WO1994009875A1

WO1994009875A1 - Method of taking in pachinko balls and device for taking in pachinko balls

Info

Publication number: WO1994009875A1
Application number: PCT/JP1993/001305
Authority: WO
Inventors: Takatoshi Takemoto; Kazunari Kawashima
Original assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Ace Denken
Priority date: 1992-10-26
Filing date: 1993-09-10
Publication date: 1994-05-11
Also published as: CN1086150A; JPH06134136A; KR950704014A

Abstract

A pachinko ball taking-in device constructed such that a gear (10), formed at the outer periphery thereof with recessed portions (10a) for receiving packinko balls one by one, is rotatably provided so as to face a ball path (20), and a packinko ball, which is supplied into the ball path (20) from above and to be dropped by gravity, is engaged with a recessed portion (10a) and then dropped with the rotation of the gear wheel (10), wherein an amount of rotation of the gear (10) is controlled by a brake lever (50) engageable with the gear wheel (10) at a predetermined pitch, whereby a predetermined number of balls are taken in at high speed from the lower portion of the ball path (20). Until the difference between the number of balls taken in and the above-described predetermined number becomes less than a unit number of pachinko balls to be taken in by a predetermined-pitch rotation of the gear (10), the engagement of the brake lever (50) with the gear (10) is kept released in order to take in pachinko balls continuously, and, at the time when the difference between the number taken in and the above-described predetermined number becomes less than the above-described unit number to be taken in, the brake lever (50) is engaged with the gear (10) to stop the rotation of the gear (10), so that the above-described predetermined number of pachinko balls can be taken in.

Description

Specification

Pachinko ball capturing method and pachinko ball capturing device

The present invention relates to a gaming machine such as a slot machine in which a pachinko ball can be played using a pachinko ball as a game medium, wherein a pachinko ball for a player to take in a predetermined number of pachinko balls put on a front plate of the gaming machine into a gaming island. The present invention relates to a catching method and a pachinko ball catching device. Background art

A gaming machine such as a slot machine that can play a game using pachinko balls as a game medium is known as a proposal by the applicant, and is provided on a pachinko island or in a game arcade (pachinko ball supply / recovery device, counter, etc.). It is an excellent device that can be installed on a pachinko island instead of a pachinko machine, but such a game machine requires a pachinko ball take-in device.

That is, the game is enabled when the pachinko balls are inserted in place of the conventional medals, etc., so that the pachinko balls inserted into the front plate of the gaming machine by the pachinko balls according to the number of games (a predetermined number ( Usually, only five devices are required per game.

As a fixed number passage device used in such a capturing device, a device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-51616 is known.

This is a gear with 10 recesses formed on the outer periphery into which one pachinko ball fits one by one.

(Sub-rocket) is disposed in the ball passage so as to be rotatable as desired, and the ball supplied from above in the ball passage and trying to drop by its own weight engages with the concave portion and always rotates the gear. The rotation of the gear is controlled by the action of a locking claw that engages with the gear every half rotation so that a predetermined number of balls are paid out from the lower part in the ball passage. It was made.

That is, by turning on / off (meaning, temporarily exciting) a solenoid for releasing the engagement of the locking claw piece, the gear is rotated at a half-rotation pitch, Niko balls were taken in 5 by one.

For this reason, as the number of pachinko balls to be taken in increases, the number of times that the solenoid is turned on and off and the engagement and disengagement of the locking claw pieces are repeated increases, and the take-in speed decreases. Had the disadvantage that For example, when taking in 15 pachinko balls, the solenoid must be turned on and off three times, and the engagement and disengagement of the locking claw must be repeated three times, so that the gears are temporarily rotated continuously. Considering the case where fifteen pachinko balls were captured, it took a very long time to complete the capturing of fifteen pachinko balls, which hindered the smooth progress of the game.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the conventional technology, and provides a pachinko ball capturing method and a pachinko ball capturing device that can capture a predetermined number of pachinko balls at high speed. It is an object. Disclosure of the invention

The gist of the present invention for achieving such an object is as follows.

