JPH11235458A - Game machine setting island - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cause discharged balls to smoothly flow down so as not to stay on a ball recovery trough when balls in a ball storage tank are discharged from a ball discharge port onto the ball recovery trough by a ball discharge device. SOLUTION: In a game machine setting island including a ball recovery trough 13a for recovering balls discharged from a game machine, a ball lifting device for lifting recovered balls, and an upper tank for storing balls lifted by the ball lifting device at a position above the game machine, a ball storage tank 10a is provided at the bottom in the game machine setting island. A ball discharge device 61a is provided in the tank 10a to discharge the balls in the tank 10a, and an auxiliary ball receiving member 62 whose bottom surface is inclined downward toward the flowing direction of the ball recovery trough 13a is provided between a ball outlet port 45 of the ball discharge device and the trough 13a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gaming machine installation island in which gaming machines such as pachinko gaming machines and sparrow ball gaming machines are arranged side by side.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to secure the amount of game balls used in a game machine installation island, ball storage tanks are arranged longitudinally below the installation island and a large number of balls are stored in the ball storage tank. Pachinko islands have been proposed. In this installation island, a plurality of gaming machines are juxtaposed in the longitudinal direction, a ball collecting gutter for collecting used balls discharged from these gaming machines, and a ball for discharging the balls collected by the ball collecting gutter. A ball storage device comprising a lifting device, an upper tank for storing the balls lifted by the ball lifting device above the gaming machine, and a ball supply gutter for replenishing the balls in the upper tank to each gaming machine. On the side portion of the tank, a ball discharge device is provided for discharging the ball in the ball storage tank and discharging the ball into the ball collection gutter, and when the ball in the upper tank runs short, the ball discharge device is operated. The ball in the ball storage tank is discharged to the ball collection gutter within a short time, and the ball is lifted by the ball lifting device and supplied to the upper tank.

[0003]

However, since the ball collecting gutter is provided in the longitudinal direction of the long installation island, a large inclination angle cannot be obtained. Further, the ball discharged from the ball discharge port of the ball discharge device flows downward on the ball collection gutter by about 90 degrees.
Although it is necessary to change the flow rate and flow down, the angle of the bottom surface of the ball collection gutter is gentle, so that it is difficult to quickly convert the flow direction. For this reason, when a large amount of balls are discharged from the ball discharge port of the ball discharge device, a situation occurs in which these balls cannot flow down smoothly. For example, the ball discharged from the ball discharge port of the ball discharge device may stay in a pile on the ball collection gutter, or fall into the ball storage tank when the piled ball collapses.

[0004] Further, there is proposed an installation island in which a ball counting device for counting prize balls is installed at the end of the installation island, and the balls counted by the ball counting device are collected in a ball collection gutter. However, in such an installation island, if the ball stays in the ball collecting gutter, the ball discharged from the ball counting device cannot be collected, so that the ball counting device cannot be used. . This is inconvenient for the player,
It is inconvenient.

Further, the ball collection gutter often has a different inclination angle depending on conditions such as the size of the ball storage tank and the length of the installation island, and the ball collection gutter extends from the ball discharge port of the ball discharge device to the bottom surface of the ball collection gutter. Often, the height difference is also different. If the height difference from the ball discharge port to the bottom surface of the ball collection gutter is too large, there is a problem that the impact sound when the discharged ball falls on the bottom surface of the ball collection gutter increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above situation,
The aim is to provide a gaming machine installation island that allows the discharged ball to smoothly flow down the ball collection gutter when the ball in the ball storage tank is discharged from the ball discharge port to the ball collection gutter by the ball discharge device. What you want to do.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed to achieve the above-mentioned object. According to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of gaming machines are arranged in a longitudinal direction, and the A ball collection gutter for guiding a used ball to be ejected in a predetermined direction to collect the ball, a ball lifting device connected to the ball collection gutter to lift the collected ball, and a ball lifted by the ball lifting device In a game machine installation island equipped with an upper tank that stores the thrown ball above the gaming machine and a ball supply gutter that replenishes the ball in the upper tank to each gaming machine, the ball is stored in the lower part of the game machine installation island Disposing a tank, the ball storage tank is provided with a ball discharge device that discharges the ball in the ball storage tank to the ball collection gutter, between the ball outlet of the ball discharge device and the ball collection gutter, An auxiliary ball receiving member having a bottom surface inclined downward in the flowing direction of the ball collection gutter is provided. The machine is installed island.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the inclination angle of the bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member is set to be larger than the downward inclination angle of the ball collection gutter. It is.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a guide portion is provided on the bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member to guide the ball in the flowing direction, and the guiding direction of the ball is the same as the flowing direction of the ball collection gutter. The gaming machine installation island according to claim 2, wherein the island is set.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the baffle member is moved along the flow direction of the ball collection gutter halfway in the width direction of the bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member with the ball contact surface facing the ball discharge port. Provided,
The length of the baffle member is set to be shorter than the width of the ball discharge port, and a part of the ball discharged from the ball discharge port is brought into contact with the baffle member.
The gaming machine installation island according to any of the above.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member is swingably supported by a support shaft provided in the width direction of the ball collection gutter, and the bottom surface is fixed at a predetermined inclination angle by a fixing member. The gaming machine installation island according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the gaming machine installation island is fixed.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a gaming machine installation island 2 (hereinafter, “installation island 2”) on which a pachinko gaming machine 1 that is a typical gaming machine is installed, and FIG. 2 shows a connection state of three installation islands 2. FIG. 3 is a front view of three installation islands 2, and FIG. 4 is a ball lifting device 3 installed substantially at the center of the installation island 2.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the ball lifting device 3.

