine installation island in the game arcade (game store) can be easily changed. Can be. Also,
The work required for such a layout change can be easily performed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the mounting positions of the supply gutter and the recovery gutter can be easily adjusted in the continuous unit 500b. Ease) can be improved. In addition, the construction period can be significantly reduced, and the number of personnel required for the installation work can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the support member 521 for supporting the supply gutters 508a and 508b and the recovery gutters 509a and 509b is attached by screwing (screw fixing) using the mounting screw 522. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the mounting of the support member 521 may be performed using a member such as a pin or a key, and other mounting such as a fastener or a member that sandwiches and stops the support member 521 with one touch. You may make it perform using a member.

Next, the structure of the supply gutters 508a and 508b will be described. The structures of the supply gutters 508a and 508b are the same, and the supply gutter 508a will be described here as a representative example.

FIG. 19 is a longitudinal sectional view of the supply gutter 508a. Referring to FIG. 19, supply gutter 508a has a rectangular cross section, and slits 582 are formed on both sides thereof. The ball P passes on the bottom surface of the supply gutter 508a. The slit 582 is formed at a position near the bottom surface of the supply gutter 508a. Therefore, it is possible to visually check whether or not the ball P exists in the supply gutter 508a through the slit 582 from outside.

Next, the structure of the recovery gutters 509a and 509b will be described. The structures of the supply gutters 509a and 509b are the same, and here, the supply gutter 509a will be described as a representative example.

FIG. 20 is a longitudinal sectional view in the width direction of the collecting gutter 509a. FIG. 20 shows a cross section of the supply gutter 509a near the portion where the connecting pipe 607 is connected. Referring to FIG. 20, supply gutter 509a has a collection gutter main body 594 having a U-shaped cross section and a collection ball passage bottom plate 592 in which a plurality of protrusions 593 extending in the longitudinal direction of supply gutter 509a are formed at predetermined intervals. It is composed of

In the collection gutter 509a, the collection gutter main body 5
A collecting ball passage bottom plate 592 is attached to a lower portion of the collecting gutter main body 594 by a collecting ball passage bottom plate joining pin 593a. The collecting ball passage bottom plate joining pin 593a is a pin that penetrates the collecting ball passage bottom plate 592 in the width direction thereof, and the collecting ball passage bottom plate fixing portions 593b are attached to both ends. The ball P passes over the collection ball passage bottom plate 592.

[0213] A collection ball passage tube 590 is formed above the collection gutter main body 594. The collection ball passage pipe 590 is connected to the communication pipe 607. Inside the recovery gutter main body 594 below the recovery ball passage tube 590, balls guided from the connecting pipe 607 into the recovery gutter 509a via the recovery ball passage tube 590 are guided in the direction in which the balls in the recovery gutter 509a are guided. A bent portion 591 for dropping toward is provided.

FIG. 21 is a longitudinal surface view of the recovery gutter 509a. FIG. 21 also shows a cross section of the supply gutter 509a near the portion where the connecting pipe 607 is connected. Referring to FIG. 21, on both side surfaces of recovery gutter main body 594, notch 594a for fixing a bottom plate, which is an I-shaped (elongated hole) notch, and notch 5 for fixing a bottom plate, which is an L-shaped notch.
94b are formed.

The notch 594a for fixing the bottom plate is provided in the collecting gutter main body 5.
94 has a shape linearly cut upward from the lower end of the side surface. On the other hand, the bottom plate fixing notch 594b has a shape cut out upward from the lower end of the side surface of the collection gutter main body 594, and further cut along the longitudinal direction of the collection gutter 509a. Above the position where the bottom plate fixing notch 594a is formed in the collecting gutter main body 594, a bottom plate fixing hook attaching portion 594a is provided facing the side surface of the collecting gutter main body 594. A bottom plate fixing hook 595, which is a hook for fixing the collection ball passage bottom plate 592, is rotatably attached to the bottom plate fixing hook mounting portion 594a along the side surface of the collection gutter main body 594.

[0216] The notch 594a for fixing the bottom plate and the notch 594b for fixing the bottom plate are provided so that the divided collecting gutter 50 is formed.
In the collection gutter body 594 of FIG.
Are formed at a predetermined distance from each other in the extending direction of the supply gutter 509a with the position provided therebetween. In the collecting gutter main body 594 of the collecting gutter 509a divided, two collecting ball passage bottom plate joining pins which are respectively inserted in the bottom plate fixing notch 594a and the bottom plate fixing notch 594b are provided at a predetermined distance. ing.

The collecting ball passage bottom plate 592 is connected to the collecting gutter main body 594.
When mounting on one of the collecting ball passage bottom plate joining pins 5
93b into the bottom plate fixing notch 594b as far as it will go,
The other collecting ball passage bottom plate joining pin 593a is inserted into the bottom plate fixing notch 594a. And the bottom plate fixing hook 595
Is hooked on the collecting ball passage bottom plate joining pin 593b. Accordingly, one collection ball passage bottom plate joining pin 593b is supported in the bottom plate fixing notch 594b, and the other collection ball passage bottom plate joining pin 593a is supported by the bottom plate fixing hook 595. It is attached to the recovery gutter main body 594. Here, for example, the recovery gutter 509
When it is not necessary to completely remove the collection ball passage bottom plate 592, for example, in order to eliminate clogging or foreign matter intrusion in the a, the collection ball passage bottom plate joining pin 593a is inserted through the bottom plate fixing notch 594b.
Without removing it, rotate it down around it,
It is also possible to open the collecting ball passage bottom plate 592 only at one end. This facilitates work in trouble.

Next, the configuration of the portion where the passing ball sensor 200 is provided in the recovery gutters 509a and 509b will be described.

FIG. 22 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in the width direction of the collecting gutter at the portion where the passing ball sensor 200 is provided. Referring to FIG. 22, passing ball sensor 200 is provided in case 202. The case 202 has a U-shape and is attached to the collection gutter main body 594 so as to cover the collection gutter main body 594 from above. In the case 202, a board 201a, which is a circuit board, to which a light projecting unit 205 that emits light is attached is attached to an inner surface facing one side surface of the collection gutter main body 594. The connector 207a is attached to the board 201a so as to penetrate the side wall of the case 202.

In the case 202, the recovery gutter main body 594
A board 201b, which is a circuit board, to which a light receiving unit 204 that receives light emitted from the light emitting unit 205 is attached is mounted on an inner surface facing the other side surface of the light emitting unit 205. Substrate 201b
Are screws 203 penetrating from the outside of the case 202 to the inside.
Is fixed. The substrate 201a and the substrate 201
b is electrically connected by a lead wire 206.

Detection holes 594c, 594c are formed in the lower part of the side walls on both sides of the recovery gutter main body 594. The light emitting unit 205 and the light receiving unit 204 are respectively provided with the detection holes 5
It is also received at a position facing 94c and 594c. With such a configuration, light emitted from the light emitting unit 205
After passing through the detection holes 594c, 594c, the light receiving section 204
Can be received.

In the passing ball sensor 200 having such a configuration, when the ball P passes between the detection holes 594c, 594c, the light received by the light receiving section 204 is blocked. Is detected. Here, the state of the collection balls flowing through the collection gutters 509a and 509b can be detected. Specifically, when the passing ball sensor 200 does not detect the passage at all while it is being collected, or when the passing ball sensor 200 does not detect the passage at all, it does not enter the non-detection state (the ball stopped due to the clogging is detected. However, in the case where the ball does not enter the non-detection state because the ball is stopped), the reducing machine control device 503 receives the signal and determines that the ball is clogged.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a portion where the passing ball sensor 200 is provided in the recovery gutters 509a and 509b. Referring to FIG. 23, passing ball sensor 200 is attached to collection gutters 509 a and 509 b such that case 202 covers collection gutter main body 594 from above, and fixes case 202 from both sides of collection gutter main body 594 from outside. It is fixed by a sensor fixing member 596. Case 2
A wiring for signal transmission is attached to the connector 207a protruding outside the connector 02 by a connector 207b.

Next, the configuration of the reduction unit control device 503 will be described in detail. FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the reduction unit control device 503.

Referring to FIG. 24, reduction device control device 503
Is a control unit 503a including a microcomputer;
A display unit 503b including a display device such as a liquid crystal display device. The control unit 503a includes a CPU 5031, a RAM 50
32 and the ROM 503. The ROM 503 stores various data such as a control program and control data. The CPU 5031 includes a ROM 503
The control program and the control data are read from the CPU, the control program is executed, and the control described above and the control described later are performed using the RAM 5032 as a work area. The control unit 503a includes a discharge ball counter 525.
a, passing ball detector 200, and replenishment ball detector 605
And other various sensors. Further, the control unit 503a gives a control signal for controlling each of the pumping polishing motor 505h, the cassette winding motor 554, and the polishing circulation switching motor 505e to the flow path switching solenoid lifting / polishing unit 505. By controlling the driving of the balls, control relating to ball polishing and ball lifting is performed. Further, the control unit 503a controls the supply unit 507 to
A control signal for controlling each of the motors of the ball sending units 5071f and 5072f is given, and the driving control of the motors is performed, thereby controlling the sending of the supply balls. Further, the control unit 503a gives a control signal for controlling the rotary solenoid 602 to the flow path switching device 600, and controls the driving of the control signal so as to control the supply of the ball. In addition, the control unit 503a controls the flow path switching solenoid 31
5 by giving a control signal and controlling their driving,
Controls the discharge of balls.

