JPH11458A - Conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an auxiliary conveyor which reduces cost, lower the height of the screen panel portion which forms the upper portion of a game machine island, and allows equipment or devices to be easily installed. SOLUTION: A game medium is nearly sandwiched between the coil pitch of a coil member 40 for lifting and transmission. The transmitted game medium is supplied by switching its destination using the swinging motion of a switching lever 48, so that the number of trarsmitted game media corresponds to due number of rotations of the coil member 40. This eliminates the need for such equipment as ball counters for supplying balls to the game machine, in the ball server, and for supplying own balls. Thus required parts are reduced, the supply gutter is not needed, and also minor adjustments for the gutter and supply chute becomes unnecessary.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lifting device for lifting a game medium used in a game.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional lifting device, a gaming machine island is formed by arranging a plurality of pachinko gaming machines side by side, and a gaming medium, a pachinko ball used in each gaming machine, is provided at the center of the gaming machine island. Is transported to the upper part of the gaming machine island by a lifting cylinder set up in the center of the gaming machine island.The lifted game media is stored in the island tank, and a supply gutter attached to the bottom of the island tank. The game media is distributed to every corner of the gaming machine island using the inclination of the game machine. The supply gutter is provided with two holes at the positions of the gaming machine and the table ball rental machine, and two supply chutes are provided for supplying the game media flowing in the supply gutter in a plurality of rows into one row. Book attached. Each bellows tube is connected to the tip of the two supply chutes, so that balls arranged in a line flow. One of the bellows tubes is connected to a ball counter for supplying a predetermined number of balls to the upper plate of the gaming machine, and supplies a predetermined number of balls to the gaming machine according to an instruction from a computer, The other bellows tube is connected to the ball counter of the tama ball rental machine.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional lifting apparatus, it is necessary to rearrange a plurality of rows of game media on the supply gutter into one row with two supply chutes. Machines and ball counters are required, which increases the cost.Also, the ball counters have a certain height, and the supply gutters use the slope to move from the center of the gaming machine island to the edge of the gaming machine island. The height of the curtain plate that constitutes the upper part of the gaming machine island increases, and fine adjustment of the supply gutter, supply chute, etc. is required so that the game media flows smoothly. However, there is a problem that the construction takes time. The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and reduces the number of parts, reduces cost, eliminates the need for a ball counter and supply gutter, and configures the upper part of a gaming machine island. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lifting device in which the height of a curtain plate portion is kept low, and fine adjustment of a supply gutter or a supply chute is unnecessary and can be performed easily.

[0004]

The gist of the present invention to achieve the above object lies in the following inventions. [1] In a lifting device for lifting a game medium used for a game, a lifting path (10) for lifting a game medium includes:
A driver passage (20) extending in parallel with a substantially circular cross section
And a game medium passage (30) having a circular cross-section formed with substantially the same diameter as the game medium. The drive body passage (20) and the game medium passage (30) The passage walls facing each other have openings (22, 32), respectively, and communicate with each other through the openings (22, 32), and the driving body passage (20) is inserted into the passage inside. A coil body (40) is provided, and the coil body (4) is provided inside the passage of the game medium passage (30).
0) has entered through said openings (22, 32);
At the end of the game medium passage (30), one
The upper supply section (45), which can pass in a row, communicates with the upper supply section (45).
0) and passage switching means (48, 49), wherein the game medium detector (50) is configured to be able to detect a game medium passing through the upper supply section (45), and the path switching means (48, 49) is configured so that the tip of the upper replenishing section (45) can be switched and connected to a gaming machine side passage and a ball lending machine side passage, and the rotating means (60) includes the coil body. (40) The lifting device characterized by being configured to be rotatable around a coil axis.

