JPH1080562A - Pachinko island table - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pachinko island table of small width which can smoothly transfer pachinko balls to a ball lifting device after the amount of balls reserved in a preferential reserving tank is set in the same manner as in the case of the amount of balls reserved in a non-preferential reserving tank. SOLUTION: A ball lifting device 5 is installed at the center of a pachinko island table 1, and dominant and non-dominant reserving tanks 9, 10 are installed at the right and left of the ball lifting device 5, respectively. The reserving tanks 9, 10 have the same height for their inclined bottom faces so that the amounts of balls reserved are almost the same, and pachinko balls flowing out of the preferential reserving tank 9 are transferred on a conveyor device 60 to the non-preferential reserving tank 10, with the introducing gutter 72 of the ball lifting device 5 opposed to the reserving tank 10. Thus, the amount of balls reserved in the reserving tank 9 is set in the same manner as in the case of the amount of balls reserved in the reserving tank 10, so that the pachinko balls can be smoothly transferred to the ball lifting device 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pachinko island stand in which a plurality of pachinko machines are juxtaposed and a ball lifting device for lifting pachinko balls upward is provided substantially at the center thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in general, a pachinko island stand in which a plurality of pachinko machines are juxtaposed, pachinko balls are stored in priority and non-priority storage tanks arranged on the left and right of the lower space. The stored pachinko balls are lifted by the conveyor belt of the ball lifting device and supplied to the pachinko machine again. As a result, pachinko balls were used cyclically inside the pachinko island. Further, in such a pachinko island stand, there are two methods for installing the doffing and feeding device. One is a method of installing the ball lifting device so that the transport belt is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the pachinko island stand, and the other is a method of mounting the ball so that the transport belt is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the pachinko island stand. This is a method of installing a lifting device.

[0003]

However, each of the above two methods of setting up the fry-off device has advantages and disadvantages. In the method of installing the ball lifting device so that the conveyor belt is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the pachinko island stand, the pachinko balls in the priority storage tank are transferred to the non-priority storage tank, and collectively from the non-priority storage tank. The pachinko ball was sent to the ball feeding device. For this reason, the transfer of the pachinko balls from the non-priority storage tank to the ball-lifting device was performed smoothly, and the lifting efficiency of the pachinko balls in the ball-lifting device could be improved. However, in this method, in order to transfer the pachinko balls in the priority storage tank to the non-priority storage tank, the priority storage tank must take the outrail slope to a position higher than the non-priority storage tank. Without
The storage volume was smaller than the non-priority storage tank. On the other hand, in the method of installing the doffing and feeding device so that the conveyor belt is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the pachinko island stand, the pachinko balls stored in the left and right priority and non-priority storage tanks are directly doffed respectively. Since it can be guided to the device, the storage amount of the priority storage tank can be set in the same manner as the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank. However, in this method,
There is a problem that the pachinko balls sent from the left and right storage tanks collide with each other at the introduction gutter of the ball lifting device, so that smooth transfer is not performed, and the efficiency of lifting the pachinko balls in the ball discharging device is reduced. It was necessary to increase the width of the pachinko island stand due to the structural setting dimensions of the ball-lifting device. The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object thereof is to set a storage amount of a priority storage tank in the same manner as a storage amount of a non-priority storage tank, and then to set up a pachinko ball in a doffing and feeding device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a narrow pachinko island that can smoothly transfer the pachinko.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, specific means adopted by the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, in a pachinko island stand 1 in which a plurality of pachinko machines 2 are juxtaposed and a ball-lifting device 5 for feeding pachinko balls to the upper part is installed substantially in the center thereof. A preferential storage tank 9 for preferentially storing returned pachinko balls at one lower side of the lifting device 5 and a non-prioritized priority for returning pachinko balls at the lower other side of the ball lifting device 5. A non-priority storage tank 10 for storing, wherein the priority storage tank 9 and the non-priority storage tank 10 have the same inclined bottom surface height so that the storage amount is substantially the same, while the priority storage tank 9 Ball-feeding device (conveyor device 60)
The transfer is performed to the non-priority storage tank 10, and the introduction gutter 72 of the doffing and conveying device 5 faces the non-priority storage tank 10. With this configuration, the pachinko balls stored in the priority storage tank 9 flow down on the inclined bottom surface (the bottom plate 41), are led out to the conveyor device 60, and are stored in the non-priority storage device 60 by the conveyor device 60. Tank 1
It is pumped to zero. Then, the pachinko balls stored in the non-priority storage tank 10 are collectively sent into the doffing and feeding device 5 from the introduction gutter 72. Therefore, the non-priority storage tank 10
The transfer of the pachinko balls from the ball-feeding device 5 is performed smoothly, and the efficiency of pachinko ball-lifting in the ball-feeding device 5 can be improved. Further, in such a configuration, the priority storage tank 9 does not need to make the outrail (bottom plate) inclined at a position higher than the non-priority storage tank 10, so that the same storage as the non-priority storage tank 10 is performed. Quantity can be secured.

[0005] As shown in FIG. 10, when an abnormality detection sensor 70 for detecting an abnormality in the driving state of the conveyor apparatus 60 is provided, the conveyor apparatus
By immediately detecting the idling abnormality of 0 and clogging abnormality,
It is possible to reliably deal with the occurrence of an abnormality. Note that such an abnormality detection sensor 70 is provided with a screw 71a on the roller 71.
And a simple configuration for monitoring the rotational operation of the screw 71a accompanying the driving of the conveyor belt 65, so that the occurrence of an abnormality can be detected with a relatively inexpensive configuration. Note that a configuration may be adopted in which a metal piece is directly fixed to the back surface of the conveyor belt 65, and the occurrence of an abnormality in the conveyor device 60 is detected by detecting the metal piece with the abnormality detection sensor 70.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 11 to 13, a ball quantity sensor (sensors S3 and S5) for detecting the amount of pachinko balls stored in the non-priority storage tank 10, and the sensor S
3. The first drive control means for continuously driving the conveyor device 60 when the storage amount detected by 3 · S5 is smaller than the predetermined lower limit amount, and the storage amount detected by the sensors S3 · S5 is not less than the lower limit amount. And second drive control means for intermittently driving the conveyor device 60 by timer control when the amount is within a range smaller than a predetermined upper limit amount.
When it is determined that the sensor S3 is not ON and is smaller than the lower limit amount, the conveyor device 60 is continuously driven in step 4, and the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 is equal to or larger than the lower limit amount and smaller than the upper limit amount. When it is determined that the distance is within the range, the conveyor device 60 is controlled by the conveyor timer control subroutine of step 9 (FIGS. 12 and 13).
Is driven intermittently, and when the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 is determined to be greater than or equal to the upper limit assuming that the sensor S5 is ON in step 5, the conveyor device 60 is stopped. Thereby, the transfer of pachinko balls from the priority storage tank 9 to the non-priority storage tank 10 can be performed stepwise according to the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10.
The pachinko balls stored in the priority and non-priority storage tanks 9 and 10 can be more efficiently discharged by the ball discharging device 5. In addition, by driving the conveyor device 60 based on timer control, the conveyor device 60 can be operated efficiently. For this reason, the improvement of the durability of the conveyor device 60 and the improvement of the circulation efficiency of the balls can be caused, and the polishing of the balls of the priority storage tank 9 can be improved.