Next, the control contents of the reduction unit control device 503 will be described. First, the main routine of the control of the reduction device control device 503 will be described.

FIG. 25 is a flow chart showing a main routine for control of the reduction unit control device 503. First, in step S (hereinafter simply referred to as S) 1, processing for initializing (initializing) data used for controlling various flags and the like is performed. Next, a display process is executed in S2. This display process is a process for performing various types of display, which will be described later, on the display unit 503b of the reduction unit control device 503 according to the progress of the control process.

Next, in S3, an enclosed ball exchange process is executed. The enclosed ball exchange process is a process relating to the exchange of the enclosed ball of the pachinko gaming machine 1. By this enclosing ball exchange processing, it is possible to set various control data used for exchanging the enclosing ball and execute the exchange of the enclosing ball. This enclosed ball exchange processing is executed when the reducing machine control device 503 receives an enclosed ball exchange signal or when a predetermined operation is performed in the reducing machine control device 503. After the end of S3, the process returns to S2, and the processes of S2 and S3 are repeatedly executed. As a result, a display corresponding to the progress of the enclosed ball replacement process in S3 is made in S2. The contents of the display will be described later.

Next, the processing contents of the enclosed ball exchange processing in S3 of FIG. 25 will be described. FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the enclosed ball replacement processing.

First, in step SA (hereinafter simply referred to as SA) 1, it is determined whether or not an enclosed ball exchange signal has been received. If it is determined in SA1 that the received ball replacement signal has been received, the process proceeds to SA2, and the automatic mode is executed. Thereafter, the enclosed ball exchange process ends. here,
The automatic mode refers to an operation mode in which the exchange of the enclosed balls is automatically performed by sequentially discharging, polishing, and replenishing the enclosed balls.

On the other hand, if it is determined by SA1 that the enclosed ball exchange signal has not been received, the flow advances to SA3 to determine whether or not an operation mode has been selected. The operating modes in this case include automatic mode, manual mode, and
Configuration mode is included. Here, the manual mode is
This refers to an operation mode in which operations related to replacement of the enclosed ball, such as discharging, polishing, and refilling the enclosed ball, are performed in accordance with the operation of the operator. The setting mode refers to an operation mode for setting various control data related to the replacement of the enclosing ball executed in the automatic mode or the manual mode.

In SA3, a display unit 503 described later is used.
b, determining whether any of the automatic mode, the manual mode, and the setting mode has been selected;
The operation mode in which the selection operation has been performed is determined. S
If it is determined in A3 that the operation mode has not been selected, the enclosed ball replacement processing ends.

If it is determined in SA3 that the automatic mode has been selected, the flow advances to SA4 to perform processing for executing the automatic mode. If it is determined in SA3 that the manual mode has been selected, the process proceeds to SA5, and processing for executing the manual mode is performed. Also, by SA3,
If it is determined that the setting mode has been selected, the process proceeds to SA6, and processing for executing the setting mode is performed. SA4 ~
After the completion of each processing of SA6, this enclosed ball exchange processing is performed.

Next, the contents of processing in the automatic mode executed by SA2 and SA4 will be described. FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing processing in the automatic mode.

First, in step SB (hereinafter simply referred to as SB) 1, a ball discharging process is executed. By executing the ball discharging process, the flow path switching solenoid 315 provided in the front circulation path unit of each pachinko gaming machine 1 in the gaming machine installation island 500 is operated, and the enclosed ball is discharged from each pachinko gaming machine 1. You. In that case, the flow path switching solenoid 315 is operated for the ball discharging time set in the setting mode described above. When the ball discharging time set in such a ball discharging process elapses, a polishing request flag which is a flag requesting execution of a polishing process as a next process is set.

Next, a ball polishing process is executed by SB2. In this ball polishing process, if the above-mentioned polishing request flag is set, the following process is executed. A control signal is given to each of the lifting / polishing motor 505h, the cassette take-up motor 554, and the polishing circulation switching motor 505e of the lifting / polishing unit 505 to drive and control them. In this case, the flow path of the balls guided by the lifting gutter 506 is switched by the polishing circulation switching motor 505e to the flow path side toward the collection ball collecting portion 509c along the polishing circulation path 505f. Thereby, the lifting polishing motor 5
The ball lifted in the lifting gutter 506 by the drive of 05h is polished by the polishing cassette 550 and further circulated through the polishing circulation path 505f. That is, the ball is polished while being circulated.

The polishing of the ball is performed for the ball polishing time set in the setting mode described above. When the ball polishing time set in such a ball polishing process elapses, the polishing request flag is cleared and a replenishment request flag which is a flag for requesting execution of the replenishment process as the next process is set.

Next, a ball supply process is executed by SB3. In the ball supply process, the supply unit 50 described above is used.
By supplying control signals to the respective drive motors of the ball sending unit 5071f and the ball sending unit 5072f of No. 7, the supply balls are sent out to the supply gutters 508a and 508b, and the control signals are sequentially given to the flow path switching device 600. A process of introducing a supply ball into each pachinko gaming machine 1 is performed. The details of the ball supply process will be described later. After the end of SB3, the processing in the automatic mode ends.

Next, the detailed contents of the above-described SB3 ball supply process will be described. FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the ball supply processing.

First, in step SC (hereinafter simply referred to as SC) 1, it is determined whether or not the replenishing flag is set. The replenishing flag is a flag indicating that the ball is being replenished, and is set by SC3 described later. If it is determined by SC1 that the replenishing flag is set, the process proceeds to SC4 described later. On the other hand, if it is determined by SC1 that the replenishment flag is not set, the process proceeds to SC2, and it is determined whether the above-described replenishment request flag is set.

If it is determined by SC2 that the supply request flag has not been set, the ball supply processing ends. On the other hand, if it is determined by SC2 that the replenishment request flag is set, the process proceeds to SC3, and a process of setting the replenishment flag is performed. After SC3, SC4
Proceed to. In SC4, a first supply process is executed. First
The replenishment process is a process of replenishing balls to the pachinko gaming machine 1 which is set to receive replenishment of balls from the replenishment gutter 508a. The details of the first supply process will be described later.

After SC4, the flow advances to SC5. In SC5,
The second supply process is performed. The second replenishment process includes replenishing gutter 5
This is a process of supplying balls to the pachinko gaming machine 1 which is set to receive the supply of balls from 08b. The detailed processing contents of the second supply processing are the same as those of the first supply processing.

After SC5, the process proceeds to SC6, where it is determined whether or not the supply of the ball is completed. Here, whether or not replenishment has been completed is checked by checking whether or not a replenishment completion flag (a flag indicating that replenishment has been completed) described later has been set in both the first and second replenishment processes described above. Is determined. If it is determined by SC6 that the replenishment of the balls has not been completed, the ball replenishment process ends. On the other hand, when it is determined by SC6 that the supply of the ball is completed, the process proceeds to SC7.

At SC7, a process for clearing the replenishment flag is performed. Next, the process proceeds to SC8, and a process of outputting a replenishment completion signal to the card management computer 400 is performed. Proceeding to SC9, next, processing for clearing the supply request flag is performed. Thereafter, the ball supply process ends.

Next, the above-described first supply process of SC4 will be described. FIGS. 29 and 30 are flowcharts showing the processing contents of the first supply processing.

First, in step SD (hereinafter simply referred to as SD) 1, a process of confirming the supply table number is performed.
The replenishment stand number is a consecutive number assigned to each of the pachinko gaming machines 1 in the gaming machine installation island 500, and is supplied from the pachinko gaming machine 1 provided in the representative unit 500a as a starting point. The gutters 508a are provided in order from the upstream side to the downstream side. The processing described below is sequentially executed for each pachinko gaming machine in the order of the supply table number. Therefore, in this SD1, the pachinko gaming machine 1 to be processed in the following is specified.

Next, it is determined whether or not the ball excess flag is set by SD1a. This ball excess flag is a flag that is set when the number of balls actually replenished inside the pachinko gaming machine 1 is larger than the set value of the number of refilled balls set by the above-described setting mode by a predetermined number or more. Yes, and can be set by the SD 18b described later.

If it is determined by SD1a that the excess ball flag is set, the flow advances to SD18c to be described later. On the other hand, if it is determined by SD1a that the excess ball flag is not set, the process proceeds to SD2. At SD2, it is determined whether or not the ball shortage flag is set. This ball shortage flag is a flag that is set when the number of balls actually replenished inside the pachinko gaming machine 1 is smaller than a set value of the number of replenished balls set by the above-described setting mode by a predetermined number or more. Yes, SD2 described later
3 can be set.

