JP4403778B2 - Ball hopper and gaming machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball hopper that is used, for example, for paying out a winning ball or a lending ball of a pachinko game machine. More specifically, both a storage tank and a ball dispensing device are efficiently and compactly attached to the back side of the board surface of a gaming table. The present invention relates to a ball hopper and a gaming machine that can be used.

Hereinafter, a pachinko gaming machine will be described as an example.
In general, a pachinko gaming machine as disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses a pachinko ball (hereinafter referred to as a ball) as a game medium, and supplies balls from the back side of the board surface to the front side of the game table. When supplying this ball, a storage tank (ball tank) for storing a large number of balls is installed at the upper back of the game table, and the storage tank is supplied with a ball from an upper supply mechanism (not shown) and stored. The stored balls are guided to a ball dispensing device (ball dispensing device) below through a ball supply path, and the number of balls designated here is dispensed to a lower dispensing path, and is located at the lower front of the game stand. Dispensing to the upper or lower plate.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-85793.

  In this way, the balls supplied from the storage tank are led to the lower ball dispensing device via the ball supply path, but the ball supply path in the meantime smoothly rolls downward without clogging the balls. Inclined and connected. In particular, it is necessary to align and depressurize the balls stored in the storage tank in the process of supplying the ball supply path and supply them to the lower ball dispensing device. It becomes a folded passage such as a letter shape. For this reason, the storage tank, the ball supply path, and the ball dispensing device must be arranged so as to be stacked in the height direction. Therefore, the height direction dimension becomes large and the space in the height direction on the back side of the gaming board surface. Has occupied a lot.

  Furthermore, not only in the height direction but also in the width direction, since the ball dispensing device has a large structure in the width direction, the space in the width direction is largely occupied. For this reason, the mounting space is narrowed on the back side of the board surface of the game stand, and the mounting position and mounting size of the mounting parts mounted on the back side of the board surface are limited. For example, even if a display device that displays a large symbol is to be attached to the center part on the back side of the game board, the attachment location and the installation space are limited, and the display device cannot be disposed at a desired position and may be enlarged. could not.

  Further, the flow of balls in the storage tank is continuously guided to a ball flow lower opening (ball outlet) where a large number of balls stored in the tank are opened small on the lower downstream side. At this time, piles of balls piled up in the tank concentrated in one place at the ball flow lower entrance, and the ball pressure increased, and balls gathered at the ball flow lower entrance, making it easy to generate clogging. For this reason, it is conceivable to devise the shape of the tank in order to facilitate the flow of balls avoiding clogging in the storage tank. As a result, smooth flow of balls in the storage tank could not be secured.

  In addition, if there is a clogging in the storage tank or a clogging in the ball dispensing device, it will be necessary to remove clogging by a staff member every time, interrupting the game and reducing the operating rate of pachinko machines I was doing it. For this reason, the structure provided with the function with the high restoration performance which can restore a pachinko machine immediately when abnormality, such as a ball clogging, was desired.

  Therefore, the present invention is a compact type that can take a large mounting space in the center part on the back side of the board surface by compactly attaching the storage tank and the ball dispensing device to a position that avoids the center part on the back side of the game board surface. An object is to provide a ball hopper and a gaming machine.

The present invention is attached to board the back side of the game machine, the該貯Tomedama by accumulating the balls supplied from the ball supply device a predetermined number paying out ball hopper, the upper edge of the board back side of the gaming table disposed laterally along a predetermined and a storage tank in which the balls to be supplied, and the balls flowing down from the storage tank downward by the feed pawl of the sprocket that rotates based on the driving of the motor from the ball supply device A ball dispensing device that directly pays out the number of pieces is connected to the ball dispensing device. The ball dispensing device includes a casing that rotatably supports the rotation shafts of the motor and the sprocket on the same axis, an inner peripheral surface of the casing, and the casing. A ball rotation passage having a passage interval that is rotationally fed to the feed claw and allows one ball to pass between the annular facing surface with the outer peripheral surface of the sprocket, and adjacent to the sprocket in the axial direction, A ball passage formed in a substantially semicircular shape along the outer periphery of the ball, and a ball stop means for restricting the flow of the ball flowing down from the storage tank to the connecting portion between the storage tank and the ball dispensing device, And a switching means for switching one of the ball rotation passage and the ball removal passage to open and the other to close, and the sprocket mounting direction is perpendicular to the board surface of the game table. It arrange | positions so that it may become.

According to the present invention, when the ball dispensing device is mounted, the sprocket having a disk shape and rotating can be mounted with its radial direction set to be perpendicular to the board surface of the game table. For this reason, the ball payout device incorporating the disk-shaped sprocket is also oriented perpendicularly to the board surface of the game table, and can be arranged narrowly along the wall surface on one side of the game table. For this reason, the width | variety of this ball paying-out apparatus shortens, and since the ball paying-out apparatus can be reduced in thickness by shortening in the width direction, the mounting space of the center part on the back side of the game board surface can be increased.

And, when mounting the ball hopper on the back side of the board surface of the game table, the ball hopper can be thinly arranged with respect to the width direction of the game table so that it can be efficiently disposed at a position avoiding the central part on the back side of the game board surface. . Further, if the storage tank and the ball dispensing device are integrally connected, the size reduction and the handling property are improved. For example, if both the storage tank and the ball dispensing device are directly connected, the delivery passage between them can be omitted and further miniaturization can be achieved.

Further, by operating the ball stopping means, it is possible to arbitrarily switch between the outflow of the ball from the storage tank and the regulation. For example, normally, the ball stopper is opened to allow the ball to flow out from the upper storage tank to the lower ball dispensing device so that the ball can be dispensed from the ball dispensing device. When the ball dispensing device is removed from the mounting position due to occurrence of ball clogging or ball clogging, the ball outlet is closed by the ball stopping means to restrict the outflow of the ball from the storage tank.