1 A ball passage (20), the lower end of which can communicate with the pachinko ball intake (26) into the gaming machine island, and a ball passage (20) provided to allow pachinko balls in the front plate of the gaming machine to flow in from the top, A recess (10a) into which pachinko balls are fitted one by one is formed, and

The gear (10), which is rotatably arranged as desired in the ball passage (20) in a state communicating with the gear (26), and the gear (10) are engaged with the gear (10) at a predetermined pitch. And a brake lever (50) capable of preventing the rotation of the gear (1), wherein the ball which is to fall in the ball passage (20) by its own weight engages with the concave portion (10a) and engages with the gear (1). Using a pachinko ball take-in device configured to fall with the rotation of (0), the amount of rotation of the gear (10) is controlled by the operation of the brake lever (50), and a predetermined number of balls are When taking in the inlet (26) from the front plate,

Until the difference between the number of intakes and the predetermined number is equal to or less than the unit intake number of the pachinko balls that are rotated and taken in by the predetermined pitch, the pachinko balls are continuously taken in. While the brake lever (50) is kept disengaged from the gear (10), the gear (10) is continuously rotated at the weight of the pachinko ball, When the difference between the intake number and the predetermined number becomes equal to or less than the unit intake number, the brake lever (50) is engaged with the gear (10) to stop the rotation of the gear (10). By

A pachinko ball capturing method characterized in that the predetermined number of pachinko balls are captured.

2 A ball passage (20) with a lower end that can communicate with the pachinko ball intake into the gaming machine island and a pachinko ball in the front plate of the gaming machine that flows in from the top, and a pachinko ball on the outer periphery A gear (10) rotatably disposed as desired in a ball passage (20) in which a recess (10a) into which each one is to be fitted is formed and communicated with the intake port (26); A brake lever (50) that can prevent rotation of the gear (10) by engaging with the gear (10) at a predetermined pitch, and the ball that attempts to fall in the ball passage (20) by its own weight. Is configured to engage with the concave portion (10a) and drop with the rotation of the gear (10), and the amount of rotation of the gear (10) is reduced by the operation of the brake lever (50). In a pachinko ball capturing device for controlling and capturing a predetermined number of balls from the front plate into the inlet (26),

An actuator (30) for retracting the brake lever (50) from a position where the brake lever (50) is engaged with the gear (10);

A take-in sensor (60) disposed downstream of the ball path (20) for detecting the passage of a pachinko ball that falls and is taken in;

When a predetermined number of pachinko balls are commanded,

Until the difference between the take-in number based on the detection signal of the take-in sensor (60) and the predetermined number becomes equal to or less than the unit take-in number of pachinko balls taken in by rotating the gear (10) by the predetermined pitch. In order to continuously discharge the pachinko balls, the actuator (30) is operated to hold the brake lever (50) in a state of being retracted from a position where it is engaged with the gear (10). (10) is continuously rotated according to the weight of the pachinko ball,

When the difference between the number of intakes and the predetermined number becomes equal to or less than the number of unit intakes, the operation of the actuator (30) is released and the brake lever (50) is engaged with the gear (10). A control unit (70) for stopping the rotation of the gear (10) A pachinko ball take-in device characterized by the provision of:

Therefore, the pachinko ball capturing method of the present invention is to continuously play pachinko balls until the difference between the actual number of captures after the start of capture and the predetermined number (target capture number) is equal to or less than the unit capture number. The gear (10) is continuously rotated by leaving the weight of the pachinko ball to discharge the gear to the wheel. When the difference is equal to or less than the unit take-in number, the brake lever (50) is engaged with the gear (10). Then, the rotation of the gear (10) is stopped.

For this reason, the rotation of the gear (10) stops when the remaining (last) unit take-in number is taken in, and the final take-up number is a predetermined number. Then, as the predetermined number increases, the time required to complete the acquisition is reduced as compared with the conventional case.