If it is determined in SD2 that the ball shortage flag is set, the flow advances to SD26 to be described later.
On the other hand, when it is determined by SD2 that the ball shortage flag is not set, the process proceeds to SD3, and the flow path switching device 60 corresponding to the pachinko gaming machine 1 confirmed by SD1.
0, a control signal is given to the rotary solenoid 602, and the rotary solenoid 602 controls the flow path switching bottom plate 601a.
Is operated upward to open the flow path switching port. Thereby, it becomes possible to introduce a supply ball into the pachinko gaming machine 1.

Then, the flow advances to SD4, where a control signal is supplied to the ball sending section 5071f of the supply section 507 to send the ball sending section 5071f.
Is driven to send the number of replenishing balls set in the setting mode to the resupply gutter 508a.
Next, the process proceeds to SD5, and it is determined whether or not a replenishment ball has been detected by the replenishment ball detector 605 corresponding to the pachinko gaming machine 1 confirmed by SD1. If the replenishment ball is not detected in SD5, it will be described later in SD9.
Proceed to. On the other hand, when the supply ball is detected in SD5, the process proceeds to SD6.

At SD6, it is determined whether or not the timer 1 is counting time. The timer 1 is a timer that measures the elapsed time from the detection of the first ball by the replenishment ball detector 605 when replenishing balls to each pachinko gaming machine 1. If it is determined in SD6 that the timer 1 is counting, the process proceeds to SD8 described later. On the other hand, if it is determined by SD6 that timer 1 is not counting,
Proceeding to D7, processing for starting time measurement by the timer 1 is performed.

Next, in SD8, a process of adding "1" to the count value of the replenishment ball number counter is performed, and the flow advances to SD9. The replenishment ball number counter is a counter for counting the number of replenishment balls detected by the replenishment ball detector 605. Next, in SD9, it is determined whether or not the timer 1 has reached a predetermined value. The predetermined value is the ball sending unit 507
For a predetermined number of balls sent out from 1f, the time determined from the time required for the first ball to reach the position of the supply ball detector 605 to the arrival of the last ball is a reference. It is a time obtained by adding a predetermined error time to the time. The time based on the predetermined value is determined according to the number of balls to be supplied to one pachinko gaming machine.

If it is determined by SD9 that the timer 1 has not reached the predetermined value, the first supply process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined by SD9 that the timer 1 has reached the predetermined value, the process proceeds to SD10, and processing for clearing the timer 1 is performed. That is, the time measurement by the timer 1 is terminated. As described above, the timer 1 measures the time considered to be required from the time when the first ball reaches the position of the supply ball detector 605 to the time when the last ball reaches, and the number of balls that have reached during that time. Is counted by the replenishment ball number counter. If there is no trouble related to replenishment, such as clogging of the supply gutter 508a or failure of the ball sending section 5071f, a predetermined number of balls should arrive during the time counted by the timer 1.

Next, the flow advances to SD11 for performing processing for reading the set value of the number of refill balls set in the setting mode. Next, the process proceeds to SD12, where a process of reading a predetermined error allowable set value is performed. The error allowable set value is a range in which an error of the number of balls actually refilled inside the pachinko gaming machine 1 is allowed with respect to the set value of the number of refill balls to be sent from the ball sending unit 5071f. This is the set value.
This error tolerance setting value is predetermined.

Then, the flow advances to SD13, where the difference between the set value of the replenishment ball number read by SD11 and the count value of the replenishment ball number counter counted by SD8 is defined as a replenishment error of the replenishment ball. Processing for calculating and obtaining is performed. Next, the process proceeds to SD14, and it is determined whether or not the replenishment error calculation value obtained by the calculation of SD13 exceeds the range of the error allowable set value read by SD12.

If it is determined in SD14 that the calculated replenishment error value is outside the range of the allowable error set value, the flow advances to SD15 described later. On the other hand, if it is determined in SD14 that the replenishment error calculation value does not exceed the range of the error allowable set value, the process proceeds to SD19. In SD19, the rotary solenoid 6 of the flow path switching device 600 opened by SD3 is used.
02, the control signal is given, and the flow path switching bottom plate 601a is moved downward by the rotary solenoid 602, whereby the processing for closing the flow path switching port is performed. That is, in response to the replenishment being performed within the range of the error allowable set value, the flow path switching port is closed in order to end the replenishment to the pachinko gaming machine 1 to be replenished.

After SD19, the process proceeds to SD20, and it is determined whether or not the current supply board number is the last supply board number. If it is determined by SD20 that the current supply table number is not the last supply table number, the process proceeds to SD21,
In order to replenish the pachinko gaming machine 1 in the next order, a process of adding the replenishment stand number by "1" is performed. Thereafter, the first supply process ends. Thereby, in the next first replenishment process, replenishment of balls to the pachinko gaming machine 1 in the next order is performed.

On the other hand, if the current supply table number is determined to be the last supply table number by SD20, the supply gutter 5
Since the supply of the balls to all the pachinko gaming machines 1 to receive the supply of the balls from 08a has been completed, the process proceeds to SD22, and the processing of setting the supply completion flag is performed. Thereafter, the first supply process ends.

Further, in SD15, which proceeds when it is determined by SD14 that the replenishment error calculation value exceeds the range of the error allowable set value, it is determined that an abnormal replenishment state has occurred. This replenishment abnormal state is an abnormal state indicating that the balls actually replenished inside the pachinko gaming machine 1 are not within the range of the allowable error set value. Next, the process proceeds to SD16, in which a process of notifying that an abnormal supply state has occurred is performed. In this case, an indication that an abnormal supply state has occurred is displayed on the display unit 503b. It should be noted that the notification that the abnormal supply state has occurred may be made by sound, in addition to the display.

After SD16, the flow advances to SD17. SD17
Then, it is determined whether or not the abnormal supply state determined in SD15 is due to a shortage of supply balls. The determination is made based on the value of the supply error calculation value obtained by SD13.

If it is determined in SD17 that the replenishment balls are not in the abnormal supply state due to the shortage of replenishment balls, SD18 described later
Proceed to. On the other hand, if it is determined in SD17 that the supply is in an abnormal supply state due to a shortage of supply balls, the process proceeds to SD23, and the above-described processing of setting the ball shortage flag is performed. Next, the process proceeds to SD24, and a process of driving the ball sending section 5071f again to add a replenishing ball is performed. In this case, the number of balls that can compensate for the insufficient number of balls is sent to the supply gutter 508a. Next, the process proceeds to SD25, and a process of starting time measurement by the timer 2 is performed. The timer 2 is a timer for measuring the time from the start of sending the additional balls by the SD 24. The range measured by the timer is defined by the position of the pachinko gaming machine 1 to be additionally supplied in the gaming machine installation island 500, and is appropriately selected from a plurality of ranges according to the conditions. S
After D25, the first supply process ends.

In SD26, which proceeds when it is determined that the ball shortage flag is set by the above-described SD2, it is determined whether or not the timer 2 has reached a predetermined value. In this case, the predetermined value is obtained by adding a predetermined error time to a time set based on a time required for the first ball of the additional balls sent out by the SD 24 to reach the pachinko gaming machine 1 to be supplied. It was time. SD2
If the timer 6 determines that the timer 2 has not reached the predetermined value, the first replenishment process ends.

On the other hand, when it is determined by SD26 that the timer 2 has reached the predetermined value, the process proceeds to SD27,
Is cleared. That is, the counting by the timer 2 is terminated. Next, the process proceeds to SD28, where the timer 2
It is determined whether or not a replenishing ball is detected by the replenishing ball detector 605 during the time counting by.

If it is determined in SD28 that a replenishing ball has been detected, the flow advances to SD29 to perform processing for clearing a ball shortage flag. Thereafter, the process proceeds to SD19 described above, and a process of ending the supply of the ball to the pachinko gaming machine to be supplied is advanced. On the other hand, if it is determined by SD28 that the replenishment ball has not been detected, the process proceeds to SD30, and a process is performed to determine that a ball-jam abnormal state has occurred, i.e., a state in which a ball-jam has occurred in the supply gutter 508a. . That is, when the additional ball does not reach the refill target pachinko gaming machine 1 within a predetermined time even though the additional ball is supplied in response to the shortage of the ball, the supply gutter 5 is provided.
At 08a, since it is considered that a clogging has occurred, it is determined that an abnormal clogging state has occurred. After SD30, the process proceeds to SD31, and a process for notifying that an abnormal state of clogging has occurred is performed. In this case, the display unit 503b displays an indication that an abnormal state of clogging has occurred. In addition, the notification of the occurrence of the abnormal state of clogging may be performed by sound in addition to the display.

In the case where such a ball jam abnormal state occurs, the shortage of the inserted balls in the pachinko gaming machine 1 cannot be resolved without any change, and the first replenishment process is stopped after the end of SD31. Therefore, in such a case, the supply gutter 508a is manually operated by a game store attendant.
It is necessary to eliminate clogging.

