JPH11347221A - Pachinko ball dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize a pachinko ball dispenser capable of switching the flowing-down direction of balls. SOLUTION: A reversible sprocket 19 is arranged directly below the outlet 14a of a ball feed path 14, and multiple recesses 21 accepting pachinko balls P are formed on the outer periphery of the sprocket 19. A prize ball flowing- down path 27 is provided on the right side of the sprocket 19, and a lent ball flowing-down path 28 is provided on the left side of the sprocket 19. When prize balls are dispensed, the sprocket 19 is rotated CW by a motor, pachinko balls P are accepted in recesses 21 each time the recesses 21 face the outlet 14a, and the pachinko balls P are dropped into the prize ball flowing-down path 27 on the right side of the sprocket 19. When lent balls are dispensed, the motor is rotated reversely to the case that prize balls are dispensed, the sprocket 19 is rotated CCW, and the pachinko balls P accepted in the recesses 21 are dropped into the lent ball flowing-down path 28 on the left side of the sprocket 19.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pachinko ball dispensing apparatus having a function of switching the flow destination of a pachinko ball between two ball downflow paths.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this kind of pachinko ball dispensing apparatus has
Switching between the two ball-downflow paths has been performed by a flow-path switching damper mechanism.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 146547, it has been proposed to abolish the flow path switching damper mechanism and switch the flow destination of the pachinko ball by switching between forward and reverse rotation of the motor. As shown in FIG. 8, a rod-shaped screw shaft 3 is connected to a rotating shaft 2 of a motor 1, and a helical ball feed groove 4 formed on the outer periphery of the screw shaft 3 is provided with a ball supply path. The pachinko ball supplied from 5 is received, and the forward / reverse rotation of the screw shaft 3 is switched,
By reversing the direction in which the pachinko balls are transported by the ball feed grooves 4, the downflow of the pachinko balls is switched between the payout ball flow path 6 and the ball removal ball flow path 7.

[0003]

However, in the above publication, a screw shaft 3 which is long in the axial direction is connected to the rotating shaft 2 of the motor 1 in order to transfer the pachinko ball in the axial direction by the screw shaft 3. It has become. For this reason, there is a disadvantage that the entire device becomes longer in the direction of the rotation shaft 2 and becomes larger, and the installation space of the pachinko ball dispensing device becomes larger. As a result, the arrangement space for other components is limited, and it is difficult to cope with the increase in the number of components due to the recent multi-functionalization of pachinko machines.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pachinko ball dispensing device capable of miniaturizing the entire device while having a function of switching the flow destination of pachinko balls. Is to provide.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a pachinko ball dispensing device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a motor capable of rotating forward and reverse and a sprocket rotated forward and reverse by the motor. A ball supply path for supplying pachinko balls to the sprocket from above the rotation axis of the sprocket, and first and second ball flow paths on both sides of the sprocket.
By switching the reverse rotation, the flow destination of the pachinko ball received in the recess of the sprocket is switched between the first spherical flow path and the second spherical flow path.

In this configuration, when the concave portion of the sprocket faces the outlet of the ball supply path, the pachinko ball is received in the concave portion of the sprocket. Then, when the sprocket is rotated from the outlet of the ball supply path toward the first ball downflow side,
The pachinko ball in the concave portion falls into the first ball flow path. On the other hand, when the direction of rotation of the sprocket is switched to the opposite direction and the sprocket is rotated from the outlet of the ball supply path toward the second downward flow path, the pachinko balls in the concave portion fall into the second downward flow path. In this case, the switching of the downflow of the pachinko ball is performed by switching the rotation direction of the sprocket, which is an axially flat rotating body, so that the entire pachinko ball dispensing device can be downsized in the axial direction, and the installation of the device is achieved. Space is small.

Further, it is preferable that the outlet of the ball supply path is disposed directly above the rotation axis of the sprocket. With this configuration, the load of the pachinko balls waiting in the ball supply path does not greatly act in the rotation direction of the sprocket, so even if there is no mechanism for restraining the sprockets when the motor is stopped, the sprockets are not affected by the load of the pachinko balls. Can be prevented from rotating.

