JP5067982B2 - Pachinko machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a pachinko gaming machine provided with a ball leveling member for leveling game balls flowing down in a state where they are stacked in a tank rail.

  In general, in a pachinko gaming machine, as shown in FIG. 13, the game ball supplied from the replenishment cage of the game island equipment is received at the upper position of the back mechanism plate m mounted on the back side of the gaming machine body. A ball tank k and a left and right tank rail a inclined downwardly with a gentle gradient to flow down the game ball released from the ball tank k are arranged, and the game ball flowing down the tank rail a is Is sent to the lower ball dispensing device f via the ball passage e.

  The tank rail a is provided with a ball leveling member b in order to prevent various problems caused by the game balls flowing down in a stacked state. The game balls in the same state are leveled evenly (hereinafter referred to as ball leveling). The conventional ball leveling member b is supported along the tank rail a with its upper end pivotally supported on a support shaft c projecting above the tank rail a so as to be orthogonal to the flow direction of the game ball in the tank rail a. A weight d is housed at the lower end to return the swung leveling member b to a suspended state. When the game balls flow down in a state where they are stacked in the tank rail a, the ball leveling member b receives the fluid pressure of the game balls from the upstream side of the tank rail a and rotates downstream, The lowermost game ball is caused to flow down from a gap corresponding to one game ball generated by the rotation between the lowermost end portion of the leveling member b and the inner bottom surface of the tank rail a, and the weight d is suspended. By the return force of the ball leveling member b trying to return to the bottom, the game ball stacked on the lowermost game ball is pushed down so that the game ball flowing down in the state of being stacked in the tank rail a is leveled. (For example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  Further, as described above, the game balls flowing down the tank rail a are sent to the ball dispensing device f through the ball passage e. Here, when the ball dispensing device f or the ball passage e is removed due to a failure or a maintenance check, game balls flowing down from the tank rail a may spill out of the machine. The ball stop member g disposed in the vicinity of the lower end of a is configured to block the passage of the game ball of the tank rail a (hereinafter referred to as a ball stop). The conventional ball stopper member g is made of a strip material having a substantially L-shaped cross section with a stopper piece h formed at a substantially right angle at the tip, and a rotation shaft whose base is horizontally mounted on the upper portion of the tank rail a. It is pivotally supported by j. Then, on the upper side of the rotation shaft j, the stopper piece h at the tip is inserted into the tank rail a by selectively rotating the ball stopper member g in either the forward or reverse direction with the base as a fulcrum. Thus, it is provided so that it can be converted into a ball stop position that blocks the game ball and a standby position that retreats from the tank rail a and allows the game ball to flow down (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

  Here, the structure which abbreviate | omits a ball | bowl stop member by making the ball | bowl stop member have the ball | bowl stop member which a ball | bowl stop member has is proposed by patent document 4. This configuration includes a sphere leveling member that is pivotally mounted about a predetermined support shaft, and a holding member that is detachably attached to the sphere leveling member, and the holding member is a sphere leveling member. The ball is stopped by engaging and restricting the rotation of the ball leveling member. By adopting such a configuration, there is an effect that the risk of failure and the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the installation space can be reduced.

JP-A-8-84836 JP-A-8-243211 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-70476 JP 2003-126389 A

  However, in the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 4, the holding member abuts on the held portion provided on the upper part of the sphere leveling member and supports the held portion so as to stretch. The member is made non-rotatable. However, in such a configuration that restricts the rotation of the sphere leveling member, the load applied to the holding member becomes large. For example, the sphere leveling member is provided on the relatively downstream side, or the width of the tank rail is widened. If the fluid pressure received from the game ball increases, the holding member and the held member may be disengaged, and the ball stopper function of the sphere leveling member is low in reliability. there were.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pachinko gaming machine including a ball leveling member having a highly reliable ball stopper function. It is.

