JP5183385B2 - Ball launcher for gaming machine and gaming machine equipped with the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball launcher for a gaming machine used in, for example, a pachinko machine and a gaming machine including the same.

  In the ball launcher for pachinko machine game machines, the plunger is moved directly by the drive source, or the ball hitting basket is rotated (rotated in either the forward or reverse direction) or rotated by the drive source, and the launch position from the ball tray Is used to launch the game ball supplied to the game area. Since this plunger or hitting ball hits a game ball, which is a metal ball, it is accompanied by vibrations, impacts, and noise, and it is assumed that the flight distance becomes unstable when the game ball is hit with the core removed.

  Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, a ball launching device that can launch a game ball to a game area in a non-contact manner using a firing coil has been proposed. This ball launcher includes a hollow drive coil and a control circuit that is connected to the drive coil and controls the energization amount and energization time according to the operation of the angle sensor.

When the player turns the operation handle to rotate the angle sensor by a predetermined angle, the energization amount and energization time for the drive coil are determined and a required voltage is applied. At this time, an electromagnetic force acts on the game ball located at one end opening of the drive coil to cut off the energization at the middle part of the drive coil, and is fired from the other end opening toward the game area (Patent Document). 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-112058

However, in the ball launching device of Patent Document 1 described above, the drive coil has a right cylindrical shape, and the electromagnetic force acting on the game ball is weakened at the center in the axial direction of the drive coil. It was necessary to cut off the energization when passing through the intermediate point in the core direction. For this reason, since the effective area for accelerating the game ball by the magnetic field generated in the drive coil is half the coil length, the drive coil is increased in size and installation space is required, and the cost of parts is increased, resulting in energization. There are problems such as an increase in heat generation.
In addition, in the region where the applied voltage to the drive coil is low, the flying distance of the game ball is difficult, so there is a possibility that a foul ball may be generated, and there is a problem that it is difficult to adjust the launch force of the game ball by operating the operation handle .

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and to provide a ball launcher for a gaming machine and a gaming machine equipped with the same, which can obtain a sufficient launching power even in a small size and can easily adjust the launching power. is there.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises the following configuration.
A game ball made of a magnetic material is set at a launch position provided on one end side of the firing coil, and an electromagnetic force is applied to the game ball by energization to attract it to the inside of a coil bobbin formed in a hollow cylindrical shape and the other end A slanted-type firing coil around which the firing coil is wound so that the number of turns gradually increases from one end side to the other end side of the coil bobbin. It is used.

  In addition, a control circuit is provided that adjusts the firing force acting on the game ball in the firing coil by changing either the voltage applied to the firing coil or the energization time according to the operation of the launching handle. To do.

Further, the control circuit applies a predetermined voltage corresponding to the firing handle operation amount while the game ball supplied to the firing position provided at the one end opening of the coil bobbin is launched from the other end opening of the coil bobbin. It is characterized by applying.
Alternatively, the control circuit applies a constant applied voltage to the firing coil for a predetermined time corresponding to the firing handle operation amount.

  In addition, the gaming machine is characterized in that a gaming ball is launched toward a gaming area using a gaming machine ball launcher.

  According to the above-described ball launcher for a gaming machine, since the inclined firing coil is used in which the firing coil is wound so that the number of turns gradually increases from one end side to the other end side of the coil bobbin. The electromagnetic force acting on the game ball passing in the axial direction from the side toward the other end increases. Therefore, the acceleration of the game ball is good over the entire length of the firing coil, and a sufficient firing force can be obtained even if the coil is small in the axial direction.

In addition, the control circuit adjusts the firing force acting on the game ball in the firing coil by changing either the voltage applied to the firing coil or the energizing time according to the operation amount of the launching handle, so that it passes through the firing coil. Since the electromagnetic force acting on the game ball increases in the meantime, it is not necessary to cut off the applied voltage while the game ball passes through the coil bobbin, and the control operation can be simplified. It is possible to effectively use energy while suppressing unnecessary heat generation.
In addition, since sufficient firing force can be obtained from the region where the applied voltage is low at the beginning of the steering wheel operation, problems such as generation of foul balls and heat generation of the firing coil can be reduced, and the flying distance of the game ball with respect to changes in the applied voltage can be reduced. Since the fluctuation is small, it is easy to adjust the launch force of the game ball by operating the handle.

  Furthermore, in a gaming machine using a ball launcher for gaming machines, since the gaming ball is hit, vibration, shock, and noise are not generated, and the flight distance of the gaming ball can be secured sufficiently from the start of the operation. A good gaming machine can be provided.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
A schematic configuration of the gaming machine according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, a pachinko machine will be described as an example of a gaming machine.
First, the schematic configuration of the pachinko machine 1 will be described. An inner frame (not shown) is attached to the outer frame 2 forming the outer shape of the pachinko machine 1 by a hinge 5 so as to be opened and closed.
An upper front frame 3 that covers the upper front of the inner frame is attached to the inner frame so as to be openable and closable. A lower front frame 4 that covers the lower front of the inner frame is attached to the lower part of the upper front frame 3. A game board 6 is provided in the inner frame, and a ball launcher 7 for launching a game ball toward the game area is assembled below the game board 6.

