JPH0546232B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a pachinko ball return machine used in pachinko game parlors.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in pochinko game parlors, an automatic pachinko ball circulation system was adopted, which uses a power source to automatically transport a large number of pachinko balls to form a supply path for pachinko balls, thereby simplifying the game parlor. We are trying to

The pachinko ball return machine forms part of the pachinko ball automatic circulation system, and plays the role of supplying pachinko balls to the supply tank. Here, the replenishment tank is used to supply pachinko balls to equipment that uses pachinko balls, such as pachinko machines and ball rental machines, through a gutter. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly replenish the supply tank with pachinko balls depending on the operating status of the equipment that uses the pachinko balls so as not to interfere with the operation of the equipment. The functions of the pachinko game hall will stop. Therefore, a pachinko ball return machine transports pachinko balls from an out ball tank that stores the pachinko balls used by each pachinko machine, so-called out balls, and supplies them to a supply tank. In this sense, the supply tank performs a buffer-like function.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the above-mentioned pachinko ball return machine also has the following problems and is still not satisfactory.

That is, the conventional pachinko ball return machine continuously supplies pachinko balls to the replenishment tank in order to prevent the replenishment tank from becoming empty. Therefore, when the operating rate of the equipment receiving replenishment is low, more pachinko balls are newly supplied from the pachinko ball return machine than the number of pachinko balls in the replenishment tank, which decreases due to replenishment. There were times when the capacity of the tank was exceeded. Conventionally, an overflow hole was provided in the upper part of the replenishment tank, and even if pachinko balls were supplied to a height higher than this hole, the pachinko balls would fall through the hole.

However, with only the above configuration, the operation of the pachinko ball return machine is completely meaningless, and the movable parts of the pachinko ball return machine wear out, shortening the product life and contributing to noise. This would also go against energy conservation policy. Moreover, in order to avoid the supply tank becoming empty, the pachinko ball return machine must be supplied assuming that the supply amount from the supply tank is at its maximum, and the pachinko ball return machine is always at its maximum capacity. It is being operated nearby.

The present invention was made in view of the above problems, and
To provide an excellent pachinko ball return machine that automates operation by operating appropriately according to the usage status of pachinko balls in a supply tank and a pachinko ball machine, has a long product life, and can operate with low power consumption. is its purpose.

[Means for Solving the Problems] That is, the present invention, which was made to solve the above problems, moves the pachinko balls from the out-ball tank that stores the pachinko balls used by the pachinko machine to the supply tank. In a pachinko ball return machine that supplies pachinko balls from the replenishment tank to the pachinko machine again through a gutter, when pachinko balls exceeding the capacity of the replenishment tank are transported, the excess pachinko balls are returned to the pachinko machine. an overflow path for returning to the out ball tank; an unlifted amount detection means for detecting the amount of pachinko balls that have not yet been lifted from the out ball tank; and a remaining amount detecting means for detecting whether or not there are pachinko balls in the gutter. a detection means; a filling detection means for detecting the degree of filling of pachinko balls in the replenishment tank; and when the remaining amount detection means detects that there are no pachinko balls in the gutter, the pachinko ball return machine is operated, and the filling means When it is detected that the supply tank is filled with pachinko balls, the operation of the pachinko ball return machine is stopped, and when the amount of pachinko balls exceeding a predetermined amount is detected by the unlifted amount detection means, the operation is stopped. The gist is a pachinko ball return machine characterized by comprising: a control means for operating the pachinko ball return machine with priority over stopping;

[Function] In the present invention, the unlifted amount detecting means detects the amount of pachinko balls that have been used by a pachinko machine, so-called out balls, that have not yet been lifted by the pachinko ball return machine and are located at a low place. It detects the amount of something that is present. Normally, the out balls from each pachinko machine are conveyed through a collection gutter to the inlet of the pachinko ball return machine. In addition, an out ball tank for buffering is provided near the pumping and feeding inlet. Therefore, the amount of undelivered pachinko balls varies depending on the operating status of the pachinko ball return machine and the status of out-ball discharge from the pachinko machine. The amount of unlifted pachinko balls is detected.For example, how many pachinko balls are filled in the collection gutter and whether they are not flowing is detected from the weight of the pachinko balls themselves, the degree of filling of the gutter, etc. Composed of things.

The remaining amount detection means in the present invention is for detecting whether or not pachinko balls are present in a gutter that serves as a replenishment path when a replenishment tank replenishes pachinko balls to a device that uses the pachinko balls. When the amount of replenishment from the replenishment tank is sufficient, the gutter is filled with pachinko balls throughout the entire journey, and when the amount of replenishment from the replenishment tank is insufficient, there are no pachinko balls in the gutter. The remaining amount detection means detects these states. The detection mechanism is based on the weight of pachinko balls on the floor of the gutter.
It may be provided with an ON/OFF switch, or an optical detection means may be provided on the side of the gutter so that when pachinko balls are present, the light is blocked by the pachinko balls.