If it is determined in SD17 that there is no abnormal supply due to a shortage of supply balls, that is, if it is determined that the abnormal supply is due to an excessive supply of balls, the flow advances to SD18, and the flow proceeds to SD18. Road switching solenoid 3
A process is performed in which the channel switching plate 314 is actuated by exciting the ball 15 to discharge an excessively filled ball inside the pachinko gaming machine 1 to the outside. Specifically, in SD18, in order to discharge an excessive ball from the pachinko gaming machine 1, the flow path switching solenoid 315 is excited one-shot by a number of times corresponding to the excessive number of balls (for a short time in which one ball can be discharged). (Excitation). Thereby, the number of the enclosed balls inside the pachinko gaming machine 1 is reduced, and the excessive state of the supply balls can be eliminated. Next, SD
The process proceeds to 18a, where processing for starting time measurement by the timer 3 is performed. The timer 3 is a timer for measuring the time after the excessive number of balls is discharged by the SD 18.

After SD18a, the flow advances to SD18b, where processing for setting a ball excess flag is performed. Next, SD18
Proceeding to c, it is determined whether or not the count value of the timer 3 has reached a predetermined value. The predetermined value determines the time range of the timer 3 and is determined based on the time required until all the discharged balls are detected by the discharged ball sensor 33. The time is set to a time sufficient for detecting the discharged balls with the error time added.
Therefore, the time measurement range of the timer 3 is selected according to the number of discharged balls.

If it is determined by the SD 18b that the count value of the timer 3 has not reached the predetermined value, the first supply process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined by the SD 18b that the count value of the timer 3 has reached the predetermined value, the process proceeds to SD 18d, and a process of clearing the timer 3 is performed. That is, the time measurement by the timer 3 is terminated. Next, SD18
In step e, it is determined whether or not the number of discharged balls to be discharged is detected by the discharged ball sensor 33 during the counting by the timer 3. Specifically, after the timer 3 starts counting, the number of detected balls of the discharged ball sensor 33 is counted by a predetermined counter, and the counted value is used for the determination in SD18e.

If it is determined in SD18e that the number of discharged balls to be discharged has been detected, the flow advances to SD18f to perform processing for clearing the excessive ball flag. Thereafter, the process proceeds to SD19 described above, and a process of ending the supply of the ball to the pachinko gaming machine to be supplied is advanced. On the other hand, 18e
If it is determined that the number of discharged balls to be discharged is not detected, the process proceeds to SD18g, and a process of determining that a ball discharge abnormal state, which is an abnormal state of ball discharge, has occurred in the pachinko gaming machine 1 is performed. Done. In other words, if the number of discharged balls to be discharged is not detected even though an attempt is made to discharge an excessive number of balls in response to the excessive number of balls, the discharge path of the balls such as a failure of the flow path switching solenoid 315 and a clogged ball. Since it is considered that an abnormal state has occurred, it is determined that an abnormal ball discharge state has occurred.

After SD18g, the process proceeds to SD18h, and a process for notifying that a ball discharge abnormal state has occurred is performed.
In this case, the display unit 503b displays an indication that an abnormal ball discharge state has occurred. The notification that the abnormal ball discharge state has occurred may be performed by sound, in addition to the display.

When such an abnormal ball discharge state occurs, since the excessive state of the enclosed balls in the pachinko gaming machine 1 cannot be eliminated as it is, the first supply process is stopped after the end of SD18h. Therefore, in such a case, the supply gutter 5 may be manually operated by a game store clerk.
It is necessary to eliminate the abnormal discharge of the ball 08a.

The second replenishment process is the same as the first replenishment process described above.
A process similar to the replenishment process is executed for the pachinko gaming machine 1 that is set to receive replenishment of balls from the replenishment gutter 508b.

The following effects can be obtained by executing the replenishment processing as described above. If the difference between the number of balls actually replenished inside each pachinko gaming machine 1 and the predetermined number of balls to be replenished to each pachinko gaming machine 1 is not within the allowable error range, replenishment is performed. Since it is determined that an abnormal state of supply has occurred and the fact that the abnormal state of supply has occurred is notified, the failure of the supply unit 507 and the supply
It is possible to easily recognize that a problem has occurred in the supply path of the balls such as the clogging of the balls 08a and 508b. Therefore, it is possible to quickly cope with a supply abnormality such as a recovery work of an abnormal state.

When an abnormal replenishment state occurs,
Depending on whether the number of balls is insufficient or the number of balls is excessive, additional supply of balls to the pachinko gaming machine 1 or discharging of balls from the pachinko gaming machine 1 is executed. For this reason,
Even if an abnormal replenishment state occurs, a recovery operation according to the type of abnormal state is automatically performed, so that the convenience in managing the number of replenishment balls can be enhanced. In addition, when a clogging state occurs in which the recovery from the abnormal supply state cannot be performed automatically, the fact is determined and notified, so that it is easy to determine that a state requiring recovery work has occurred. You can figure out. Therefore, it is possible to quickly perform a recovery operation for such a state.

In the above-described first replenishment process, the timer 1 is used to replenish the balls to each pachinko gaming machine 1 at the time when a predetermined time has elapsed since the first ball was detected by the replenishment ball detector 605. It is determined that the replenishment of the supply ball into each pachinko gaming machine 1 has been completed (see SD9). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of replenishment balls sent from the ball sending device 507f may be used to determine the end of replenishment of replenishment balls into each pachinko gaming machine 1. That is, the delivery ball number counter of the ball delivery unit 5071f of the ball delivery device 507f reaches a predetermined value (a preset number of refill balls), and the ball delivery unit 5071f of the ball delivery device 507f stops the ball delivery operation for a predetermined period. May have elapsed, it may be determined that replenishment of replenishment balls into each pachinko gaming machine 1 has been completed. Specifically, such processing is performed by the SD
6, SD7, SD9, and SD10 may be performed instead of the processing.

In the first replenishment processing described above, when additional balls are replenished, the first additional replenishment ball is detected by the replenishment ball detector 605 within a predetermined time by the timer 3. In this case, it is determined that a replenishment ball has been added,
Cleared the ball shortage flag. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The number of additional replenishment balls detected by the replenishment ball detector 605 is counted using a predetermined counter, and the number of additional replenishment balls transmitted from the ball transmitting unit 5071f is determined to be equal to or less than a predetermined period. If the number is within the range, it may be determined that the replenishment ball has been added, and a process of clearing the ball shortage flag may be performed. In this case, the predetermined period is defined by the position of the pachinko gaming machine 1 to be additionally supplied in the gaming machine installation island 500 and the number of balls to be additionally supplied, and is appropriately selected and determined from a plurality of periods according to those conditions.

In the ball replenishment process shown in FIGS. 28 to 30 described above, as shown in FIG.
It has been described that the second supply processing routine is executed after the supply processing routine. That is, the ball replenishment process shown in FIGS. 28 to 30 is similar to the ball replenishment process in which the first replenishment process is stopped due to the determination of a ball jam abnormality or the determination of a ball discharge abnormality in the first replenishment process. In the first replenishment process, when one of the replenishment processes is stopped due to the determination of a clogging abnormality or the determination of a ball discharge abnormality, the other replenishment process cannot be executed.

However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the ball replenishment process, even if the ball clogging abnormality or the ball discharge abnormality is determined by one of the first and second replenishment processes and the process is stopped, Processing contents that allow normal normal supply processing to be performed may be adopted. In this case, except for pachinko machines that receive replenishment from replenishment gutters that cannot replenish balls due to ball jams or for pachinko machines that contain too many balls due to abnormal ball discharge, replenishment from other normal replenishment gutters. Supplies can be supplied to pachinko gaming machines or pachinko gaming machines that do not receive an excessive number of balls without stopping supply. By doing so, it is possible to prevent a slight clogging of the balls from affecting the entire ball supply process.

In the first replenishment process described above,
An error tolerance set value that sets a range in which an error in the number of balls actually refilled inside the pachinko gaming machine 1 is set with respect to the set value of the number of refill balls to be sent from the ball sending unit is used. Was. The error allowable range of the error allowable set value may be arbitrarily set by, for example, a manager of the game arcade. By doing so, it is possible to set an appropriate error allowable range according to the manufacturer of the pachinko gaming machine 1 and the model of the pachinko gaming machine 1 as compared with the case where the error allowable setting value is uniformly set. .

In the first replenishment process described above,
The case where the error allowable set value has a predetermined range has been described.
However, the present invention is not limited to this.
May be set to a value that allows only the case of.

Next, a method of operating the reduction unit control device 503 will be described. FIGS. 31 to 39 show the reduction device control device 5.
FIG. 13 is a display screen diagram showing display contents of a display screen of a display unit 503b of No. 03. 31 to 39, components having common functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

Control performed in accordance with the operation of the reduction unit control unit 503 described below is based on the R
This is performed in accordance with the execution of the control program read from the OM 5033 to the CPU 5031.

Display unit 503b of reduction unit control device 503
Is a touch-panel display unit. In various screens displayed on the display unit 503b, input and selection of various information are performed by performing an operation of touching a switch or the like displayed on the screen with a finger. It is possible.