  In FIG. 1, an upper ball tray 8 that stores game balls such as rental balls and prize balls and guides the game balls to the ball launcher 7 is integrally provided below the upper front frame 3. Further, the lower front frame 4 has a lower ball tray 9 that stores excess balls overflowing from the upper ball tray 8, an ashtray 10 that houses cigarette butts on the left side of the lower ball tray 9, and a ball that fires on the right side of the lower ball tray 9. Firing handles 11 for operating the device 7 are each provided. By operating the launch handle 11, a game ball is launched from the ball launcher 7 through the game board rail 12 to the game area of the game board 6 with a launch force corresponding to the operation amount.

Next, the configuration of the ball launcher 7 will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 2, a firing coil 14 is wound around a coil bobbin 13 formed in a hollow cylindrical shape so that the number of turns gradually increases from one end side flange 13 a to the other end side flange 13 b of the coil bobbin 13. A firing coil 14 having a predetermined number of turns is wound around the one end side flange portion 13a of the coil bobbin 13 where the launch position of the game ball K is provided so as to obtain a predetermined firing force. Therefore, as the number of turns gradually increases from the one end side flange 13a toward the other end side flange 13b, the winding diameter also gradually increases. Therefore, as shown in FIG. Become.
The outer shape in the axial direction around which the firing coil 14 is wound may be a taper shape, a staircase shape, or a curved surface shape. The game ball K is set at the firing position, which is one end side opening of the coil bobbin 13, so that the ball center M coincides with the opening end, and the number of turns of the coil winding is accelerated from the other end side opening increased in the axial direction. Fired.

  In FIG. 2, the firing handle 11 detects the amount of rotation of a rotating shaft (not shown) that rotates integrally with the operation member 15 by a detecting means such as a potentiometer (variable resistor). The firing handle 11 is connected to a control circuit 16. The control circuit 16 allows the firing coil 14 to be energized for a predetermined time by operating the firing handle 11. That is, since the electrostatic capacity (or variable resistance value) becomes variable as the operation member 15 rotates, the output voltage to the firing coil 14 changes linearly.

Next, an example of the control circuit 16 will be described with reference to FIG.
The electrolytic capacitor 17 and the firing coil 14 are connected in series through a switching element (thyristor; SCR) 18. A driving power source 19 is connected in parallel to the electrolytic capacitor 17 and charges the electrolytic capacitor 17. When energization is permitted through the trigger switch SW by the trigger power source 20, the switching element 18 is turned on, and when the trigger switch SW is turned off, the switching element 18 is turned off.

When the switching element 18 is OFF, the electrolytic capacitor 17 is charged by the drive power source 19. When the switching element 18 is turned on, the electrolytic capacitor 17 is discharged, and the firing coil 14 is energized for a predetermined time to launch a game ball.
The electrolytic capacitor 17 is repeatedly charged and discharged at a cycle determined by a time constant of a known LC series circuit. The trigger switch SW is ON / OFF controlled for a predetermined time by the operation of the firing handle 11 described above. Specifically, for example, if 100 game balls are fired per minute by a pachinko machine, ON / OFF control is performed at a cycle of 0.6 [sec].

  FIG. 6 is a graph showing the results of experiments on the relationship between applied voltage and flight distance by installing different firing coils 14 having the forms shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B using the experimental apparatus shown in FIG. Shown in In FIG. 4, the firing coils 14 having different forms were respectively fixed to a fixed base 21 having a height of 700 mm from the installation surface, and the flying distance L in the horizontal direction was measured from the end surface of each firing coil 14. Incidentally, the coil used for the experiment was the firing coil 14 having a coil length Z = 420 mm and a number of turns of 360.

  Specifically, an electrolytic capacitor capacitance 2350 [μF] is connected in series using the cylindrical firing coil 22 shown in FIG. 5A and the inclined firing coil 23 shown in FIG. The horizontal flight distance L was measured when the voltage was increased from [V] to 10 [V] and applied up to 190 [V].

  From experiments, it has been found that in the inclined firing coil 23, the applied voltage is 120 [V] and the initial velocity of the game ball K is 4 [m / s] or more.

  In FIG. 6, it can be seen that the gradient type firing coil 23 has a greater flight distance L than the cylindrical type firing coil 22 until the applied voltage is around 130 [V]. Therefore, when the inclined firing coil 23 is used, a sufficient firing force can be obtained from a region where the applied voltage at the beginning of the steering wheel operation is low, so that problems such as generation of a foul ball and heat generation of the firing coil can be reduced.