Because, in the taking method or device of the present invention, the operation of the brake lever (50) is only one ON / OFF operation regardless of the number of taking. In other words, the operation of retracting from the position engaging with the gear (10) at the start of taking in and returning to the engaging position again at the time of taking in the last unit take-in number and engaging with the gear (10). Only. In other words, the gear (10) rotates continuously from the start of rotation until the predetermined number of captures is completed and stopped, and even if the predetermined number to be captured is large, the pachinko balls are extremely small. It is captured smoothly and at high speed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a pachinko ball capturing device according to one embodiment of the present invention. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

Each of the drawings is a diagram showing a capture device (device for performing the capture method of the present invention) which is one embodiment of the present invention.

This take-in device takes in a predetermined number of pachinko balls in the front plate provided on the front of the slot machine into the game island where the slot machine is installed. As shown in Fig. 1, gears 10 and ball guides are provided. 20 (ball passage), intake control solenoid 30 (actuary), intake destination switching solenoid 40, brake lever 50, intake control And a control unit 70.

The gear 10 is a recess (a so-called subrocket) in which, in this case, 10 recesses 10a into which the pachinko balls P are fitted one by one are formed on the outer periphery (so-called subrockets), and the gear 10 is supported by the horizontally mounted gear shaft 11. The ball guide 20 is rotatable, and its outer periphery is arranged as desired in the ball guide 20.

On the outer peripheral side surface of the gear 10, two protrusions 12 that engage with the brake lever are formed at positions aligned on both sides of the gear shaft 11. The projections 12 are arranged such that when the projections 12 are positioned up and down, the ridges on the outer periphery of the gear 10 are positioned on the left and right rain sides as shown in FIG. It is formed at a position corresponding to the center of the concave portion 10a in the circumferential direction of.

The ball guide 20 is a cylindrical body having a cross-sectional shape through which a single ball passes with a slight gap, and is provided to be inclined so that the pachinko ball in the front plate flows into the front plate. The lower end of the road 21 is swingably connected to the lower surface of the end by a support shaft 22. The ball guide 20 is vertically oriented and swings from a position where the lower end is connected to the pachinko ball intake port 26 (normal position) to a position where the lower end is connected to the lower plate return port 27 (switching position). Normally, it is positioned at the normal position by the restoring force of the source switching solenoid 40. Here, the intake 26 is an entrance to a gutter (a so-called dob) for collecting pachinko balls, which is installed in the lower part of the game island. The lower plate return port 27 is an entrance to the lower plate for returning pachinko balls provided at the lower front of the slot machine.

In addition, by disposing the outer periphery of the gear 10 at a position substantially along the inner surface of the ball guide 20 at the normal position, the gear 10 is supplied from above into the ball guide 20 at the normal position and has its own weight. The ball to be dropped is engaged with the concave portion 10a and always falls with the rotation of the gear 10.

In order to detect how many balls are being supplied upstream of the gear 10 at a predetermined position of the supply path 21, a first pachinko ball that detects the presence of pachinko balls at the respective mounting positions is provided. The supply sensor 23, the second supply sensor 24, and the third supply sensor 25 are provided. These supply sensors 23, 24, 25 include, for example, a so-called proximity switch in which the output switches due to a change in the magnetic field due to the approach of metal, It is possible to use a photoelectric switch (so-called optical sensor) that utilizes the fact that the output of the light receiver (photoelectric conversion element) changes when an object blocks the detection light. In the case of the present embodiment, the first supply sensor 23 is a fifth pachinko ball, the second supply sensor 24 is a tenth pachinko ball, and the third supply sensor 25 is 15 It is located at the position to detect the pachinko ball.

The brake lever 50 is swingably mounted on a support shaft 51 parallel to the shaft 11 of the gear 10. In this case, an L-shape is provided at a position (engagement position) where the entire body is oriented in the left-right direction (horizontal direction). The tip 52, which is curved like a circle, engages the projection 12 of the gear 10 from above, and is normally positioned at the engagement position by the restoring force of the intake control solenoid 30.

