JPS5828635Y2 - Pachinko ball return device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a pachinko ball return device that doffs balls from the lower part of the pachinko machine to the upper tank using the rotational driving force of a sprocket.

This type of pachinko ball return device has a basic structure in which the spacing between adjacent teeth of the sprocket is used as a holding space for the pachinko balls to enter, and a guide curved plate is arranged below this sprocket. The balls are supplied to the sprocket from a flow machine connected to the inlet end of the guide curved plate, and the balls are given upward force by the rotation of the sprocket and are sent to the top of the pachinko machine via the ball lifting gutter connected to the outlet end of the guide curved plate. is pushed up into the tank.

However, in this pachinko ball return device, there is a problem in that balls are likely to get jammed or stuck, particularly at the point where the balls are supplied to the sprocket, that is, at the entrance of the guide curved plate, and smooth return of the balls is hindered.

This ball gripper or ball holder basically consists of one or several balls between the tip of the sprocket tooth and a fixed part such as a curved guide plate, which can cause changes in the arrangement of balls depending on the rotational force of the sprocket. The state in which the balls are clamped and fixed, that is, the so-called
This is caused by a bridging phenomenon, and therefore, a device for preventing or eliminating this bridging phenomenon has been proposed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 53-40232, but the present invention uses a means different from the conventional device. This is intended to more reliably prevent the ball bridging phenomenon.

In other words, in the pachinko ball return device of the present invention, the ball is not properly stored in the sprocket's holding space at the entrance of the guide curved plate disposed at the bottom of the sprocket, and the balls are not properly stored in the sprocket's tooth tip and the guide curved plate. A protrusion that interferes with balls entering the ball is provided, and this protrusion is biased to elastically displace outward when an external force of a certain value or more is applied to prevent the bridging phenomenon described above from occurring. There is.

The invention will now be described with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

The sprocket 1 is constructed by fixing sprocket plates 2 of the same type to a shaft 4 at a predetermined interval smaller than the diameter of the balls 3, and the spaces between adjacent teeth 5 form a ball holding space 6. Since the balls 3 are held between the front and rear sprocket plates 2, movement in the axial direction of the shaft 4 is difficult to occur.

The guide curved plate 7 is arranged in the lower half of the sprocket 1, and the inlet end and outlet end of the guide curved plate 7 have a flow machine 8 leading out from a pachinko ball tank (not shown) and an upper tank (not shown). (not shown) are connected to each other.

The guide curved plate 7 maintains a constant minimum distance from the sprocket 1 in approximately half of the outlet side of the ball, that is, the right half of the figure, the outlet side curved plate 7a, but on the other half, that is, the inlet side. In the curved plate 7b, the distance from the sprocket 1 gradually increases from the connection part with the outlet side curved plate 7a to the inlet end of the ball, and at the artificial end, the distance between the tip of the tooth 5 of the sprocket 1 and It is configured to allow the ball 3 to pass between it and the guide curved plate 7.

However, below the entrance side curved plate 7b of the guide curved plate 7,
An interference arm 11 that can swing around a shaft 10 is pivotally supported, and a protrusion 12 that protrudes toward the sprocket 1 from a notch formed in the entrance side curved plate 7b is formed on this interference arm 11. There is.

The interference arm 11 is urged toward the sprocket 1 by a spring 15 stretched between the shaft 10 and the spring stops 13 and 14, but its swing end is restricted at the illustrated position.

The protrusion 12 is composed of a plate having a smooth curved surface, and assumes the following positional relationship with the ball 3 when the interference arm 11 is in the illustrated position.

That is, this protrusion 12 is located in the holding space 6 of the sprocket 1.
When the ball 3 enters correctly, there is no interference, but when the ball 3 enters between the tip of the tooth 5 of the sprocket 1 and the guide curved plate 7, it interferes with this.

Therefore, in this device having the above configuration, during normal operation in which the balls 3 are correctly supplied one by one to the ball holding space 6 of the sprocket 1, the protrusion 12 simply guides the lower part of the ball 3 as shown in FIG. does not substantially interfere with this,
Therefore, the ball 3 given a lifting force by the sprocket 1 is returned to the tank above via the ball lifting gutter 9.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
If the ball 3 enters between the tip and the guide curved plate 7 and the holding space 6 behind the tooth is empty, the protrusion 12 will interfere with the ball 3 due to the bias and the next empty space will occur. Similarly, smooth doffing is performed because the material is pushed into the holding space 6 of the material.

Also, for some reason, the balls 3 become stagnant between the tips of the teeth 5 of the sprocket 1 and the guide curved plate 7, and the balls 3 are not supplied to the holding space 6 in front of the teeth, but the balls 3 are kept in the holding space 6 behind the teeth. is supplied, the stagnant ball 3 is pushed by the rear ball and elastically displaces the protrusion 12 outward against the spring 15, so that the ball is stored in the empty holding space (No. 3
(see figure).

In short, in the present invention, the protrusion 12, the urging means that enables the outward elastic displacement of the protrusion 12, and the rotational force of the sprocket 1 apply a moving force to the ball that is about to stay at the entrance of the guide curved plate 7. Because of this, the bridging phenomenon is avoided, and therefore no ball biting or ball catching occurs.

Note that the distance between the entrance side curved plate 7b of the guide curved plate 7 and the tip of the tooth 5 of the sprocket 1 is equal to the distance between the ball 3 at the rear of the protrusion 12.
Therefore, after passing through the protrusion 12 portion, the ball 3 does not change its position inside the holding space 6 of the sprocket 1.

In addition, in the present invention, an exclusion plate 1 is provided at the upper part of the ball inlet of the guide curved plate 7, facing forward from the vertical direction, that is, toward the flow gutter 9 side, and inside the movement locus of the sprocket 1.
6 is suspended and supported, and this exclusion plate 16 also contributes to preventing the bridging phenomenon.

In other words, the stacked balls in the second and third stages also receive the rotational force of the sprocket 1 and a thrust in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 4, which can give related motion to the adjacent balls, thus eliminating the cause of the bridging phenomenon. It can be removed before it happens.

As described above, according to the present invention, the protrusion provided at the inlet of the guide curved plate disposed at the lower part of the sprocket and the biasing means that enable elastic displacement of the protrusion outwardly move the inlet of the sprocket. It is possible to give the ball a movement that prevents the bridging phenomenon, and therefore, it is possible to prevent the ball from biting or catching and to achieve smooth return of the ball.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 are side views of essential parts of an embodiment of the pachinko ball return device according to the present invention, each showing a different operating state. 1: Sprocket, 3: Ball, 5: Teeth, 6: Holding space, 7
: Guide curved plate, 12: Protrusion, 15: Bawa.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A sprocket that forms a holding space for pachinko balls between adjacent teeth, a guide curved plate disposed below this sprocket, and a flow machine connected to the input side and outlet side ends of this guide curved plate, respectively. In a pachinko ball return device equipped with a ball ejecting gutter, a removal plate that enters inside the movement locus of the sprocket is suspended above the ball inlet of the guide curved plate, and a removal plate is further supported at the inlet of the guide curved plate. This is a pachinko ball return device in which a protrusion that does not interfere with the balls that enter the holding space of the sprocket, but does interfere with the balls that enter between the tooth tips and the guide curved plate, and urges the protrusions toward the sprocket. .