Further, since both the ball rotation passage and the ball removal passage can be incorporated into the ball dispensing device, the ball dispensing device is different from the original ball rotation passage as a ball dispensing device simply by disposing the ball dispensing device. The ball-out passage used for the above-mentioned purposes can be provided integrally, and an independent new space dedicated to the ball-out passage is not required. Also in this case, the space for one passage is reduced, and the mounting space on the back side of the game board is widened.

And only by the switching operation of the switching means, one passage can be made effective and the other passage can be made invalid, and the release can be managed. Can be easily used properly.

In another configuration of the present invention, the ball dispensing device includes a ball supply port that supplies the ball that has flowed down from the storage tank to the ball rotation passage, and a ball that is stored in the storage tank. When a ball outlet is opened in parallel with the sprocket thickness direction, and the ball outlet passage is switched to open by the switching means at the time of ball extraction, It can be led to the punching supply port side, and can flow down to the beading supply port.

In this case, since the lower surface opening position on the outlet side of both passages can be disposed along the radial direction of the sprocket, even if both passages are incorporated in the ball dispensing device, both outlets of the both passages are thicker than the thickness of the sprocket. Since the sprockets are arranged in the radial direction of the sprocket instead of being aligned in the direction (axial direction), the passage thickness can be shortened, and the sprocket thickness direction of the ball dispensing device can be shortened to reduce the thickness.

Therefore, when both the ball rotation passage and the ball removal passage are incorporated in the ball dispensing device, both passages are opened at the left and right parallel positions along the sprocket thickness direction on the inlet side that opens on the top surface of the ball dispensing device. Even if it provides, the lower surface opening part of both channel | paths can be provided along the radial direction of a sprocket in the exit side opened to the lower surface of a ball dispensing apparatus.

Thus, even if the upper surface openings of both passages are aligned in the thickness direction of the sprocket on the inlet side of the ball dispensing device, the lower surface openings of both passages are arranged in the radial direction of the sprocket on the outlet side. Can lead to a thinner ball dispenser.

In another configuration of the present invention, it is possible to configure a gaming machine in which a payout passage leading to a tray on the front surface of the game table is connected to an outlet side of a ball payout device provided in the ball hopper.

The ball hopper having both the storage and dispensing functions can be completed by simply connecting a dispensing passage to the lower part thereof.

In another configuration of the present invention, such a ball hopper can be arranged in the upper corner on the back side of the board surface of the game machine to constitute a gaming machine.

When installing the ball hopper, the storage tank can be disposed laterally along the upper edge of the back side of the board surface of the game stand standing vertically, for example. It can arrange | position in the vertical direction along the wall surface of this. In this case, if the storage tank and the ball dispensing device are integrally attached to a common holding plate, the upper corner portion avoiding the central portion on the back side of the game board surface with this common holding plate as one component Can be easily installed on.

According to the present invention, a ball hopper having a storage tank and a ball dispensing device that enables thinning suitable for mounting on the back side of the gaming board can be efficiently disposed on the back side of the gaming board. Since the storage tank and the ball dispensing device are integrated , the ball hopper can be further miniaturized and the handleability can be improved.

  A ball aligning portion is formed to flow and align the balls while reducing the pressure with respect to the inside of the storage tank, and the components are superposed on the inside of the ball dispensing device and assembled in a thin arrangement direction.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show the back side of the gaming board surface of the pachinko gaming machine. A ball hopper 12 is arranged on the upper side of the gaming board 11 and the large central display and control unit are provided at the lower center. A substrate portion 13 is disposed. Further, a replenishment chute 14 is provided above the ball hopper 12 so as to face the upper surface opening, and balls are replenished to the ball hopper 12 from above via the replenishment chute 14. In addition, a payout passage 15 is connected to the lower side of the ball hopper 12, and the balls are paid out to a tray located at the lower front of the game table 11 through the payout passage 15.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the ball hopper 12 integrally connects a storage tank 16 installed in a horizontal shape and a ball dispensing device 17 installed in a vertical shape in an inverted L shape. At the time of this connection, as shown in FIG. 5, the storage tank 16 is mounted horizontally along the horizontal piece 18 a side of the inverted L-shaped holding plate 18, and the ball dispensing device 17 is attached along the vertical piece 18 b side of the holding plate 18. Is installed vertically. Then, by connecting the upper end portion of the ball dispensing device 17 to the downstream end portion of the horizontally long storage tank 16, both are integrated into an inverted L shape to achieve a compact single unit configuration.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the above-described storage tank 16 is provided with a horizontally long box-shaped tank 19 having an open upper surface. Inside the tank 19, an inflow guide plate 20, an outflow guide block 21, and an overlap restriction guide are provided. A protrusion 22 and a tank switch S1 are provided. In addition, an attachment / detachment mechanism 23, a passage switching mechanism 24, a ball passage restriction mechanism 25, a foreign substance exclusion port cover 26, and a switch attachment 27 are disposed outside the tank 19.

Next, the parts 19 to 27 constituting the storage tank 16 will be specifically described.
As shown in FIG. 7, the tank 19 has an inclined bottom surface 28 in which the bottom surface at one end in the longitudinal direction is set high and the bottom surface at the other end side is set to be inclined and connected. A ball flow lower port 29 for taking out one ball is opened on the downstream end surface of the inclined bottom surface 28, and balls P are discharged one by one from the ball flow lower port 29.

  Further, on one inclined bottom surface 28 in the width direction on the downstream side of the tank, as shown in FIG. 8, the intermediate position in the longitudinal direction of the tank 19 is set as a boundary (inclined boundary line L1) in the reverse direction toward the downstream side. It has an inclined surface (second inclined surface A2 to be described later) that is inclined upward. By making the bottom surface height partially change in the tank including such an inclined slope surface, the course of the balls that flowed by circulating the balls supplied from above in the tank is changed. It has an inflow guide function that allows it to flow smoothly while correcting. Among these, on the other inclined bottom surface 28 in the width direction on the downstream side of the tank, an inflow guide plate 20 is disposed in the upper portion, and an outflow guide block 21 as illustrated in FIG. 9 is disposed in the lower portion.