The take-in control solenoid 30 and the take-in switching solenoid 40 cause the output shafts 31 and 41 to protrude and retract by the urging force of the panel and the magnetic force of the electromagnet opposed thereto, respectively. It drives the ball guide 20. That is, the output shaft 31 of the intake control solenoid 30 is hinged to the base end of the brake lever 50, and when the intake control solenoid 30 is excited by the control of the control unit 70, The output shaft 31 is retracted, and the brake lever 50 swings clockwise so as to retract from the engagement position. Further, the output shaft 41 of the capture destination switching solenoid 40 is hinged to the outer surface of the ball guide 20, and when the capture destination switching solenoid 40 is excited by the control of the control unit 70, this The output shaft 41 sinks and the ball guide 20 tilts to the switching position described above. The take-in sensor 60 is disposed so as to be located in the lower part of the pole guide 20 and detects the passage of a pachinko ball. Specifically, the above-described photoelectric switch or the like can be used.

The control unit 70 receives detection signals from the take-in sensor 60 and the supply sensors 23, 24, 25, and appropriately takes in the take-in control solenoid 30 and the take-in destination switching solenoid 40 in a processing procedure described later. Is excited to control the overall operation, and is composed of, for example, a so-called microcombination.

The control unit 70 is connected to first to third game switches 71, 72, 73 with built-in lighting lamps (for example, LEDs) disposed in front of the slot machine. When the first game switch 71 is operated, the control unit 70 determines that the take-in of five pachinko balls is instructed, and when the second game switch 72 is operated, the ten pachinko balls are operated. The operation program and the like are set so as to determine that a ball has been commanded, and to operate the third game switch 73 to determine that a command has been issued to capture 15 pachinko balls.

The control unit 70 is also connected to a return switch 74, which is also arranged in front of the slot machine and instructs a pachinko ball to be returned, and a take-in number display 75 for displaying the take-in number. ing.

The main function of the control unit 70 will be described. When a predetermined number of pachinko balls are instructed, the control unit 70 accumulates the actual number of acquisitions based on the detection signal of the acquisition sensor 60. Until the difference between the number of intakes and the predetermined number is equal to or less than the unit intake number of pachinko balls, the intake control solenoid 30 is continuously energized to brake the pachinko balls in order to continuously discharge the pachinko balls. The lever 50 is held in a retracted state from the engagement position, and the gear 10 is continuously rotated by leaving it to the weight of the pachinko ball, and when the difference between the number of intakes and the above-mentioned constant becomes equal to or less than the number of unit intakes. The operation of the intake control solenoid 30 is released, the brake lever 50 is engaged with the gear 10, and the rotation of the gear 10 is stopped.

Here, the unit number of pachinko balls taken in means that the gear 10 rotates one pitch while the brake lever 50 is temporarily disengaged from the gear 10 and then reengaged. This means the number of pachinko balls taken in.In this case, two protrusions 12 are formed on the gear with 10 recesses 10a, and the brake lever 50 is temporarily disengaged. Since the gear 10 rotates half a turn, one pitch rotation is a half turn, and the number of units taken is five.

Next, the operation will be described.

When a player puts pachinko balls into the front plate, these pachinko balls flow upstream of the ball guide 20 as shown in FIG. 1, but any of the first to third game switches 71, 72, and 73 When the controller is not operated and the pachinko ball take-in is not commanded, the controller 70 does not drive (excit) the take-in control solenoid 30 and the take-in destination switching solenoid 40. Therefore, the brake lever 50 was engaged with the gear 10 The ball guide 20 is maintained in the normal position while the pachinko ball is kept in the normal position, and as shown in FIG. 1, the pachinko ball is prevented from falling into the stopped gear 10 and is not taken in. Now, 15 or more pachinko balls are supplied in the supply path 21 and upstream of the ball guide 20, and the detection signals are output from all the supply sensors 23, 24, 25. In, for example, when the first game switch 71 is operated and five captures are commanded, the controller 70 starts driving the capture control solenoid 30. Then, the gear I 0 rotates, and the pachinko balls remaining on the upstream side in the ball guide 20 flow down with the rotation of the gear 10 and begin to be taken into the inlet 26.

