JPH1157128A - Pachinko machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the 'idling' of a shooter and to automatically adjust the shooting operation timing of the shooter. SOLUTION: A proximity switch 32 is attached on the side of a shooting position at the right end of a shooting rail 19, and a pachinko ball supplied from a straightening unit 30 to the shooting position is detected. Operation for feeding out the pachinko ball one by one from the straightening unit 30 at the interval of prescribed time (0.6 sec, for example), is repeated and each time the proximity switch 32 detects one pachinko ball, after the lapse of prescribed delay time (namely, the stop of the pachinko ball at the shooting position) is waited, the pachinko ball is shot by performing the shooting operation of a shooting solenoid 18 just once. Besides, when the state of detecting no pachinko ball exceeds prescribed time (several seconds, for example), set longer than the normal supply interval (0.6 sec, for example), of pachinko balls, a lamp is turned on and ball exhaustion or ball clogging is notified to a player.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pachinko machine which uses a launcher to launch a pachinko ball supplied from a rectifier to a launch position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a pachinko machine repeats a firing operation in which a launcher fires a pachinko ball when a player operates an operating handle, and fires from a rectifier in conjunction with the firing operation of the launcher. Pachinko balls are supplied to the position one by one.

[0003]

The conventional pachinko machines are:
In order to obtain a good firing state, it is necessary to accurately adjust the firing operation timing of the launcher with respect to the supply operation timing of the rectifier. However, performing such an operation for each pachinko machine is extremely time-consuming, and has the disadvantage that the production efficiency is poor.

Further, during the operation of firing the operation handle, since the launcher repeats the firing operation, if the pachinko ball is not supplied to the firing position due to the ball being cut out or clogged, it takes a long time before the player returns the operation handle to the stopped state. In the meantime, the state is "idling", and the launcher repeats useless launching operations despite the fact that the pachinko ball is not supplied to the launching position. Due to this “blank hit”, there are problems such as that the launcher consumes useless power and that the durability of the launcher is reduced.

Therefore, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-38689, the presence or absence of a pachinko ball at the launch position is detected by a sensor, and if there is no pachinko ball, the launching operation of the launcher is stopped, thereby launching. It has been proposed to prevent "missing" of the aircraft.

However, even in the pachinko machine disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, it is necessary to adjust the firing operation timing of the launcher (or the supply operation timing of the rectifier) as described above in order to obtain a good firing state. However, the disadvantage of poor production efficiency has not been solved.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the object thereof is to provide an “empty launch” of a launch vehicle.
And a pachinko machine capable of automatically adjusting the firing operation timing of the launcher.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a pachinko machine according to claim 1 of the present invention is provided with ball detecting means between a rectifier (ball hitting supply device) and a firing position, and supplies the ball from the rectifier. The pachinko ball to be detected is detected, and each time the ball detecting means detects one pachinko ball, the launcher is fired only once by the ball firing control means.

In this configuration, when the ball detecting means detects a pachinko ball, the launcher is fired to fire the pachinko ball. Thereby, the firing operation timing is automatically adjusted based on the supply timing of the pachinko ball from the rectifier. In addition, unless the pachinko ball is detected, the launcher does not perform a launching operation, thereby preventing "launching" of the launcher.

In this case, the rectifier may repeat the operation of supplying a pachinko ball at regular time intervals when the operation unit of the launcher is operated. With this configuration, the pachinko ball supplied from the rectifier reaches the detection position of the ball detection means at regular intervals and is detected, so that the launcher repeats the firing operation at regular intervals and launches the pachinko ball. I do. Thus, the number of pachinko balls fired per minute can be easily adjusted by adjusting the interval (fixed time) of supplying the pachinko balls from the rectifier.

Further, a predetermined delay time may be provided between the detection of the pachinko ball and the launching operation of the launcher. With this configuration, the pachinko ball supplied to the firing position is fired after being stopped at the firing position due to the delay time after detection.