  The present invention provides a ball tank for receiving a game ball supplied from a supply tank of a game island facility, a downwardly inclined tank rail for flowing down a game ball discharged from the ball tank, and a tank rail In a pachinko gaming machine provided with a ball leveling member that is disposed above the tank rail and rotates along the tank rail to level the game balls stacked and flowing down in the tank rail. A support shaft that is substantially perpendicular to the rear surface of the gaming machine main body is protruded from either the fixed portion or the ball leveling member that faces the upper and lower sides of the support shaft. A long guide groove is provided, and the length from the support shaft to the longest lower end of the sphere leveling member by moving the sphere leveling member so that the support shaft moves up and down in the guide groove. Is inside the tank rail from the support shaft. It is shorter than the shortest distance to the surface, and the ball leveling member can be rotated, and the lower ball leveling member lowers the upper ball leveling which causes a leveling action on the game ball flowing down in the tank rail. And the length from the support shaft to the longest lower end of the sphere leveling member is longer than the shortest distance from the support shaft to the inner bottom surface of the tank rail. The ball leveling member can be converted to a lower ball stop position where the flow of game balls in the tank rail is blocked by contacting the inner bottom surface of the tank rail on the upstream side, and at the ball leveling position. Further, it is characterized by comprising a sphere leveling holding means for holding the sphere leveling member so as to be rotatable. Here, the longest lower end of the sphere leveling member refers to the end of the sphere leveling member at the position farthest from the support shaft.

  In this configuration, as in the above configuration, the support shaft can be moved to the upper ball stop position and the lower ball leveling position by moving the support shaft relative to each other in the guide groove. The sphere leveling member is held so as to be rotatable, and a sphere leveling action is generated by the lower part of the sphere leveling member. On the other hand, in this configuration, at the ball stop position, the distance from the longest lower end of the sphere leveling member to the support shaft is longer than the shortest distance from the support shaft to the inner bottom surface of the tank rail. For this reason, when the longest lower end is brought into contact with the inner bottom surface of the tank rail on the upstream side from the position directly below the support shaft, the ball leveling member is held at the position and cannot be rotated in the downstream direction. Without engaging the leveling member with the tank rail, it is possible to block the game ball from the upstream at that position and block the flow of the game ball.

  Further, the spherical average holding means has a support shaft made of a flexible shaft with the tip portions arranged at intervals, and a groove width that allows the support shaft to freely rotate in the groove. A sphere-equalizing groove formed at a position where the support shaft is located at the sphere leveling position of the support member, and the support shaft can pass by elastically deforming the shaft rod and elastically compressing the support shaft in the radial direction. It is proposed to be constituted by a guide groove having a narrow groove portion that is formed above the spherical smoothing groove portion. That is, in such a configuration, since the support shaft cannot enter the narrow groove portion with a normal diameter, the support shaft is held so as to be free to rotate in the spherical portion groove portion. It can be held so as to be rotatable at the position. In addition, since the support shaft held in the sphere-equalizing groove portion can be caused to enter the narrow-width groove portion by being elastically contracted in the radial direction, the support shaft is elastically contracted as necessary to sphere-equalizing groove portion. By relatively moving from to the narrow groove portion, the sphere leveling member held at the sphere leveling position can be displaced to the lower ball stop position.

  As described above, the present invention supports the length from the support shaft to the longest lower end of the sphere leveling member by moving the sphere leveling member so that the support shaft moves up and down within the guide groove. It becomes shorter than the shortest distance from the shaft to the inner bottom surface of the tank rail, the ball leveling member can be rotated, and a leveling action is produced on the game ball flowing down in the tank rail by the lower part of the ball leveling member. The upper sphere leveling position and the length from the support shaft to the longest lower end of the sphere leveling member are longer than the shortest distance from the support shaft to the inner bottom surface of the tank rail, and the longest lower end is directly below the support shaft. Since the ball leveling member can be converted to the lower ball stop position where the flow of the game ball in the tank rail can be blocked by contacting the inner bottom surface of the tank rail on the upstream side of the tank rail from the position, At the ball stop position of the sphere leveling member It becomes possible to hold the ball leveling member more firmly than before, and even if the flow pressure received from the upstream side of the tank rail is large, the flow of the game ball will continue to be blocked against the flow pressure And the ball stopper function is highly reliable. In particular, in this configuration, rotation of the sphere leveling member can be restricted at the sphere stop position without locking the sphere leveling member with the holding member or engaging the sphere leveling member with the bottom of the tank rail. Therefore, a mechanism for restricting the rotation of the sphere leveling member can be simplified.

  Further, the sphere leveling holding means includes a support shaft made of a flexible shaft with the tip portions arranged at intervals, and a sphere leveling having a groove width that allows the support shaft to freely rotate in the groove. When configured with a guide groove including a groove portion for use and a narrow groove portion that forms a groove width through which the support shaft can pass by elastically deforming the shaft rod and elastically compressing the support shaft in the radial direction, Without increasing the number of parts, it is possible to realize the spherical average holding means with a compact configuration.