Further, a ball receiving portion for supporting the pachinko ball received in the concave portion of the sprocket from the bottom of the concave portion may be provided below the outlet of the ball supply path. . With this configuration, the load of the pachinko ball received in the recess of the sprocket can be received by the ball receiving portion, so that the load on the rotating shaft of the sprocket can be reduced, the durability can be improved, and the motor can be improved. It is also possible to reduce the size of the motor by reducing the load.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment (1) of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, a schematic configuration of the back side of the pachinko machine 11 will be described with reference to FIG. A ball tank 12 for storing pachinko balls is provided at an upper portion of the back surface of the pachinko machine 11, and a tank rail 13 for flowing down the pachinko balls flowing out of the ball tank 12 in an aligned state is connected to the ball tank 12. At the lower end of the tank rail 13, two rows of ball supply paths 14 are provided.
A pachinko ball payout device 15 is provided at a lower end of the pachinko ball.
Below the pachinko ball payout device 15, a frame control board 16 for controlling an electric device such as the pachinko ball payout device 15 is provided.
(Control means) is provided, and a game control board 17 for controlling various electric circuits on the game board 10 side is provided on the left side of the frame control board 16.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the pachinko ball payout device 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. Pachinko ball dispensing device 1
5 has a main body case 18, and each ball supply path 14 is configured to cause the pachinko balls P to flow down into the main body case 18 in a state of being aligned in a line. Sprockets 19 are respectively arranged below the outlets 14 a of the two rows of ball supply paths 14, and the outlets 14 a of the ball supply paths 14 are located directly above the rotation shafts 20 of the sprockets 19. The two sprockets 19 and the rotating shaft 20 are formed integrally. On the outer periphery of each sprocket 19, a plurality (for example, three) of concave portions 21 for receiving the pachinko balls P are formed at equal intervals,
The positions of the recesses 21 are alternated between the two sprockets 19. As a result, for example, as shown in FIG.
4A, the other sprocket 19 is in a state in which the convex portions 22 between the concave portions 21 face the outlet 14a, as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, one end of the rotating shaft 20 of the sprocket 19 is connected to the main body case 18 via a shaft pin 23.
The other end of the rotating shaft 20 is fitted to a rotating shaft 26 of a motor 25 capable of rotating forward and reverse. The motor 25 is configured by a motor such as a stepping motor that can control the rotation angle, and is held in the main body case 18.

As shown in FIG. 1, a ball downflow path 27 (first ball downflow path) for prize balls is provided on the right side of each sprocket 19, and a ball downflow path for ball lending is provided on the left side of each sprocket 19. A path 28 (second spherical downflow path) is provided. A ball receiving portion 29 is provided at an upstream branch portion of these ball flow paths 27 and 28.
Is formed so as to face the outlet 14 a of the ball supply path 14, and the pachinko ball P received in the concave portion 21 of the sprocket 19 is supported by the ball receiving portion 29 while being floated from the bottom of the concave portion 21. A prize ball passage sensor 30 for detecting passage of a prize ball is provided on the ball flow down path 27 for a prize ball, and a ball lending passage sensor 31 for detecting passage of a lending ball is provided on a ball flow down path 28 for ball lending. Is provided. The ball downflow path 27 for prize balls and the ball downflow path 28 for lending balls are merged downstream, and a ball tray (not shown) on the front of the pachinko machine 11.
Leads to.

Next, the operation of the pachinko ball payout device 15 will be described. When the motor 25 is stopped, the one sprocket 19 has the convex portion 22 opposed to the outlet 14a of the ball supply path 14, and the pachinko of the outlet 14a as shown in FIG. 4 (a) or 5 (a). The ball P is supported and the fall is prevented. At this time, the other sprocket 19 is
As shown in FIG. 5 (c) or FIG. 5 (c), the recess 21 faces the outlet 14a of the ball supply path 14 and receives the pachinko ball P in the recess 21 to prevent the ball 21 from falling. At this time, the pachinko ball P received in the concave portion 21 is supported by the ball receiving portion 29.