In this case, since the target predetermined number of captures is 5 and is equal to the unit capture number (5), when the first one or two pachinko balls pass the detection position of the capture sensor 60, the capture is performed. The difference between the number and the predetermined number is four (ie, less than the number of units taken in). Therefore, the control unit 70 drives the take-in control solenoid 30 immediately after the command of the game switch 71, but immediately excites the take-in control solenoid 30 when one pachinko ball is fed out. Stop. Therefore, in this case, the engagement of the brake lever 150 is temporarily released, and the brake lever 50 engaged with the one projection 12 immediately releases the other projection immediately after the engagement is released. Since the gear 10 rotates by half a rotation by engaging with 12, the five pachinko balls are fed into the inlet 26 as instructed. In this way, the player who operates the game switch 71 can play five games (one slot machine game).

When the player operates the third game switch 73 to play 15 games, the control unit 70 similarly starts driving the take-in control solenoid 30 to engage the brake lever 50. The brake is released, but in this case, the brake lever '150 continues to be retracted from the position until the gear 10 rotates more than-rotation. Because, in this case, the predetermined number of capture targets is 15, and it is determined that 10 captures have been performed based on the detection signal of the capture sensor 60 (the difference between the capture count and 15 is 5 This is because the control unit 70 continues to excite the intake control solenoid 30 until the number of the control units becomes less than or equal to the number.

Therefore, in this case, the gear 10 is continuously rotated predetermined times (3Z2 rotations), and the speed is increased to 15 at a high speed, compared to the conventional device in which the solenoid must be turned on and off three times. Since the pachinko balls are taken in, the player can immediately start playing 15 games after operating the third game switch 73. When the second game switch 72 is operated, the gear is continuously rotated once by the same control of the control unit 70, so that ten pachinko balls are taken in and taken in.

By the way, the above operation is a process when the pachinko balls are sufficiently supplied, and when the pachinko balls are insufficient, the following processes are performed. That is, for example, when it is determined that only the first and second supply sensors 23 and 24 output the detection signals and the number of pachinko balls is less than 15, the control unit 70 executes the game switch 73 Only the game switches 7 1 and 7 2 are made effective, and the above-mentioned loading process is enabled.

If the pachinko ball has a fractional number and the player wishes to return the pachinko ball, the player can operate the return switch 74 to receive the ball from the lower plate. That is, when the return switch 74 is operated, the control unit 70 excites the capture destination switching solenoid 40 and swings the ball guide 20 to the switching position. Then, the pachinko balls in the ball guide 20 are free and fall by gravity and are paid out to the lower plate return port 27.

This problem is likely to occur after the pachinko ball is returned and the gear 10 becomes free, but the gear 10 is engaged with the brake lever 50 immediately before the player inserts the pachinko ball. It is possible that the gear has stopped at the position S (angle) where it does not engage, and in this case, immediately after the pachinko ball is inserted, the gear 10 is rotated to the position where it engages with the brake lever 50 and the number is reduced. The force that results in inadvertent ingestion of individual balls This problem can be dealt with by the following process.

That is, when the detection signal is output from the capture sensor 60 while none of the first to third game switches 71 to 73 is operated, the control unit 70 accumulates the detection signal (ie, captures the detected signal). Count the number of pachinko balls, and supply the pachinko balls to the front plate by the normal award route (the above-mentioned pachinko ball payout system that supplies award balls to the front plate, which is known). A program, etc., should be set to issue a command. In this case, it is preferable to display the number of balls taken carelessly on the number-of-acquisition indicator 75 from the viewpoint of securing the credit of the player. Thus, with the capturing device of the above-described embodiment or the capturing method implemented by this device, the capturing can be completed at a high speed without any problem even if the number of pachinko balls to be captured is large. Therefore, the brake lever is turned on and off only once. As a result, the progress of the game can be smoother than in the past, and the failure of the solenoid that drives the brake lever can be reduced and the replacement period can be extended.