In addition, since the inclination-type firing coil 23 has less variation in the flying distance L of the game ball in the region where the applied voltage is lower than that of the cylindrical-type firing coil 22 (the inclination of the graph is small), the launch force of the game ball by the handle operation It becomes easy to adjust.
The thickness and type of the copper wire of the firing coil 14 constituting the inclined firing coil 23 are arbitrary, and the outer periphery of the firing coil 14 may be covered with a magnetic material having a high magnetic permeability in order to reduce leakage magnetic flux. .

FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the coil length Z of the inclined firing coil 23 and the strength H of the magnetic field generated in the coil bobbin. Since the number of turns of the firing coil 14 gradually increases from one end side (entrance) to the other end side (exit) of the coil bobbin 13, the magnetic field strength H also increases. In FIG. 6, the minimum voltage value V ₁ (the game ball K is applied to the game area K) applied to the firing coil 14 in FIG. 7 as well as the variation in the flight distance with respect to the change in the applied voltage is small compared to the cylindrical firing coil 22. ) And the maximum voltage value V ₂ (the maximum voltage value that can reach the right side of the game area (right-handed)), and the fluctuation of the magnetic field magnitude H also varies. It is getting smaller.

The relationship between the control voltage V applied to the inclined firing coil 23 and the energization time T will be described with reference to FIGS. The energization time t ₀ is the energization start, t ₁ is the time for the game ball to pass through the other end of the coil bobbin 13 (the time required for passing through the coil bobbin 13), and t ₂ is the axis of the game ball K for the firing coil 14. It is assumed that the time passes through a midway position in the direction, and the magnitude is in the relationship of t ₀ <t ₂ <t ₁

As shown in FIG. 8, the energization time T to the firing coil 14 is constant (t _{0 to} t ₁ ), and the applied voltage V changes between V _{1 and} V ₂ (arrow E) according to the operation of the firing handle 11. You may make it adjust launching power. As shown in FIG. 9, the applied voltage V to the firing coil 14 is constant (maximum voltage value V ₂ ), and the energization time T varies between t ₂ and t ₁ (arrow F) according to the operation of the firing handle 11. You may make it adjust launching power.
In any case, the electromagnetic force acting on the game ball K that always passes through the coil acts in an increasing direction, and the applied voltage V or energization time T to the firing coil 14 depends on the amount of operation of the operation handle 11. Since the firing force can be adjusted simply by changing the control power, the control operation can be simplified and energy can be effectively used by suppressing unnecessary heating of the coil.

  The ball launching device 7 described above has been described as being provided in the pachinko machine 1, but may be provided in other gaming machines such as a sparrow ball gaming machine or an arrangement ball gaming machine.

It is a front view of a pachinko machine. It is a block block diagram of a ball launcher. It is a circuit diagram which shows an example of a control circuit. It is explanatory drawing of the discharge experiment apparatus by a launch coil. It is explanatory drawing of the firing coil used for the experiment of FIG. It is a graph which shows the relationship between an applied voltage and a flight distance. It is a graph which shows the relationship between a coil length and the magnitude | size of a magnetic field. It is a graph which shows the relationship with the time which made the voltage applied to a firing coil variable. It is a graph which shows the relationship which made energization time variable by making the voltage applied to a firing coil constant.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pachinko machine 2 Outer frame 3 Upper front frame 4 Lower front frame 5 Hinge 6 Game board 7 Ball launcher 8 Upper ball saucer 9 Lower ball saucer 10 Ashtray 11 Launch handle 12 Game board rail 13 Coil bobbin 13a, 13b Flange part 14 Launch coil K game ball 15 operation member 16 control circuit 17 electrolytic capacitor
18 Switching element 19 Drive power supply
20 Trigger power supply
SW Trigger switch
21 Fixed base 22 Cylindrical firing coil 23 Inclined firing coil

Claims (5)

A game ball made of a magnetic material is set at a launch position provided on one end side of the firing coil, and an electromagnetic force is applied to the game ball by energization to attract it to the inside of a coil bobbin formed in a hollow cylindrical shape and the other end A ball launcher for a gaming machine that launches from the side toward a gaming area,
A ball launcher for a gaming machine, wherein an inclined launch coil is used in which the launch coil is wound so that the number of turns gradually increases from one end side to the other end side of the coil bobbin.   A control circuit is provided that adjusts the firing force acting on the game ball in the firing coil by changing either the voltage applied to the firing coil or the energization time according to the operation amount of the firing handle. The ball launcher for gaming machines according to claim 1.   The control circuit applies a predetermined voltage according to the operation amount of the firing handle while the game ball supplied to the firing position provided at the opening on the one end side of the coil bobbin is fired from the opening on the other end side of the coil bobbin. The ball launcher for gaming machines according to claim 2.   3. The ball launcher for a gaming machine according to claim 2, wherein the control circuit applies a constant applied voltage to the firing coil for a predetermined time corresponding to the firing handle operation amount.   A gaming machine, wherein a gaming ball is launched toward a gaming area using the gaming machine ball launching device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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