The installation island 2 is a module including a metal frame 4 having an opening large enough to install two pachinko gaming machines 1 on one side and four pachinko gaming machines 1 on opposite sides in a back state. A predetermined number of the frames 4 are connected to each other so as to have a length corresponding to the floor area. A frame 4 for a ball lifting device is arranged at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction. The ball lifting device 3 is arranged in the inside. Since an installation shelf (not shown) is formed at a predetermined height of each frame 4, the pachinko gaming machine 1 is installed on this installation shelf, and the inter-ball ball rental machine 5 is installed.
Equipment such as is installed.

An upper tank 6 for storing the balls lifted by the ball lifting device 3 is provided above the installation island 2 configured as described above, and the balls are transferred from the upper tank 6 to each pachinko gaming machine 1. First ball supply gutter 7a and second ball supply gutter 7b to be supplied
And a first storage ball supply flow path for flowing a ball to be supplied from the upper tank 6 to a first ball storage tank 10a, which will be described later, while being erected in a state slightly inclined downward toward each end of the installation island 2. Similarly, a second storage ball supply flow path 11b for flowing down the balls to be supplied to the second ball storage tank 10b and the second storage ball supply flow path 11b is similarly erected downward. Each of the first and second ball supply gutters 7a and 7b has a branch gutter 1 for each pachinko gaming machine 1.
The branch 2 is branched so that the exit of the branch gutter 12 faces the upper part of the ball tank of the pachinko gaming machine 1. Therefore, when the ball in the ball tank of the pachinko gaming machine 1 runs short, the ball in the ball supply gutter 7 is moved into the ball tank of the pachinko gaming machine 1 by the operation of the ball supply device provided in the branch gutter 12. Can be replenished.

On the other hand, in the lower part of the installation island 2, specifically, at a position slightly lower than the pachinko gaming machine 1, used balls (out-ball and safe ball) discharged from each pachinko gaming machine 1 are collected. First ball collection gutter 13a and second ball collection gutter 13
b is provided so as to be slightly inclined downward from each end of the installation island 2 toward the ball lifting device 3. In the present embodiment, the used balls discharged from the pachinko gaming machine 1 are temporarily received in the pulse tank, counted there, and then flow down to the ball collection gutter 13. In addition, the first
The second ball collection gutters 13a and 13b are provided with a wall as a fall prevention member on both side edges to allow used balls discharged from the pachinko gaming machines 1 on both sides to flow down to the ball lifting device 3 without being dropped on the way. Has been erected.

In the present embodiment, all the used balls discharged from each pachinko gaming machine 1 are collected by the ball collection gutter 13 and are polished by the ball lifting device 3.
The dirty used sphere is not stored as it is in the sphere storage tank 10 described later. Similarly, when the ball counting device 14 is provided at the end of the installation island 2 or on the way, the counted balls discharged from the ball counting device 14 are mainly poured into the ball collection gutter 13 and collected. However, the dirty ball is hardly stored in the ball storage tank 10 as it is.

Further, the first ball storage tank 10a is provided in the installation island 2 lower than the first ball collection gutter 13a, and the second ball storage tank 10b is provided in the installation island 2 lower than the second ball collection gutter 13b.
Are disposed along the longitudinal direction of the installation island 2 respectively. Then, the first and second spherical downflow pipes 15a and 15b functioning as a part of the flow paths from the inclined lower ends of the first and second storage ball supply flow paths 11a and 11b located at the end of the installation island 2. And the lower end of the first ball downflow pipe 15a is connected to the first ball storage tank 1
0a, and the lower end of the second ball downflow pipe 15b is connected to the second ball storage tank 10b. Therefore, when the ball lifted by the ball lifting device 3 flows from the upper tank 6 into the first and second storage ball supply flow paths 11a, b, the ball passes through these flow paths to move the upper part of the installation island 2 Flow down to the end of Installation Island 2,
Thereafter, the first and second ball storage tanks 10 disposed below the installation island 2 via the first and second ball downflow pipes 15a and 15b.
a, 10b and are stored.

