JPH1033775A - Ball storage tank or pachinko machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a structure of the bottom of a ball storage tank of a Pachinko (Japanese pinball game) machine in which tank rails are unnecessitated pressure induced by ball weight on balls stored in the ball storage tank is reduced as low as possible, and thus possible congregation of balls is prevented, and which is provided with an electricity discharging plate for discharging static charges to be accumulated in the balls. SOLUTION: An inclined pathway 15 with a cross section of a U-shaped groove is installed. The pathway is extending inclinedly from a side wall to an opposite side wall, and is situated approximately at a central position of a longitudinal bottom 13 of a rectangular box 5a with an opening at a top. An exit hole 16 of the pathway for balls is located a little away from the opposite side wall. The bottom of one side 13a putting the pathway 15 in-between is inclined toward the pathway 15. The bottom of the other side 13b is inclined in the opposite direction to the inclination of the pathway 15 to form the bottom 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

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

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent pachinko machines, a starting winning opening, a variable display device, a large winning opening, and the like are arranged on a game board, and when a game ball wins in the starting winning opening, the design of the variable display device is changed. The mainstream is a game having a specific game state (big hit) in which the display at the time of the stop is a predetermined big hit symbol (big hit) and repeating the operation of opening the big winning opening.

On the other hand, a mechanism plate made of a synthetic resin is mounted on the back of the game board so as to be openable and closable, and a circuit hole for suppressing the above-mentioned game contents is provided in a window hole opened substantially at the center of the mechanism board. A substrate box containing the substrates is provided. Also, as is well known, a ball tank and a tank rail communicating with a drop port provided at the bottom of the ball tank are provided on the upper portion of the mechanism plate, and a pachinko ball in the ball tank is connected to the tank rail via the tank rail. It leads to the pachinko ball dispensing device.

Meanwhile, in recent pachinko machines, a large circuit board has been required in accordance with the sophistication of the game content and the like, and a board box for accommodating the circuit board has also been increased in size. As a result, it is becoming difficult to attach the mechanism plate to a window hole. It is thought that such a problem can be easily solved by enlarging the window hole of the mechanism plate. However, the mechanism plate is provided with back parts such as the above-described ball tank, tank rail, and pachinko ball dispensing device. For this reason, the size of the window is limited, and it is impossible to increase the size of the window.

Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, an outlet is formed on one side wall of the ball tank, and a passage for aligning the pachinko balls and guiding the ball to the outlet is formed at the bottom of the ball tank. There has been proposed a configuration in which a tank rail is not required and a window of a mechanism plate can be enlarged (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-51453).

[0006]

However, in the ball tank described in the prior art, the front and rear side walls of the ball tank are bulged inward, so that a passage defined by a step is formed on the bottom upper surface of the ball tank. The ball pressure of the pachinko balls in the ball tank concentrates on the passage, and the ball biting phenomenon occurs in the passage, and the pachinko balls in the ball tank flow. There was a problem that it was not possible to flow out of the exit. Further, since the passage is formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the ball tank, there is a problem that the volume in the ball tank is reduced and the amount of stored pachinko balls is reduced.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a pachinko ball in the ball tank at the bottom of the ball tank and a deep groove-shaped passage portion having a concave cross section for guiding the pachinko ball to the pachinko ball dispensing device, thereby eliminating the need for a ball tank. At the same time, the bottom surface on one side is inclined to the passage portion and the bottom surface on the other side is inclined in the direction opposite to the passage portion, so that the pachinko balls stored in the ball tank move so as to substantially circulate in the ball tank. The ball tank of a pachinko machine which allows the ball pressure applied to the pachinko ball in the passage portion to be relieved as much as possible and allows the pachinko ball in the ball tank to flow out smoothly from the passage portion without causing the ball to bite. Is to provide.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a ball tank of a pachinko machine according to the present invention is provided with a rectangular box having an open upper surface at substantially the center of the longitudinal bottom portion from one side. A channel portion having a concave groove shape is provided in an inclined shape toward the opposite side surface, and the downstream end of the channel portion is formed as a spherical outlet, and the bottom surface on one side sandwiching the channel portion is connected to the channel portion. And the bottom surface on the other side is inclined in the direction opposite to the inclination of the passage portion.