Thereafter, when the pachinko ball wins a winning device (not shown), a winning ball payout signal is output from the frame control board 16, and the motor 25 rotates the sprocket 19 clockwise. Thereby, FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (e)
As shown in the figure, the pachinko ball P is received in the concave portion 21 every time the concave portion 21 faces the outlet 14a, and the pachinko ball P is dropped on the ball flow path 27 for the prize ball on the right side of the sprocket 19. This operation is repeated until the number of pachinko balls (prize balls) corresponding to the winning value is paid out. At this time, every time a pachinko ball (prize ball) passes through the prize ball passage sensor 30, a prize ball detection signal is output from the prize ball passage sensor 30 and the number of paid out prize balls is counted.

When a predetermined magnetic card is inserted into a card unit (not shown) and a ball lending request is issued, a ball lending payout signal is output from the frame control board 16 and the motor 25
Is rotated in the direction opposite to the direction in which the prize ball is paid out, and the sprocket 19 is rotated.
Is rotated counterclockwise. As a result, FIG.
As shown in (a) to (e), the pachinko ball P received in the concave portion 21 is dropped on the ball flow path 28 on the left side of the sprocket 19. This operation is repeated until the number of pachinko balls (lending balls) according to the payment price is paid out. On this occasion,
Each time a pachinko ball (ball lending) passes through the ball lending passage sensor 31, a ball lending detection signal is output from the ball lending passage sensor 31 to the frame control board 16, and the number of paid lending balls is counted.

As described above, the direction of rotation of the sprocket 19 is switched between the paying out of the prize ball and the paying out of the lending ball, so that the downflow of the pachinko ball is changed to the ball flow path 27 for the prize ball and the ball for lending. Switching is performed between the downflow path 28.

The conventional structure shown in FIG. 8 requires the screw shaft 3 which is long in the axial direction to be connected to the motor 1 in order to transfer the supplied pachinko balls in the axial direction by the screw shaft 3, and the entire apparatus is required. However, there was a disadvantage that the length became longer in the axial direction.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the supplied pachinko ball is directly dropped to the side of the sprocket 19 by rotation of the sprocket 19 (not transferred in the axial direction). The sprocket 19 which is flat in the axial direction may be connected. For this reason,
Two sprockets 1 corresponding to the two rows of ball downflow paths 14
Despite the configuration in which the 9 are arranged in the axial direction, the entire device can be shortened in the axial direction and downsized, and the installation space of the pachinko ball dispensing device can be reduced. As a result, the space for arranging other components can be increased, and the degree of freedom in design can be increased.

In the above embodiment, since the outlet 14a of the ball supply path 14 is disposed directly above the rotating shaft 20 of the sprocket 19, the load of the pachinko balls waiting in the ball supply path 14 is reduced by the sprocket 19. It does not work much in the direction of rotation. For this reason, even if there is no mechanism for restraining the sprocket 19 when the motor 25 stops, the sprocket 19 can be prevented from rotating due to the load of the waiting pachinko ball, and the operation reliability can be improved. However, the position of the outlet 14a of the ball supply path 14 is not limited to the position directly above the rotation shaft 20 of the sprocket 19, but may be any position above the rotation shaft 20 of the sprocket 19.

In the above embodiment, the sprocket 1
The pachinko ball received in the concave portion 21 of the
As a result, the pachinko ball is received in the concave portion 21 when the pachinko ball is received in the concave portion 21.
The load of the pachinko ball can be received by the ball receiving portion 29. Thus, the load applied to the rotating shaft 20 of the sprocket 19 can be reduced, the sprocket 19 can be smoothly rotated, and the durability of the rotating shaft 20 can be improved. However, the present invention may have a configuration in which the ball receiving portion 29 is not provided. Even in this case, the intended object of the present invention can be sufficiently achieved.