In FIG. 31, (a) shows the main menu screen, and (b) shows the setting menu screen. Referring to FIG. 31A, an initial screen is displayed on display screen 700 of display unit 503b as a basic display screen. The initial screen includes an automatic mode selection switch 701 for selecting an automatic mode, a manual mode selection switch 702 for selecting a manual mode, and a setting mode selection switch 703 for selecting a setting mode.
Is displayed.

Here, as described above, the automatic mode automatically causes the game machine installation island 500 to automatically execute a series of operations of discharging, polishing, and replenishing the enclosed balls when exchanging the enclosed balls. This is the operation mode. Further, as described above, the manual mode is an operation mode in which a series of operations of discharging, polishing, and replenishing the enclosed balls at the time of replacing the enclosed balls in the gaming machine installation island 500 are performed based on the manual operation. It is. As described above, the setting mode is a mode for setting control parameters such as a time related to a series of operations of discharging, polishing, and replenishing the enclosed balls when replacing the enclosed balls.

When the setting mode selection switch 703 is operated on the initial screen, a setting menu screen shown in FIG. 31B is displayed. On the setting menu screen, a ball discharge time setting switch 704, a ball polishing time setting switch 705, a polishing interval time setting switch 706, an automatic setting switch 707, a ball refilling number setting switch 708, a replenishing table / supplying order setting switch 709, and The initial screen return switch 710 is displayed.

[0287] The ball discharging time setting switch 704 is used to call a screen for setting a ball discharging time (hereinafter referred to as a ball discharging time setting screen) which is a time required for simultaneously discharging enclosed balls from each pachinko gaming machine 1. Switch. The ball polishing time setting switch 705 is a switch for calling a screen (hereinafter, referred to as a ball polishing time setting screen) for setting a ball polishing time, which is a polishing time of a ball performed after discharge of a ball and before replenishment. Polishing interval time setting switch 70
Reference numeral 6 denotes a screen for setting a polishing interval time (hereinafter, referred to as a polishing interval time setting screen) which is a polishing interval time when a setting for polishing a ball at a predetermined time interval is made during the operation of a game store. Switch.

[0288] The automatic setting switch 707 sets the ball discharging time,
A switch for calling a screen for automatically performing various settings such as the ball polishing time and the number of replenished balls (hereinafter, referred to as an automatic setting screen). The ball supply number setting switch 708 is a switch for calling a screen for setting the number of balls to be supplied to each pachinko gaming machine 1 (hereinafter, referred to as a ball supply number setting screen). A supply board / supply order setting switch 709 is a screen for setting a supply board, which is a pachinko gaming machine 1 to which a ball is to be supplied (hereinafter, referred to as a supply board setting screen). A screen for setting the replenishment order (hereinafter referred to as
(Referred to as a supply order setting screen). The initial screen return switch 710 is connected to the display screen 700.
Is a switch for returning the screen displayed in (1) to the above-described initial screen.

In FIG. 32, (a) shows a ball discharge time setting screen, and (b) shows a ball polishing time setting screen.

When the ball discharge time setting switch 704 is operated on the setting menu screen described above, a ball discharge time setting screen shown in FIG. 32A is displayed. The ball discharge time setting screen has a numeric input key switch 711,
Current setting value 712, ball discharge time setting value 713, and
The initial screen return switch 710 is displayed.

The numerical value input key switch 711 is a switch for inputting numerical data. By operating this switch, a set value of the ball discharging time can be input. The current setting value 712 displays the current setting value (second) of the ball discharge time. At a stage before a new ball discharge time set value is input by the numerical value input key switch 711, the set value of the ball discharge time before the change is displayed in the current set value 712. In the ball discharge time set value 713, a new ball discharge time set value (second) input by operating the numerical value input key switch 711 is displayed. When the input new set value of the ball discharge time is determined by operating the numeric input key switch 711, the display of the current set value 712 is changed to the new set value of the ball discharge time. When the initial screen return switch 710 is operated, the screen returns to the initial screen.

When the ball polishing time setting switch 705 is operated on the setting menu screen described above, a ball polishing time setting screen shown in FIG. 32B is displayed. On the ball polishing time ball setting screen, a numeric input key switch 71 is displayed.
1, a current set value 714, a ball polishing time set value 715, and an initial screen return switch 710 are displayed.

By operating the numeric input key switch 711, a set value of the ball polishing time can be input. The current setting value 714 displays the current setting value (second) of the ball polishing time. Before a new ball polishing time set value is input by the numerical value input key switch 711,
The set value of the ball polishing time before the change is displayed in the current set value 714. In the ball polishing time set value 715, a new ball polishing time set value (second) input by operating the numerical value input key switch 711 is displayed. When the input set value of the new ball polishing time is determined by operating the numeric input key switch 711, the display of the current set value 714 is changed to the new set value of the ball polishing time. When the initial screen return switch 710 is operated, the screen returns to the initial screen.

In FIG. 33, (a) shows a polishing interval time setting screen, and (b) shows a ball supply number setting screen.

When the polishing interval time setting switch 706 is operated on the setting menu screen described above, the polishing interval time setting screen shown in FIG. 33A is displayed.
Here, the polishing interval time, during the operation of the game store,
This is a time for defining an interval for polishing excess balls in the collection tub 505b. On the polishing interval time setting screen, a numeric input key switch 711, a current setting value 716, a polishing interval time setting value 717, and an initial screen return switch 710 are displayed.

By operating the numeric input key switch 711, a set value of the polishing interval time can be input. The current setting value 716 displays the current setting value (minutes) of the polishing interval time. At a stage before a new set value of the polishing interval time is input by the numerical value input key switch 711, the set value of the ball polishing time before the change is displayed in the current set value 716. In the ball polishing time setting value 717, a new polishing interval time setting value (minute) input by operating the numerical value input key switch 711 is displayed. The input value of the new polishing interval time is set to a numerical value input key switch 7
When the setting is confirmed by the operation 11, the display of the current set value 716 is changed to a new set value of the polishing interval time. Also,
When the initial screen return switch 710 is operated, the screen returns to the initial screen.

When the ball supply number setting switch 708 is operated on the above-described setting menu screen, a ball supply number setting screen shown in FIG. 33B is displayed. The ball refilling number setting screen includes a numeric input key switch 711, a current setting value 718, and a section ball refilling number setting switch 719.
a, 719b, 719c, 719d and an initial screen return switch 710 are displayed.

Here, sections will be described. The pachinko gaming machine 1 provided on the gaming machine installation island 500 has four installation positions in the gaming machine installation island 500 (for example, a right side section on the front side, a left side section on the front side, a right side section on the back side, Back section on the left). One section includes a plurality of pachinko gaming machines 1. Game machine installation island 50
There are cases where a plurality of types of pachinko machines are installed in the area 0. In such a case, pachinko gaming machines of the same model are installed in one section. Pachinko gaming machines differ in the number of balls enclosed for each model. For example, a second-type pachinko gaming machine has a different number of required balls than a second-type pachinko gaming machine.

Section ball supply number setting switch 719
a, 719b, 719c, or 719d is selectively operated to select the operated section and to input the number of balls to be replenished for the pachinko gaming machine 1 in the selected section. .

Section ball supply number setting switch 719
When any one of a, 719b, 719c, and 719d is operated, the operated section is selected. As a result, the section ball replenishment number setting switch of the selected section is lit and displayed, and the current set value (pieces) of the pachinko gaming machines 1 in that section is displayed as the current set value 718. Each section ball supply number setting switch is provided with an area for displaying a section number (SECT1, etc.) and an input set value (piece) of the ball supply number of the section. By operating the numeric input key switch 711 in such a state, the set value of the ball refill number of the pachinko gaming machine 1 in the selected section is input. That is, the ball supply number can be input for each section, and is set for each section in accordance with the input. In the stage before the new set value of the ball supply number is input by the numerical value input key switch 711 for the selected section, the set value of the ball supply number before the change of the section is set to the current set value 718. Is displayed. In the area for displaying the input set value of the number of ball replenishment in the section ball replenishment number setting switch of the selected section,
The new set value (piece) of the ball supply number input by operating the numeric input key switch 711 is displayed. When the input set value of the new ball supply number for the selected section is determined by operating the numeric input key switch 711, the display of the current set value 718 is changed to the new ball for the selected section. It is changed to the set value of the number of supplies. When the initial screen return switch 710 is operated, the screen returns to the initial screen.

In FIG. 34, (a) shows a supply table setting screen, and (b) shows a supply order setting screen.

In the above-described setting menu screen, when the supply table / supply order setting switch 709 is operated, first,
The replenishment stand setting screen shown in FIG. 34A is displayed.

[0303] The game console selection key switch 720, game machine display section 721, clear all switch 7
22, cancel switch 723, all-unit selection switch 72
4 and a confirmation switch 725 are displayed.

The gaming machine selection key switch 720 is a switch for individually selecting the pachinko gaming machines 1 in the gaming machine installation island 500, and includes a key switch corresponding to each pachinko gaming machine 1. The gaming machine display unit 721 is an area for individually displaying the pachinko gaming machines 1 to be controlled or set. In the gaming machine display section 721, a display frame corresponding to each pachinko gaming machine 1 is provided, and by changing the color of the display frame corresponding to the pachinko gaming machine 1,
The pachinko gaming machine 1 to be controlled or set is shown.