  FIG. 10 shows a state in which the ball rotates in the tank by the above-described inflow guide function. The inflow guide plate 20 is disposed at an upper position in the tank so as to incline downward from the tank side edge. The upper surface of the guide plate 20 is the first inclined surface A1, and the supply chute 14 is provided above the first inclined surface A1. The tank bottom surface of the ascending inclined surface narrowly adjacent to the width direction of the first inclined surface A1 is defined as a second inclined surface A2, and further, the upstream adjacent to the second inclined surface A2 with the inclined boundary line L1 as a boundary. The tank bottom surface on the side is the third inclined surface A3, the tank bottom surface on the upstream side adjacent to the third inclined surface A3 in the tank width direction is the fourth inclined surface A4, and the inclined boundary line L1 is further formed on the fourth inclined surface A4. As shown in FIG. 11, an outflow guide block 21 is disposed in the lower space where the upper and lower sides are partitioned by the inflow guide plate 20 on the downstream side adjacent to each other.

  The flow of the balls at this time (see the arrows in FIGS. 10 and 11) is such that the balls supplied by descending from the upper supply chute 14 are the second inclined surface A2 and the third inclined surface in order from the first inclined surface A1. It flows in a spiral around the tank (counterclockwise in the figure) until it reaches the outflow guide block 21 via A3 and the fourth inclined surface A4. Between these inclined surfaces A1 to A4, a smooth connection without a step is made so that balls are smoothly delivered.

  Among these, the second inclined surface A2 and the third inclined surface A3 are different in the inclination direction of the upward and downward directions via the inclined boundary line L1 in the intermediate portion width direction in the tank therebetween, but the ball is the second one. In the process of flowing from the inclined surface A2 to the third inclined surface A3, the direction of the flow of the ball that changes the direction to the fourth inclined surface A4 side by applying resistance to the flow of the ball flowing in on the third inclined surface A3 side. The conversion action is facilitated.

  In this case, if the inclination angle of the inclined surface is small, the supply of balls in the flow direction tends to be delayed. Moreover, since the load to the ball | bowl which flows down continuously will become large when an inclination angle is large, the moderate inclination angle of about 5-10 degree | times, for example is suitable. For this reason, the balls rolling here are guided relatively stably with a small speed difference.

  The inflow guide plate 20 is arranged as a first inclined surface A1, and is attached in an inclined state with the second inclined surface A2 side lowered so that balls flow to the second inclined surface A2 side. For this reason, it serves as an upper layer inflow guide portion that covers the upper surface of the lower outflow guide block 21 and receives the ball supplied from above at the high position in the tank to guide the inflow. An outflow guide block 21 is disposed as a lower layer outflow guide portion that rolls the ball into a space formed below the first inclined surface A1 and guides it to the ball flow lower port 29.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the outflow guide block 21 includes an alignment passage 30, a direction changing projection 31, a climbing inclined surface 32, a narrowing passage 33, and a first climbing step on a rectangular plate-like upper surface. A portion 34 and a second climbing step portion 35 are provided.

  The alignment passage 30 includes an inner surface of the spill guide block 21 when the spill guide block 21 is disposed in the tank 19, and an inner vertical surface of the second inclined surface A2 corresponding to the tank inner wall surface facing the spill guide block 21. The ball is provided in a concave groove shape that aligns the balls in a line along the flow direction between the inclined bottom surface 28 inclined toward the downstream side therebetween, and the upstream side of the concave groove shape is connected to the narrowing passage 33. The downstream side is connected to the ball flow lower port 29.

  An overlap limiting guide protrusion 22 that protrudes in a triangular shape toward the upstream side of the alignment passage 30 is provided in the upper portion of the alignment passage 30 immediately before the ball flow lower opening. The overlap limiting guide protrusion 22 is opposed to the upper side of the alignment passage 30 with a space in which the triangular inclined lower surface 22a allows passage of one ball between the upper and lower sides of the inclined bottom surface 28, and the overlap limiting guide protrusion 22 is By arranging the ball, the height of the balls P that have flowed down on the alignment passage 30 is limited to one height, and the balls are aligned and guided to the ball flow lower opening 29 one by one. . On the upstream side in the same direction as the alignment passage 30, a later-described direction changing projection 31 for changing the flow direction of the ball flowing toward the downstream side is disposed to reduce the ball pressure applied to the alignment passage 30. .

  The above-mentioned direction change projection 31 is provided upright on the upstream side of the alignment passage 30 and the upstream side of the upstanding surface 31a is inclined obliquely toward the downstream side. Then, the ball that has flowed down to the direction changing protrusion 31 is inclined and guided by the rising surface 31a and changed in the direction to the oblique downstream side. For this reason, the ball P does not go straight toward the alignment passage 30, but has a role of temporarily detouring the ball that has flowed down. By this direction changing action, the ball pressure toward the ball flow lower port 29 and the alignment passage 30 where the applied pressure is increased according to the amount of balls stored is reduced so that the balls P flow smoothly downstream.

  Further, the boundary between the rising portion and the bottom surface of the direction change projection 31 is a flow guide surface 31b having a gentler curvature than the spherical surface of the ball P. Even if the ball in contact with the flow guide surface 31b is pressurized, The sliding movement of the balls is facilitated by the smooth flow guide action of the curved surface 31b.

  Then, a path that is changed in direction by the direction changing projection 31 is set as a bypass path 36, and the upstream side is set to a gently descending inclined surface A5 with the inclined boundary line L2 in the middle of the bypass path 36 as a boundary. It has a bottom surface with a gently climbing slope A6 on the side. Further, on the climbing slope surface A6 side, a climbing sloped surface 32 with further climbing steps is formed.