[0007] Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the ball return device 3 for returning the pachinko balls obtained by the player to the non-priority storage tank 10 'and the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10' have exceeded a certain value. An auxiliary tank 90 that can store return balls sometimes returned from the ball return device 3 and a non-priority storage tank 1
The upper gutters 81 and 92 are provided from the upper part of the upper gutter 0 'to the auxiliary tank 90 and guide return balls to the non-priority storage tank 10' and the auxiliary tank 90. A stopper device 110 that can prevent return balls from flowing down on the 92, an auxiliary ball lifting device (auxiliary conveyor device 120) that discharges pachinko balls stored in the auxiliary tank 90 to the non-priority storage tank 10 ', When the configuration is such that the stopper device 110 and the auxiliary conveyor device 120 are driven and controlled by the sensor S3, the returned balls are preferentially stored in the storage tanks 9 and 10 ', and the storage amount of the storage tanks 9 and 10' Is greater than or equal to a certain value, the sensor S3 is activated, and in conjunction with this, the stopper device 110 is driven to open. Therefore, the return ball can flow down on the upper gutter 81, and the return ball is stored in the auxiliary tank 90. Furthermore, the auxiliary tank 9
When the storage amount of 0 becomes equal to or more than a certain value, the sensor S6 provided in the auxiliary tank 90 is operated, and in conjunction with this, the auxiliary conveyor device 120 discharges the pachinko balls in the auxiliary tank 90 to the non-priority storage tank 10 '. I do. In other words, the returned balls returned from the ball return device 3 are first supplied to the storage tanks 9 and 10 ', and are supplied to the auxiliary tank 90 after the storage amount of the storage tanks 9 and 10' has reached a certain value or more. Therefore, the auxiliary tank 90 can be effectively used regardless of the lifting capability of the ball lifting device 5, and even if a large number of prize balls are returned in a short time, the ball can be returned smoothly. be able to. Note that the control of the auxiliary conveyor device 120 may be performed only by the sensor S3 provided in the non-priority storage tank 10 '.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a schematic configuration of the pachinko island stand 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pachinko island stand 1 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the pachinko island stand 1 has a rectangular parallelepiped frame structure, and a pachinko machine 2 is arranged at the center of the longitudinal side surface in a back-to-back direction. Further, on the pachinko island stand 1, a ball return device 3 for returning the pachinko balls obtained by the pachinko machine 2 is provided in a side of the pachinko machine 2 in one side of the pachinko machine storage unit 4 in the center thereof. However, the ball return device 3 is desirably provided on the side of the pachinko machine row in which the later-described non-priority storage tank 10 is built. This is because it is possible to reliably return the prize balls from the ball returning device 3 to the non-priority storage tank 10 which is almost not full in the normal business state. As shown in FIG. 2, the ball return device 3 is formed with a return port 3a, and the pachinko balls (prize balls) returned from the return port 3a are transported by a transport gutter 27 via a connection gutter 3b.・ It is to be guided on 28.
Further, the return port 3a of the ball return device 3 is opened and closed by an electric drive source (for example, a motor or a solenoid), not shown.

A doffing and feeding device storage unit 4 is formed substantially at the center of the pachinko island stand 1, and a doffing and feeding device 5 is stored and installed in the doffing and feeding device storage unit 4. The ball-lifting device 5 according to the present embodiment lifts pachinko balls by a belt-shaped transport belt 5a.
a is installed in the vertical direction (perpendicular direction) with respect to the pachinko island stand 1 to lift the pachinko balls upward. An upper tank 6 for temporarily storing the pumped pachinko balls is provided above the ball pumping device 5. From the upper tank 6, supply gutters (not shown) are provided on the left and right in an inclined shape so that pachinko balls flow down from the upper tank 6. This supply gutter is provided with a distribution chute (not shown) corresponding to each pachinko machine 2 so as to take in pachinko balls flowing down the supply gutter. The pachinko balls taken in by the distribution chute are counted by a counting device (not shown) provided at the lower part of the distribution chute, and then supplied to a prize ball tank (not shown) provided at an upper rear surface of the pachinko machine 2 to be played. Used as a prize ball paid out to the player by the player. FIG.
In the figure, a pachinko island lending machine 1 without a lima ball lending machine is shown, but when a lima ball lending machine is provided so as to be sandwiched between the pachinko machines 2, ball supply of a distribution chute is performed. 2 bellows
One is connected to the pachinko machine 2 and the other is connected to the pachinko ball lending machine.

On the other hand, used balls discharged from each pachinko machine 2 are discharged downward from a ball discharge nozzle (not shown) of an out-ball box 7 having a counting function. The ball discharge nozzles are arranged facing upper priority gutters 50 and 29, which will be described later, which are individually provided above the storage tanks 9 and 10. Thus, the pachinko balls discharged from the out carton box 7 are guided to the upper priority gutter 50 in the storage tank 9 or the upper priority gutter 29 in the storage tank 10. Since the storage tanks 9 and 10 are formed to have a length corresponding to three to four pachinko machines 2 (so-called one unit island length), the unit in which the storage tanks 9 and 10 are stored is provided. When a unit island is further connected to the outside of the island (in many cases, the unit island is connected), an out ball guiding rail 8 is provided at the lower center of the unit island connected to the outside, and the storage tanks 9 and 10 are provided. A used ball discharged from the pachinko machine 2 that has deviated from the upper position is received.
The downstream end of the out ball guide rail 8 is connected to a storage tank 9.
It communicates with relay boxes 51 and 37, which will be described later, which are individually provided outside the upstream portion of the unit 10.

In addition, storage tanks 9 and 10 are provided at the lower part of the pachinko island stand 1 and on both sides of the doffing and feeding device 5. The storage tanks 9 and 10 are formed larger as a larger amount of pachinko balls are stored. Specifically, the number of pachinko balls stored in the storage sections 9a and 10a of the storage tanks 9 and 10 is such that the pachinko machines 2 installed on the pachinko island stand 1 can sufficiently cope with various game states. (For example, 150,000 to 200,000 each).
The detailed structure of the storage tanks 9 and 10 will be described later.

The storage tanks 9 and 10 are connected to overflow boxes 11 for returning the pachinko balls overflowing from the upper tank 6 to the lower part. The overflow box 11 is a rectangular parallelepiped box provided so as to use the space adjacent to the doffing and feeding device 5, and the inside thereof is vertically partitioned by a branch partition 12. As shown in FIG. 7, the branch partition 12 is provided close to one side of the overflow box 11, and a plurality of flow-down plates 12 a are alternately provided in a step shape in a passage on one side communicating with the wide area thereof. The priority passage 11a is formed, and a plurality of flow-down plates 12a are alternately provided in steps on the other side of the passage communicating with the narrow region, thereby forming the box non-priority passage 11b. That is, the pachinko balls overflowing from the upper tank 6 are preferentially guided to the box priority passage 11a, and overflow the box non-priority passage 11b when the box priority passage 11a becomes full. The box priority passage 11a and the box non-priority passage 11b are respectively connected to the left storage tank 9 (hereinafter, may be referred to as the priority storage tank 9) and the right storage tank 10 (hereinafter, referred to as the priority storage tank 9) via upper plates 47 and 26 described later. , Non-priority storage tank 10). As described above, in the present embodiment, the overflow mechanism is formed in a box shape instead of the conventional flexible pipe, so that the generation of noise due to the returned pachinko balls can be extremely reduced, and not only the return function but also the return function is provided. There is also a storage function of storing a considerable amount of pachinko balls (in the present embodiment, about 20 to 30,000 pieces), so that a space that has not been conventionally used is effectively used as a storage space inside the pachinko island stand 1. Available.

On the inner side walls of the storage tanks 9 and 10, storage level detection sensors 13a to 13e and 14a to 14e for detecting the amount of stored balls are provided. According to the experiments performed by the applicants, it has been found that the change in the storage of the pachinko balls in the storage tanks 9 and 10 is caused by staying from the upstream side of each of the storage tanks 9 and 10. Therefore, the storage level detection sensors 13a to 13e and 14a to 1
4e is arranged substantially linearly in a horizontal direction, and the storage tank 9
・ Storage level detection sensor 13 arranged on each upstream side of 10
a · 14a detects the lower limit of the storage amount, while the storage level detection sensor 1 disposed on each downstream side of the storage tanks 9 and 10
The upper limit of the storage amount is detected at 3e and 14e. These detection sensors 13a to 13e and 14a
Based on the detection signals of .about.14e, a storage level indicator 15 attached to the outside of both ends of the pachinko island stand 1 notifies the amount of storage in the storage tanks 9 and 10.