The clear all switch 722 is a switch for canceling the selection of all the supply tables set on the supply table setting screen. The cancel switch 723 is a switch for canceling the selection of the pachinko gaming machine 1 selected immediately before. The confirm switch 725 is a switch for confirming the setting made on the refill stand setting screen.

When the all-unit selection switch 724 is operated,
All the pachinko gaming machines 1 in the gaming machine installation island 500 are set as replenishment stands. Gaming machine selection key switch 720
Is operated, the pachinko gaming machines 1 selected by the operation are individually set as replenishment stands. In that case, it is possible to select a plurality of pachinko gaming machines 1 continuously. When the all-unit selection switch 724 or the gaming machine selection key switch 720 is operated, the selected pachinko gaming machine 1 is displayed on the gaming machine display unit 721.
If the confirmation switch 725 is operated after the all-unit selection switch 724 or the gaming machine selection key switch 720 is operated, the setting up to that point is confirmed.
If the clear all switch 722 or the cancel switch 723 is operated before is operated, the setting is canceled according to the function of those switches.

On the replenishment stand setting screen, the enter switch 72
When the button 5 is operated, the settings up to that point are determined, and the supply order setting screen shown in FIG. 34B is displayed. The game machine selection key switch 7 appears on the replenishment order setting screen.
20, gaming machine display section 721, automatic selection switch 726,
A cancel switch 723 and a confirm switch 725 are displayed. The automatic selection switch 726 is a switch for automatically selecting a supply order of the pachinko gaming machine 1.

When the automatic selection switch 726 is operated,
With respect to the supply table set on the supply table setting screen, the supply order of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is automatically selected and set according to a predetermined selection procedure. When the gaming machine selection key switch 720 is operated and the pachinko gaming machines 1 are sequentially selected, the supply order of the pachinko gaming machines 1 is set in accordance with the selection order of the refill tables set on the refill table setting screen. You. When the confirm switch 725 is operated on the refill stand setting screen, the settings up to that point are confirmed and the screen returns to the initial screen shown in FIG.

In FIG. 35, (a) shows the first screen of the automatic setting screen, and (b) shows the second screen of the automatic setting screen.

When the automatic setting switch 707 is operated on the above-described setting menu screen, first, the first screen of the automatic setting screen shown in FIG. 35A is displayed. This first screen is a screen for setting the number of pachinko gaming machines 1 for exchanging enclosed balls. On the first screen, a numerical input key switch 711, a number setting value 727,
Then, an initial screen return switch 710 is displayed.

By operating the numeric input key switch 711, it is possible to input the number of pachinko gaming machines 1 for exchanging enclosed balls. In the number setting value 727, the number input by operating the numerical value input key switch 711 is displayed. When the input number is determined by operating the numeric input key switch 711, a second screen shown in FIG. 35B is displayed. Also, the initial screen return switch 71
When 0 is operated, the setting is canceled and the screen returns to the initial screen.

[0312] The second screen is a screen for setting the model of the pachinko gaming machine 1 for exchanging enclosed balls. On the second screen, a section selection switch 728, a two-type switch 729, and a non-two-type switch 730, and a confirmation switch 725 are displayed.

[0313] The section selection switch 728 is a switch for selecting a section of the pachinko gaming machine 1 for exchanging enclosed balls in the gaming machine installation island 500. The section selection switch 728 is a switch for selecting each section (first section selection switch 728a, first section selection switch 728b, first section selection switch 728c, first section selection switch 72).
8d), and a section can be selected by operating these switches.

[0314] The two-type switch 729 is a switch for setting that the pachinko gaming machine 1 of the section selected by the section selecting switch 728 is a second-type pachinko gaming machine. The non-two-type switch 730 is a switch for setting that the pachinko gaming machine 1 of the section selected by the section selection switch 728 is a non-second-type pachinko gaming machine.

On the second screen, a model is set for each section. Section selection switch 72
After selecting the section by the operation of No. 8 and operating the two-type switch 729 or the non-two-type switch 730,
According to the operation, the model of the selected section is set to the second
It is set to a pachinko gaming machine other than the second type. When the confirmation switch 725 is operated after performing such an operation for all sections, the settings up to that point are confirmed and the screen returns to the initial screen shown in FIG.

[0316] The ROM 5033 stores a calculation program for calculating various setting data required for the exchange control of the enclosing ball based on the data of the number of refills and the model input on the automatic setting screen. When the setting of the number of replenishers and the model set on the first screen and the second screen described above are determined, the CPU 5031 performs the ball discharge time required for executing the automatic mode by the calculation program based on the settings. Data such as ball polishing time, ball supply number, supply table, and supply order are automatically set. Therefore, if you use such automatic settings,
The operation of setting various data can be simplified.

When the automatic mode selection switch 701 is operated on the initial screen shown in FIG. 31A, the exchange of the enclosing balls is automatically performed in the automatic mode based on the setting in the setting mode described above. Be executed. In the automatic mode, the process of discharging the ball, the process of polishing the ball, and the process of supplying the ball are sequentially performed.

In FIG. 36, (a) shows a ball discharging screen indicating that the ball is being discharged in the automatic mode.
(B) shows a ball polishing screen indicating that the ball is being polished in the automatic mode.

By executing the process of discharging the balls after the execution of the automatic mode is started, the passage switching solenoid 315 of each pachinko gaming machine is excited to discharge the enclosed balls. When the ball is being discharged, a ball discharging screen shown in FIG. 36A is displayed. The ball is discharged for the set ball discharging time. On the ball discharging screen, a message “ball discharging” indicating that the ball is being discharged, the remaining time of the ball discharging time set on the ball discharging time setting screen “remaining XX seconds”, a pause switch 731, continue A switch 732, an end switch 733, and an emergency stop switch 734 are displayed.

When the pause switch 731 is operated,
Execution of the automatic mode is suspended. Continue switch 73
When the button 2 is operated, the temporary stop state is released and the execution of the automatic mode is continued. When the end switch 733 is operated, after the process of the process currently being executed (in this case, the process of discharging the ball) is completed, the execution of the automatic mode is terminated without shifting to the next process. . When the emergency stop switch 734 is operated, the execution of the automatic mode is interrupted at that time, and the screen returns to the initial screen shown in FIG.

When the ball discharging process is completed in the automatic mode, the process proceeds to the ball polishing process, and the polishing circulation switching motor 505e, the cassette winding motor 554, and the lifting polishing motor 505h are driven. The ball is circulated and polished. When the process proceeds to the ball polishing process, FIG.
The ball polishing screen shown in (b) is displayed. In this case, the polishing of the ball is performed for the set ball polishing time. On the ball polishing screen, a message “ball polishing” indicating that the ball is being polished, the remaining time of the ball polishing time set on the ball polishing time setting screen “remaining XX seconds”, a pause switch 731, continue Switch 732, end switch 73
3. Emergency stop switch 734 and additional switch 7
35 is displayed.

Each of the temporary stop switch 731 to the emergency stop switch 734 has the same function as that of the ball discharging screen. When the additional switch 735 is operated, the ball is polished for a predetermined time in addition to the ball polishing time set on the ball polishing time setting screen described above.

In FIG. 37, (a) shows a ball replenishing screen indicating that the ball is being replenished in the automatic mode.
(B) shows a manual selection screen which is the first display screen in the manual mode.

In the automatic mode, when the ball polishing process is completed and the process proceeds to the ball supply process, the process shown in FIGS. The supply of the set number of balls to be supplied is performed in the order of the set supply tables. When the process shifts to the ball replenishment process, a ball replenishing screen shown in FIG. 37A is displayed. On the ball replenishing screen, a message “ball is being replenished” indicating that the ball is being replenished, a gaming machine display section 721 having the same functions as those shown in FIG. 34, a pause switch 731, a continuation switch 732, and an end A switch 733 and an emergency stop switch 734 are displayed.

In the gaming machine display section 721 in this case, the pachinko gaming machine 1 currently supplying the ball is shown. The temporary stop switch 731 to the emergency stop switch 734 have the same function as that of the ball discharging screen. When the replenishment to all the pachinko gaming machines 1 to be replenished is completed while the ball replenishing screen is displayed, the automatic mode ends, and the screen returns to the initial screen shown in FIG.

The following effects can be obtained by displaying the screens shown in FIGS. 36A and 36B and FIG. 37A.

Since the name of the currently executed process is displayed, it is possible to easily confirm the progress of the ball exchange in the automatic mode. In addition, since the remaining time is displayed on the ball discharging screen and the ball polishing screen, the progress of the corresponding process can be accurately grasped. In the ball replenishment screen, the pachinko gaming machine 1 being replenished is displayed by the gaming machine display unit 721, so that the progress of the ball replenishment process can be easily grasped.