The filling detection means detects how many pachinko balls are filled in the supply tank. The detection accuracy may be one that sends a detection output according to the degree of filling, or a binary one that detects whether a predetermined amount of filling has been reached.

The control means functions to control the operation of the pachinko ball return machine in response to detection outputs from the unlifted amount detection means, the remaining amount detection means, and the filling detection means. First, under normal operating conditions, when the remaining amount detection means detects that there are no pachinko balls in the gutter, the operation of the pachinko ball return machine is started, and the filling detection means returns a predetermined amount of pachinko balls in the supply tank. When it is detected that balls are filled, the operation of the pachinko ball return machine is stopped. Therefore, it is possible to implement this control by using, for example, a sequential circuit such as a flip-flop, a self-holding relay, or the like.

Then, in priority to the above operation, the control means monitors the detection result of the unlifted pachinko ball amount detection means, and when the number of unlifted pachinko balls reaches a predetermined amount or more, it starts operating the pachinko ball return machine preferentially. let That is,
When the detection result of the unlifted amount detecting means exceeds a predetermined amount, if the pachinko ball return machine is in operation, it is left as is, and if the pachinko ball return machine is stopped, its operation is restarted. Therefore, to realize this control, for example, another power supply path that bypasses the sequential circuit such as the flip-flop, the self-holding relay, etc., is controlled to open or close according to the detection result of the unlifted amount detection means. do it.

Here, when the control means operates the pachinko ball return machine based on the detection result of the unloaded amount detection means as described above, the pachinko ball return machine operates regardless of the detection result of the filling detection means. In some cases, more pachinko balls than the capacity of the supply tank may be transferred from the out-ball tank.

Therefore, the overflow path in the present invention functions to return pachinko balls in excess of the capacity of the supply tank to the out-ball tank.

As described above, in the pachinko ball return machine of the present invention, the remaining amount detection means detects whether or not there are pachinko balls in the gutter for supplying pachinko balls from the supply tank to the pachinko machine, and detects the filling. The means are
The control means detects the filling degree of pachinko balls in the replenishment tank, and when the remaining amount detection means detects that there are no pachinko balls in the gutter, the control means operates a pachinko ball return machine, which is used by the pachinko machine. Pachinko balls are transferred from an out ball tank for storing pachinko balls to a replenishment tank, and when a filling detection means detects that the replenishment tank is filled with pachinko balls, the operation of this pachinko ball return machine is stopped.

If the operation of the pachinko ball return machine is controlled to the minimum necessary in this way, the amount of pachinko balls discharged from the pachinko machine will be greater than the amount of pachinko balls supplied to the pachinko machine, and a large amount will be stored in the out-ball tank. Pachinko balls may be accumulated, so the unlifted amount detection means detects the amount of pachinko balls that have not yet been lifted from the out ball tank, and the unlifted amount detection means detects pachinko balls exceeding a predetermined amount. When the amount is detected, the control means similarly operates the pachinko ball return machine with priority over stopping the operation based on the detection result of the filling detection means. Further, at this time, since there are cases where more pachinko balls are transported than the capacity of the replenishment tank, the overflow path acts to return the excess pachinko balls to the out-ball tank.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, in order to more specifically explain the present invention, Examples will be given and described in detail.

[Example] FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram schematically showing a part of an automatic pachinko ball circulation system equipped with a pachinko ball return machine according to an example.