Next, the detailed structure of the storage tanks 9 and 10 will be described. First, the non-priority storage tank 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. Non-priority storage tank 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes a storage section for pachinko balls by a rectangular parallelepiped tank base 17 installed in a lower space below a counter base 16 (see FIG. 1) provided at the lower end of the pachinko machine 2 as shown in FIG. 10a, the tank base 17
Are a bottom plate 18, a connection bottom plate 19, and a pair of left and right side wall plates 2.
0,21, a front wall plate 22, and a rear wall plate 23. The bottom plate 18 is inclined in a longitudinal direction from the rear wall plate 23 to the front wall plate 22 and in a width direction from the side wall plate 20 to the side wall plate 21. A connection bottom plate 19 is attached between the bottom plate 21 and the bottom plate 21 along the longitudinal inclination of the bottom plate 18. On the upper surface of the connection bottom plate 19, a lower priority gutter 24 and a ball guide path 25 are provided in two stages, upper and lower. The lower priority gutter 24 has a closed cross-sectional shape such that pachinko balls stored in the tank 10 do not enter, and a rear end portion thereof has a ball introduction port formed in the rear wall plate 23 as shown in FIG. 23b. On the other hand, the ball guide path 25 has an intake port 25a for taking in pachinko balls stored in the tank 10 at a central portion and a rear end portion thereof. In the present embodiment,
Inlet 2 at two places in the center and rear end of ball taxiway 25
5a is provided, but the invention is not limited to this. At least the central part to the rear end of the ball guide path 25, in other words, the storage tank 1
It is sufficient that the intake port 25a is provided in the middle or upstream part of the zero. Further, the front end of the lower priority gutter 24 is arranged at a position extending toward the front wall plate 22 from the front end of the ball guide path 25. The front end of the connection bottom plate 19 is connected to a ball outlet 22a formed in the front wall plate 22.

A T-shaped upper plate 26 is fixedly mounted on the upper part of the side wall plates 20 and 21 and the front wall plate 22 forming the front end of the tank base 17 so as to be inclined downward toward the rear end. . Cut portion 26a of upper plate 26 that forms a T shape
Has a through hole formed between the side wall plates 20 and 21 and the front wall plate 22. The front end of the upper plate 26 is the front wall plate 2.
2 is connected to a ball introduction port 22b formed in the hole 2. Further, flat plate-like conveying gutters 27 and 28 which are inclined downward to the rear end side are fixedly provided at predetermined intervals above the inner surfaces of the side wall plates 20 and 21. Each of the transport gutters 27 and 28 has its front end connected to the rear end of the upper plate 26, and each rear end arranged at a predetermined distance from the rear wall plate 23. In the center of the rear end of the upper plate 26, a plate 26
A diversion projection 26b is provided to branch the pachinko ball flowing down to the right and left transport gutters 27 and 28. Each transport gutter 27
An upper priority gutter 29 having a U-shaped cross section which is inclined downward at the rear end side is provided between the 28. This upper priority gutter 29
The front end is arranged on the rear end side of the upper plate 26, while the rear end is communicated with the relay box 37 through a ball outlet 23 a formed in the rear wall plate 23. In addition, when the pachinko ball is sent in from the ball introduction port 22b at the same time as the pachinko ball is sent from the ball return device 3, the through hole formed by the cut portion 26a is used. By dropping part of the ball as it is, clogging near the ball inlet 22b is prevented.

At the front end of the tank base 17 and below the upper plate 26, a pressure release plate 30 is fixed downwardly to the rear end. Depressurizing plate 30
In a case where a large amount of pachinko balls are stored in the tank 10, the pressure of the pachinko balls applied to the front end of the tank 10 (the lower end of the pachinko balls) is dispersed to cause the pachinko balls to flow smoothly. ing. This depressurizing plate 3
Partition plates 31 to 34 are provided between 0 and the bottom plate 18. The internal space partitioned by the partition plates 31 and 32 is communicated with a ball introduction port 22c formed in the front wall plate 22 so that a pachinko ball transfer path 35 (see FIG. 4 (solid arrow). The space between the outside of the partition plates 31 and 32 and the partition plates 33 and 34 is communicated with a ball introduction port 22d formed in the front wall plate 22 so that pachinko balls sent from the ball introduction ports 22d are provided. (A dashed line arrow in FIG. 4). Further, the transfer path 36 has a stay detection sensor 3 for detecting the state of pachinko balls staying in the transfer path 36.
8 are provided (see FIG. 1). A relay box 37 is provided on the outer surface of the rear wall plate 23 which is the rear end of the tank base 17. The relay box 37 is provided with a ball introduction port 37a for connecting the out guidance rail 8 and a pachinko ball from the out guidance rail 8 through the upper priority gutter 29 to the ball introduction port 23b of the rear wall plate 23. Are provided. The relay box 37 has a function of temporarily storing pachinko balls when pachinko balls are sent from the out guiding rail 8 to the upper priority gutter 29 when the lower priority gutter 24 is clogged.

Thus, the above-mentioned non-priority storage tank 10
Is a box non-priority passage 11b through the ball inlet 22b.
And a return ball from the ball return device 3. Then, the recirculation ball and the return ball are caused to flow down by the upper plate 26 and the conveying gutters 27 and 28, respectively, and are stored on the bottom plate 18 of the tank base 17, and are led out to the ball discharging device 5 from the ball outlet 22a. I do. The transfer gutter 2
When the flow rate of the pachinko balls flowing down 7.28 is large, a part of the pachinko balls is dropped directly on the bottom plate 18 from the gap between the transport gutters 27/28 and the upper priority gutter 29. Also, the pachinko balls that are drawn out from the ball outlet 22a after storage are drawn out through the pressure release plate 30 in the storage order,
There are two types: one that is taken in through the intake port 25a and is led out from the ball guiding path 25. As described above, in the present embodiment, by providing the ball guiding path 25 in which the intake port 25a is formed in the storage tank 10, the pachinko balls located in the upstream or downstream in the tank 10 can be evenly distributed to the ball-lifting device 5. Can be sent to For this reason, the pachinko balls do not stay in a fixed portion in the storage tank 10 for a long period of time, and as a result, rusting of the pachinko balls due to the stay can be prevented. Further, the non-priority storage tank 10 receives the used ball discharged from the ball discharge nozzle of the out ball box 7 through the upper priority gutter 29 (or the out guide rail 8). Then, the used ball is transferred to the downstream end of the tank 10 via the relay box 37 and the lower priority gutter 24, and is discharged to the ball discharging device 5 from the ball discharge port 22a.

Next, the priority storage tank 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. Like the non-priority storage tank 10, the priority storage tank 9 is installed in a lower space below the counter table 16, and as shown in FIG. 5, the storage section 9a for pachinko balls is formed by a rectangular parallelepiped tank base 40. Make up. The tank base 40 includes a bottom plate 41, a pair of left and right side wall plates 42 and 43, a front wall plate 44, and a rear wall plate 45.
And is formed from. The bottom plate 41 is provided to be inclined in the longitudinal direction from the rear wall plate 45 to the front wall plate 44, and the ball guide path 2 is provided on the bottom plate 41 near the side wall plate 43.
A ball guiding path 46 similar to that of No. 5 is provided. That is, the ball guiding path 46 is formed with an intake port 46a for taking the pachinko balls stored in the tank 9 in the middle of the flow path, thereby preventing the pachinko balls from rusting due to stagnation in the storage tank 9. It has become.