  The climbing inclined surface 32 is an inclined surface with an climbing step that further gives resistance to the flow of the ball guided to the bypass passage 36. The climbing inclined surface 32 gives an upward resistance to the bypassed ball and depressurizes the alignment passage 30 from the narrowing passage 33. It leads to. And even if a ball climbs on this climbing inclined surface 32, it forms in the gentle inclined surface so that it may return backward by its own weight and return to the throttle path 33 side again. And this climbing step part is used for the narrowing guide surface of the narrowing passage 33 described later.

  The narrowing passage 33 is bent and formed in a stepped shape for narrowing toward the downstream side, and the upstream side is connected to the bypass passage 36 with a wide portion before the narrowing starts, and the downstream side is It is gradually narrowed and connected to the alignment passage 30.

  Then, a rising surface formed by stepping the curved inclined slope 32 so as to bend gradually toward the alignment passage 30 side in a narrowing direction for narrowing between the connecting portions. Is provided in the introduction line L3. On the downstream side of the introduction line L3, an introduction inclined surface 37 that is inclined to a gentle arc surface for eliminating a corner portion corresponding to the ridge line portion and smoothing the flow of the ball is formed.

  Further, a small descending step surface 38 is formed between the downstream side of the introduction line L3 and the alignment passage 30 opposed to the head, so as to have a height difference. Thereby, the side-by-side alignment of the balls guided to the connecting portion between the narrowing passage 33 and the alignment passage 30 is restricted, and the balls are surely arranged in a row thereby being guided to flow down into the alignment passage 30. And the 1st climbing step part 34 and the 2nd climbing step part 35 which are mentioned later for making the flow of a ball | bowl smooth are formed in the upstream of this introduction line L3.

  The above-described first climbing step portion 34 sets the most upstream position of the introduction line L3 as a notch reference position, and the first rising surface formed by notching a fixed length in the tank width direction from the notch reference position. The climbing step 34 is provided. This rising climbing step suppresses the movement of the ball P on the climbing inclined surface 32. In this case, the rising height of the first climbing step 34 is set lower than the center of gravity height of the ball. As a result, when the ball flows down at one height, it has a role of reliably receiving the ball and reducing the pressure, and thereafter gently along the introduction line L3 as shown in FIG. To flow down. On the other hand, when the balls overlap and flow down, excessive ball pressure is applied at the position of the first climbing step 34, but when the ball height is one row, it does not ride up and is pressed over the top. Only the balls ride on the first climbing step 34 and move to the upper surface of the climbing inclined surface 32. After that, when the pressure is released, the climbing surface 32 is again lowered and guided to the narrowing passage 33, thereby having a role of avoiding temporary excessive pressurization.

The second climbing step 35 has the same shape as the first climbing step 34 and is provided stepwise adjacent to the first climbing step 34. Similarly, the position along the introduction line L3 is a notch reference position. The notch reference position is formed with a notch of a certain length in the tank width direction, and has the same function and effect as the first climbing step portion 34, so that the same effect can be obtained. In particular, these climbs stepped portions 34 and 35 tend to easily pressed over pressurized corresponds to narrowing the initial position, is 2 stepwise action of vacuum by continuously provided these climb the stepped portion 34, 35 can get. Specifically, on the upstream side of the introduction line L3, the stepped steps 34 and 35 are suitable for eliminating the clogging action of the balls that are pressurized by the ball pressure from the upstream side, and on the downstream side. This is because the work that promotes the flow of the balls toward it is obtained.

  In addition, for the alignment passage 30, a partition wall 39 is provided on the downstream side of the alignment passage 30 so as to have a height difference and is vertically raised at a boundary portion with an adjacent climbing inclined surface 32. It restricts that the ball that has been placed on 32 moves laterally and falls to the alignment passage 30 side. Also in this case, the boundary between the rising portion and the bottom surface of the partition wall 39 is formed on a guide curved surface 39a having a larger curvature than the spherical surface of the ball, so that the sliding movement of the ball in contact therewith is smooth.

  By providing such an outflow guide block 21 in the tank 19, it is possible to achieve stable ball alignment in a small space. The above-described outflow guide structure may be configured such that an independent outflow guide block 21 is incorporated in the tank, or may be formed in the tank itself.

  The outer end surface of the tank 19 corresponding to the ball flow lower port 29 is provided with an attaching / detaching mechanism 23, a path switching mechanism 24, and a ball passage regulating mechanism 25, which will be described later, and an alignment path just before the ball flow lower port 29. A foreign matter exclusion port cover 26 is attached to the outer surface of the tank 30 with the foreign matter exclusion port 40 opened along the alignment passage 30 being opened. The ball does not descend from the foreign material removal port 40, and has a removal space for removing only the mixed foreign material. Further, a tank switch S1 is provided on the bottom surface corresponding to the fourth inclined surface A4 in the tank so as to detect the presence of the ball by moving down by the weight of the ball. The tank switch S1 is attached to the tank 19.

Next, the ball dispensing device 17 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the ball dispensing device 17 includes a sprocket 41, a drive motor M, a planetary gear mechanism 42, a ball presence / absence detection sensor S2, a count detection sensor S3, and a rotational position detection sensor S4. And a casing 43 containing them, and left and right side covers 44 and 45 thereof.

  The sprocket 41 described above has a cylindrical body with one end face closed, and a feed claw 46 having an asymmetrical claw for dividing and feeding balls one by one on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body is equally divided. is doing. In this case, by providing the feed pawl 46 in an asymmetric shape, the rotational position of the sprocket 41 is accurately identified based on the shape of the feed pawl 46 that has changed when detected by the rotational position detection sensor S4. Can be controlled.