[2] In a lifting device for lifting game media used in a game, a lifting path (10) for lifting game media has a substantially circular cross-section for a driver extending in parallel. (20) and a game medium passage (30) having a circular cross-section and formed with substantially the same diameter as the game medium. The drive body passage (20) and the game medium passage (30). Means that the passage walls facing each other have openings (22, 3
2), which communicate with each other through the openings (22, 32), and
Has a coil body (40) inserted into the inside of the passage, and the coil body (40) enters the inside of the passage of the game medium passage (30) through the openings (22, 32). The end of the game medium passage (30)
An upper replenishing section (45) through which game media can pass in one row has a leading end provided with a game medium detector (50) and a passage switching means (48, 49). The game medium detector (50) is configured to be able to detect a game medium passing through the upper supply section (45), and the passage switching means (48, 49) includes the upper supply section (45). ) Is configured to be switchable and connectable to the gaming machine side passage and the ball lending machine side passage, and the rotating means (60) is configured to be capable of rotating the coil body (40) around a coil axis. A discharge port (47) is provided at the end of the upper supply section (45). The passage switching means (48, 49) includes a switching lever (48) and a pair of bellows pipes (49). And the switching lever (4
8) The gaming machine side entrance (48a) and the ball rental machine side entrance (4
8b) and the pair of bellows pipes (4)
9) are connected to the gaming machine side and the ball lending machine side, respectively, and the upper end ports of the pair of bellows pipes (49) are connected to the gaming machine side entrance (48a) and the ball lending machine side. The gaming machine side entrance (48a) of the switching lever (48) is connected to the gaming machine side connection position when the switching lever (48) swings to the gaming machine side connection position. The switching lever (48) positioned below
The ball lending machine side entrance (48b) is connected to the switching lever (4
8) swings to the ball lending machine side connection position, the discharge port (4)
The lifting device according to [1], which is located below (7).

[3] The lifting device, wherein the coil body (40) is configured to be capable of lifting one game medium between coil pitches.

Next, the operation of the invention described in each of the above items will be described. In the lifting device according to [1], when the rotating means (60) rotates the coil body (40) around the coil axis, the coil body (40) is opened inside the game medium passage (30). Since the game medium has entered through (22, 32), the game medium in the game medium path (30) is sent to the coil body (40) and rises in the game medium path (30). Since a certain number of game media are transported so as to be sandwiched between the coil pitches of the coil body (40), if a certain number of game media are always sandwiched between the coil pitches, the coil body (4)
Based on the number of revolutions of 0), the number of game media transported can be calculated. The game media transported to the end of the game medium passageway (30) passes through the upper supply section (45) in a single row. The game medium detector (50) detects a game medium passing through the upper supply section (45). By comparing the detected number of game media passed with the calculated number of game media transported, it is checked whether a fixed number of game media is sandwiched between the coil pitches of the coil body (40). be able to. If it is insufficient, the coil body (40) may be further rotated corresponding to the shortage. Also, passage switching means (48, 49)
Is configured such that the tip of the upper replenishing section (45) can be switched to a game machine side passage and a ball lending machine side passage, which are supply destinations, for connection. Thereby, the required number of game media can be replenished to the two replenishing destinations. That is, a required number of game media can be supplied to the supply destination without providing a ball counter or the like on the supply path leading to the two supply destinations.

In the lifting device described in the item [2], in order to set the supply destination to the gaming machine side, the switching lever (48) of the passage switching means (48, 49) is swung to the gaming machine side connection position. Good.
Thereby, the discharge port (4) at the tip of the upper replenishing section (45)
7) Below the game machine side entrance (48) of the switching lever (48)
a) is located at the discharge port (4) at the tip of the upper replenishing section (45).
7) The game machine side entrance (48a) of the switching lever (48)
-It is connected to the gaming machine through a bellows pipe (49).

When the switching lever (48) of the passage switching means (48, 49) swings to the gaming machine side connection position, the upper end of the switching lever (48) is connected to the gaming machine side entrance (48a). The bellows pipe (49) can flexibly follow the movement of the switching lever (48). On the other hand, in order to set the supply destination to the ball lending machine side, the switching lever (48) of the passage switching means (48, 49) may be swung to the ball lending machine side connection position. Thereby, similarly, the discharge port (47) at the tip of the upper supply unit (45) is connected to the ball lending machine side through the ball lending machine side entrance (48b) to the bellows pipe (49) of the switching lever (48). . At this time, the bellows pipe (49) whose upper end is connected to the ball rental machine side entrance (48b) of the switching lever (48) can flexibly follow the movement of the switching lever (48).