In the ball discharging screen, the ball polishing screen, and the ball replenishing screen, the end switch 733 allows the automatic mode to be terminated halfway after the end of the corresponding process. The switch 734 allows the automatic mode to be terminated at that point. For this reason, when troubles such as clogging of the ball and trouble of the drive unit occur in the ball discharge route and the ball replenishment route, the automatic mode can be terminated halfway to cope with the trouble. Further, the end mode of the automatic mode is indicated by an end switch 733 and an emergency stop switch 7.
Since it is possible to selectively use the automatic mode in the automatic mode depending on the degree of the problem when the above-described problem occurs. As described above, since the automatic mode can be terminated halfway in each process, it is possible to easily cope with the case where the above-described problem occurs.

On the ball polishing screen, by operating the additional switch 735, the ball can be further polished in addition to the set polishing time. Accordingly, the polishing of the ball can be sufficiently performed.

When the manual mode selection switch 702 is operated on the initial screen shown in FIG. 31A, a manual selection screen shown in FIG. 37B is displayed. The manual selection screen includes a polishing open switch 736 and a polishing close switch 73.
7, ball feed switch 738, tape winding switch 73
9, ball counter switch 740, discharge setting switch 74
1. A supply port open / close setting switch 742 and an initial screen return switch 710 are displayed. In this manual selection screen, by operating various displayed switches, it is possible to execute the operation of replacing the enclosed balls in the manual mode.

When the polishing open switch 736 is operated, the polishing circulation switching motor 505e is driven and the polishing circulation path switching plate 505g is operated, whereby the opening 5 is opened.
06c is opened. As a result, the flow path of the balls guided by the lifting gutter 506 is switched to the flow path toward the collection ball collecting section 509c along the polishing circulation path 505f. When the polishing circulation path switching plate 505g is operated, the polishing open switch 736 is lit.

When the polishing-close switch 737 is operated, the polishing circulation switching motor 505e is driven to operate the polishing circulation path switching plate 505g, so that the opening 5 is opened.
06c is closed, and the flow path of the ball guided by the lifting gutter 506 is switched to the flow path toward the supply unit 507 along the lifting gutter 506. When the polishing circulation path switching plate 505g is operated, the polishing close switch 737 is lit.

When the ball feed switch 738 is operated, the lifting polishing motor 505h is driven, and the balls are pumped in the lifting gutter 506. When the ball feed switch 738 is operated once, the lifting polishing motor 505h is driven, and thereafter, when the ball feeding switch 738 is operated again, the lifting polishing motor 50h is driven.
5h is stopped. When the lifting polishing motor 505h is driven, the ball feed switch 738 blinks and is displayed. When the lifting polishing motor 505h is stopped, the ball feeding switch 738 is stopped.
38 is turned off.

When the tape winding switch 739 is operated, the cassette winding motor 554 is driven, and the polishing cloth 553 of the polishing cassette 550 is sent out and wound. When the tape winding switch 739 is operated once, the cassette winding motor 554 is driven, and thereafter, when the tape winding switch 739 is operated again, the cassette winding motor 554 is stopped. When the cassette take-up motor 554 is driven, the tape take-up switch 739 flashes and is displayed.
When the cassette winding motor 554 is stopped, the tape winding switch 739 is turned off.

Therefore, when the ball feed switch 738 is operated in a state where both the polishing open switch 736 and the ball feed switch 738 are operated, the balls are circulated and polished. When the ball feed switch 738 is operated in a state where the polishing close switch 737 is operated, the polished ball is fed to the supply unit 507.

When the ball counter switch 740 is operated,
The motor is driven in the ball sending units 5071f and 5072f of the supply unit 507 to operate the screw shaft, so that the balls are sent from the supply unit 507 to the supply gutters 508a and 508b. When the motor is driven in the ball sending units 5071f and 5072f, the ball counter switch 740 is displayed blinking, and when the motor is stopped in the ball sending units 5071f and 5072f, the ball counter switch 740 is turned off.

When the discharge setting switch 741 is operated,
A discharge setting screen shown in FIG. 38A to be described later is displayed, and it becomes possible to discharge the enclosed balls inside the pachinko gaming machine 1. When the supply port opening / closing setting switch 742 is operated, a supply port opening / closing setting screen shown in FIG. 38B described later is displayed, and the flow path switching bottom plate 601a of the flow path switching apparatus 600 is opened / closed (supply port opening / closing). ) Is possible. When the initial screen return switch 710 is operated, the screen returns to the initial screen shown in FIG.

In FIG. 38, (a) shows a discharge setting screen, and (b) shows a supply port opening / closing setting screen.

When the discharge setting switch 741 is operated,
The discharge setting screen shown in FIG. 38A is displayed.
In the discharge setting screen, the gaming machine selection key switch 72
0, a gaming machine display section 721, a stop switch 743, a batch discharge switch 745, and a manual selection screen return switch 746 are displayed.

When the batch discharge switch 745 is operated,
The channel switching solenoids 315 of all the pachinko gaming machines 1 in the gaming machine installation island 500 are driven, and all the pachinko gaming machines 1 discharge the enclosed balls at the same time. When the gaming machine selection key switch 720 is operated, the passage switching solenoid 315 of the pachinko gaming machine 1 selected by the operation is excited, and the enclosed ball is discharged from the selected pachinko gaming machine 1. The pachinko gaming machine 1 from which the enclosed balls are being discharged is displayed on the gaming machine display unit 721. When the stop switch 743 is operated, the excitation of the selected flow path switching solenoid 315 is released, and the discharging operation of the sealed ball is stopped. When the manual selection screen return switch 746 is operated, the screen returns to the manual selection screen described above.

When the supply port opening / closing setting switch 742 is operated, a supply port opening / closing setting screen shown in FIG. 38B is displayed. On the discharge setting screen, a gaming machine selection key switch 720, a gaming machine display section 721, a stop switch 7
43 and a manual selection screen return switch 746 are displayed.

When the gaming machine selection key switch 720 is operated, the rotary solenoid 60 of the flow path switching device 600 corresponding to the pachinko gaming machine 1 selected by the operation is operated.
2 is excited to open the flow path switching bottom plate 601a. The pachinko gaming machine 1 with the flow path switching bottom plate 601a opened is displayed on the gaming machine display unit 721. Stop switch 743
Is operated, the excitation of the selected rotary solenoid 602 is released, and the opened flow path switching bottom plate 6 is opened.
01a is closed. Manual selection screen return switch 746
Is operated, the screen returns to the manual selection screen described above.

Therefore, the gaming machine selection key switch 72
When the ball counter switch 740 is operated while the flow path switching bottom plate 601a is opened by the operation of 0, the replenishment balls are supplied to the pachinko gaming machine 1 selected by the gaming machine selection key switch 720. You.

FIG. 39 shows an abnormal supply screen displayed when the abnormal supply state described above occurs.

In the automatic mode, when it is determined that the abnormal supply state described in the first supply processing shown in FIGS. 29 and 30 has occurred, the abnormal supply screen shown in FIG. 39 is displayed. On the replenishment abnormality screen, a message "supplemental abnormality" indicating that a replenishment abnormality has occurred, a display indicating that the pachinko gaming machine in which the current ball is being replenished is displayed "current ball replenishment position", a gaming machine display section 721 and a supply screen return switch 747 are displayed.

In the gaming machine display section 721, the pachinko gaming machine 1 in which the supply abnormality has occurred is displayed in a predetermined color.
Thereby, the pachinko gaming machine 1 in which the supply abnormality has occurred can be easily recognized. When the supply screen return switch 747 is operated, the screen returns to the above-described ball supply screen of FIG. When the display returns to the ball replenishing screen, the emergency stop switch 734 can be operated, so that the automatic mode can be stopped to eliminate the replenishment abnormality. Also, in the manual mode, if a similar replenishment abnormality occurs during replenishment of a ball, a replenishment abnormality screen similar to that in FIG.

[0347] The reduction unit control device 5 shown in Figs.
By performing the operation on the display screen 03, the following effects can be obtained.

Ball discharge time, ball polishing time, polishing interval time,
Since the control data required for the exchange control of the enclosed balls, such as the number of supplied balls, the supply table, and the order of supply, can be arbitrarily set,
It is possible to control the replacement of the enclosed balls in accordance with the environment of the gaming shop where the gaming machine installation island 500 is installed. In particular,
Since the ball discharge time can be set arbitrarily, it is possible to set an appropriate ball discharge time according to the model of the pachinko gaming machine in which the number of enclosed balls differs depending on the model. In addition, since the ball polishing time can be set arbitrarily, an appropriate ball polishing time can be set according to the degree of dirt on the balls depending on the environment in the game store such as the installation state of the air conditioning equipment. Further, since the number of balls to be replenished can be set arbitrarily, it is possible to set an appropriate number of balls to be replenished according to the type of pachinko gaming machine in which the number of enclosed balls differs depending on the model. In addition, since the supply table can be arbitrarily set, the table to be refilled can be set according to the number of enclosed ball-type pachinko game machines installed on the gaming machine installation island. In addition, since the supply order can be set arbitrarily, the supply order can be set according to the management policy of the game store.

Further, since it is possible to control the exchange of the filled balls in accordance with the environment of the game store in this way, it is possible to improve the operational convenience in the game store.