As shown in FIG. 4, the ball lifting device 3 vertically elongates a vertically long casing 21 with its lower end fixed to a base 20 fixed to the floor of a game store. A drive roller 22 is provided at a lower portion of the roller 21 and a driven roller 23 is provided at an upper portion thereof with the axial direction thereof being horizontally oriented.
23, the rising belt is disposed in the housing 21, the descending belt is disposed outside the housing 21, the endless belt 24 is stretched over, and the tension roller is pushed in the middle of the endless belt 24 passing outside the housing 21. The tension is applied to the endless belt 24 so that a motor with a speed reducer 25 is connected as a drive mechanism to the shaft of the drive roller 22, and the balls are aligned and introduced into the ball inlet 26 below the drive roller 22. Ball introduction guide 27
Is provided at the upper end of the housing 21,
A ball discharge port 29 for discharging the lifted ball is protruded sideways.

This housing 21 is installed in a vertically long housing main body 21a whose one side facing the outside of the gaming machine installation island 2 is largely opened up and down, and is attached to the opening of the housing main body 21a in an openable and closable manner. And a vertically long lid 21b. In addition to providing the driven roller 23 at the upper end and the driving roller 22 at the lower end inside the vertically long casing main body 21a, between the driven roller 23 and the driving roller 22, the back surface of the endless belt 24 contacts. A large number of backup rollers 31 are provided, and the endless belt 24 is raised by a backup plate (not shown) provided between the backup rollers 31 while maintaining a linear state. In addition,
The backup roller 31 has a smaller diameter than the driven roller 23 and the driving roller 22, and these rollers 22, 23, 3
1 are all located in parallel.

In this embodiment, the upper lid 2 having the same vertical length, that is, half the vertical dimension of the opening, is used as the divided lid.
1b and the lower lid 21b 'are attached to close the opening of the housing body 21a, and the upper lid 21b and the lower lid 21b' are configured to be compatible. Not only have the same dimensions, but also have the same configuration including the mounting bracket.

The lid 21b having such compatibility has a flat portion having the same width as the width of the housing body 21a, and a side portion extending from both left and right edges of the flat portion to the endless belt 24 side. A movable clamp member 33 constantly urged downward by the urging force of the coil spring 32, and a fixed clamp member 34 at the lower portion. A plurality of pressing springs 35 are provided as pressing urging members inside the plane portion, and the polishing cloth 36 is stretched by applying a tension in the vertical direction by the clamping members 33 and 34 by the urging force of these pressing springs 35. Is pressed toward the endless belt 24 by the guide plate 37.

The polishing cloth 36 is a cloth material having excellent wear resistance and moderate rigidity which is unlikely to be wrinkled. The polishing cloth 36 has a sufficient length so that the upper end portion and the lower end portion can be folded back and over on the back side of the lid 21b. For example, a nonwoven fabric made of synthetic resin is used. It is preferable that the polishing cloth 36 is impregnated with an antistatic agent, an antibacterial agent, or the like in advance.

The guide plate 37 guides the balls to be lifted in an aligned manner. In the present embodiment, a ball guide groove 39 having a semicircular cross section with a depth of less than half of the ball diameter is formed in the synthetic resin plate. 7 are formed in parallel with each other, and a left and right side edge is formed with a fitting step portion which fits in the guide plate material groove to regulate the forward position and also regulates the left and right position. The vertical length of the guide plate 37 is set to be the same as the vertical length of the lid 21b.

Two lids 21b, 21 on which a polishing cloth 36 is stretched
When b 'is attached to the housing body 21a, a lifting path 40 is formed between the polishing pad 36 and the endless belt 24. Therefore, when the ball lifting device 3 is started in this state, the balls introduced in a state of being aligned by the ball introduction guide 27 enter the lifting path 40 between the endless belt 24 and the polishing pad 36. Therefore, the introduced ball enters the ball guide groove 39 with the polishing pad 36 interposed therebetween, and is pressed toward the endless belt 24 by the urging force of the pressing spring 35 in this state.
Since the endless belt 24 is moving up in this sandwiched state, it receives a lifting force. For this reason, the lifting path 40
The sphere that has entered the inside is rolled up and transported, and is polished by the polishing pad 36 by this rolling to remove dirt on the surface.