[0010] In the lifting device according to the item [3], since the coil body (40) is configured to be able to lift one game medium between the coil pitches, one coil body is provided between the coil pitches. If the game medium is always sandwiched, the number of revolutions of the coil body (40) matches the number of times the game medium is transported. Since one game medium is not always sandwiched between the coil pitches, if such a gap is empty, the game medium detector (50) passes through the upper replenishing section (45). Since the game medium is detected, the gap between the coil pitches can be checked by comparing the detected number of passed game media with the calculated number of game media transported. By rotating the empty space, the required number of game media is reliably supplied to the supply destination.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Each drawing shows an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a lifting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of an attached state of the lifting device. FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of the lifting device. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a lifting path of the lifting device.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 and FIG. 7, a lifting device is provided for each gaming machine 1 which is a pachinko machine, and lifts a game medium which is a pachinko ball used in the gaming machine 1. Things. The inside of the lifting path 10, which is a lifting pipe for lifting the game media, has a large-diameter circular section-shaped driving body passage 20 extending in parallel, and a small-diameter formed with the same diameter as the game medium. And a game medium passage 30 having a circular cross section. The hoisting path 10 is largely curved upward on the lower side of the gaming machine 1, and is greatly curved in the horizontal direction on the upper side of the gaming machine 1.

The driving body passage 20 and the game medium passage 30 have openings 22 and 32 formed by passage walls 21 and 31 facing each other.
And communicate with each other through the openings 22 and 32. By communicating with the openings 22, 32,
As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the inside of the hoistway 10 is formed in a Dharma-shaped cross section. Opening 2
The openings 2 and 32 have an opening width smaller than the diameter of the game medium so that the game medium does not escape from the game medium passage 30 to the driving body passage 20 side. The coil body 40 is inserted into the drive body passage 20 inside the passage. Coil body 40
Is substantially equal to the diameter of the game medium.

A coil body 40 enters the passage of the game medium passage 30 through the openings 22 and 32, and the game medium in the passage can be lifted while being sandwiched between the coil pitches of the coil body 40. It has become. An end of the coil body 40 protrudes outward from an upper end opening of the driving body passage 20. The end of the coil body 40 is fitted to the joint member 65 and is prevented from coming off by screws. Also, the joint member 65
The rotating shaft 61 (coinciding with the coil axis of the coil body 40) on the rotating means 60 side which is a motor
0 is fitted from the side opposite to the end, and is similarly prevented from coming off by screws.

FIG. 4 is a partial plan view of the upper supply section of the lifting device. FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of the upper supply section of the lifting device. FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of the upper supply section of the lifting device. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 to 6, the lower part of the gaming machine 1 is stamped on a gaming board surface,
An out-ball tank 5 is provided for storing an out-ball taken into the gaming machine 1 through a winning port or an out port on a game board surface, and a discharge path 6 of the out-ball tank 5 is a lifting path 10.
Of the game medium. That is, the out ball is discharged to the upper portion of the gaming machine 1 through the discharge path 6 and the game medium path 30.

In the upper part of the gaming machine 1, an upper replenishing portion 45 is formed in the game medium passage 30. The upper supply unit 45 has a guide path 46 formed in a direction away from the driver passage 20 so that the discharged game medium is released from the restraint of the coil body 40 in the driver passage 20. A discharge port 47 is formed at the end of 46. On the lower surface of the guide path 46, a switching lever 48 that constitutes a path switching means
Are pivotally connected by a pivot 46a, and the switching lever 4
8, a pair of bellows pipes 49, which also constitute the passage switching means, are attached. One of the pair of bellows tubes 49 is for replenishing the gaming machine 1 with game media, and the other bellows tube 49 is for replenishing game machines to the betting machine 7.