Further, when the state in which the ball detecting means does not detect the pachinko ball exceeds a predetermined time longer than the normal pachinko ball supply interval, the notifying means is operated to activate the ball. You may be notified that it is in a cut or ball clogged state. In this way, even if the launcher does not perform the firing operation despite the player operating the operating unit, the operating unit or the launcher is not broken down, but the launcher is cut off or clogged by the ball. The player can confirm that the shooting operation of is stopped.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a schematic configuration of the entire pachinko machine will be described with reference to FIG. A game board 12 is attached to a main frame 11 of the pachinko machine.
2, a display device 13, a starting winning port 14, a variable winning device 15, a normal winning port 16, a winning device 17, and the like are provided. A firing solenoid 18 as a launcher is provided at the lower right side of the main body frame 11, and the pachinko ball fired leftward by the firing solenoid 18 is:
It is guided toward the left side of the game board 12 along a firing rail 19 provided below the game board 12. A foul ball collection port 20 is provided in the middle of the firing rail 19 to collect foul balls returning from the game board 12. In addition, a front panel 21 is provided at a lower portion of the front surface of the main body frame 11, and an upper plate 22 and a lower plate 23 are provided on the front panel 21. On the right side of the lower plate 23, an operation handle 2 which is an operation unit of the firing solenoid 18 is provided.
4 are provided. Above the operation handle 24, a lamp 33, which is a notification unit for notifying that the ball is cut or clogged, is provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, the right end of the firing rail 19 is bent into an L shape, and a holding hole 26 having a diameter smaller than that of a pachinko ball is formed at the right end. The right portion of the pachinko ball is fitted into the holding hole 26, and the position where the pachinko ball is stopped (see FIG. 1C) is set as the firing position. A plunger 27 is inserted through the center of the firing solenoid 18, and the firing solenoid 18
The plunger 27 is instantaneously moved to the left by an electromagnetic force generated when power is supplied to the plunger 27, and the hitting portion 28 provided at the tip of the plunger 27 hits the pachinko ball stopped at the firing position from the right [FIG. 1 (d)], the pachinko ball is fired to the left. The firing solenoid 18 and the firing rail 19 are mounted on the front surface of the same mounting board 29.

On the other hand, a rectifier 30 (hit ball supply device) for supplying pachinko balls one by one to the firing position is provided on the front side of the firing rail 19. The rectifier 30 is configured using, for example, a solenoid, a step motor, or the like as a drive source. In addition, a detection window 31 is provided in a portion of the mounting substrate 29 facing the vicinity of the firing position. A proximity switch 32, which is a ball detecting means, is attached to the detection window 31, and detects a pachinko ball supplied to the firing position. The pachinko ball sent from the rectifier 30 is mounted on the firing rail 1 on the left side of the proximity switch 32.
9 and flows down along the inclination of the firing rail 19 from there, reaching the firing position through the proximity switch 32 [see FIG. 1 (b)]. When the mounting board 29 is formed of a resin or the like that does not adversely affect the detection of the pachinko ball, the proximity switch 32 is mounted on the back surface of the mounting board 29 without providing the detection window 31. May be.

The launch of the pachinko ball is controlled by a control device 34 (see FIG. 3) which is a ball launch control means. The control device 34 is mainly configured by a microcomputer, for example, and is provided on the back side of the pachinko machine. The control device 34 has a built-in ROM (storage medium)
By executing the firing control program of FIG. 4 stored in the control unit 24, the firing solenoid 18 and the rectifier 3 are controlled based on signals output from the operation handle 24 and the proximity switch 32.
0 and the operation of the lamp 33 are controlled.

Hereinafter, the contents of control by the control device 34 will be described based on a firing control program shown in FIG. First, in step 101, the operation handle 24 is turned on.
It is determined whether or not the operation (rotation operation) has been performed. If the operation has not been performed, the process waits in step 101 until the operation is performed. Thereafter, when the operation handle 24 is turned on, the process proceeds to step 102, in which the rectifier 30 is operated,
The operation of sending pachinko balls one by one every 0.6 seconds, for example, so as to supply 100 pachinko balls per minute to the firing position is repeated.

In the next step 103, the proximity switch 32
Determines whether a pachinko ball has been detected within a predetermined time. Here, the predetermined time is a time (for example, several seconds) set longer than a normal pachinko ball supply interval (0.6 seconds in the present embodiment).

In step 103, if the proximity switch 32 detects a pachinko ball within a predetermined time, the process immediately proceeds to step 104, and if a lamp 33 described later is turned on, the lamp 33 is turned off. In the next step 105, it is determined whether or not a predetermined delay time has elapsed. Here, the predetermined delay time is the proximity switch 32
Is the time required from the detection of the pachinko ball to the stop of the pachinko ball at the firing position. If the predetermined delay time has not elapsed, the process waits in step 105 until the predetermined delay time has elapsed, and thereafter, when the predetermined delay time has elapsed, proceeds to the next step 106, where the operation handle 2
4, the firing solenoid 18 is energized with a voltage corresponding to the amount of rotation operation to cause the plunger 27 to perform a firing operation, and the pachinko ball is fired with a strength corresponding to the amount of rotation operation of the operation handle 24 [FIG. )reference].

As described above, since the pachinko ball supplied to the firing position is fired after being stopped at the firing position, it is possible to reduce the unevenness of the firing ball.
However, the response delay time of the firing operation of the firing solenoid 18;
That is, if the time required from when the control device 34 outputs the firing command signal to when the pachinko ball is actually fired is equal to or longer than the predetermined delay time, the delay time of step 105 is set to The provided processing may be omitted.