The ball that has been lifted in the lifting path 40 while being polished gets over the driven roller 23 and
And is discharged from the ball discharge port 29 into the upper tank 6.

The upper tank 6 contains a tank body for storing the balls pumped by the ball lifting device 3 and replenishes balls to the adjacent installation island 2 or when the balls on the installation island 2 are insufficient. And a balance tank for receiving a ball from the adjacent installation island 2. As shown in FIGS.
Done through.

The tank body is a vertically elongated rectangular parallelepiped bottomed box, and has an opening at the upper portion of the side surface on the ball lifting device 3 side into which the ball discharge port of the ball lifting device 3 is inserted. A plurality of shelves are provided alternately below the sphere, and a ball outlet is provided at a predetermined position, and the ball is supplied to the first and second ball supply gutters 7a and 7b and the first and second storage ball supply channels 11a and 11b. Divides or stores the sphere.

The sphere that has flowed into the left first storage ball supply flow path 11a flows down this flow path and reaches the left end of the installation island 2, from which it flows through the first sphere downflow pipe 15a. And flows into the first ball storage tank 10a disposed on the lower left side of the installation island 2 to be stored. In addition, the second storage ball supply flow path 1
The sphere that has flowed into 1b reaches the right end of the installation island 2 and is set via the second sphere downflow pipe 15b, similarly to the case where the sphere has flown into the first storage sphere supply flow path 11a on the left. Island 2
Flows into and is stored in a second ball storage tank 10b disposed at the lower right side of the tank.

Next, the ball storage tank 10 will be described. Note that the first ball storage tank 10a and the second ball storage tank 10b have different lengths, but have the same configuration.
The ball storage tank 10a will be described.

The first ball storage tank 10a is a long box-shaped open-top type tank formed along the longitudinal direction of the installation island 2, and specifically, a ball lifting device from one end of the installation island 2. It has a length up to 3. As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a concave chamber-shaped lift storage chamber 41 for storing a later-described first ball discharge device 61 a is formed substantially at the center of one side surface of the first ball storage tank 10 a in the longitudinal direction. is there. Therefore, only the portion where the lift storage chamber 41 is formed has a small width. The bottom surface of the first ball storage tank 10a is gently sloped downward from both ends toward the center in the longitudinal direction, and near the inclined lower end toward one side where the lift storage chamber 41 is formed. The ball outlet 42 is opened at the side surface corresponding to the lower end of the bottom surface, that is, at the lower portion of the wall surface of the lift storage chamber 41.

The width of the first ball storage tank 10a is sufficiently wider than the first ball collection gutter 13a, and in this embodiment, has a width approximately twice that of the first ball collection gutter 13a. The first ball storage tank 10a includes storage equalizing means for uniformly storing the balls flowing from the first ball flow path 15a arranged on the end side of the installation island 2 over the entire length, A first ball discharging device 61a is provided at a position substantially at the center in the longitudinal direction and facing a side surface where the ball outlet 42 is opened.
As described above, the part where the ball discharge device 61a is installed is formed as the lift storage chamber 41 having a smaller width than the other parts.

The storage equalizing means is provided with a sphere storage space between the sphere storage tank 10 and the bottom surface of the sphere storage tank 10.
The ball rolling member 43 extends along the longitudinal direction of the ball. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the ball rolling member 43 has an upper surface on which an elastic material such as rubber is laid.
It is a flat plate material having a smaller width (about half in the present embodiment), and its upper surface is located on the outlet side of the first spherical flow path 15a (that is, the first spherical flow path 15a).
It is inclined downward from the end of the installation island 2) to the end along the longitudinal direction of the ball storage tank 10.

Therefore, when the ball that has flowed out of the outlet of the first ball channel 15a is placed on the ball rolling member 43, the ball is inclined downward by the upper surface so that the first ball storage tank 10a is located at the end of the ball lifting device 3 side. Rolls towards the part and begins to move. And
Since there is no wall or the like on the side edge of this upper surface to control the falling, the ball may flow depending on the flowing direction when flowing out of the outlet of the first ball flow path 15a, or may collide with another ball in the middle of flowing. Depending on the direction in which the ball is flipped, the ball can freely fall from the side edge, and some balls roll to the lower end of the slope, and some balls fall on the way. Therefore, the positions of the balls falling from above the ball rolling member 43 are not concentrated but dispersed, and the balls stored in the first ball storage tank 10a can be made uniform.