The passage portion of the rectangular box is provided with a ball outlet so that the downstream end is located slightly before the side surface on the opposite side, and a ball provided with a cover on the other side surface of the rectangular box. It is preferable that a stove is detachably installed and that a ball stabilization is provided at a ball outlet portion of the passage portion so as to hang down to the bottom.

[0010] It is preferable that the rectangular box is provided with a discharge plate on a longitudinal side wall opposite to the ball outlet.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a rear view of a pachinko machine equipped with the ball tank of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mechanism plate to which the ball tank according to the present invention is assembled, and FIG. 1 is a front frame, 2 is a game board, and 3 is a mechanism plate mounted on the back of the game board 2 so as to be openable and closable. A concave portion 4 is provided on the upper rear surface of the mechanism plate 3.
Is provided, and the spherical tank 5 of the present invention is installed on the concave surface portion 4. On one side (right side in FIG. 1) of the mechanism plate 3, a pachinko ball dispensing device 6 and a bent rail 7 for guiding the pachinko balls stored in the ball tank 5 to the pachinko ball dispensing device 6 are provided. A discharge gutter 8 is formed below the pachinko ball payout device 6 to guide the paid-out pachinko balls as prize balls to a hitting ball supply tray (not shown) of the front frame 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a ball tank according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the ball tank according to the present invention, FIG. 6 is a front view of the ball tank shown by connecting bent rails, and FIG. A-A
8 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. next,
The specific structure of the ball tank 5 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The ball tank 5 has a rear side wall 9 in contact with the mechanism plate 3, a front side wall 10 facing the width direction of the rear side wall 9, a left side wall 11, a right side wall 12, and a bottom 13 in a longitudinal direction, and an upper surface is opened. It is configured as a rectangular box 5a.
A bottom portion 13 of the rectangular box 5a has an opening 14 at the entire length from the left side wall 11 to the right side wall substantially at the center in the longitudinal direction, and a cross-sectional groove shape from the left side wall 11 of the opening 14 to a position slightly before the right side wall 12. The passage portion 15 is formed integrally, and the passage portion 15 is formed in a downwardly inclined shape (in the direction of the arrow (a) in FIG. 6) so as to gradually become deeper from the left side wall 11 to the right side wall 12, and downstream thereof. At the end, a ball exit 16 is opened slightly in front of the right side wall. A partition wall 17 is provided on the inner bottom surface of the passage portion 15 from the substantially central portion to the downstream end portion. The partition wall 17 allows the pachinko balls to flow down toward the ball outlet 16 while being aligned in two rows. Ball passages 18a and 18b are formed. As shown in FIG. 6, the partition wall 17 is formed so as to gradually increase toward the downstream end, and the height at the downstream end is formed to be slightly lower than the diameter of the pachinko ball. In the embodiment described above, the ball passage of the passage portion 15 is
Although described as a row, it may be one row or three rows.

The bottom portion 13 of the rectangular box 5a is connected to the bottom portion 13 on the side of the rear side wall 9 across the opening 14 of the passage portion 15.
a is inclined downward (in the direction of the arrow (b) in FIG. 6) toward the opening 14, and the bottom surface 13 b of the front wall 10 is directed from the right wall 12 to the left wall 11 in a direction opposite to the inclination of the passage 15. (In the direction of arrow (c) in FIG. 6). Further, a switch means for detecting the amount of balls is provided at the downstream end of the bottom portion 13b. This switch means is provided with an opening 19 in the bottom portion 13b, and the ball amount detecting plate 20
Is pivotally supported by a shaft 21, and a microswitch 22 as a detection switch is provided below the ball quantity detection plate 20. The shaft 21 and the micro switch 2
2 is a holding piece 10 integrally provided at a lower portion of the front side wall 10.
It is prevented from falling off by a and 10b, and an E-ring or a screw is not required.

The left side wall 11 of the rectangular box 5a is provided with a discharge plate 23 for discharging static electricity charged on the pachinko balls in the ball tank. A ball leveler 24 is provided in the rectangular box 5a at a position of the ball outlet 16 of the passage portion 15. The ball leveler 24 is formed integrally with a cover portion 24a that covers the upper surface of the ball leveler 24 and a mounting portion 24b, and the mounting portion 24b is formed on the right side wall 1 of the rectangular box 5a.
2 and is suspended from the opening 14 of the bottom 13 so that the ball leveler 24 is disposed at a position of the ball outlet 16 of the passage 15.