A T-shaped upper plate 47 is fixed to the upper portion of the side wall plates 42 and 43 and the front wall plate 44 forming the front end of the tank base 40 so as to be inclined downward toward the rear end. . Cut portion 47a of upper plate 47 that forms a T shape
Have through holes formed between the side wall plates 42 and 43 and the front wall plate 44. At the upper part of the inner surface of the side wall plates 42 and 43, flat conveying troughs 48 and 49 inclined downward to the rear end side, respectively.
(Only the transport gutter 49 is shown in FIG. 5) is fixed at a predetermined interval. The transport gutters 48 and 49 have respective front ends connected to the rear end of the upper plate 47, while the rear ends are arranged at predetermined intervals from the rear wall plate 45. In the center of the rear end of the upper plate 47, a plate 47
A shunt protrusion 47b is provided to branch the pachinko ball flowing down to the right and left transport gutters 48 and 49. Each transport gutter 48
An upper priority gutter 50 having a U-shaped cross section inclined downward to the rear end side is provided between 49. This upper priority gutter 50
The front end is disposed on the rear end side of the upper plate 47, while the rear end is communicated with the relay box 51 via a ball outlet 45 a formed in the rear wall plate 45. As shown in FIG. 6, a ball introduction port 51a for connecting the out guide rail 8 is formed in the relay box 51, and pachinko balls from the out guide rail 8 to the upper priority gutter 50 are inserted into the rear wall plate. Guide piece 51 for guiding to 45 ball introduction port 45b
b.51c is provided. Note that the relay box 51
When pachinko balls are sent from the out guide rail 8 to the upper priority gutter 50 when the lower priority gutter 24 is clogged,
It has the function of temporarily storing the pachinko balls.
The rear end portion of the lower priority gutter 52 which is disposed to be inclined downward toward the front end side in the tank 9 is connected to the ball introduction port 45 b of the rear wall plate 45. The lower priority gutter 52 is fixed to the inner surface of the side wall plate 43 at a height position between the upper priority gutter 50 and the ball guide path 46, and has a closed cross section for preventing pachinko balls stored in the tank 9 from entering. It has a shape.

At the front end of the tank base 40 and below the upper plate 47, partition plates 53 to 55 are provided. The space partitioned by these partition plates 53 to 55 forms a communication path between the ball outlet 44 a formed in the front wall plate 44 and the front end of the lower priority gutter 52. Also,
Below the front end of the tank base 40, a depressurizing plate 56 is fixed downwardly to the rear end side. The space below the depressurizing plate 56 is a ball guide formed in the front wall plate 44. A communication path between the outlet 44b and the front end of the ball guide path 46 is formed. A guide piece 57 for guiding the pachinko balls in the storage tank 9 to the ball outlet 44b is provided on the bottom plate 41 located at the corner between the front wall plate 44 and the side wall plate 42. The ball outlet 44b is provided with a stay detection sensor 58 for detecting the staying state of pachinko balls near the ball outlet 44b (see FIG. 1).

Thus, the priority storage tank 9 described above
The return balls are received from the box priority passage 11a via the upper plate 47. Then, the return ball is transferred to the transport
-It is made to flow down at 49 and stored on the bottom plate 41 of the tank base 40, and is led out from the ball outlet 44b. When the flow rate of the pachinko balls flowing down the transport gutters 48 and 49 is large, a part of the pachinko balls is transferred to the transport gutters 48 and 49 and the upper priority gutter 50.
Is dropped directly on the bottom plate 41 from the gap with the bottom plate 41. Pachinko balls led out from the ball outlet 44b after storage are drawn out through the depressurizing plate 56 in the order of storage, and are picked up at the inlet 46a and drawn out from the ball guide path 46. There are types. The priority storage tank 9 receives the used ball discharged from the ball discharge nozzle of the out ball box 7 through the upper priority gutter 50 (or the out guide rail 8). Then, the used ball is transferred to the relay box 51.
Then, it is transferred to the downstream end of the tank 9 via the lower priority gutter 52 and is led out from the ball outlet 44a.

Next, various components disposed between the priority storage tank 9 and the non-priority storage tank 10 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a connection gutter 59 connecting the ball outlet 44a on the tank 9 and the ball inlet 22c on the tank 10 is provided between the storage tanks 9 and 10, and a connection gutter 59 on the tank 9 side. Ball outlet 44b and ball inlet 2 on the tank 10 side
And a conveyer device 60 as a small doffing and feeding device for connecting the 2d and 2d. The conveyor device 60 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a transfer path 62 is supported on the substrate 61 in an inclined manner, and an introduction gutter 63 is connected to one lower side of the transfer path 62.
A discharge gutter 64 is connected to the other upper side. Introductory gutter 63
Is connected to the ball outlet 44b on the tank 9 side, and the terminal of the discharge gutter 64 is connected to the ball inlet 22d on the tank 10 side. In the transport path 62, as shown in FIG.
Conveyor belt 65 in which ball locking strips 65a are formed in parallel
Is pivotally provided, and the pivoting drive is performed by the substrate 61.
Pulley 6 fixed to the output shaft of a motor 66 provided at
This is performed by a V-belt 69 which is stretched between a roller 7 and a roller 68 for driving the conveyor belt 65. In addition, the conveyance path 62 is provided with an abnormality detection sensor 70 that detects when an abnormality occurs in driving the conveyor belt 65. The abnormality detection sensor 70 is connected to the conveyor belt 65.
The screw 71a fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the roller 71 driven by the rotation of the screw 71a is detected at the time of passing the screw 71a. Is detected as occurrence of an abnormality in the turning operation. Thereby, the idling abnormality and the clogging abnormality of the conveyor device 60 can be immediately detected, and the occurrence of the abnormality can be surely dealt with. Note that a configuration may be adopted in which a metal piece is directly fixed to the back surface of the conveyor belt 65, and the occurrence of an abnormality in the conveyor device 60 is detected by detecting the metal piece with the abnormality detection sensor 70.

The pachinko balls drawn out from the ball outlet 44a on the tank 9 flow down the connection gutter 59 and are transferred to the ball inlet 22c (transfer path 35) on the tank 10 side. On the other hand, the pachinko balls led out from the ball outlet 44b on the tank 9 side are sent into the conveying path 62 of the conveyor device 60 through the introduction gutter 63, and are discharged after being driven by the driving of the conveyor belt 65, and then discharged. It is transferred to the ball inlet 22d (transfer path 36) on the tank 10 side via 64. Thus, in the pachinko island stand 1 of the present embodiment, the storage tank 9
The configuration is such that the pachinko balls received in 10 are collectively led out to the ball lifting device 5 from the ball outlet 22a on the storage tank 10 side. The ball outlet 22 on the storage tank 10 side
As shown in FIG. 8, there is an introduction gutter 72 for introducing the pachinko balls discharged from the ball outlet 22a into the ball lifting device 5 as shown in FIG.
And a shutter device 73 for opening and closing the ball outlet 22a
And are provided. The shutter device 73 normally opens the ball outlet 22a to allow the pachinko balls to flow down to the ball-lifting device 5, while the ball device is opened when an abnormality such as a failure of the ball-feeding device 5 occurs and when the business is over. The exit 22a is closed to prevent the pachinko balls from flowing down to the doffing and feeding device 5.

Incidentally, the non-priority storage tank 10 according to the present embodiment has a structure near the ball outlet 22a (lower priority gutter 2).
4 and transfer paths 35 and 36), the ball outlet 22a
The priority of pachinko balls to be derived from is determined. Specifically, this pachinko ball derivation priority is the ball departure port 2
It is determined by the type of the pachinko ball led to 2a. The types of pachinko balls guided to the ball outlet 22a are the following four types. Pachinko balls stored on the bottom plate 18 of the non-priority storage tank 10, in other words, recirculation balls and return balls sent into the non-priority storage tank 10. In addition, this pachinko ball is
The pachinko ball is a combination of the one that is led out through the pressure release plate 30 in the storage order described above and the one that is taken in through the inlet 25a and led out from the ball guiding path 25. Pachinko balls flowing down the lower priority gutter 24 of the non-priority storage tank 10, in other words, used balls sent into the non-priority storage tank 10. Pachinko balls stored on the bottom plate 41 of the priority storage tank 9, in other words, recirculation balls sent into the priority storage tank 9. Pachinko balls flowing down the lower priority gutter 52 of the priority storage tank 9, in other words, used balls sent into the priority storage tank 9.