It is a front view of the pachinko gaming machine 1 of the reference embodiment. 1 is a perspective view of a pachinko gaming machine 1 with a glass door 10 opened. 4 is a rear view of the back mechanism plate 15. FIG. It is a vertical side view of the middle part of the tank rail 19. It is an expansion perspective view of a tank rail 19 middle stream part, (a) shows the state where separated spherical member 35, and (b) shows the state where spherical member 35 was assembled. FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a middle portion of the tank rail 19, where (a) shows a state where the sphere leveling member 35 is at the sphere leveling position α1, and (b) shows a leveling position α1 and a sphere A state in the middle of conversion to the stop position β1 is shown. It is an expanded longitudinal cross-sectional view of the tank rail 19 middle stream part, (a) is a state where the sphere leveling member 35 is in the ball stop position β1, (b) is a state where the lower portion of the main body 40 is broken from (a). Show. It is an expanded longitudinal cross-sectional view of the tank rail 19 middle stream part which shows the usage aspect of the sphere leveling member 35, (a) shows the state which performs sphere leveling, (b) shows the state which performs ball stop. It is an expansion perspective view of the tank rail 19 middle part in the Example of this invention, (a) shows the state which isolate | separated the spherical equalizing member 35a, (b) shows the state which assembled | attached the spherical equalizing member 35a. It is a vertical side view of the middle part of the tank rail 19. FIG. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a middle portion of the tank rail 19, where (a) shows a state where the sphere leveling member 35a is in the sphere leveling position α2, and (b) shows a leveling position α2 and a sphere of the sphere leveling member 35a. (C) shows a state in which the sphere leveling member 35a is at the ball stop position β2. It is an expanded longitudinal cross-sectional view of the tank rail 19 middle stream part which shows the usage aspect of the sphere leveling member 35a, (a) is in the state which performs sphere leveling, (b) is in the process of moving to perform sphere stop, ( c) shows a state in which the ball is stopped. It is an expanded rear view of the back mechanism board m which shows the conventional sphere leveling member b and the ball stop member g.

  Embodiments of the present invention are described according to the following examples.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pachinko gaming machine 1 includes an outer frame 2 fixed to a game island facility (not shown) and a gaming machine main body 3 that covers a front opening of the outer frame 2.

  The gaming machine body 3 includes a front frame 6 having a substantially square opening 5 formed in the upper center portion, and one side edge of the front frame 6 can be opened and closed to the outer frame 2 via hinge members 4 and 4. It is pivotally attached. A game board 8 having a game area defined by a substantially circular rail 7 is attached to the front frame 6 in a state where the game board 8 is fitted in the opening 5. A glass door 10 covering 8 and an upper tray panel 12 provided with an upper tray 11 are pivotally supported so as to be openable and closable. A lower tray 13 is formed integrally with the lower portion of the front frame 6 so as to be positioned below the upper tray 11, and a firing handle 14 is disposed on the right side of the lower tray 13. Although not shown in the drawing, in the game area of the game board 8, various game members such as a symbol display device, a big prize opening, an electric accessory, a game nail and a windmill are arranged at predetermined positions.

  On the other hand, a back mechanism plate 15 (see FIG. 3) is provided on the back side of the gaming machine main body 3 so as to be in contact with the back side of the game board 8. One side edge of the back mechanism plate 15 is pivotally connected to the back side edge portion of the front frame 6 via hinge members 16, 16. As shown in FIG. 3, the back mechanism plate 15 is provided with a ball tank 17 at the upper portion thereof, and a game ball supplied from a supply tank of a game island facility (not shown) through a flexible pipe It can be received in the ball tank 17. Also, the back mechanism plate 15 has a tank rail 19 in the left-right direction inclined downwardly with a gentle gradient for receiving and flowing down the game ball released from the ball outlet 18 opened in the bottom wall of the ball tank 17, and the tank rail. A ball path 21 in the vertical direction is provided in communication with the lower end of 19 and guides the game ball to the lower ball payout device 20. Further, the back mechanism plate 15 is provided with bifurcated dispensing channels 22a and 22b for guiding the game balls dispensed from the ball dispensing device 20 further downward, one of the dispensing channels 22a being The ball outlet 23 of the upper tray 11 communicates with the ball outlet 23, and the other discharge channel 22 b communicates with the ball outlet 24 of the lower tray 13. The tank rail 19, the ball passage 21, and the payout passages 22a and 22b are formed of a synthetic resin having translucency so that a game ball flowing down inside can be visually recognized.