  A support shaft 47 projecting outward from the shaft center portion is provided on one closed end surface of the sprocket 41, and the shaft of the right side cover 45 is fitted with the bearing roller 48 fitted to the support shaft 47. The sprocket 41 is rotatably supported by being inserted into the support hole 45a. In the annular direction of the closed end face, a large number of lightening holes 49 aiming at heat dissipation effect and weight reduction are equally divided and opened.

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, an internal gear 50 is formed on the cylindrical inner peripheral surface on the other opening end face side, and the planetary gear mechanism 42 driven by the drive motor M is formed on the internal gear 50. And the sprocket 41 is driven to rotate.

  The planetary gear mechanism 42 described above includes three planetary gears including a first planetary gear 52, a second planetary gear 53, and a third planetary gear 54 in the circumferential direction around the sun gear 51 connected to the main shaft of the drive motor M. 52 to 54 are equally divided into a hollow portion surrounded by the inner peripheral surface of the sprocket 41. These planetary gears 52 to 54 are meshed with the sun gear 51 and meshed with the internal gear 50 to transmit the rotational driving force from the sun gear 51 to the sprocket 41 via the planetary gears 52 to 54. ing.

  Each of the planetary gears 52 to 54 has a rotating shaft pivotally supported by a fixed disk 55, and the fixed disk 55 is integrally attached to a casing 43 described later while holding the drive motor M. Further, the inner peripheral surface of the sprocket 41 has a rotation guide surface 56 with a smooth surface, and three positioning rollers 57 supported by a fixed disk 55 are equally arranged on the rotation guide surface 56. And support. As a result, the sprocket 41 is positioned at a fixed position to ensure smooth rotation without fluctuation of the sprocket 41.

  The casing 43 is provided in a plate shape that covers the sprocket 41 from the left side, and further, a left side cover 44 as a motor cover is attached and covered on the left side surface. A fixed disc 55 that supports the drive motor M and the planetary gear mechanism 42 is attached to the right side surface, and the right side surface thereof is covered and connected by a right side surface cover 45 that supports the sprocket 41.

  In this case, a hollow is formed in the central portion of the casing 43 so as to interpose the drive motor, and the drive motor M is disposed in a through state in the hollow portion, and the casing 43 and the drive motor M are overlapped in the axial direction. Thereby, the axial direction (thickness direction) of the ball dispensing device 17 is formed into a plate shape to reduce the thickness. Similarly, the gears 51 to 54 of the planetary gear mechanism 42 are interposed in the hollow portion of the sprocket 41 in the axial direction, and the ball dispensing device 17 is thinned by effectively using the axial space portion.

  A ball rotation passage 58 having a half rotation length for rotating and feeding the balls P one by one by the feed claws 46 is formed between the annular facing surfaces formed between the inner circumferential surface of the casing 43 and the outer circumferential surface of the sprocket 41. is doing. Since the balls guided to the ball rotation passage 58 are fed one by one as the sprocket 41 rotates, the supplied balls are continuously discharged without interruption.

  A ball presence / absence detection sensor S2 such as a proximity sensor is disposed in the ball supply port 59 at the entrance opening on the upper surface of the ball rotation passage 58 to detect that a ball has been supplied to the ball rotation passage 58. Furthermore, a count detection sensor S3 such as a proximity sensor is disposed in the ball dispensing port 60 at the outlet opening on the lower surface of the ball rotation passage 58, and when the ball is dispensed through the ball rotation passage 58, this count detection is performed. Sensor S3 detects and counts the balls that have been paid out.

  Further, a rotational position detection sensor S4 is provided for a passage portion that is half-rotated from the lower side to the upper side at a half-rotation position opposite to the ball rotation passage 58, and the rotational positions of the feed claws 46 and the sprocket 41 are provided. Is detected.

  The ball dispensing device 17 not only includes a ball rotation path 58 that connects the upper and lower portions from the upper ball supply port 59 to the lower ball dispensing port 60, but also includes an upper portion as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20. A beading passage 63 that connects the upper and lower portions from the beading supply port 61 to the lower betting discharge port 62 in a semicircular shape is combined to constitute an internal configuration.

  The ball removal passage 63 is used when an attendant collects the balls P stored in the storage tank 16 as collection balls. In this case, the ball removal supply port 61 at the upper inlet portion is as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the side close to the supply direction F of the balls flowing down from the ball flow lower port 29 is set as the ball supply port 59, and the far side is set as the ball removal supply port 61 and adjacent.

  In this case, the ball removal passage 63 is formed in a semicircular shape at a position opposite to the ball rotation passage 58 away from the position where the drive motor M is interposed. Both passages 58 and 63 with the extraction passage 63 are integrally formed inside the casing 43. For this reason, the original ball rotation passage 58 as the ball dispensing device 17 and a ball removal passage used for another purpose can be provided integrally. If the ball dispensing device 17 is used, the ball removal passage 17 is provided. There is no need for a new and independent space.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 22, the ball dispensing port 62 opens away from the ball dispensing port 60, and both bottom opening positions of these dispensing ports 60, 62 are arranged in the radial direction of the sprocket. is doing. Thereby, even if both the passages 58 and 63 are incorporated in the ball dispensing device 17, both the passages 58 and 63 do not line up in the thickness direction of the sprocket, so the thickness direction of the sprocket is reduced by shortening the passage thickness. Thinner.

  FIG. 23 shows an attachment / detachment structure 23 between the storage tank 16 and the ball dispensing device 17. As shown in FIG. 5, the lower surface of the tank is shown on the engagement pin 18 c protruding upward from the horizontal piece 18 a side of the holding plate 18. A pin hole that is not inserted is inserted, and is further screwed to be attached to the holding plate 18 integrally.