Of these, the pachinko balls that are most preferentially led out of the ball outlet 22a are pachinko balls that are guided directly to the ball outlet 22a through the tank 10.
The second is a pachinko ball that is guided directly to the transfer path 35 in the tank 10 through the tank 9. The third is a pachinko ball that is stored in the tank 9 and then guided to the transfer path 36 in the tank 10 via the conveyor device 60. Fourth, the ball outlet 2 is stored in the tank 10 via the pressure release plate 30 or the ball guide path 25.
It is a pachinko ball led to 2a. The number of pachinko balls to be pumped by the ball lifting device 5 in one minute is 15,000, and the conveyor device 60 is transported in one minute (transfer from the priority storage tank 9 to the non-priority storage tank 10). When the number of pachinko balls is 10,000, the number of pachinko balls to be pumped per minute is approximately 1,000 for pachinko balls, 2,000 for pachinko balls,
10,000 pachinko balls, 200 pachinko balls
0. That is, in the pachinko island stand 1 of the present embodiment, about 4000 used balls (and pachinko balls) discharged from the plurality of pachinko machines 2 arranged in one minute in one minute.
With the highest priority, then about 10,000 return balls (pachinko balls) transferred from the priority storage tank 9 to the non-priority storage tank 10 in one minute, and finally the non-priority storage tank About 1,000 remaining balls are returned from the recirculation balls and return balls (pachinko balls) stored in 10.

Next, the drive control of the conveyor device 60 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In the following description, the storage level detection sensors 14a and 14e are referred to as sensors S3 and S5, respectively, and the retention detection sensors 38 and 58 are referred to as sensors S7 and S5, respectively.
It is called S8. First, in the conveyor control shown in FIG. 11, the sensor S7 is OFF (the pachinko balls are not staying in the transfer path 36) and the sensor S8 is ON (the pachinko balls are stored in the priority storage tank 9). ) Is determined (step 1). When it is determined in step 1 that the sensor S7 is ON (pachinko balls are staying in the transfer path 36) or the sensor S8 is OFF (no pachinko balls are stored in the priority storage tank 9). Stops the conveyor device 60 (step 2) and returns to the main flow (not shown). On the other hand, if it is determined in step 1 that the sensor S7 is OFF and the sensor S8 is ON (the pachinko balls are not staying in the transfer path 36 and the pachinko balls are stored in the priority storage tank 9), then the next sensor It is determined whether or not S3 is ON, in other words, whether or not the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 is equal to or higher than the level of the sensor S3 (hereinafter referred to as a lower limit amount) (step 3). If it is determined in step 3 that the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 is smaller than the lower limit, the conveyor device 6
0 is started (step 4), and the process returns to the main flow. The driving of the conveyor device 60 in step 4 is as follows.
It is assumed that there is no conveyor abnormal signal,
If there is a conveyor abnormality signal, the driving of the conveyor device 60 is stopped, and the power of the conveyor device 60 is turned off to return to the main flow.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 3 that the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 is equal to or larger than the lower limit amount, then it is determined whether or not the sensor S5 is ON, in other words, the storage of the non-priority storage tank 10 It is determined whether the amount is equal to or higher than the level of the sensor S5 (hereinafter, referred to as an upper limit amount) (step 5). If it is determined in step 5 that the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 is equal to or larger than the upper limit amount, the process proceeds to step 2 as it is. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 5 that the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 is smaller than the upper limit, it is next determined whether or not there is a conveyor abnormality signal (step 6). If it is determined in step 6 that there is a conveyor abnormality signal, the conveyor device 60 is stopped, and the occurrence of the abnormality is reported to an outside (a hall computer, a calling lamp, etc.) (step 7), and then the power of the conveyor device 60 is turned off. (Step 8), and returns to the main flow. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 6 that there is no conveyor abnormal signal, a conveyor timer control is performed (step 9).

The conveyor timer control in step 9 is performed based on the flowcharts in FIGS. First, in FIG. 12, after the reset (step 10) and the start (step 11) of the first timer are sequentially performed, it is determined whether or not there is an abnormal conveyor signal (step 12). If it is determined in step 12 that there is a conveyor abnormal signal, the process proceeds to step 7 in FIG. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 12 that there is no conveyor abnormal signal, then the pachinko balls are not staying in the transfer path 36 and the pachinko balls are stored in the priority storage tank 9 (the sensor S7 is OFF and the sensor S8 Is ON) (step 13). If it is determined in step 13 that the pachinko balls are staying in the transfer path 36 or that no pachinko balls are stored in the priority storage tank 9, the process proceeds to step 2. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 13 that the pachinko balls are not staying in the transfer path 36 and that the pachinko balls are stored in the priority storage tank 9, then the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 is equal to or more than the upper limit amount. (Sensor S5
Is turned on) (step 14).
If it is determined in step 14 that the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 is equal to or more than the upper limit amount, the process proceeds to step 2. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 14 that the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 is smaller than the upper limit amount, the conveyor device 60 is started (step 15), and thereafter, whether or not two minutes has elapsed as the drive time of the conveyor device 60 is determined. Is determined (step 16). If it is determined in step 16 that two minutes have not elapsed, the process proceeds to step 12.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 16 that two minutes have elapsed, the second timer is reset (step 17) and started (step 1) as shown in FIG.
After sequentially performing 8), it is determined whether or not there is a conveyor abnormal signal (step 19). If it is determined in step 19 that there is a conveyor abnormal signal, the process proceeds to step 7 in FIG. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 19 that there is no conveyor abnormal signal, then the pachinko balls are not staying in the transfer path 36 and the pachinko balls are stored in the priority storage tank 9 (the sensor S7 is OFF and the sensor S8 Is ON) (step 20). If it is determined in step 20 that the pachinko balls are staying in the transfer path 36 or that no pachinko balls are stored in the priority storage tank 9, the process proceeds to step 2. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 20 that the pachinko balls are not staying in the transfer path 36 and that the pachinko balls are stored in the priority storage tank 9, then the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 becomes smaller than the lower limit amount. It is determined whether it is small (the sensor S3 is OFF) (step 21). If it is determined in step 21 that the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 is smaller than the lower limit amount, the process proceeds to step 4. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 21 that the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 is equal to or larger than the lower limit amount, the conveyor device 60 is stopped (step 22), and then four minutes have elapsed since the stop of the conveyor device 60. Is determined (step 23). If it is determined in step 23 that 4 minutes have not elapsed, the process proceeds to step 19 described above. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 23 that four minutes have elapsed, the process returns to the main flow.

As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 14, in the process of processing the above-described conveyor abnormality signal, first, it is determined whether or not a predetermined stable time has elapsed since the start of the conveyor device 60 (step 31). . And
If it is determined in step 31 that the stable time has elapsed, it is determined whether or not the roller 71 has fallen below a specified number of revolutions by detecting the abnormality detection sensor 70 (step 32). If it is determined in step 32 that the roller 71 has not fallen below the specified rotation speed, the process returns to the main flow as it is,
If it is determined that the roller 71 has fallen below the specified number of revolutions, the control returns to the main flow after turning on the conveyor abnormality signal (step 33). In addition, the conveyor belt 65
If a metal piece is directly fixed on the back surface of the conveyor belt and the metal piece is detected by the abnormality detection sensor 70, it is determined in step 32 whether the conveyor belt 65 has fallen below a specified number of revolutions.