  In addition, the back mechanism plate 15 has a substantially central portion in order to avoid interference with a control device attached to the back side of the game board 8 and a protective cover of the control device (both not shown). A rectangular opening 25 is formed, the tank rail 19 is disposed above the opening 25, and the ball passage 21 and the ball dispensing device 20 are disposed on the side of the opening 25. Yes. Further, an information terminal board 26 for outputting a required information signal such as a game state is arranged next to the ball tank 17 at an upper position of the back mechanism plate 15.

4 to 8 are reference examples outside the present invention, and the configuration will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 4, the tank rail 19 is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section by a bottom wall portion 30 and front and rear side wall portions 31 a and 31 b, and a partition wall standing on the bottom wall portion 30 inside the tank rail 19. Two flow paths 33 and 33 are defined by the section 32. The horizontal widths of the flow paths 33 and 33 are set slightly wider than the diameter dimensions of the game balls, so that the game balls x can be aligned and flowed down in a line. In addition, a sphere leveling member 35 (see FIG. 3) according to the main part of the present invention is disposed at a midstream portion of the tank rail 19. The side wall portion 31b on the upstream side of the tank rail 19 from the sphere leveling member 35 extends upward to a predetermined height position, and the side portion on the rear surface side of the tank rail 19 is blocked by the side wall portion 31b. The game ball x is prevented from spilling from the tank rail 19 even if it flows down in a stacked state. In addition, a groove-like engagement recess 34 that engages with the lower end of the sphere leveling member 35 is located in the inner surface 29 of the tank rail 19 below the sphere leveling member 35. Formed. Hereinafter, the upstream side of the tank rail 19 is simply referred to as the upstream side, and the downstream side of the tank rail 19 is simply referred to as the downstream side.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), a support shaft 36 perpendicular to the flow-down direction of the game ball in the tank rail 19 projects from the back mechanism plate 15 above the midstream portion of the tank rail 19. Is done. The sphere leveling member 35 is supported by the support shaft 36 at its upper end, and is suspended so as to be rotatable along the tank rail 19. As shown in FIG. 4, the support shaft 36 is non-rotatably fixed to the bearing cylinder portion 27 by a retaining pin 28 while being fitted in the bearing cylinder portion 27 protruding from the front side of the back mechanism plate 15. Is done. Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the front end portion of the support shaft 36 that protrudes toward the back side of the back mechanism plate 15 has shaft rods 38a and 38b that are arranged on the left and right sides with an accommodation gap 41 at a constant interval. Consists of. The shaft rods 38a and 38b are made of an elastic resin material and have flexibility. The shaft rods 38a and 38b are bent toward the accommodation gap 41 so as to be close to each other. The width can be reduced. The shaft rods 38a and 38b are symmetrical to each other with the accommodating gap 41 interposed therebetween, and the outer side surfaces of the shaft rods 38a and 38b bulge so as to form a circular arc shape so that the sphere leveling member 35 can be rotated. A supporting surface to be supported is formed. Further, the support shaft 36 has a tip side portion and a root side portion having a diameter larger than that of the intermediate portion, and the tip side portion has a taper shape with a diameter reduced in the tip direction. It is possible to press-fit from the part and to keep it difficult to drop off at the intermediate part.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the sphere leveling member 35 has a symmetric shape in the front-rear direction, and includes an upper mounting arm portion 39 in which a guide groove 37 through which the support shaft 36 is inserted, and a mounting arm. The main body portion 40 is coupled to the lower end of the portion 39 and enters the tank rail 19 to generate a leveling action on the game ball. The ball leveling member 35 is made of a metal having a relatively high specific gravity (for example, stainless steel), and functions as a weight for the ball leveling member 35 itself to hang downward.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the attachment arm portion 39 has a vertically long groove shape, and a guide groove 37 is provided in the center of the attachment arm portion 39 in the front-rear direction. The guide groove 37 has a vertically long shape, and a sphere-equalizing groove 43b having a circular shape with a size capable of allowing the intermediate portion of the support shaft 36 to idle in the groove is formed at the lower end thereof. Is done. Further, a narrow groove portion 44 is formed above the sphere-equalizing groove portion. The narrow groove portion 44 forms a width that allows the intermediate portion of the support shaft 36a, which is reduced in width by bending the shaft rods 38a and 38b into the accommodating gap 41, to pass through. Is done. Further, a ball stopping groove 43 a having a circular shape with which the support shaft 36 can freely rotate in the groove is formed at the upper end of the guide groove 37 so as to be continuous with the upper end of the narrow groove 44. According to the guide groove 37 and the support shaft 36, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the support shaft 36 is held in either the ball stopper groove portion 43a or the ball equalizing groove portion 43b unless the width is reduced. It is possible to make the support shaft 36 relatively idle in the groove portions 43a and 43b, and by reducing the width of the support shaft 36 and relatively moving the support shaft 36 along the narrow groove portion 44, The support shaft 36 can be displaced between the ball stopper groove 43a and the ball leveling groove 43b. As will be described later, in the present embodiment, the position at which the support shaft 36 is held by the sphere leveling groove 43b at the lower end of the guide groove 37 is set to the sphere leveling position α1 of the sphere leveling member 35, and the support shaft 36 is The position held by the ball stopper groove 43a at the upper end of the guide groove 37 is a ball stopper position β1 of the ball leveling member 35. That is, in this embodiment, the sphere leveling holding means according to the present invention is constituted by the guide groove 37 provided with the sphere leveling groove portion 43b and the narrow width groove portion 44, and the elastic support shaft 36. .