In the next step 107, it is determined whether or not the operation handle 24 has been turned off. If the operation has not been turned off, the process returns to step 102, and thereafter, in step 103, the pachinko ball is detected within a predetermined time. As long as the firing operation by the firing solenoid 18 is repeated,
For example, 100 pachinko balls are fired per minute.
On the other hand, when the operation handle 24 is turned off, the process proceeds to step 108, where the operation of the rectifier 30 is stopped, and the present program ends.

In the meantime, during the game, the pachinko balls in the upper plate 22 are cut out or clogged in the middle of the downflow path, so that the pachinko balls are not supplied to the firing position.
3, the state in which the proximity switch 32 does not detect the pachinko ball is a normal pachinko ball supply interval (in this embodiment, 0. 3).
(6 seconds) longer than the specified time,
The firing operation of the firing solenoid 18 is stopped.
Proceeding to 9, the lamp 33 is turned on to notify that the ball is out of or clogged. Accordingly, even if the firing solenoid 18 does not perform the firing operation despite the player operating the operation handle 24 ON, the operation handle 24
The pachinko ball is not fired due to a failure of the shooting solenoid 18 or the like, but the player can confirm that the firing operation of the firing solenoid 18 is stopped due to a broken or clogged ball. You do not have to misunderstand.

Then, the process proceeds to the next step 110, where it is determined whether or not the operation handle 24 has been turned off.
If the FF operation has not been performed, the process returns to step 102 and repeats the operation of the rectifier 30, and then proceeds to step 103, where the proximity switch 32 detects the pachinko ball within a predetermined time due to replenishment of a new pachinko ball and elimination of the clogged ball. if,
Proceeding to step 104, as described above,
Is turned off, and a pachinko ball is fired after a predetermined delay time has elapsed (steps 105 and 106).

On the other hand, at step 110, the operation handle 2
When the switch 4 is turned off, the routine proceeds to step 111, where the lamp 33 is turned off. Then, the routine proceeds to step 108, where the operation of the rectifier 30 is stopped, and this program ends.

According to the first embodiment described above, the firing operation timing of the firing solenoid 18 is automatically determined based on the supply timing of the pachinko balls sent out from the rectifier 30. In addition, there is no need to perform cumbersome work such as adjusting the firing operation timing of the launcher with respect to the supply operation timing of the rectifier for each pachinko machine, and the labor at the time of assembly can be saved.
In addition, unless the proximity switch 32 detects a pachinko ball, the firing solenoid 18 does not perform a firing operation.
It is possible to prevent "idling" beforehand, and it is possible to avoid wasteful power consumption and reduction in durability of the firing solenoid 18 due to "idling".

In the first embodiment, the proximity switch 32 for detecting the pachinko ball supplied from the rectifier 30 is installed on the side of the firing rail 19, but as in the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. In addition, a detection window 37 is provided on a side wall 36 of a supply path 35 that guides the pachinko balls sent from the rectifier 30 to the firing rail 19, and a proximity switch 32 is attached to the detection window 37, so that the pachinko machine that flows down the supply path 35. A sphere may be detected. In this case as well, the control by the control device 34 may use the firing control program shown in FIG. 4, but the predetermined delay time used in step 105 is determined after the proximity switch 32 detects the pachinko ball in the supply path 35 and fires. It is set to the total time of the time until the rail 19 reaches the firing position and the time until the pachinko ball stops at the firing position.

In the second embodiment, the proximity switch 3
2 is installed not in the launch rail 19 but in the supply path 35, so that the pachinko ball (foul ball) returning from the launch rail 19 does not pass in front of the proximity switch 32, and the There is an advantage that erroneous firing can be prevented.

In the first and second embodiments described above, the rectifier 30 repeats the operation of supplying the pachinko ball at regular time intervals independently of the operation of the firing solenoid 18, but this is not the case. In addition, the rectifier is configured to be mechanically or electrically linked to the launch operation of the launcher, and every time the launcher launches one pachinko ball, the rectifier places the pachinko ball immediately after the launch operation or after a certain period of time. You may supply one by one. In this case, turn on the operation handle
After the operation is started, in order to supply at least the first pachinko ball to the launch position, the launcher is turned on at regular intervals (for example, 0.6 seconds) regardless of the signal of the proximity switch (ball detection means) for a while. Each time), it is necessary to provide a period for repeating the operation of launching the pachinko ball to the launch position by linking the rectifier to the launch operation. After this period elapses, the pachinko ball may be fired by firing the launcher after the elapse of a predetermined delay time every time the proximity switch detects the pachinko ball as in the above-described embodiment. However, as described above, if the time required from the firing command of the control device to actually firing the pachinko ball is equal to or longer than the predetermined delay time, the delay time is omitted. Needless to say, it is good.