The first sphere storage tank 10a is provided with a plurality of detectors 44 for detecting the level of the stored spheres, that is, the amount of the spheres, and based on signals from these detectors 44, The inflow of the ball into the first ball storage tank 10a is controlled by the island control device.

If the balls in the upper tank 6 become insufficient even when the ball lifting device 3 is operated, the ball storage tanks 10a, 10
The balls stored in b are poured into the ball collection gutters 13a and 13b by the ball discharge devices 61a and 61b, and the balls are lifted by the ball lifting device 3 and refilled into the upper tank 6. Therefore, even when "big hits" are concentrated on the gaming machines 1 in a short time, there is no shortage of balls to be discharged as prize balls.

Next, the ball discharging device 61 will be described.
As described above, the ball discharge device 61 is a device that lifts the balls in the ball storage tank 10 and flows the balls into the ball collection gutter 13 based on the supply command from the island control device, that is, the ball storage tank 1.
The ball discharge device is a device for discharging the ball in the ball storage tank 10 and is detachably installed in the lift storage chamber 41 of the ball storage tank 10. When installed here, the ball discharge port 45 faces the ball collection gutter 13 from above the side surface. .

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the ball discharge device 61 has a ball inflow trough 51 at the lower part of one side surface of the housing 50.
The ball inflow port 52 provided with, the ball discharge port 45 is provided in the upper part,
Two rollers 53a and 53b are vertically supported in the housing 50 in a state where they are oriented in the horizontal direction.
b, the tension roller 55 applies an appropriate tension to the endless belt 54, and a ball contact surface material 56 is provided on the upper and lower sides of the endless belt 54 and outside of one surface.
Are provided at an interval capable of elastically holding the sphere, the lower end of the sphere contact surface member 56 is connected to the sphere inflow port 52 through below the lower roller 53a, and slightly toward the sphere inflow port 52. A downwardly inclined ball inflow gutter 51 is protruded, the upper end of the ball contact surface material 56 communicates with the ball discharge port 57, and a drive motor 58 is connected to the shaft of a lower roller 53a. It is mounted on a slide base 59 and is movable back and forth with respect to the ball storage tank 10 by a slide support unit provided between the slide base 59 and the ball storage tank 10 side.

The ball outlet 42 of the ball storage tank 10 is provided with a ball spill prevention mechanism (not shown).
The ball is configured not to spill out of the ball outlet 42 at the time of attachment / detachment.

The operation of the ball discharging device 61 is stopped in a normal state. Therefore, the ball is in a state where the ball is filled from the ball outlet 42 of the ball storage tank 10 into the ball inflow gutter 51.

As described above, for example, the installation island 2
When the replenishment command is sent out due to the shortage of balls in the upper tank 6 due to the occurrence of "big hits" in the pachinko gaming machine 1 in succession, the drive motor 58 of the ball discharging device 61 starts and the endless belt 54 To rotate. When the endless belt 54 rotates,
Since the endless belt 54 on the ball contact surface material 56 rises, it flows down between the surface of the endless belt 54 hanging on the lower roller 53a and the ball contact surface material 56 as shown in FIG. The ball is elastically sandwiched between the endless belt 54 and the ball contact surface material 56, and in this state, the endless belt 54
Rises, and the pinched sphere moves between the two as shown in FIG.
(B) It gradually rises while rotating clockwise.
Since the spheres in the sphere storage tank 10 flow into the sphere inlet 52 one after another, the spheres are continuously inserted between the endless belt 54 and the sphere contact surface material 56 and rise sequentially.

In this manner, the ball which has been raised by the rotation of the endless belt 54 is discharged from the ball discharge port 45 and the auxiliary ball receiving member 6 provided between the ball discharge port 45 and the ball collection gutter 13.
2 flows on the auxiliary ball receiving member 62, and then flows into the ball collection gutter 13 after changing the flowing direction.

The auxiliary ball receiving member 62 is a member for converting the flow direction of the ball discharged from the ball discharge port 45 to the flow direction of the ball collection gutter 13. In the first embodiment shown in FIG. A fixing side wall portion 64 is erected from one side edge of the bottom surface 63 inclined downward, and a fall prevention side wall portion 65 is erected from the other side edge, and a cushion such as a rubber sheet is provided on the upper surface of the bottom surface 63. A material 66 is attached, a ball through window 67 is opened in the fixing side wall portion 64, and a fixing hole 69 used for fixing to the gaming machine installation island 2 side is opened. , The ball discharge port 45 of the ball discharge device 61 is configured to communicate with the ball penetration window 67.