  Similarly, in the ball dispensing device 17, a pin hole 17 a that opens on the mounting surface side of the ball dispensing device 17 is inserted into an engagement pin 18 d that protrudes horizontally from the vertical piece 18 b side of the retaining plate 18, and is further screwed to hold the retaining plate. 18 is attached integrally.

  In this case, the holding plate 18 is shorter than the width of the game board, and the rear surface is the upper corner on the back side of the game board board with the storage tank 16 and the ball dispensing device 17 being integrally attached to the front surface of the holding board 18. In order to attach to the portion, both sides of the holding plate 18 are effectively used for the attachment surface, and since the attachment is made through one holding plate 18, the number of parts is small, and the attachment is simplified.

  Further, the ball dispensing device 17 is provided with an attachment / detachment mechanism 23 in order to improve attachment / detachment. As shown in FIGS. 24 and 28, the attachment / detachment mechanism 23 is formed on the outer surface of the tank that communicates with the ball flow lower port 29 of the storage tank 16 so as to extend to the alignment passage 30 inside the tank. A lock lever 66 is attached from above in a state in which a coil-shaped lock spring 65 is inserted into a spring support shaft 64a provided to protrude from a side wall portion.

  The lock lever 66 is attached in a state where the lock spring 65 is compressed, and the inner end portion of the lock lever 66 presses and stops the upper portion of the ball dispensing device 17 when the ball dispensing device 17 is connected to the ball dispensing device. 17 is locked.

  As described above, when the storage tank 16 and the ball dispensing device 17 are connected, the storage tank 16 is attached in a directly connected state by the attaching / detaching mechanism 23 provided on the discharge guide protrusion 64 protruding from the outer surface of the storage tank 16.

  Then, when the lock lever 66 is pushed upward with the fingertip, the lock lever 66 slides against the spring pressure of the lock spring 65, the lock is released based on this, and the removal of the ball dispensing device 17 is allowed. In addition, when the ball dispensing device 17 is applied with the lock lever 66 pushed up, it can be locked and attached.

  Thus, the ball dispensing device 17 can be easily locked, unlocked and detached, so that when performing maintenance such as maintenance, the ball dispensing device can be easily removed from the game table and maintenance work can be performed thereafter. Can be easily installed again.

  A ball passage restriction mechanism 25 is attached to the discharge guide protrusion 64. As shown in FIG. 24, the ball passage restriction mechanism 25 includes a shaft support block 67 and a ball passage restriction arm 69 that is pivotally supported by a fulcrum pin 68 protruding from a side surface of the shaft support block 67. Composed. The ball passage restricting arm 69 moves two arcuate parallel arms on the distal end side up and down between the open position and the closed position with the fulcrum pin 68 on the base end side as a rotation fulcrum. The ball passage restriction arm 69 waits upward to open the ball supply port 59.

  On the other hand, when the ball is stopped, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26, the ball passage restriction arm 69 is rotated downward (about 90 degrees) to close the ball supply port 59. As shown in FIG. 27, when the ball supply port 59 is stopped by the ball passage restriction arm 69, the tip of the arm is the most downstream ball P1 on the storage tank 16 side and the ball dispensing device 17 side. The boundary between the storage tank 16 and the ball dispensing device 17 is partitioned by intervening between the ball P2 in the most upstream part of the ball.

  By operating the ball passage restriction mechanism 25, the supply of balls from the storage tank 16 can be switched between passage and restriction. Therefore, normally, the ball passage restriction mechanism 25 is opened to allow the ball to pass from the storage tank 16 to the lower ball dispensing device 17 and wait in a ball dispensing permitted state. For example, maintenance or clogging occurs. Therefore, when the ball dispensing device 17 is removed from the back side of the game table, the ball passage restriction mechanism 25 stops the ball and regulates the outflow of the ball from the ball flow lower opening 29 prior to the removal. For this reason, the clerk can easily pass and restrict the ball simply by opening and closing the lever of the ball passage restriction mechanism 25. Further, when the ball dispensing device 17 is removed, there is no risk of ball leakage at the connecting portion with the storage tank 16.

  Further, a connecting portion between the storage tank 16 and the ball dispensing device 17 is provided with a passage switching mechanism 24 that switches between the ball supply port 59 side and the ball removal supply port 61 side. As shown in FIG. 28, the passage switching mechanism 24 is configured by incorporating a ball removal lever 70, a torsion spring 71, and a distribution arm 72 into the discharge guide protrusion 64.

  The beading lever 70 is supported by a tilting pin 70a that protrudes on both sides of the elongated lever body so that it can be tilted freely in the front-rear direction on a lever shaft support 64b formed in a U-shaped notch on the upper surface of the front portion of the discharge guide projection 64. Yes.

  Similarly, the distributing arm 72 is pivotally supported by a lever shaft supporting portion 64c in which tilting pins 72a projecting on both sides are formed in a U-shaped notch on the rear upper surface of the discharge guide projection 64 so as to tilt freely.

  The ball removal lever 70 and the distributing arm 72 are pivotally supported by the discharge guide projection 64 in a state of being engaged with each other in the vertical direction, and an engagement recess 70b that is notched in a concave shape is formed on the rear lower surface of the ball removal lever 70. An engaging shaft 72b positioned at the top of the sorting arm 72 is detachably engaged with the engaging recess 70b. In this engaged state, the torsion spring 71 is fitted and inserted into the tilting pin 70 a protruding from one side surface of the ball removal lever 70, and one end of the torsion spring 71 is locked to the shaft support block 67. The end is pressed and urged downward on the upper surface of the sorting arm 72.

  For this reason, the distribution arm 72 is positioned by the ball removal lever 70. Usually, as shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, a guide arm 72 c protruding in an arc shape at the tip of the sorting arm 72 tilts obliquely downward and is interposed between the ball supply port 59 and the ball supply port 61. Therefore, the ball P that has continuously flowed down from the supply direction F is guided down to the front ball supply port 59 side.