The switching lever 48 has a gaming machine side entrance 48a and a ball rental machine side entrance 48b at its swinging end. One upper end of a pair of bellows pipes 49 is connected to the gaming machine side entrance 48a, and the upper end of the other bellows pipe 49 is connected to the ball rental machine side entrance 48b. Switching lever 4
A plunger of a solenoid 51 is connected to 8 via an arm member. The solenoid 51 is connected to the switching lever 4
The plunger is caused to protrude and retract so as to swing 8 between the gaming machine side connection position and the ball rental machine side connection position about the pivot 46a. The machine side entrance 48 of the switching lever 48
a is located below the discharge port 47 at the gaming machine side connection position, and the ball rental machine side entrance 48b of the switching lever 48 is located below the discharge port 47 at the ball rental machine side connection position.

A game medium detector 50 is provided on the periphery of the outlet 47 of the guide path 46. Game media detector 5
Reference numeral 0 denotes an optical sensor which detects that light is interrupted by a game medium passing through the outlet 47 and outputs a detection signal to a computer (not shown). The game medium detector 50 is not limited to an optical sensor, and may be any device that can detect a game medium passing through the outlet 47, such as a magnetic sensor.

Next, the operation will be described. The game medium that is an out ball used in the game and the game medium that is a possessed ball counted by the possessed ball counter are collected in the lower part of the game machine island or directly in the lower tank 5. The game media collected in the lower tank 5 are arranged in a line and supplied to a lower portion of the game medium passage 30 of the delivery path 10. The lower portion of the lifting path 10 is horizontal so that the game medium sent from the lower tank 5 smoothly enters the coil pitch of the coil body 40. The coil body 40 is rotated by a rotating means 60 which is a motor mounted on the upper part, and the game medium sandwiched between the coil pitches of the coil body 40 is fed into the game medium passage 30. Drive body passage 20
The lifting path 10 comprising the game medium path 30 is curved at the lower part, rises and becomes vertical, and also becomes curved at the upper part and becomes horizontal again. By doing this,
Due to the height of the rotating means 60, the entire apparatus suppresses bulkiness in the vertical direction. If there is sufficient space for mounting the apparatus, the lifting path 10 may be straight without being curved.

The game medium transported into the game medium passage 30 passes through the guide path 46 of the upper supply section 45 in a single line via the upper supply section 45 formed at the end thereof. , Falls through the outlet 47 at the tip, and switches
Machine side entrance 48a or ball rental machine side entrance 48b ~
Through the bellows tube 49, the supply is supplied to the supply destination, which is the gaming machine 1 or the betting machine 7. The switching lever 48 is driven by a solenoid 51, and enters a state shown in FIG. 4 when a replenishment signal is input from the gaming machine 1, and the upper end of the bellows tube 49 connected to the upper plate of the gaming machine 1 is connected to the switching lever. It is fitted to the discharge port 47 through the game machine side entrance 48a of 48. On the other hand, when the payout signal for the tama ball lending machine 7 and the ball held by the customer is input, the state is as shown in FIG. 5, and the upper end of the bellows pipe 49 connected to the tama ball lender is connected to the switching lever 4.
The technical medium balls which are matched with the discharge port 47 through the ball rental machine side entrance 48b of No. 8 and fall through the discharge port 47 are supplied to each supply destination.

A game medium detector 50 is attached to the periphery of the outlet 47 so as to count the number of game media supplied to each supply destination. When the coil body 40 makes one rotation, the game medium moves by one coil pitch. Therefore, basically, it is sufficient to rotate the coil body 40 by a predetermined number of payouts. However, the game medium is not always reliably sandwiched between the coil pitches, and the gap between the coil pitches may be empty. In such a case, the following two methods are used.