The inclination angle of the bottom surface 63 of the auxiliary ball receiving member 62 is set to be larger than the downward inclination angle of the ball collection gutter 13 described above. The bottom surface 6 of the auxiliary ball receiving member 62
It is desirable that the width of 3 is set slightly smaller than the width of the flow path of the ball collection gutter 13.

When the auxiliary ball receiving member 62 having the above-described configuration is provided, the ball discharged from the ball discharge port 45 of the ball discharging device 61 falls on the bottom surface 63 of the auxiliary ball receiving member 62 and the gravitational acceleration is suppressed. Is done. When the sphere falls on the bottom surface 63, the shock absorbing material 66 absorbs the impact of the sphere, so that noise can be suppressed. Of the balls that have fallen, most of the balls that have been vigorously ejected are dropped by the inertia force.
After contacting the bottom surface 63, the ball flows down toward the lower end of the slope while changing the flow direction by the downward slope of the bottom surface 63, and the ball that does not contact the fall prevention side wall portion 65 changes its flow direction by the downward slope of the bottom surface 63. Flow down toward the lower end of the slope. Then, the ball that has flowed down on the bottom surface 63 falls onto the ball collection gutter 13 from the lower end of the slope, and the ball lifting device 3
Run down to

Therefore, the ball discharge port 4 of the ball discharge device 61
Even if a large amount of balls are discharged from the ball 5 vigorously, these balls do not fall from the auxiliary ball receiving member 62 or the ball collection gutter 13 and return to the ball storage tank 10, and are discharged from the ball discharge port 45. Since the dropped ball once falls on the auxiliary ball receiving member 62 and then falls on the ball collection gutter 13, even if the height difference between the ball discharge port 45 and the ball collection gutter 13 is large, the noise of the impact due to the fall of the ball Can be reduced. In addition, the ball discharging device 61
The falling direction of the ball discharged from the ball discharge port 45 is converted into the flowing direction of the ball collection gutter 13 and then dropped onto the ball collection gutter 13, and the falling speed on the bottom surface 63 of the auxiliary ball receiving member 62 is sufficiently increased. The ball collection gutter 13 is dropped on the ball collection gutter 13 even if the downward inclination angle of the ball collection gutter 13 is small.
The ball that has fallen onto the ball collection trough 13 immediately moves to the ball lifting device 3.
Flow down quickly toward. Therefore, the ball collection gutter 13
The balls can be prevented from staying on the upper side, and the balls discharged from the ball counter 14 can be reliably received in the ball collection gutter 13 and flow down.

A second embodiment of the auxiliary ball receiving member 62 shown in FIG. 12 is obtained by adding a tilt angle adjusting mechanism of the bottom surface 63 to the first embodiment, and a support shaft is provided at the upper end side of the bottom surface 63. The bottom surface 63 is swingably supported about the support shaft 70, and the bottom surface 63 can be fixed at a predetermined inclination angle by a fixing member 71 provided on the lower end of the bottom surface 63. Note that the fixing member 71 includes a fixing hole 69 provided in the fixing side wall portion 64 and a shaft that passes through the fixing hole 69 and supports the inclined lower end side of the bottom surface 63. Therefore, the inclination angle of the bottom surface 63 can be adjusted according to the inclination of the ball collection gutter 13 and the interval to the ball collection gutter 13.
Further, in the present embodiment, a substantially triangular spherical guide portion 72 for narrowing the flow channel width is provided on both sides of the inclined lower end portion of the bottom surface 63.
The ball that has flowed down can be reliably adjusted within the flow path width of the ball collection gutter 13.

The third embodiment of the auxiliary ball receiving member 62 shown in FIG. 13 is provided with a guide portion 74 for guiding the downward flow of the ball to the first embodiment, and the ball discharged from the ball discharge port 45. Is provided on the bottom surface 63 near the ball discharge port 45 with a baffle member 75. The baffle member 75 shown in the drawing is configured by erecting a baffle plate that obstructs the flow of the ball by contacting the ball contact surface, and the ball contact surface is directed toward the ball discharge port 45. Attach. This baffle plate is shorter than the width of the ball outlet 45, and in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13B, the length of the baffle plate is set to about half the width of the ball outlet 45. The ball discharge port 45 is set up in front of one side end (side edge on the inclined lower end side of the bottom surface 63) from the left and right center and substantially at the center of the bottom surface 63 in the width direction. The inclination angle of the bottom surface 63 between the baffle plate and the ball discharge port 45 is the same as the inclination angle of the bottom surface beyond the baffle plate, but the bottom surface upstream of the baffle plate is on the side of the drop prevention side wall 65. The ball that does not come into contact with the baffle plate is caused to fall by the action of the width-direction inclined bottom surface 63 ′.
It is configured to reach the bottom surface on the 5th side.