  As shown in FIG. 4, the main body 40 is slightly narrower than the front and rear width of the tank rail 19, and can enter the tank rail 19 without contacting the side walls 31 a and 31 b of the tank rail 19. It has become. The main body portion 40 has an elliptical shape that is long in the front view. As will be described later, the main body portion 40 has a smoothing action by abutting the curved portion of the lower portion on the upstream side with the game ball of the tank rail 19. Arise. At the lower end portion of the main body portion 40, an engagement convex portion 42 having a shape capable of engaging with the engagement concave portion 34 formed on the inner bottom surface 29 of the tank rail 19 is formed. In addition, an engagement groove 45 having a shape that can be engaged with the partition wall portion 32 is formed at a position facing the partition wall portion 32 of the tank rail 19 in the vertical direction below the main body portion 40. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7B, the upper edge of the partition wall 32 has a flat shape, so that the upper bottom surface of the engagement groove 45 has a flat shape accordingly. In addition to this, the upper edge of the partition wall portion 32 and the upper bottom surface of the engagement groove 45 may be formed into an uneven shape that can be engaged with each other.

  As shown in FIGS. 4, 5 (b) and 6 (a), the sphere leveling member 35 is normally held on the support shaft 36 in the sphere leveling groove 43 b at the lower end of the guide groove 37, The leveling member 35 is attached while being held at the above-described spherical leveling position α1. In such a state, there is a gap of about 1.5 game balls between the lower end of the ball leveling member 35 and the inner bottom surface 29 of the tank rail 19, and the ball leveling member 35 collides with the tank rail 19. It becomes possible to rotate around the support shaft 36 without any problems. Therefore, in this state, as shown in FIG. 8A, the lowermost game ball x of the flow path 33 can pass downstream from the gap below the ball leveling member 35 and the upper game. The sphere x collides with the lower part on the upstream side of the main body 40, rotates the sphere leveling member 35 downstream, and is pressed downward by an appropriate force to the sphere leveling member 35 that is about to return to the suspended state. Will be leveled out.

  On the other hand, when the ball leveling member 35 is used to stop the ball, as shown in FIG. 7A, the support shaft 36 is held in the ball stopping groove 43a at the upper end of the guide groove 37, that is, the ball leveling member. 35 is held at the above-mentioned ball stop position β1. In the conversion from the sphere leveling position α1 to the ball stop position β1, in the state where the support shaft 36 is suspended, the shaft rods 38a and 38b are picked to the left and right and bent inward to reduce the lateral width of the support shaft 36. 6 (b) and 7 (a), the sphere leveling member 35 is moved downward to cause the support shaft 36 to enter the narrow-width groove portion 44, and the support shaft 36 is relatively moved to the ball stopping groove portion 43a. This can be done by moving. Conversion from the ball stop position β1 to the ball leveling position α1 can be performed by an operation opposite to the above operation.