As one method, the coil unit 4 is rotated up to a predetermined number of payouts or a rotation number one or two less than the predetermined number of payouts.
By turning 0, the coil body 40 is temporarily stopped. The actual payout number at that time is compared with the detection signal of the game medium detector 50. At this time, since the actual number of payouts is certainly smaller than the predetermined number of payouts, the coil body 40 is rotated corresponding to the shortage of balls, and the rotation is stopped if the actual number of payouts is the predetermined number of payouts. If there is a further shortage, the coil body 40 is rotated again corresponding to the shortage of the number of balls, and an accurate predetermined payout number of game media is paid out.

As another method, the coil unit 40 is rotated until the actual number of payouts becomes one or two less than the predetermined number of payouts, and then the rotation of the coil unit 40 is stopped.
The number of missing balls at the time when the rotation of the coil is stopped is detected, and then the rotation speed of the coil body 40 is reduced to reduce the rotation of the coil body 40 when the actual number of payouts reaches the predetermined number of payouts. Stop.

By doing so, a large amount of game media can be replenished as a whole, and the replenishing capacity is increased.
When the number of shortage balls becomes one or two, the coil body 40 is rotated at a low speed, and a predetermined number of payouts can be supplied, so that the reliability is improved. In addition, as described above, the rotation speed of the coil body 40 is stopped in the middle by changing the rotation speed of the rotation means 60 continuously using an inverter instead of the two stages of the rotation speed of the coil body 40. Without coil body 4
By rotating 0 continuously, it is possible to accurately supply a predetermined number of payouts.

That is, initially, the high speed payout is performed by rotating the coil body 40 at a high speed, but the rotation speed is reduced as the predetermined number of payouts is approached, and when the number of remaining balls becomes two or three, the number of balls is reduced. The speed is reduced, and when the last one flows through the discharge port 47, the rotating means 60 stops. When a supply request signal is input from the gaming machine 1, the solenoid 5
1 operates, and the switching lever 48 swings to the state of FIG. The rotating means 60 connected to the end of the coil body 40 rotates, and the fed game medium is fed from the upper supply unit 45 provided at the end of the delivery path 10 via the guide path 46 to the discharge port 47, The supply of the upper plate of the gaming machine 1 is started through the bellows tube 49. For example, in the case of replenishing 400 pieces, up to 350 pieces are rotated at a high speed to pay out at high speed, and thereafter up to 380 pieces are medium-speed, and thereafter, low speed is paid out and 400 pieces are accurately paid out.

Both the payout of the game medium by the payout request signal from the betting machine lending machine and the payout of the game medium by the payout request signal for the possessed ball, the game machine 1 is passed through the nozzle of the betting machine lending machine 7. Supplied to a dish. When the payout request signal is input, the solenoid 51 operates,
The switching lever 48 is moved to the state shown in FIG. The rotating means 60 connected to the end of the coil body 40 rotates, and the fed game medium is fed from the upper supply unit 45 provided at the end of the delivery path 10 via the guide path 46 to the discharge port 47, Through the bellows pipe 49, the supply of the upper plate of the gaming machine 1 to the upper plate is started via the nozzle of the betting machine 7. In the above embodiment,
Although the switching lever 48 is shown as swinging, the switching lever 48 may be fixed and the upper supply unit 45 may be moved.

In the above-described embodiment, the description has been given of the case where the upper part of the delivery path 10 is curved, but the upper part of the delivery path 10 may be linear. Also, as the driving means for swinging the switching lever 48, the solenoid 51 in which the plunger protrudes and retracts by changing the flow direction of the electric current is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the plunger is urged in the protruding direction or the retracting direction. You may. Further, a motor or a rotary solenoid may be directly connected to the pivot 46a, which is the center of rotation of the switching lever 48, without causing the plunger to protrude and retract. In the lifting device according to the embodiment, the predetermined number of game media can be lifted by the rotation speed of the coil body 40, and the supply destination can be switched by swinging the switching lever 48. A predetermined number of supplies can be made without using a separate ball counter as before. Furthermore, it can be made compatible with the conventional replenishing device. Further, since the game media are conveyed one by one while being constrained between the coil pitches of the coil body 40, and only the replenished game media rolls on the guide path 46 and the like, generation of noise can be prevented. .