The ball tank 5 integrally provided with the passage portion 15 as described above is fixed to the concave surface portion 4 of the mechanism plate 3 by a suitable means such as screwing with the rear side wall 9 applied thereto. Then, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6, the pachinko balls stored in the ball tank 5 are caused to flow out from the ball outlet 16 to the bent rail 7 by connecting the ball outlet 16 of the passage portion 15 and the bent rail 7. Pachinko ball dispensing device 6 via bending rail 7
Can be transported to

The ball tank 5 constructed as described above stores pachinko balls supplied from a supply path above a pachinko machine (not shown). Flow down while aligning part 15,
The ball is guided from the ball outlet 16 to the pachinko ball payout device 6 via the bent rail 7. At that time, the bottom portion 13 of the ball tank 5 has the bottom surface portion 13a on one side inclined toward the passage portion 15 with the opening 14 of the passage portion 15 therebetween, and the bottom surface portion 13b on the other side is inclined with the inclination of the passage portion 13. Because it is inclined in the opposite direction,
The pachinko ball stored in the ball tank 5 is circulated clockwise in the ball tank under the control of the flow toward the passage 15 and the flow in the direction opposite to the ball outlet 16 of the passage 15. In this way, the ball pressure of the pachinko balls stored in the ball tank 5 is prevented from being applied to the ball outlet 16 side of the passage portion 15, and as a result, the pachinko balls flowing down the passage portion 15 cling together near the ball outlet 16. The pachinko balls in the ball tank 5 can be smoothly and reliably guided to the bending rail 7 and can be sent to the pachinko ball dispensing device 6 without causing the ball to bite.

The passage portion 15 having a concave cross section is formed on the bottom 1.
3, the pachinko balls in the ball tank 5 can be moved to the passage portion 15 in a wide range, and as a result, the ball pressure in the passage portion 15 is reduced. As a result, smooth downward movement can be performed. Also, since the ball leveling 24 is provided on the right side wall 12 in the longitudinal direction of the ball tank 5 and provided inside the ball tank 5,
There is no need to secure a special installation space for the ball leveling 24, and the provision of the ball leveling 24 does not reduce the volume of the ball tank 5.

[0018]

Since the present invention has the above-described configuration,
The installation area of the ball tank with respect to the mechanism plate can be reduced, and the bottom of the ball tank slopes one bottom face sandwiching the opening of the passage section toward the passage section, and the other bottom face is opposite to the passage section. The ball is stored in the ball tank by controlling the flow of the pachinko balls stored in the ball tank into a flow toward the passage and a flow in the direction opposite to the ball outlet of the passage. The ball pressure of the pachinko ball can be effectively relaxed, and the pachinko ball in the ball tank can be reliably and smoothly guided to the pachinko ball dispensing device. In addition, by providing the ball leveling inside the ball tank, it is not necessary to secure a special installation space for the ball leveling, and by providing the ball leveling, the volume of the ball tank is not reduced. In addition, there is an advantage that an installation space for various components can be secured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mechanism plate provided with a ball tank according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an upper portion of a ball tank and a mechanism plate according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a ball tank according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a ball tank according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a curved tank connected to a ball tank according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 6;

[Description of Signs] 3 Mechanism plate 4 Concave surface part 5 Ball tank 5a Rectangular box 6 Pachinko ball dispensing device 7 Bending rail 9 Rear side wall 10 Front side wall 11 Left side wall 12 Right side wall 13 Bottom part 13a Bottom part 13b Bottom part 14 Opening 15 Passage Part 16 Ball outlet 23 Discharge plate 24 Ball leveling

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A passage having a groove shape in cross section from one side to an opposite side is provided at an approximate center of a longitudinal bottom portion of a rectangular box having an open upper surface, and the passage is provided in an inclined manner. The downstream end of the part is formed as a spherical outlet, the bottom part on one side sandwiching the passage part is inclined toward the passage part, and the bottom part on the other side is inclined in the direction opposite to the inclination of the passage part. A ball tank for a pachinko machine.