In the figure, numeral 10 is a supply tank located higher than the pachinko machine P and supplies pachinko balls to the pachinko machine through a gutter 12. Pachinko ball return machine 2
0 has an electric motor 22 as a driving force source, and a belt 26 for lifting pachinko balls is stretched around a pulley 24 which is rotated by the driving force. This belt 2
6 and the side wall of the pachinko ball return machine 20, the pachinko balls are lifted and conveyed into the replenishment tank 10 through the lifting/unloading port 27. Further, the lifting and feeding inlet 28 of the pachinko ball return machine 20 is connected to a collection gutter 30 that collects the out balls of each pachinko machine P, so that the out balls are transported by the pachinko ball return machine 20 and played again in the pachinko machine. It is supplied for use by machine P. 32 is a collection gutter 30 and a lifting inlet 28
A well-known out ball tank is installed at the connection position with the out ball tank, and when the amount of out balls is larger than the amount of pumped balls, the excess amount is temporarily held, and the supply of out balls is insufficient for the amount of pumped balls. By sometimes sending out the extra out balls that have been kept until then to the lifting/feeding inlet 28, it is possible to stably return pachinko balls. In addition, when the pachinko ball return machine 20 carries in more pachinko balls than the capacity of the replenishment tank 10, the overflow hole 13 provided in the high side wall of the replenishment tank 10 overflows. The above-mentioned out ball tank 32 is a hole for going.
It communicates with the overflow inlet 34 of. In other words, the overflow hole 1 provided in this supply tank 10
3 and the overflow inlet 34 of the out ball tank 32,
The overflow path of the present invention functions to return excess pachinko balls to the out-ball tank. The control system of the above embodiment includes three electronic non-contact circuits 40A, 40B, and 40C, which will be described later, and a control circuit 50 that drives the electric motor 22 in response to the output thereof. In the pachinko ball return machine 20 configured in this way, the electric motor 22 is controlled by the action of the control circuit 50.
The power supply is controlled and the amount of pumping is automatically adjusted.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing in detail a portion related to the supply tank 10. As shown in the figure, the supply tank 10 is partitioned by two shelves, upper and lower. On the surface of the lower shelf 14, an opening that directly connects to the gutter 12 installed at an angle is provided through the wall of the supply tank 10, and the lower shelf faces toward the opening. It is formed with a slope so that the balls above 14 are gathered together. The volume formed between the lower shelf 14 and the upper shelf 15 is large enough to store the minimum number of pachinko balls required to replenish the pachinko machine that receives supplies from the gutter 12, including the balls in the gutter 12. It is said to have sufficient volume.

The upper shelf 15 is provided with a central hole 16 penetrating into the lower shelf 14 in the center thereof, and a switch portion 17 is formed which is dug in an inclined manner from the lifting/unloading port 27 of the pachinko ball return machine 20 toward the central hole 16. There is. Upper shelf 15
The surface is concave around the central hole 16, and auxiliary holes 16C are provided on both sides of the central hole 16, which communicate with the lower shelf. Moreover, 40A, which is one of the electronic non-contact circuits 40, is buried in the starting end of the switch path 17.

This electronic non-contact circuit 40 is a proximity sensor made of a high magnetic permeability material that utilizes a known change in magnetic field.
Disturbing the magnetic flux distribution produces an output.
In addition, in the case of the electronic non-contact circuit 40 of this embodiment, an output is not generated when a pachinko ball is simply detected for a short period of time as it passes, and the pachinko ball continues to exist in the magnetic field for a predetermined period of time, for example, several seconds. It is equipped with an internal timer circuit so that the output is produced only when the This allows the electronic non-contact circuit 40 to accurately detect the presence of pachinko balls even though it is non-contact.

An electronic non-contact circuit 4 is also provided on the floor of the gutter 12, which is the outlet of the pachinko balls from the supply tank 10 detailed above.
0B is provided, and the output is produced when there are enough pachinko balls supplied from this supply tank 10 for the pachinko machine P and even the gutter 12 serving as a supply route is full. Similarly, the floor surface of the gathering gutter 30 shown in FIG. 1 is equipped with an electronic non-contact circuit 40C that non-contactly detects whether or not the gutter is also filled with pachinko balls.

FIG. 3 shows the three electronic non-contact circuits 40A,
It is an electric circuit diagram of a control circuit 50 that drives the electric motor 22 of the pachinko ball return machine 20 based on the detection results of 40B and 40C. This control circuit 50 is roughly 2
It has two functions. One is an adjustment function that adjusts the amount of pachinko balls supplied, and the other is a pachinko machine protection function that takes priority over the adjustment function. These two functions are accomplished by circuits 51 or 52, respectively.

First, the operation of the circuit 51 that achieves the adjustment function will be described. two switching transistors
TrA and TrB are respectively the aforementioned electronic non-contact circuits 4.
The detection outputs from 0A and 40B are input as the base signals.