[0028]

According to the lifting device of the present invention, the game medium is pumped so as to sandwich the game medium between the coil pitches of the coil body, and the fed game medium is switched by the passage switching means to supply the game medium. The number of game media to be pumped corresponds to the number of revolutions of the coil body, and the ball counter for refilling the gaming machine, the ball counter in the ball-to-ball lending machine, the ball counter for paying out the ball, etc. No longer needed
Reducing the number of parts, reducing costs, eliminating the need for ball counters and supply gutters, keeping the height of the curtain plate that forms the upper part of the gaming machine island low, and making fine adjustments to the supply gutters and supply chute impossible. Construction can be performed easily as needed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a lifting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a mounting state of the lifting device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of the lifting device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial plan view of an upper replenishing unit of the lifting device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of an upper replenishing unit of the lifting device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of an upper replenishing unit of the lifting device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a lifting path of the lifting device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Gaming machine 5 ... Lower tank 6 ... Discharge path 10 ... Lifting path 20 ... Driver passage 22, 32 ... Opening 30 ... Game medium passage 40 ... Coil body 45 ... Upper supply part 46 ... Guide path 47 ... Discharge Exit 48 ... Switching lever 48a ... Gaming machine side entrance 48b ... Ball rental machine entrance 49 ... Bellows tube 50 ... Game medium detector 51 ... Solenoid 60 ... Rotating means (motor)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A lifting device for lifting a game medium used in a game, wherein a lifting path for lifting the game medium includes a driver passage having a substantially circular cross section extending in parallel with the game medium. And a path for a game medium having a circular cross-section having a diameter substantially the same as that of the path for the driving body and the path for the game medium, the path walls facing each other having openings, respectively. The driving body passage has a coil inserted into the passage, and the coil passes through the opening inside the game medium passage. The end portion of the game medium passage communicates with an upper supply portion through which game media can pass in a single line, and a tip portion of the upper supply portion has a game medium detector and a passage switching means. The game medium detector has the upper part It is configured to be able to detect a game medium passing through the supply unit, and the passage switching unit is configured to be connectable by switching the tip of the upper supply unit to a gaming machine side passage and a ball rental machine side passage. The lifting device, wherein the rotating means is configured to be able to rotate the coil body around a coil axis. 2. A lifting device for lifting a game medium used in a game, wherein a lifting path for lifting the game medium includes a driver passage having a substantially circular cross section extending in parallel with the game medium. And a path for a game medium having a circular cross-section having a diameter substantially the same as that of the path for the driving body and the path for the game medium, the path walls facing each other having openings, respectively. The driving body passage has a coil inserted into the passage, and the coil passes through the opening inside the game medium passage. The end portion of the game medium passage communicates with an upper supply portion through which game media can pass in a single line, and a tip portion of the upper supply portion has a game medium detector and a passage switching means. The game medium detector has the upper part It is configured to be able to detect a game medium passing through the supply unit, and the passage switching unit is configured to be connectable by switching the tip of the upper supply unit to a gaming machine side passage and a ball rental machine side passage. The rotation unit is configured to be able to rotate the coil body around a coil axis, a tip of the upper supply unit is provided with a discharge port, and the passage switching unit includes a switching lever and a pair of switching levers. The switching lever has a gaming machine side entrance and a ball rental machine side entrance, and each lower end of the pair of bellows tubes communicates with the gaming machine side and the ball rental machine side, respectively. The upper ends of the pair of bellows pipes are respectively connected to the gaming machine side entrance and the ball rental machine side entrance, and the gaming machine side entrance of the switching lever is such that the switching lever is connected to the gaming machine side. Swing to connection position And the ball lending machine side entrance of the switching lever is located below the discharge port when the switching lever swings to the ball lending machine side connection position. The lifting device according to 1. 3. The lifting device according to claim 1, wherein the coil body is configured to be capable of lifting one game medium between coil pitches.