In this embodiment, the reduction machine control unit 503 is required to control the replacement of the enclosed balls such as the ball discharge time, the ball polishing time, the polishing interval time, the number of replenished balls, the replenishment table, and the replenishment order. The example in which the control data is set is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the setting of various control data required for such exchange control of the enclosed ball is shown in FIG.
1 can be performed by the card management computer 400 shown in FIG. Therefore, such setting of various control data may be performed by the card management computer 400.

Also, in this embodiment, an example has been described in which information on setting of various control data required for the above-described control of exchanging sealed balls is input by manual input by an operator. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the setting of such various control data may be performed using a recording medium such as a setting card in which the set values of the various control data are recorded (stored). Specifically, a reading device such as a card reader for reading recording information from a recording medium such as a setting card is provided in the reduction device control device 503 or the card management computer 400, and the setting information of the various control data described above is recorded in advance. The set recording medium such as the setting card may be inserted into the reading device, the reading device may read various control data from the recording medium, and the setting of the various control data may be automatically performed. By doing so, the operation of setting various control data described above can be simplified, and as a result, the operation of setting various control data can be facilitated.

[0352] The features of the modified examples of the present invention will be listed below. (1) The internal introduction path (the connecting pipe 60) when replenishing the enclosed balls is provided by the reduction device control device 503 (particularly, steps SD14 and SD15 shown in FIG. 29) shown in FIG.
If the difference between the number of balls guided into the ball game machine through 6) and a predetermined number is larger than a predetermined difference, it is determined that an abnormal state regarding replenishment of the enclosed balls has occurred. A replenishment abnormality judging means is configured. This replenishment abnormality determination means, even when the number of balls introduced into the ball game machine is smaller than the predetermined difference, the number of balls introduced into the ball game machine is determined by the predetermined difference. If the number exceeds the threshold, it is determined that the abnormal state has occurred.

(2) When the replenishment abnormality judging means judges that an abnormal condition relating to the replenishment of the enclosing ball has occurred, an abnormality notifying means for notifying the fact (display unit 503b in FIG. 24, FIG. 29). SD16, FIG. 39).

(3) The reduction unit control device 503 shown in FIG. 24 and the like (particularly, steps SD17 and SD17 shown in FIG. 29)
According to SD18), when the number of balls to be introduced into the ball game machine via the internal introduction path at the time of replenishment of the enclosed balls is larger than the predetermined number, the larger number is used. An excess ball discharge control means for controlling the ball to be discharged from the ball game machine is constituted.

[0355]

[Specific example of means for solving the problem]

(1) The pachinko gaming machine 1 shown in FIG. 1 and the like constitutes a ball-and-ball game machine in which a game is performed by repeatedly firing bullets enclosed in a ball-and-ball game machine. A ball sending unit configured to send out a predetermined number of balls for replenishment of the enclosed balls when the enclosed balls are supplied by the supply unit 507 and the supply gutters 508a and 508b shown in FIG. Have been. The connection pipe 606 shown in FIG. 1 and the like constitutes an internal introduction path for introducing the balls sent from the ball sending means into the ball game machine when refilling the enclosed balls. The reduction device control device 503 shown in FIG. 24 and the like (particularly, step SD1 shown in FIG. 29)
4, SD15), when the difference between the number of balls guided into the ball game machine via the internal introduction path at the time of replenishment of the enclosed balls and a predetermined number is larger than a predetermined difference, A supply abnormality determination unit configured to determine that an abnormal state related to the supply of the enclosed ball has occurred is configured.

(2) The reduction unit control device 503 shown in FIG. 24 and the like (in particular, steps SD17 and SD17 shown in FIG. 29)
According to SD24), when the number of balls introduced into the ball game machine via the internal introduction path at the time of replenishment of the enclosed balls is smaller than the predetermined number, the insufficient number Additional replenishment control means for controlling the replenishment of the ball to the ball game machine is provided.

[0357]

The effect of the concrete example of the means for solving the problems.
Regarding, when the difference between the number of balls guided into the ball game machine through the internal introduction path at the time of replenishment of the enclosed balls and a predetermined number is larger than a predetermined difference, A determination is made that an abnormal condition relating to replenishment has occurred.
In this way, due to excessive or insufficient replenishment of the enclosed balls inside the ball game machine, the number of balls actually introduced into the ball game machine and the predetermined number to be sent out for replenishment If the difference between the number and the number becomes larger than a predetermined difference, it is determined that an abnormal state has occurred. Based on the determination result, it is determined that such an abnormal state has occurred. be able to. As a result, it is possible to appropriately cope with such an abnormal state, and it is possible to replenish a fixed number of balls inside the ball-and-ball game machine.

Regarding claim 2, the following effect can be obtained in addition to the effect of claim 1. In other words, when the number of balls actually introduced into the ball game machine is insufficient when refilling the enclosed balls, the insufficient balls are replenished, so the actual number of balls replenished inside the ball game machine The number of balls to be played can be constant. Further, even if it is determined that an abnormal state has occurred with respect to the replenishment of the enclosed ball, the additional state of the ball automatically returns from the abnormal state to a normal state by additional replenishment of the ball. Since there is no need to perform a countermeasure operation, it is possible to enhance the convenience in managing the supply of the enclosed balls.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a gaming machine installation island.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a representative unit.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a representative unit.

FIG. 4 is a partially broken perspective view of a representative unit.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a pachinko gaming machine provided on a gaming machine installation island.

6 is a plan view of an operation panel provided in the pachinko gaming machine of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the pachinko gaming machine.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the front side of the front circulation path unit.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a foul ball transfer mechanism and a flow path switching mechanism in detail.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the rear circulation path unit as viewed from the back side of the pachinko gaming machine.

FIG. 11 is a system block diagram showing a configuration of a system of a gaming machine including a pachinko gaming machine provided in a game arcade.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating a detailed configuration of a supply unit.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a flow path switching device.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a lifting / polishing unit.

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of a lifting / polishing unit.

FIG. 16 is a vertical sectional view of a lifting / polishing unit.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a connecting portion of a supply gutter among connecting portions between the units of the representative unit and the continuous unit.

FIG. 18 is a front view showing a configuration of a connecting portion between each unit of the representative unit and the continuous unit.

FIG. 19 is a vertical sectional view of a supply gutter.

FIG. 20 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the collection gutter in the width direction.

FIG. 21 is a longitudinal surface view of a collection gutter.

FIG. 22 is a longitudinal sectional view in the width direction of a collecting gutter in a portion where a passing ball sensor is provided.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a portion of the collection gutter provided with a passing ball sensor.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a reduction device control device.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a main routine for control of the reduction unit control device.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing processing contents of an enclosed ball replacement processing.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating processing in an automatic mode.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing processing contents of a ball supply processing.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing the contents of a first supply process.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing processing contents of a first supply processing.

FIG. 31 is a display screen diagram showing display contents of a screen displayed in the reduction unit control device.

FIG. 32 is a display screen diagram showing display contents of a screen displayed in the reduction unit control device.

FIG. 33 is a display screen diagram showing display contents of a screen displayed in the reduction unit control device.

FIG. 34 is a display screen diagram showing display contents of a screen displayed in the reduction device control device.

FIG. 35 is a display screen diagram showing display contents of a screen displayed in the reduction unit control device.

FIG. 36 is a display screen diagram showing display contents of a screen displayed in the reduction device control device.

FIG. 37 is a display screen diagram showing display contents of a screen displayed in the reduction unit control device.

FIG. 38 is a display screen diagram showing display contents of a screen displayed in the reduction unit control device.

FIG. 39 is a display screen diagram showing display contents of a screen displayed in the reduction unit control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a pachinko machine, 500 is a game machine installation island, 500a
Is a representative unit, 500b is a connection unit, 507 is a supply unit, 508a and 508b are supply gutters, 503 is a reducing machine control device, 606 is a connection pipe, 600 is a flow path switching device, and 60
1 is a flow path switching member, 601a is a flow path switching bottom plate, 601b
503a is a control unit, 503b is a display unit, 5031 is a CPU, 5032 is a RAM, 5033
Is a ROM.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A gaming machine capable of replenishing a ball used as an enclosed ball to a ball game machine in which a game is performed by repeatedly firing an enclosed ball enclosed in a ball game machine. A ball sending means for sending out a predetermined number of balls for replenishment of the enclosing ball when the replenishment of the enclosing ball is performed; and An internal introduction path for introducing the ball sent from the means into the ball game machine, and the number of balls to be introduced into the ball game machine via the internal introduction path when refilling the enclosed ball. When the difference from the predetermined number is larger than a predetermined difference, a replenishment abnormality determining means for determining that an abnormal state related to replenishment of the sealed balls has occurred. apparatus. 2. When the number of balls guided into the ball game machine via the internal introduction path at the time of replenishment of the enclosed balls is less than the predetermined number, the number becomes insufficient. The gaming machine according to claim 1, further comprising an additional replenishment control means for performing a control for replenishing the ball game machine with a number of balls.