  Next, when switching from the ball supply port 59 side to the ball removal supply port 61 side, the clerk only has to push the tip of the ball removal lever 70 downward with a fingertip. In this case, as shown in FIGS. The tip of the ball removal lever 70 is pushed downward and tilts downward, and based on this, the engagement between the engagement recess 70b and the engagement shaft 72b is released. For this reason, the distributing arm 72 does not receive the urging force of the torsion spring 71 and becomes free to rotate. The guide arm 72c at the tip of the sorting arm 72 is pushed up by the ball pressure supplied from the supply direction F to allow the ball to pass in the supply direction F. As a result, the ball is supplied to the ball supply port 59. Is passed through to the ball outlet supply port 61, and the balls are continuously supplied to the ball outlet supply port 61.

  When switching to the ball removal passage side, as shown in FIGS. 33 and 34, once the clerk presses and releases the ball removal lever 70, the engagement between the ball removal lever 70 and the sorting arm 72 is released. At the same time, the posture of the ball removal lever 70 and the distribution arm 72 is maintained when the rear end projection 70 c of the ball extraction lever 70 is locked to the engagement shaft 72 b of the distribution arm 72 and switched to the ball supply port 61. Is done.

  When the ball removal lever 70 is pressed again, the rear end projection 70c is disengaged from the engagement shaft 72b, and the ball removal lever 70 and the sorting arm 72 are returned to their original positions and returned to the original ball supply port 59 side. (See FIGS. 29 and 30).

  A payout passage 15 is connected below the ball payout opening 60 opened on the lower surface of the ball payout device 17, and the balls discharged through the payout passage 15 are discharged to a tray (not shown) on the front of the game table. . On the other hand, an unillustrated bead dispensing passage is connected to the lower side of the bead supply port 61 and led to a not-illustrated ball collecting device connected to the back side of the game board surface.

  Since the thus configured ball hopper 12 has both a ball storage function and a ball dispensing function, the ball dispensing structure is completed by simply connecting the dispensing passage 15 to the lower part thereof.

  Furthermore, since the ball hopper 12 has a reverse L shape and is small, the ball hopper 12 is suitable for placement in the upper corner on the back side of the game board 11 in which the ball hopper 12 stands vertically. In particular, in the ball dispensing device 17, since the radial direction of the sprocket 41 is set to be perpendicular to the board surface of the game table 11, the ball dispensing device 17 incorporating the sprocket 41 is also the same. It is in a direction perpendicular to the board surface of the game table 11 and can be arranged narrowly along the wall surface on one side of the game table. For this reason, the width of the ball payout device 17 is shortened, and the ball payout device 17 can be thinned by shortening in the width direction, so that it is possible to widen the mounting space in the center portion on the back side of the board 11 of the game table. Further, since the storage tank and the ball dispensing device are integrally connected, the size reduction and the handling are further improved.

  Next, the ball payout processing operation using the thus configured ball hopper 12 will be described.

  In the storage tank 16 of the ball hopper 12 installed at the upper part on the back side of the game table 11, a large number of balls P are stored in a state of being paid out and waiting. From this standby state, when a ball payout signal is input from the main control unit that controls the entire pachinko gaming machine and the drive motor M is driven, the ball P in the storage tank 16 is driven by its own weight. Is rolled and guided from a high position on the first to fourth inclined surfaces A1 to A4 to a low position. Then, on the downstream side, it flows down from the ball alignment outflow guide block 21 through the alignment passage 30 and reaches the ball flow lower port 29. During this time, the balls are aligned in a line and guided to the ball dispensing device 17 on the downstream side.

  In this ball dispensing device 17, the supplied balls are lowered by the ball rotation passage 58 by the rotational feeding operation of the sprocket 41 to dispense a predetermined number of balls. The dispensed balls are then dispensed to the upper plate or the lower plate on the front side of the game table.

  By the way, when the tank switch S1 detects that the storage balls in the storage tank 16 are remaining, the supply balls are immediately supplied from the supply chute 14 to the corresponding storage tank 16 based on this. At this time, the replenished balls circulate in order while rolling from the first inclined surface A1 at a high position in the tank to the second inclined surface A2 and the third inclined surface A3 to reach the fourth inclined surface A4. During this rotation, the ball pressure is reduced, and the storage operation is performed while reducing the falling pressure of the ball P.

  And it is guided from the fourth inclined surface A4 by rolling to the descending inclined surface A5 and the ascending inclined surface A6 of the outflow guide block 21 on the downstream side. In the outflow guide block 21, the ball that flows down is changed in direction by the direction changing projection 31, thereby avoiding direct ball pressure with respect to the downstream alignment passage 30. Thereafter, the ball is led to the narrowing passage 33 while bypassing the bypass passage 36. Here, the ball is given a climbing resistance by the climbing inclined surface 32, the ball pressure is reduced, and the climbing regulation is performed by the resistance of both the climbing steps 34, 35 of the first climbing step 34 and the second climbing step 35. In addition, the movement of the ball is temporarily received and the flow of the ball in the narrowing direction is made smooth. After that, the flow down guide action by the introduction line L3, the smooth elevation movement action by the introduction inclined surface 37, and the parallel flow prevention action of the balls by the descending step surface 38, the speed becomes suitable for the ball flow and is appropriate in the flow direction. Are aligned with the alignment passage 30 in a row. Then, the aligned balls are continuously supplied from the storage tank 16 one by one from the ball flow lower port 29 to the ball dispensing device 17 side.

  Further, when the ball dispensing device 17 is clogged or removed due to maintenance inspection, etc., first, the ball passage restriction arm 69 of the ball passage restriction mechanism 25 is closed and the ball supply port 59 is closed. And the flow down to the doffing supply port 61 is stopped.