In the above embodiment, the ball downflow path 27 for prize balls and the ball downflow path 28 for lending are merged downstream. However, as in the other embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. Alternatively, the ball downflow path 27 for award balls and the ball downflow path 28 for lending may not be merged. In this case, each ball flow path 27, 2
8 can be connected to separate ball inlets of the ball tray,
Alternatively, each ball flow path 27, 28 may be configured to communicate with a separate ball tray.

Further, for example, one of the ball flow paths is connected to a ball tray to be used as a "ball flow path for payout (prize balls and lending balls)", and the other ball flow path is used for ball collection for collecting pachinko balls. It is connected to a gutter and used as a “ball downflow path for ball removal”, and by switching between forward and reverse rotation of the sprocket 19, the downflow of the pachinko ball can be changed to a ball downflow path for payout and a ball downflow for ball removal. You may make it switch between roads.

In each of the above embodiments, the ball supply path 14
Are provided in two rows, but one row or three or more rows may be provided. In addition, the present invention relates to the recess 21 of the sprocket 19
It is needless to say that the present invention can be implemented with various changes within a range not departing from the gist, for example, the number and shape of may be changed as appropriate.

[0024]

As is clear from the above description, according to the pachinko ball dispensing device of the first aspect of the present invention, the supplied pachinko ball is dropped as it is onto the ball flow path beside the sprocket by the rotation of the sprocket. (Not transferred in the axial direction), a sprocket that is flat in the axial direction may be connected to the motor, and the axial size of the entire apparatus can be shortened and downsized.

Further, in the second aspect, the outlet of the ball supply path is arranged directly above the rotation axis of the sprocket.
When the motor is stopped, it is possible to prevent the sprocket from rotating due to the load of the waiting pachinko ball, thereby improving the operation reliability.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the pachinko ball received in the recess is supported and supported by the ball receiving portion while being floated from the bottom of the recess. The applied load can be reduced, and the rotation property and durability of the rotating shaft can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal front view of a pachinko ball dispensing apparatus showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the pachinko ball dispensing device shown along the line AA in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal side view of the pachinko ball dispensing device shown along the line BB in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (e) are operation explanatory diagrams for explaining how a pachinko ball flows when a sprocket is rotated clockwise.

FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (e) are operation explanatory diagrams for explaining how a pachinko ball flows when a sprocket is rotated counterclockwise.

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the pachinko machine.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional front view of a pachinko ball dispensing apparatus showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional pachinko ball dispensing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

11: Pachinko machine, 14: Ball supply path, 14a: Exit, 1
5 ... Pachinko ball dispensing device, 16 ... Frame control board (control means), 19 ... Sprocket, 20 ... Rotating shaft, 21 ... Concave portion, 25 ... Motor, 27 ... Spherical flow path for prize balls (First ball flow path) ), 28: ball downflow path for ball lending (second ball downflow path), 29: ball receiving section, 30: prize ball passing sensor, 31 ...
Ball pass sensor.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A motor capable of rotating forward and reverse, a sprocket which is rotated forward and reverse by the motor and has a recess formed on its outer periphery for receiving a pachinko ball, and a pachinko ball mounted on the sprocket from above a rotation axis of the sprocket. A ball supply path to be supplied, first and second ball flow paths provided on both sides of the sprocket, and a flow destination of the pachinko ball received in the concave portion of the sprocket by switching between forward rotation and reverse rotation of the sprocket. A pachinko ball dispensing device, comprising: control means for switching between the first ball downflow path and the second ball downflow path. 2. The pachinko ball dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein an outlet of the ball supply path is disposed directly above a rotation axis of the sprocket. 3. A ball receiving portion is provided below an outlet of the ball supply passage for supporting a pachinko ball received in a concave portion of the sprocket while being floated from the bottom of the concave portion. The pachinko ball dispensing device according to claim 1 or 2.