When the proximity switch is attached to the side of the firing position as in the first embodiment, a dead time is provided for detection by the proximity switch,
The pachinko ball may not be detected for a predetermined time from the launch operation of the launcher. In this way, even when the rectifier is operated in conjunction with the launch operation of the launcher as described above (that is, when the supply operation timing of the rectifier changes in accordance with the launch operation timing of the launcher), the proximity switch of the proximity switch is operated. By properly setting the dead time, the launcher can be prevented from firing earlier than the normal firing interval,
It is possible to prevent the number of pachinko balls fired per minute from exceeding the specified number.

In each of the embodiments described above, the lamp 33 is provided as the notification means. However, instead of the lamp 33, a display device or a buzzer may be provided, or both the lamp 33 and a buzzer may be provided. Is also good. Further, the configuration may be such that no notification means is provided. Even in this case, the intended object of the present invention can be sufficiently achieved.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the launcher and the rectifier are configured by solenoids, but may be configured by utilizing rotation of a motor or the like. Further, although the proximity switch 32 is used as the sphere detecting means, for example, an optical sensor or the like may be used.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the present invention is applied to a pachinko machine of a normal lateral firing, but it is needless to say that the present invention may be applied to a pachinko machine of an upward firing type.

[0033]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the pachinko machine of the first aspect of the present invention, the launcher is operated every time a pachinko ball supplied from the rectifier is detected. The launch operation timing of the launcher is automatically adjusted to the supply timing of the pachinko balls, so that the labor at the time of assembling is saved and the efficiency is improved. In addition, unless the pachinko ball is detected, the launcher does not perform a launching operation, so that "missing" can be prevented beforehand, and power consumption and shortening of the lifetime of the launcher due to "missing" can be prevented.

According to the second aspect, the rectifier supplies the pachinko balls at regular intervals, so that the number of pachinko balls fired per minute can be easily obtained by merely adjusting the pachinko ball supply interval of the rectifier. Can be adjusted.

Further, in the third aspect, a predetermined delay time is provided between the detection of the pachinko ball and the launch of the pachinko ball, so that the pachinko ball is fired after being stopped at the firing position. A stable and stable launch of pachinko balls can be achieved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the state where the pachinko ball is not detected exceeds a predetermined time, the notifying means is operated, so that the launching operation of the launcher is stopped due to the ball being cut or clogged. This can be confirmed by the player, and the player can be prevented from misunderstanding that a malfunction has occurred.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, in which (a)
Is a front view of the launcher and its surroundings, (b) is a plan view showing a state where the pachinko balls are supplied to the launch position, (c) is a plan view showing a state where the pachinko balls are stationary at the launch position,
(D) is a plan view showing a state in which a pachinko ball is fired.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the pachinko machine.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a control device and its peripheral devices.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of a launch control program;

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which (a)
Is a front view of the launcher and its surroundings, (b) is a plan view showing a state where the pachinko balls are supplied to the launch position, (c) is a plan view showing a state where the pachinko balls are stationary at the launch position,
(D) is a plan view showing a state in which a pachinko ball has been fired.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Main body frame, 12 ... Game board, 18 ... Launching solenoid (launcher), 19 ... Launching rail, 20 ... Foul ball collection port, 24 ... Operating handle (operating section), 26 ... Holding hole, 2
7 ... plunger, 28 ... hitting part, 29 ... mounting board, 3
0: rectifier (hit ball supply device), 32: proximity switch (ball detection means), 33: lamp (notification means), 34: control device (ball launch control means), 35: supply path.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pachinko machine that launches a pachinko ball supplied to a launch position from a hit ball supply device (hereinafter referred to as a “rectifier”) that supplies pachinko balls one by one to a launch position. A ball detecting means provided between the launch position and detecting the pachinko ball supplied from the rectifier; and causing the launcher to fire only once each time the ball detecting means detects one pachinko ball. A pachinko machine comprising a ball launch control means. 2. The pachinko machine according to claim 1, wherein the rectifier repeats an operation of supplying a pachinko ball at regular time intervals when the operation unit of the launcher is operated. 3. The pachinko machine according to claim 1, wherein the ball launch control means has a predetermined delay time between the detection of the pachinko ball and the launch operation of the launcher. . 4. A notifying means for notifying that the ball is cut or clogged, wherein the ball launch control means sets a normal pachinko ball supply interval when the ball detection means does not detect the pachinko ball. The pachinko machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the notification unit is operated when a predetermined time set longer than a predetermined time is exceeded.