Therefore, when the spheres are discharged from the sphere discharge port 45, about half of these spheres come into contact with the sphere contact surface of the baffle plate, and the contacted sphere changes its flowing direction to the bottom surface. The ball of the other half which flows down on the near side (ball discharge port 45 side) on 63 and does not come into contact with the baffle plate rolls on the inclined bottom surface 63 'in the width direction in the width direction by inertia, and then is moved from the baffle plate. Reaches the farthest bottom surface 63, whereby the discharged spheres are reliably dispersed in the width direction on the bottom surface 63.

Also, the bottom surface 63 downstream of the baffle plate
On the upper side, there is provided a guide portion 74 in which a plurality of ridges are formed in parallel along the downward inclination direction of the bottom surface 63,
The spheres dispersed by the baffle plate and the width-direction inclined bottom surface 63 'and made uniform in the width direction of the bottom surface 63 flow down on the bottom surface 63 while being guided in the flow-down direction by the ridges. And
Balls that are uniform in the width direction and that are regulated in the flow-down direction fall from the auxiliary ball receiving member 62 onto the ball collection gutter 13. Therefore, the balls falling on the ball collection gutter 13 are also surely dispersed in the width direction, and the ball collection gutter 1 also has a downward flow direction.
3 and the ball collecting gutter 1
3 can be prevented more reliably. In addition, the baffle member 75 is not limited to a plate-shaped member, and may be any member as long as it can obstruct the flow of the sphere. Therefore,
The pins may be provided upright.

The balls that have flowed into the ball collection gutter 13 in this way flow down to the ball lifting device 3, are pumped by the ball lifting device 3, and are supplied into the upper tank 6. As described above, the balls supplied into the upper tank 6 are supplied to the ball supply trough 7.
The game machines 1 are replenished via a and 7b. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which a shortage of balls to each of the gaming machines 1 occurs. When the balls are insufficient even by replenishing the balls discharged from the ball storage tanks 10a and 10b, the balls are replenished from the adjacent installation island 2 via the ball delivery gutters 60a and 60b.

In the above-described embodiment, a belt drive type is used for the ball discharging device 61. However, the ball discharging device 61 may have any configuration as long as the ball can be lifted, and may be, for example, a screw conveyor type.

[0052]

According to the present invention as described above, the following effects can be obtained. According to the first aspect of the present invention, a ball storage tank is provided at the lower part of the game machine installation island, and the ball storage tank is provided with a ball discharge device for discharging the ball in the ball storage tank to the ball collection gutter. Since the auxiliary ball receiving member whose bottom surface is inclined downward in the flowing direction of the ball collection gutter is provided between the ball outlet of the ball discharge device and the ball collection gutter, the inclination angle of the ball collection gutter is small. Also, the ball discharged from the ball discharge port can be received on the auxiliary ball receiving member, change the flowing direction of the ball, and then flow into the ball collection gutter. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate inconveniences such as the ball staying in a pile in the ball collection gutter or dropping from the ball collection gutter with excessive momentum. The flow can smoothly flow down by the recovery gutter. Therefore, the supply of the balls to the ball lifting device is smooth, and it is easy to cope with an increase in the supply amount. And even if it is comprised so that the ball discharged | emitted from a ball counting device may flow down to a ball collection gutter, the reception of the ball from a ball counting device can also be performed reliably.

Further, even if the height difference from the ball discharge port to the ball collection gutter is large, the ball discharged from the ball discharge port is once received on the auxiliary ball receiving member and then falls into the ball collection gutter. Generation can be suppressed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the inclination angle of the bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member is set to be larger than the downward inclination angle of the ball collection gutter, the inclination angle of the bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member is reduced. A flow velocity in the same direction as the flow direction of the ball collection gutter can be given to the ball. Therefore, even if the inclination angle of the ball collection gutter is small, the ball discharged from the ball discharge port can quickly flow down without staying in the ball collection gutter. Therefore, it is suitable for a game machine installation island having a long ball collection gutter.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a guide portion for guiding the downward flow of the ball is provided on the bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member, and the guide direction of the ball by the guide portion is set to the same direction as the downward flow of the ball collection gutter. Since the setting is made, the flow of the ball dropped into the ball collection gutter can be further ensured.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the baffle member is moved along the flow direction of the ball collection gutter halfway in the width direction of the bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member, with the ball contact surface facing the ball discharge port. Provided,
The length of the baffle member is set shorter than the width of the ball discharge port, and a part of the ball discharged from the ball discharge port is made to abut against the baffle member. Can be dispersed and uniformized on the bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member. Therefore, the balls that have fallen on the ball collection gutter are also dispersed in the width direction of the ball collection gutter, and the entire width of the ball collection gutter can be used effectively.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member is swingably supported by the support shaft provided in the width direction of the ball collection gutter, and the bottom surface is fixed at a predetermined inclination angle by the fixing member. , The bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member can be inclined according to the inclination angle of the ball collection gutter. Therefore,
The inclination angle of the bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member can be set large within a range that does not come into contact with the ball collection gutter.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a gaming machine installation island in which a pachinko gaming machine is installed.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a connection state of three installation islands.