  If the lock lever 66 of the attaching / detaching mechanism 23 is pushed up in the state where the ball is fixed, the lock is released and the ball dispensing device 17 can be removed. For this reason, maintenance work is facilitated, and clogging recovery work and maintenance inspection can be performed immediately.

  Further, when the ball stored in the storage tank 16 is subjected to a ball removal operation, an attendant operates the ball removal lever 70 of the passage switching mechanism 24 to change the position of the sorting arm 72 from the ball supply port 59 side. Switch to 61 side. As a result, the balls supplied from the storage tank 16 are removed from the bead supply port 61 through the bead passage 63.

  The present invention can be applied based on the technical idea described in the claims, and is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment.

  For example, in the pachinko gaming machine according to the above-described embodiment, the ball hopper is disposed in the upper corner of the back side of the rectangular gaming table that is vertically long. What is necessary is just to arrange | position in the edge part which avoided the part.

  Further, the step portion may be a substantially vertical rising surface or a slightly inclined rising surface, and the climbing step portion or the descending step portion may be formed continuously or discontinuously.

The perspective view of the game board surface back side provided with the ball hopper. The perspective view which shows the state which opened the game stand one side to the front side. The perspective view which looked at the ball hopper from diagonally upward. The perspective view which looked at the ball hopper from diagonally downward. The disassembled perspective view which isolate | separates and shows the principal part of a ball hopper. The disassembled perspective view of the components which comprise a storage tank. FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a section on line AA in FIG. 14. The side view which shows the ball discharge | release state of a storage tank. The perspective view which shows the inside of a storage tank. The top view which shows the flow of the ball | bowl inside a storage tank. The perspective view which shows the flow of the ball | bowl inside the storage tank seen from the arrow direction of FIG. The expansion perspective view which shows the flow of the ball | bowl of an outflow guide block. The enlarged side view which shows the flow of the ball | bowl of an outflow guide block. The top view which shows the outflow guide state of the ball | bowl inside a storage tank. The external appearance perspective view seen from the direction of one side of a ball dispensing device. The exploded perspective view of a ball dispensing device. The principal part perspective view which shows the use condition of the planetary gear mechanism of a ball delivery apparatus. The principal part side view which shows the use condition of the planetary gear mechanism of a ball delivery apparatus. The external appearance perspective view seen from the direction of the other side of a ball dispensing device. The principal part perspective view which shows the passage state of the ball | bowl of the ball extraction channel | path of a ball dispensing apparatus. The top view which shows the ball supply port and ball removal supply port of a ball delivery apparatus. The bottom view which shows the ball discharge port and the ball discharge port of a ball discharge device. The perspective view which shows the attachment or detachment structure of the ball dispensing apparatus. The principal part expansion perspective view which shows the open state of a ball passage control mechanism. The principal part expansion perspective view which shows the closed state of a ball | bowl passage control mechanism. The perspective view which shows the ball stopping state when closing operation of a ball | bowl passage control mechanism. The principal part expansion perspective view which shows the ball stop state when closing operation of a ball | bowl passage control mechanism. The principal part expansion perspective view of a ball passage control mechanism and a passage switching mechanism. The perspective view which shows the state which switched the channel | path switching mechanism to the ball rotation channel | path side. The principal part front view which shows the state which switched the channel | path switching mechanism to the ball rotation channel | path side. The perspective view which shows the switching initial state to the ball removal channel | path side of a channel | path switching mechanism. The front view which shows the switching progress state to the ball removal channel | path side of a channel | path switching mechanism. The perspective view which shows the switching completion state to the ball removal channel | path side of a channel | path switching mechanism. The front view which shows the switching return state of a channel | path switching mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Game stand 12 ... Ball hopper 15 ... Discharge passage 16 ... Storage tank 17 ... Ball dispensation device 21 ... Outflow guide block 23 ... Detachment mechanism 24 ... Passage switching mechanism 25 ... Ball passage restriction mechanism 29 ... Ball flow lower entrance L3 ... Introduction line A1 to A6 ... Inclined surface 41 ... Sprocket

Claims (4)

A ball hopper that is attached to the back side of the game board, stores balls supplied from a ball supply device, and pays out a predetermined number of the stored balls,
A storage tank that is disposed laterally along the upper edge of the back side of the board of the game table, and stores balls supplied from the ball supply device ;
Connect directly with a predetermined number paying out ball dispenser downward by the feed pawl of the sprocket that rotates the ball flowing down from the storage tank on the basis of the driving of the motor,
In the ball dispensing device,
A casing that rotatably supports the rotation shaft of the motor and the sprocket on the same axis, and
A ball rotation passage having a passage interval that is rotated by the feed claw and allows one ball to pass between the annular opposing surfaces of the inner peripheral surface of the casing and the outer peripheral surface of the sprocket;
A beading passage that is adjacent to the sprocket in the axial direction and is formed in a substantially semicircular shape along the outer periphery of the motor;
At the connecting portion between the storage tank and the ball dispensing device, a ball stopping means for restricting the flow of the ball flowing down from the storage tank,
Switching means for switching one of the ball rotation passage and the ball removal passage to open and the other to close;
And a ball hopper disposed so that the sprocket mounting direction is perpendicular to the surface of the game table. The ball dispensing device is
The sprocket includes a ball supply port that supplies the ball that has flowed down from the storage tank to the ball rotation passage, and a ball supply port that causes the ball stored in the storage tank to flow down to the ball passage as a recovered ball. Open in parallel in the thickness direction,
At the time of ball removal, when the switching means is switched to open by the switching means, the ball that flows down is guided to the ball supply port, and then flows down to the ball supply port.
The ball hopper according to claim 1. A payout passage leading to a tray on the front of the game table is connected to the outlet side of the ball payout device provided in the ball hopper according to claim 1 or 2.
Gaming machine. The ball hopper according to claim 1 or 2 is disposed in an upper corner portion on the back side of the game board.
Gaming machine.

Images