It should be noted that the above embodiment may have various modifications.

First, pachinko balls are returned by counting the pachinko balls in ball guide 20 etc. from the inlet 26 while counting them in the same way as in the normal loading process, and transferring the loaded pachinko balls to another route ( For example, a payout route may be paid out to the lower plate and returned. In this case, it is preferable that the number of balls returned is displayed on the number-of-acquisition indicator 75. Further, the supply sensors 23 to 25 need not be provided. In this case, if the number of pachinko balls is insufficient, it is sufficient to allow only the games that are sufficient and return the fraction to the lower plate.

According to the pachinko ball capturing method or the pachinko ball capturing device according to the present invention, even if the number of pachinko balls to be captured is large, the capturing can be completed at high speed without any problem. The number of times is only one. As a result, the progress of the game can be made smoother than in the past, and the failure of the solenoid that drives the brake lever can be reduced and the replacement period can be extended.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A ball passage provided at the lower end so that the pachinko balls in the front plate of the gaming machine can flow into the pachinko ball intake into the gaming machine island, and one pachinko ball on the outer periphery. A gear which is rotatably arranged as desired in a ball passage formed with a recess into which it is fitted and which communicates with the intake port, and is prevented from rotating by engaging the gear at a predetermined pitch. Using a pachinko ball take-in device comprising a possible brake lever, and a ball that is about to fall in the ball passage under its own weight is configured to engage with the concave portion and fall with the rotation of the gear.

When controlling the amount of rotation of the gear by the operation of the brake lever to take in a predetermined number of balls from the front plate to the intake port,

Until the difference between the number of intakes and the predetermined number is equal to or less than the unit intake number of the pachinko balls that are rotated and taken in by the predetermined pitch, the pachinko balls are continuously taken in. While maintaining the engagement with the gear, the gear is continuously rotated according to the weight of the pachinko ball,

At the point in time when the difference between the take-in number and the predetermined number becomes equal to or less than the unit take-in number, the brake lever is engaged with the gear to stop the rotation of the gear, thereby taking in the predetermined number of pachinko balls. A pachinko ball taking method characterized by the following.

2. A ball passage provided at the lower end so that it can communicate with the pachinko ball intake into the gaming machine island so that pachinko balls in the front plate of the gaming machine can flow in from the top, and one pachinko ball on the outer periphery. A gear which is rotatably arranged as desired in a ball passage formed with a recess into which it is fitted and which communicates with the intake port, and is prevented from rotating by engaging the gear at a predetermined pitch. And a ball that is to fall in the ball passage under its own weight is configured to engage with the concave portion and fall with the rotation of the gear, and the gear is rotated by the operation of the brake lever. A pachinko ball take-in device for controlling the amount of rotation of the ball to take a predetermined number of balls from the front plate into the intake port, wherein the brake lever is retracted from a position engaged with the gear;

The pachinko ball, which is arranged downstream of the ball passage and falls and is taken in, detects passage of the pachinko ball. A capture sensor that knows

When a predetermined number of pachinko balls are commanded,

The pachinko balls are continuously discharged until the difference between the number of intakes based on the detection signal of the intake sensor and the predetermined number is equal to or less than the unit intake number of the pachinko balls that are taken in by rotating the gear by the predetermined pitch. In order to operate the actuator, the brake lever is held in a retracted position from the position engaged with the gear, and the gear is continuously rotated according to the weight of the pachinko ball,

When the difference between the intake number and the predetermined number becomes equal to or less than the unit intake number, the operation of the actuator is released, the brake lever is engaged with the gear, and the rotation of the gear is stopped. Pachinko ball capture that features a control unit