Although the configuration of the pachinko island stand 1 according to the embodiment has been described above, according to the present embodiment, the doffing and feeding device 5 is installed at the center of the pachinko island stand 1 Priority and non-priority storage tanks 9 on the left and right of 5
-It is configured to install 10. The storage tanks 9 and 10 have the same slanted bottom height so that the storage amounts thereof are substantially the same, while the pachinko balls flowing out of the priority storage tank 9 are conveyed to the non-priority storage tanks 10 by the conveyor device 60. And the introduction gutter 72 of the doffing and conveying device 5
In the non-priority storage tank 10.
With this configuration, the pachinko balls stored in the priority storage tank 9 flow down on the inclined bottom surface (the bottom plate 41), are led out to the conveyor device 60, and are then lifted by the conveyor device 60 to the non-priority storage tank 10. Sent. Then, the pachinko balls stored in the non-priority storage tank 10 are introduced into the introduction gutter 72.
Are sent to the doffing and feeding device 5 in a lump. For this reason,
The transfer of the pachinko balls from the non-priority storage tank 10 to the ball-lifting device 5 is performed smoothly, and the lifting efficiency of the pachinko balls in the ball-lifting device 5 can be improved. Further, in such a configuration, the priority storage tank 9 does not need to take the inclination of the outrail at a position higher than the non-priority storage tank 10, so that the same storage amount as the non-priority storage tank 10 is secured. can do.

In this embodiment, the conveyor device 60
Is provided with an abnormality detection sensor 70 for detecting when an abnormality occurs in the driving state. Therefore, by immediately detecting the idling abnormality and the clogging abnormality of the conveyor device 60, it is possible to reliably cope with the occurrence of the abnormality. In addition,
Such an abnormality detection sensor 70 is provided with a screw 71a on the driven roller 71 and has a simple configuration for monitoring the rotation operation of the screw 71a accompanying the driving of the conveyor belt 65. An abnormality can be detected.

In this embodiment, the various sensors S3
ON / OFF of S5 / S7 / S8 (non-priority storage tank 1
The drive control of the conveyor device 60 is performed based on the presence / absence of the conveyor abnormality signal) and the presence or absence of the conveyor abnormality signal. If there is a conveyor abnormality signal, the conveyor device 60 is stopped regardless of the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10. On the other hand, when there is no conveyor abnormality signal, the non-priority storage tank 1
When the storage amount of 0 is smaller than the lower limit, the conveyor device 6
0 is continuously driven, and when the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 is equal to or more than the upper limit amount, the conveyor device 60 is stopped.
When the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 is equal to or larger than the lower limit and is smaller than the upper limit, the conveyor device 60 is intermittently driven by the first and second timer controls. Thereby, the transfer of the pachinko balls from the priority storage tank 9 to the non-priority storage tank 10 can be performed stepwise according to the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10, so that the priority and non-priority storage tanks 9 and 10 are transferred. The pachinko balls stored in the ball feeding device 5 can be more efficiently fried. In addition, by driving the conveyor device 60 based on timer control, the conveyor device 60 can be operated efficiently. For this reason, the conveyor device 60
And the ball circulation efficiency can be improved, and the polishing of the balls in the priority storage tank 9 can be improved.

In the pachinko island stand 1 of the above embodiment (first embodiment), the tanks for storing pachinko balls are two storage tanks 9 and 10 of priority and non-priority. It does not do. Hereinafter, another configuration will be described as a second embodiment with reference to FIGS. 15 to 22. The pachinko island stand 80 of the second embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a pachinko machine 2 is provided at the right end of the pachinko island stand 1, and an auxiliary tank 90 and an auxiliary conveyor device 1 are provided below the extended portion of the pachinko machine 2.
20 are arranged. For this reason, in the following description,
The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and only the configuration different from the first embodiment will be described.

First, the non-priority storage tank 10 'of the second embodiment, which is partially different in configuration from that of the first embodiment.
Will be described. The non-priority storage tank 10 'is not provided with the upper priority gutter 29, but is provided with the lower priority gutter 24 and the ball guide path 25 on the inclined bottom surface in two vertical stages. In the second embodiment, the upper priority gutter 29
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a configuration in which the upper priority gutter 29 is provided may be employed. A connection gutter 102 described later is connected to the upstream end of the lower priority gutter 24. As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, an upper gutter 81 is provided at the upper part of the non-priority storage tank 10 'so as to be inclined downward from the front end to the rear end. The upper gutter 81 is formed by attaching a plate-like member having an open center to the inside of the upper portion of the tank 10 '.
Is connected. On the other hand, the downstream end of the upper gutter 81 is formed as a ball merging portion 81a for merging the pachinko balls flowing down the left and right upper gutters 81 and collecting them at the center, and at the downstream end of the ball merging portion 81a, Pachinko balls in tank 1
A ball lead-out port 82 for guiding the outside of 0 'is provided. The ball outlet 82 is connected to a connection upper gutter 83 that is obliquely inserted between the ball outlet 82 and a later-described ball inlet 94 formed in the auxiliary tank 90. A stopper device 110 is provided at the downstream end side of the connection upper gutter 83. As shown in FIG. 18, the stopper device 110 includes a motor 111 that can be rotated forward and backward, a rotating shaft 112 that is rotated by the motor 111, a stopper piece 113 fixed to the rotating shaft 112, It is composed of Then, as shown in FIG. 19A, when the stopper piece 113 is positioned above (hereinafter, this is referred to as OF)
In the F state, the pachinko balls on the connection upper gutter 83 are allowed to flow as they are to the downstream side, while the motor 111 rotates and the tip of the stopper piece 113 (the tip portion is , Corrugated) is the connection upper gutter 8
3 (hereinafter referred to as the ON state), the flow of pachinko balls on the connection upper gutter 83 is blocked.

The above-mentioned non-priority storage tank 1
0 'receives the return ball from the box non-priority passage 11b and the return ball from the ball return device 3 as in the non-priority storage tank 10. Then, the recirculation ball and the return ball are connected to the upper plate 26 and the upper gutter 81, respectively.
To flow out from the ball outlet 82 to the connection upper gutter 83. The pachinko ball that has flowed down on the connection upper gutter 83 passes through the ball inlet 94 and is introduced into the auxiliary tank 90 with the stopper device 110 turned off. The non-priority storage tank 10 'directly receives the used balls discharged from the pachinko machine 2 juxtaposed above the tank 10' and stores them on the inclined bottom surface. Then, the stored pachinko balls flow down on the inclined bottom surface and are led out to the ball discharging device 5 from the ball outlet 22a. After storage, the ball outlet 2
Like the non-priority storage tank 10, the pachinko balls derived from 2a are derived through the pressure release plate 30 in the storage order, and flow down the ball guide path 25 after being taken from the intake port 25a. And one derived from the above. In addition, the non-priority storage tank 10 'is provided with the lower priority gutter 2
The pachinko ball is received from the connection gutter 102 connected to the upstream end of the pachinko ball 4, and the pachinko ball is preferentially led out to the ball discharging device 5 from the ball outlet 22a.

Next, the auxiliary tank 90 provided on one side of the non-priority storage tank 10 'will be described. The auxiliary tank 90 is formed in the shape of a large rectangular parallelepiped with an open top like the non-priority storage tank 10 ′, and has an inclined bottom surface 91 inclined downward toward the front end side of the tank 90 at the lower part thereof.
Is formed, and a predetermined amount (for example, 100,000) of balls can be stored. In the upper part of the auxiliary tank 90,
Upper gutter 92 inclined downward toward the rear end of the tank 90
Is provided. The upper gutter 92 is provided with the upper gutter 81.
It has substantially the same structure as that described above, and is formed on the inner surface of the auxiliary tank 90. On the upstream side of the upper gutter 92, a diversion projection 93 is provided, and the pachinko balls received from the ball introduction port 94 formed in the front end surface of the auxiliary tank 90 are split into the left and right upper gutters 92 to flow down. It has become.
On the other hand, the downstream side of the upper gutter 92 communicates with the front of the rear end surface of the auxiliary tank 90. As a result, the upper gutter 92 is connected to the upper gutter 81 on the storage tank 10 ′ side via the connection upper gutter 83.
The pachinko balls that flow downward are dropped on the inclined bottom surface 91 at the downstream side (rear end surface) of the auxiliary tank 90.