  At the ball stop position β1, as shown in FIG. 7A, the engaging convex portion 42 at the lower end of the main body portion 40 engages with the engaging concave portion 34 on the inner bottom surface 29 of the tank rail 19, and the ball leveling member 35 is held unrotatable. Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the engaging groove 45 of the sphere leveling member 35 engages with the partition wall portion 32 erected on the inner bottom surface 29 of the tank rail 19, and this engagement also The sphere leveling member 35 is held so as not to rotate. That is, in this embodiment, the ball stopper holding means according to the present invention includes the engaging convex portion 42 and the engaging concave portion 34 that are engaged with each other, and the partition wall portion 32 and the engaging groove that are engaged separately. 45 and two combinations. Therefore, at the ball stop position β1, as shown in FIG. 8B, the flow path 33 of the tank rail 19 is closed by the lower part of the ball leveling member 35, and the ball leveling member 35 cannot rotate. Therefore, the flow of the game ball in the tank rail is blocked by the ball leveling member 35.

  As described above, the sphere leveling member 35 according to the reference example exhibits the sphere leveling function by being held at the sphere leveling position α1, and the sphere leveling function by being held at the ball stop position β1. Will be. Here, in the present embodiment, the engaging convex portion 42 and the engaging concave portion 34 are engaged with each other at the ball stop position β1 of the spherical leveling member 35, and the partition wall portion 32 and the spherical leveling member 35 are engaged. By engaging with the groove 45, the sphere leveling member 35 is restricted so as not to rotate. For this reason, compared with the conventional structure which controls rotation of a ball leveling member in the upper part of a ball leveling member, rotation of a ball leveling member can be controlled firmly, and a lot of game balls are upstream. Even if it exists, there is an advantage that it is possible to reliably block the flow of the game ball.

  Further, in the reference embodiment, the present invention is based on two combinations of the engaging convex portion 42 and the engaging concave portion 34 that are engaged with each other, and the partition wall portion 32 and the engaging groove 45 that are engaged separately. Since the ball stopper holding means is configured, there is an advantage that the ball stopper holding means can be realized without increasing the number of parts.

  In the reference embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8A, the tank rail is placed between the ball leveling member 35 and the tank rail 19 with the ball leveling member 35 hanging down at the ball leveling position α1. A gap is formed so that the 19 lowest game balls x can pass without contacting the ball leveling member 35. For this reason, in the present embodiment, when the ball leveling is performed, the lowermost game ball can smoothly pass under the ball leveling member 35 without being obstructed, resulting in problems such as ball clogging. There is an advantage that it is difficult.

  Further, in the reference embodiment, the ball according to the present invention is provided by the guide shaft 37 having the support shaft 36 having the flexible shaft rods 38a and 38b at the tip, the spherical equalizing groove 43b and the narrow groove 44. It constitutes a leveling means. For this reason, there exists an advantage that a spherical equalization holding means is realizable by a compact structure, without increasing a number of parts.

  In the reference embodiment, from the viewpoint of keeping the movable space of the ball leveling member 35 to a minimum, the ball leveling member 35 is converted when the ball leveling member 35 is converted from the ball leveling position α1 to the ball stop position β1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and by changing the direction in which the support shaft 36 can be elastically moved, the sphere leveling member 35 is moved in the upstream direction, the downstream direction, or the oblique direction. The position can also be changed. Further, in the above embodiment, the support shaft 36 that rotatably holds the sphere leveling member 35 is fixed to the back mechanism plate 15, but the support shaft 36 is not limited to this, and the support shaft 36 is connected to the side wall portion of the tank rail 19. It can also be fixed to 31a, 31b or the like. More specifically, the support shaft 36 can be fixed to the sphere leveling member 35 side, and the guide groove 37 can be disposed on a fixing member such as the back mechanism plate 15 or the tank rail 19. Further, in this embodiment, the ball stopper holding means according to the present invention is configured by two pairs of the engaging convex portion 42 and the engaging concave portion 34, and the partition wall portion 32 and the engaging groove 45. You may make it comprise a ball stop holding means only by a pair.