FIG. 3 is a front view of three installation islands.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a ball lifting device installed on an installation island.

5A is a cross-sectional view of the ball lifting device showing a state where a lid is opened, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the lid is closed.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the inside of the ball storage tank.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view in the width direction showing the inside of the ball storage tank.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a ball discharging device.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the ball discharge device attached to a ball storage tank.

10A is a side view of a ball discharge device, and FIG. 10B is a side view showing the inside of the ball discharge device.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the auxiliary ball receiving member.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the auxiliary ball receiving member.

13A is a perspective view of a third embodiment of an auxiliary ball receiving member, and FIG. 13B is a plan view of the auxiliary ball receiving member shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pachinko game machine 2 Game machine installation island 3 Ball lifting device 4 Frame 5 Inter-ball ball rental machine 6 Upper tank 7 Ball supply gutter 10 Ball storage tank 11 Storage ball supply channel 12 Branch gutter 13 Lifting ball supply gutter Functioning ball collection gutter 14 Ball counting device 15 Ball downcomer 20 Base of ball lifting device 21 Housing 22 Drive roller 23 Follower roller 24 Endless belt 25 Motor 26 Ball inlet 27 Ball alignment member 28 Ball inlet gutter 29 Ball outlet 30 Partition plate 31 Backup roller 32 Coil spring 33 Movable clamp member 34 Fixed clamp member 35 Press spring 36 Polishing cloth 37 Guide plate 39 Ball guide groove 40 Lifting path 41 Lift storage chamber 42 Ball outlet 43 Ball rolling member 44 Detector 45 Ball Ball discharge port of discharge device 50 Housing 51 Ball inflow gutter 52 Ball flow inlet 53 Roller 54 Endless tube Tilt 55 Tension roller 56 Ball contact surface material 58 Motor 59 Slide base 60 Ball delivery gutter 61 Ball ejection device 62 Auxiliary ball receiving member 63 Bottom 64 Fixing side wall 65 Fall prevention side wall 66 Buffer material 67 Ball penetrating window 69 Fixing hole Reference Signs List 70 Support shaft 71 Fixing member 72 Ball guide part 74 Guide part 75 Baffle member

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A ball collecting gutter for arranging a plurality of gaming machines in a longitudinal direction, guiding a used ball discharged from these gaming machines in a predetermined direction and collecting the balls, and connecting to the ball collecting gutter. A ball lifting device that lifts the collected balls, and an upper tank that stores the balls lifted by the ball lifting device above the gaming machine,
A ball storage tank is provided in a lower part of the game machine installation island on a game machine installation island having a ball supply gutter for supplying a ball in the upper tank to each game machine, and the ball storage tank includes a ball storage tank. A ball discharge device for discharging the inner ball to the ball collection gutter, an auxiliary sphere having a bottom surface inclined downward in a flowing direction of the ball collection gutter between a ball outlet of the ball discharge device and the ball collection gutter. A gaming machine installation island characterized by having a receiving member. 2. The gaming machine installation island according to claim 1, wherein the inclination angle of the bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member is set to be larger than the downward inclination angle of the ball collection gutter. 3. A ball guide for guiding the downward flow of a ball is provided on the bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member, and the guide direction of the ball by the guide is set to the same direction as the downward flow of the ball collection gutter. The gaming machine installation island according to claim 1. 4. In the width direction of the bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member,
A baffle member is provided along the flow direction of the ball collection gutter with the ball contact surface facing the ball discharge port, the length of the baffle member is set to be shorter than the width of the ball discharge port, and from the ball discharge port. The gaming machine installation island according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a part of the discharged ball is brought into contact with the baffle member. 5. A bottom surface of the auxiliary ball receiving member is swingably supported by a support shaft provided in a width direction of the ball collection gutter, and the bottom surface is fixed at a predetermined inclination angle by a fixing member. The gaming machine installation island according to any one of claims 1 to 4.