On the inclined bottom surface 91, the ball guide path 2
5, a ball guide path 95 similar to that of FIG. 5 is provided, and the front end of the ball guide path 95 faces a ball outlet 96 formed in the front end face of the auxiliary tank 90. At the front end side of the auxiliary tank 90, there is provided a pressure release plate 97 for smoothly drawing out the pachinko balls from the ball outlet 96, and the ball outlet 96 is provided near the ball outlet 96. Is provided with a stay detection sensor 98 for detecting the stay state of the pachinko balls. The auxiliary tank 90 is provided with an out-ball guide rail 99 having a U-shaped cross section at a position above the upper gutter 81. The out-ball guide rail 99 is disposed to be inclined downward toward the front end of the auxiliary tank 90, and has an upstream end connected to an out-ball guide rail 100 connected to the outside of the auxiliary tank 90. On the other hand, the downstream end of the out-ball guide rail 99 is connected to a ball outlet 101 formed in the front end surface of the auxiliary tank 90, and the ball outlet 101 is connected to the auxiliary tank 90 and the non-priority storage tank 10. 'Is connected to the connecting gutter 102 disposed between
It communicates with the lower priority gutter 24 on the 0 'side.

However, the above-described auxiliary tank 90 is provided with the ball introduction port 94 depending on the OFF state of the stopper device 110.
After flowing down the pachinko balls received from the upper trough 92, the pachinko balls are dropped on the inclined bottom surface 91 formed at the lower part of the auxiliary tank 90 and stored on the bottom surface 91. And the bottom surface 91
The pachinko balls stored above flow down on the bottom surface 91 and are led out from the ball outlet 96. In addition, the auxiliary tank 90
The pachinko ball transferred from the out ball guiding rail 100 side is received by the out guiding rail 99, and is received by the ball outlet 1
01 to the connecting gutter 102.

Next, the auxiliary conveyor device 120 disposed between the non-priority storage tank 10 'and the auxiliary tank 90 will be described. The auxiliary conveyor device 120 is made up of substantially the same components as the conveyor device 60. For this reason, in the following description, the same components as those of the conveyor device 60 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. Auxiliary conveyor device 1
20, the introduction gutter 63 is connected to the ball outlet 96 on the auxiliary tank 90 side, and the discharge gutter 64 is connected to the box 1 as shown in FIG.
21. The box body 121 is arranged at the middle position of the connection gutter 102 and discharges the pachinko balls from the discharge gutter 64 to the connection gutter 102 from the ball discharge port 121a. In addition, the box 121 is provided with a stay detection sensor 122 for detecting the staying state of the pachinko balls in the box 121. Thus, the auxiliary conveyor device 120 is configured to lift the pachinko balls received from the introduction gutter 63 through the transport path 62 and to lead the pachinko balls from the discharge gutter 64 to the connection gutter 102 via the box 121. Note that, similarly to the conveyor device 60, the auxiliary conveyor device 120 is provided with an abnormality detection sensor 70 that immediately detects an idling abnormality and a clogging abnormality of the auxiliary conveyor device 120.

Next, drive control of the stopper device 110 and the auxiliary conveyor device 120 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In the following description, the storage level detection sensor 14a is referred to as a sensor S3, and the retention detection sensors 98 and 122 are referred to as sensors S6 and S9, respectively. First, in the drive control of the stopper device 110 shown in FIG. 21, it is determined whether or not the sensor S3 is turned on, in other words, whether or not the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 'is equal to or larger than the lower limit amount (step 4).
1). If it is determined in step 41 that the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 ′ is smaller than the lower limit amount, the stopper device 110 is turned on to close the tip of the stopper piece 113 so as to abut the connection upper gutter 83, and to connect. Upper gutter 83
The downflow of the pachinko balls is stopped (step 42).
As a result, pachinko balls flowing down the upper gutter 81 of the non-priority storage tank 10 'are prevented from being transferred to the auxiliary tank 90, and the tank 10' is inclined from the opening formed between the left and right upper gutters 81. It is dropped on the bottom surface and stored in the tank 10 'as it is. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 41 that the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 ′ is equal to or larger than the lower limit amount, the stopper device 110 is turned off so that the stopper piece 113 is positioned upward so that the stopper piece 113 is positioned upward.
Is opened, and the pachinko balls flow down on the connection upper gutter 83 (step 43). Thereby, the non-priority storage tank 1
The pachinko balls flowing down the upper gutter 81 of 0 '
4 to the auxiliary tank 90.

Next, the auxiliary conveyor device 12 shown in FIG.
In the drive control of 0 (conveyer 2 in FIG. 22), the sensor S3 is OFF (the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 'is smaller than the lower limit amount) and the sensor S6
Is ON (the pachinko balls are stored in the auxiliary tank 90) and the sensor S9 is OFF (the pachinko balls are not staying in the box 121) (step 51). In step 51, the sensor S3 is ON (the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 'is equal to or more than the lower limit) or the sensor S6 is OFF (the auxiliary tank 90).
If it is determined that no pachinko balls are stored in the box 121 or the sensor S9 is ON (the pachinko balls are staying in the box 121), the auxiliary conveyor device 120 is stopped (step 52), Return to the main flow. On the other hand, at step 51, the sensor S3 is turned off, the sensor S6 is turned on, and the sensor S9 is turned off (the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank 10 'is smaller than the lower limit and
If it is determined that the pachinko balls are stored at 0 and the pachinko balls are not staying in the box 121), it is next determined whether there is a conveyor abnormal signal (step 53). If it is determined in step 53 that there is a conveyor abnormality signal, the auxiliary conveyor device 120 is stopped, and the occurrence of an abnormality is reported to the outside (a hall computer, a calling lamp, etc.) (step 54).
Is turned off (step 55), and the process returns to the main flow. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 53 that there is no conveyor abnormality signal, the auxiliary conveyor device 120 is started (step 56), and the process returns to the main flow.

As described above, the pachinko island stand 80 of the second embodiment includes the ball return device 3 for returning the pachinko balls obtained by the player to the non-priority storage tank 10 ', and the storage of the non-priority storage tank 10'. Auxiliary tank 90 that can store return balls returned from ball return device 3 when the amount has reached a certain value or more.
And the auxiliary tank 90 from the upper part of the non-priority storage tank 10 '.
And return balls to the non-priority storage tank 10 '
And upper gutters 81 and 92 provided in the middle of the upper gutters 81 and 92 and leading to the auxiliary tank 90.
2. Stopper device 110 that can prevent the return ball from flowing down
And an auxiliary ball lifting device (auxiliary conveyor device 120) for discharging pachinko balls stored in the auxiliary tank 90 to the non-priority storage tank 10 '. The stopper device 110 and the auxiliary conveyor device 120 are controlled by the sensor S3. Drive control is provided. With this configuration, the returned balls are preferentially stored in the storage tanks 9 and 10 ′, and are stored in the storage tanks 9 and 10 ′.
When the storage amount of 10 'becomes equal to or more than a predetermined value, the sensor S3 is activated, and in conjunction with this, the stopper device 110 is driven to open. Therefore, the return ball can flow down on the upper gutter 81, and the return ball is stored in the auxiliary tank 90. Further, when the storage amount of the auxiliary tank 90 becomes equal to or more than a certain value, a sensor S6 provided in the auxiliary tank 90 is operated, and in conjunction with this, the auxiliary conveyor device 120 causes the pachinko balls in the auxiliary tank 90 to store the pachinko balls in the non-priority storage tank 10. ′. In other words, the returned balls returned from the ball return device 3 are first supplied to the storage tanks 9 and 10 ', and are supplied to the auxiliary tank 90 after the storage amount of the storage tanks 9 and 10' has reached a certain value or more. Therefore, the auxiliary tank 90 can be effectively used regardless of the lifting capability of the ball lifting device 5, and even if a large number of prize balls are returned in a short time, the ball can be returned smoothly. be able to.