  Next, an embodiment according to the present invention in which the configuration of the sphere leveling member is changed from the reference embodiment will be described. In addition, about the structure which is common in a reference example, a code | symbol is matched and description is abbreviate | omitted or abbreviate | omitted.

  The sphere leveling member 35a of this embodiment is obtained by changing the shape of the main body 40 from the sphere leveling member 35 of the first embodiment. The mounting arm portion 39 of the sphere leveling member 35a has the same configuration as that of the reference embodiment, and the sphere leveling member 35a has a support shaft 36 protruding from the back mechanism plate 15 and a guide groove 37 as in the first embodiment. It is suspended in the tank rail 19 by being inserted into the tank rail 19.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 9, the spherical leveling member 35 a of this embodiment has no engaging convex portion at the lower end of the main body portion 40 a, and the engaging concave portion is also formed on the inner bottom surface 29 of the tank rail 19. Is not formed. In the present embodiment, instead of them, an engaging protrusion 50 that protrudes downstream is formed at the lower portion of the main body 40a. The engaging protrusion 50 is located at a position farthest from the support shaft 36 in the lower end portion of the spherical leveling member 35a, and this engaging protruding end 50 constitutes the longest lower end of the spherical leveling member 35a. In addition, a groove-like escape portion 51 for avoiding a collision with the partition wall portion 32 at the ball stop position β2 is formed at a position of the sphere leveling member 35a facing the partition wall portion 32 in the vertical direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 9B, 10 and 11A, the sphere leveling member 35 is usually attached in a state where the sphere leveling member 35 is held at the sphere leveling position α2. In this state, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11A, the length from the support shaft 36 to the engagement protrusion (longest lower end) 50 is longer than the shortest distance from the support shaft 36 to the inner bottom surface 29 of the tank rail 19. The gap becomes shorter and a gap of about 1.5 game balls is generated between the lower end of the ball leveling member 35a and the inner bottom surface 29 of the tank rail 19, and the ball leveling member 35a is supported without colliding with the tank rail 19. It can be turned around the shaft 36. Therefore, in this state, as shown in FIG. 12A, the lowermost game ball x of the flow path 33 can pass downstream from the lower gap of the ball leveling member 35a and the upper game. The sphere x collides with the lower part on the upstream side of the main body 40a, rotates the sphere leveling member 35a to the downstream side, and is pressed downward by an appropriate force to the sphere leveling member 35a trying to return to the suspended state. Will be leveled out.

  On the other hand, when the ball is held by the ball leveling member 35a, as shown in FIG. 11 (c), the support shaft 36 is held in the ball holding groove 43a at the upper end of the guide groove 37, that is, the ball leveling member. 35a is held at the above-mentioned ball stop position β2. As in the first embodiment, conversion from the sphere leveling position α2 to the ball stop position β2 is performed by holding the shafts 38a and 38b to the left and right and bending them inward while the support shaft 36 is suspended. 11 (b) and 11 (c), the sphere leveling member 35a is moved downward to cause the support shaft 36 to enter the narrow groove portion 44, and the support shaft 36 is This can be done by relatively moving to the ball stop groove 43a. Further, the conversion from the ball stop position β2 to the ball leveling position α2 can be performed by an operation opposite to this operation.

  In such a ball stop position β2, the length from the support shaft 36 to the engagement protrusion 50 is longer than the shortest distance from the support shaft 36 to the inner bottom surface 29 of the tank rail 19. Here, in the state in which the sphere leveling member 35a is suspended, the engaging protrusion 50 of the sphere leveling member 35a is closer to the downstream side than the position directly below the support shaft 36, as indicated by the imaginary line in FIG. The spherical leveling member 35a can be rotated downstream without causing the engaging protrusion 50 to collide with the inner bottom surface 29 of the tank rail 19. Then, from this state, as shown in FIG. 11C, when the sphere-equalizing member 35a is rotated approximately once around the support shaft 36, the engagement tip is located upstream of the position directly below the support shaft 36a. 50 collides with the inner bottom surface 29 of the tank rail 19, and the sphere leveling member 35a cannot rotate downstream from the position. For this reason, in this state, as shown in FIG. 12C, the flow path 33 of the tank rail 19 is closed by the lower part of the sphere leveling member 35a, and the sphere leveling member 35a cannot rotate downstream. Therefore, the flow of the game ball in the tank rail 19 is blocked by the ball leveling member 35a.