The control of the auxiliary conveyor device 120 is performed by the sensor S provided in the non-priority storage tank 10 '.
The control may be performed only by three. For example, non-priority storage tank 1
When 0 'is equal to or less than the fixed storage amount (S3), the auxiliary conveyor device 120 is drive-controlled based on the detection signal of the sensor S3 to convey the balls in the auxiliary tank 90 to the storage tank 10' side. According to this configuration, the storage tank 10 '
The balls on the auxiliary tank 90 side are sequentially conveyed to the storage tank 10 ′ in accordance with the storage amount in the storage tank 10, so that the storage in the auxiliary tank 90 has a margin as much as possible. This can be adequately dealt with even when there is. In this configuration, the stopper device 11
0 and the auxiliary conveyor device 120 are controlled collectively by the sensor S3, so that useless ball flow such as only the balls in the auxiliary tank 90 being preferentially circulated can be avoided. Further, the installation position of the sensor S3 in the storage tank 10 'is determined by the storage tank 1 when the auxiliary tank 90 is full.
0 'is full, and at that point, the doffing and conveying device 3 is set at a position where the closing is performed.

The following can be grasped from the embodiments described above. (1) The auxiliary tank is also provided with a ball amount sensor for detecting that the storage amount has reached a certain amount, and the auxiliary ball lifting and feeding is performed by the ball amount sensor and the ball amount sensor provided in the non-priority storage tank. It is characterized in that the device is driven and controlled.
With this configuration, it is possible to efficiently drive the auxiliary ball lifting device without causing the auxiliary ball lifting device to idle.

[0046]

As is apparent from the above description, in the structure of the present invention, a plurality of pachinko machines are juxtaposed, and a ball lifting device for lifting pachinko balls upward at substantially the center thereof. At the installed pachinko island stand, a priority storage tank that preferentially stores the returned pachinko balls on one lower side of the ball-lifting device, and is returned on the other lower side of the ball-lifting device A non-priority storage tank for storing pachinko balls in a non-priority manner, wherein the priority storage tank and the non-priority storage tank have the same inclined bottom surface height so that their storage amounts are substantially the same. On the other hand, the pachinko balls flowing out of the priority storage tank are transferred to the non-priority storage tank by a small ball lifting device, and the introduction gutter of the ball discharging device faces the non-priority storage tank. I do. With this configuration, the pachinko balls stored in the priority storage tank flow down on the inclined bottom surface and are led out to the small ball discharging device, and then the non-priority storage tank is moved by the small ball discharging device. Will be shipped to Then, the pachinko balls stored in the non-priority storage tank are sent to the doffing and feeding device all at once from the introduction gutter. For this reason, the transfer of the pachinko balls from the non-priority storage tank to the ball discharging device is performed smoothly, and the lifting efficiency of the pachinko balls in the ball discharging device can be improved. Also, in such a configuration, the priority storage tank does not need to take the outrail incline at a position higher than the non-priority storage tank,
A storage amount similar to that of the non-priority storage tank can be secured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a pachinko island stand according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the doffing apparatus and priority and non-priority storage tanks.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a non-priority storage tank.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing a front end and a rear end of the non-priority storage tank.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a priority storage tank.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view showing a front end and a rear end of the priority storage tank.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a connection gutter and a conveyor device provided between a priority storage tank and a non-priority storage tank.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a connection gutter and a conveyor device disposed between a priority storage tank and a non-priority storage tank.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a conveyor device.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view showing a conveyor belt and an abnormality detection sensor of the conveyor device.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a processing process of conveyor control.

FIG. 12 is a part of a flowchart showing a processing process of conveyor timer control.

FIG. 13 is a part of a flowchart showing a processing process of conveyor timer control.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a process for processing a conveyor abnormal signal.

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a pachinko island stand of a second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a non-priority storage tank and an auxiliary tank according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a top view showing a non-priority storage tank and an auxiliary tank according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a connection upper gutter provided between the non-priority storage tank and the auxiliary tank of the second embodiment and a stopper device provided on the connection upper gutter.

FIGS. 19A and 19B are explanatory views showing a pachinko ball stopping operation by the stopper device of the second embodiment.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a pachinko ball transfer operation by the auxiliary conveyor device of the second embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a drive control process of the stopper device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a drive control process of the auxiliary conveyor device according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pachinko island stand 2 Pachinko machine 3 Ball return device 5 Ball transfer device 7 Out ball box 8 Out ball guidance rail 9 Priority storage tank 10.10 'Non-priority storage tank 11 Overflow box 16 Counter stand 17 Tank base 24 Lower priority Gutter 25 Ball taxiway 25a Intake port 27/28 Transport gutter 29 Upper priority gutter 35/36 Transfer path 37 Relay box 38 Stagnation detection sensor 40 Tank base 46 Ball taxiway 46a Intake port 48/49 Transport gutter 50 Upper priority Gutter 51 Relay box 52 Lower priority gutter 58 Stay detection sensor 59 Connection gutter 60 Conveyor device 62 Transport path 63 Introducing gutter 64 Discharge gutter 65 Conveyor belt 70 Abnormality detection sensor 71 Roller 71a Screw 72 Introducing gutter 73 Shutter device 80 Pachinko island stand 81 Upper part Gutter 83 Connection upper gutter 90 Auxiliary tank 2 the upper trough 98 residence detecting sensor 99, 100 out ball guide rail 102 connected trough 110 stopper 120 auxiliary conveyor device 121 box body 122 residence sensor

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pachinko island stand in which a plurality of pachinko machines are juxtaposed and a ball lifting device for lifting pachinko balls upward is provided at a substantially central portion thereof. A priority storage tank that preferentially stores the returned pachinko balls, and a non-priority storage tank that preferentially stores the returned pachinko balls at the lower other side of the ball discharging device, The priority storage tank and the non-priority storage tank have the same slanted bottom height so that the storage amount is substantially the same, while the pachinko balls flowing out of the priority storage tank are small ball hoisting devices. A pachinko island stand, wherein the pachinko machine is transferred to the non-priority storage tank and the introduction gutter of the doffing and conveying device faces the non-priority storage tank. 2. The pachinko island stand according to claim 1, wherein the small doffing and feeding apparatus is provided with an abnormality detection sensor for detecting an abnormality in a driving state thereof. A ball sensor for detecting a storage amount of pachinko balls in the non-priority storage tank; and a small ball lifting device when the storage amount detected by the ball sensor is smaller than a predetermined lower limit. A first drive control means for continuously driving the small ball hoisting device when the storage amount detected by the ball amount sensor is equal to or larger than the lower limit amount and smaller than a predetermined upper limit amount. The pachinko island stand according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: second drive control means for intermittently driving by control. 4. A ball return device for returning a pachinko ball obtained by a player to the non-priority storage tank, and returned from the ball return device when the storage amount of the non-priority storage tank becomes equal to or more than a certain value. An auxiliary tank capable of storing return balls; an upper gutter provided from the upper part of the non-priority storage tank to the auxiliary tank and guiding return balls to the non-priority storage tank and the auxiliary tank; and an intermediate gutter provided in the upper gutter. And a stopper device that can prevent the return balls from flowing down on the upper gutter, and an auxiliary ball lifting device that lifts the pachinko balls stored in the auxiliary tank to the non-priority storage tank, and the ball amount sensor 4. The drive control of the stopper device and the auxiliary ball lifting device.
Pachinko island stand described.