  Thus, in the sphere leveling member 35a according to the present embodiment, the length from the support shaft 36 to the engaging protrusion (longest lower end) 50 of the sphere leveling member 35a is from the support shaft 36 at the ball stop position β2. Since the length is longer than the shortest distance of the inner bottom surface 29 of the tank rail 19, the engagement protrusion 50 is brought into contact with the inner bottom surface 29 of the tank rail 19 on the upstream side of the position directly below the support shaft 36, thereby downstream of the spherical member 35a. The rotation to the side is restricted, and the flow of game balls in the tank rail 19 is blocked. Therefore, even in the present embodiment, when the ball is stopped, the lower part of the ball leveling member 35a that receives the fluid pressure of the game ball is directly supported by the bottom of the tank rail 19, so that the conventional configuration is used. In comparison, the rotation of the ball leveling member can be firmly restricted, and the flow of the game ball on the tank rail can be reliably blocked. In particular, in this configuration, the lowering of the leveling member 35a can be restricted by bringing the lower part of the leveling member 35a into contact with the bottom of the tank rail at the ball stop position β2, so that the leveling member 35a can be rotated. There is an advantage that the mechanism for regulating can be simplified.

  As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described by way of examples. However, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Of course, it can be added.

  For example, the tank rail 19 of the embodiment is divided into two flow paths by the partition wall portion 32, but the present invention is also applied to an undivided tank rail or a tank rail divided into three or more lines. Is possible. In addition, the ball leveling member of the embodiment performs ball leveling and ball stop on the game balls of the two flow paths, but a plurality of ball leveling members are suspended from the support shaft, You may make it the structure which performs a ball leveling and a ball stop for every flow path by a leveling member.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pachinko machine 3 Game machine main body 15 Back mechanism board 17 Ball tank 19 Tank rail 29 Inner bottom face 31a, 31b Side wall part 32 Partition wall part 33 Flow path 34 Engagement recessed part 35, 35a Spherical equalizing member 36, 36a Support shaft 37 Guide groove 38a, 38b Shaft 39 Mounting arm part 40, 40a Spherical part 42 Engaging convex part 43a Spherical groove part 43b Spherical groove part 44 Narrow groove part 45 Engaging groove 50 Engagement tip (longest lower end)
α1, α2 Sphere equalization position β1, β2 Ball stop position

Claims (2)

On the back side of the machine body,
A ball tank for receiving a game ball supplied from a supply tank of amusement island equipment;
A downwardly inclined tank rail for flowing down the game balls released from the ball tank;
In a pachinko gaming machine provided with a ball leveling member that is disposed above the tank rail and that is rotated along the tank rail to level the game balls stacked and flowing down in the tank rail.
A support shaft that is substantially perpendicular to the rear surface of the gaming machine main body protrudes from one of the fixed portion facing the sphere leveling member or the sphere leveling member, and the support shaft is inserted into the other side. Long and long guide grooves are arranged above and below,
By moving the sphere leveling member so that the support shaft moves up and down within the guide groove,
The length from the support shaft to the longest lower end of the sphere leveling member is shorter than the shortest distance from the support shaft to the inner bottom surface of the tank rail, and the sphere leveling member can be rotated. The upper ball leveling position that will cause a leveling action on the game ball flowing down in the tank rail,
The length from the support shaft to the longest lower end of the sphere leveling member is longer than the shortest distance from the support shaft to the inner bottom surface of the tank rail, and the longest lower end is located on the upstream side of the tank rail on the upstream side of the tank rail. The ball leveling member can be converted to a lower ball stop position where the flow of the game ball in the tank rail can be blocked by contacting the inner bottom surface of the rail, and
A pachinko gaming machine comprising ball leveling holding means for holding a ball leveling member so as to be rotatable at a ball leveling position. The sphere-equalizing holding means includes a support shaft made of a flexible shaft rod having tip portions arranged at intervals, and
The support shaft has a groove width that enables free rotation in the groove, and the sphere leveling groove formed at the position where the support shaft is located at the sphere leveling position of the sphere leveling member and the shaft rod are elastically deformed. The guide shaft has a groove width that allows the support shaft to pass by elastically contracting the support shaft in the radial direction, and includes a narrow groove portion that is coupled to the upper part of the sphere-equalizing groove portion. The pachinko gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein:

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