First, when the supply tank 10 is filled with pachinko balls and the number of pachinko balls gradually decreases, the electronic non-contact circuit 4 provided in the switch path 17
The output of 0A will disappear when there are no more pachinko balls on the switch path 17, and the output of TrA will disappear.
turns “ON”. However, at this point, contact J
1 and J2 are both open, relay R2 is not activated, and therefore motor 22 remains stopped. Furthermore, as the use of pachinko balls progresses and there are no more pachinko balls on the electronic non-contact circuit 40B buried in the floor of the gutter 12, the output from the electronic non-contact circuit 40B disappears, and TrB turns ``ON''. do. This activates relay R1 and closes contact J1. Then, the excitation current also flows through relay R2, thereby closing both contacts J2 and J3. Thereafter, the excitation current of relay R2 continues to flow through contact J2, so even if electronic non-contact circuit 40B outputs again and TrB is in the "OFF" state, relay R2 continues to operate (self-maintains). This contact J3 constitutes a circuit that supplies the base current of the switching transistor 53, so as long as the relay R2 continues to operate, the switching transistor 53
continues to be in the "ON" state, and the electric motor 22, which is the power source of the pachinko ball return machine, continues to operate in the same way. For this purpose, the reinforcing tank 10 is gradually filled with pachinko balls, and when the pachinko balls finally reach the switch path 17, the output of the electronic non-contact circuit 40A is generated again, and TrA is turned OFF.
becomes. Therefore, the excitation current of relay R2 is cut off, contacts J2 and J3 are also opened, and the operation of pachinko ball return machine 20 is completed.

As described above, the circuit 51 that achieves the adjustment function of the control circuit 50 allows the pachinko ball return machine 20 to not operate when a large number of pachinko balls are still present in the gutter 12 even after the reinforcement tank 10 is empty, and further replenishment is performed. When this progresses and there are no more pachinko balls in the gutter 12, the electronic non-contact circuit 40B operates and the pachinko ball return machine operates for the first time. And, the operation of the pachinko ball return machine is the supply tank 10.
It automatically stops when the electronic non-contact circuit 40A is filled until it turns "ON".

Therefore, the operation of the pachinko ball return machine 20 is suppressed to the minimum necessary level, making it possible to maximize its operating rate. Moreover, the electronic non-contact circuit 40
It is also possible to easily change the operating state of the pachinko ball return machine 20 by adjusting the installation location of B to the reinforcement tank 10 side of the gutter 12 or to a location further away from the supply tank 10. It is.
For example, if the electronic non-contact circuit 40B is installed in the gutter 12 that replenishes pachinko balls to equipment that frequently uses pachinko balls, it may be placed closer to the replenishment tank 10 in order to start the operation of the pachinko ball return machine 20 early. In other words, the supply of pachinko balls to the machine is never interrupted.

Next, the circuit 52 that achieves the pachinko machine protection function
I will explain about it. This circuit is another electronic non-contact circuit 40C buried in the floor of the collection gutter 30.
It is composed of a switching transistor TrC that turns ON and OFF depending on the presence or absence of an output, and a relay R3 having a time-limited return contact J4. When the electronic non-contact circuit 40C is not producing an output, that is, when the collection gutter 30 is not filled with pachinko balls, the TrC is in the "OFF" state and the relay R is
3 is not excited. Therefore, in this state, the operation of the pachinko ball return machine 20 is controlled only by the above-mentioned adjustment function, and the objectives such as energy saving are achieved by the minimum necessary operation. However, when the pachinko ball return machine 20 does not operate and a large number of out balls are discharged from the pachinko machine P, pachinko balls gradually accumulate in the collection gutter 30, and finally the electronic non-contact circuit 40C produces an output. Until. At this time, relay R is turned ON by TrC.
3 is excited, the time-limited return contact J4 is closed, and the electric motor 22 of the pachinko ball return machine 20 is driven. Therefore, the pachinko ball return machine starts operating, and the pachinko balls in the collection gutter 30 are lifted and reduced. Then, when the pachinko ball disappears from the electronic non-contact circuit 40C and its detection output disappears, the time-limited return contact J4 returns, for example, several seconds later due to the delay operation of the contact J4, and the power supply to the electric motor 22 is stopped. It is.

In other words, due to this pachinko machine protection function, a large number of out balls ejected from the pachinko machine accumulate in the collection gutter 30 without being transported, and eventually block the out ball outlet of each pachinko machine. This completely avoids the situation where the game becomes impossible. The above-mentioned adjustment function enables the operation of the pachinko ball return machine 20 to the minimum required level, and this pachinko machine protection function also allows the pachinko ball return machine 20 to operate even when the adjustment function only accumulates out balls unilaterally. This will ensure that playing on the machine is not impossible.

In this embodiment, a time-limited return contact is used as a pachinko machine protection function to stop the operation of the pachinko ball return machine after a certain period of time has passed. Other methods may be used, such as stopping the operation of the pachinko ball return machine when the balls run out. Further, the control circuit 50 may be constructed using a sequential circuit such as a flip-flop instead of using mechanical parts such as a relay.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the pachinko ball return machine of the present invention, the control means supplies pachinko balls from the supply tank to the pachinko machine based on the detection results of the remaining amount detection means and the filling detection means. The pachinko ball return machine is activated when there are no more pachinko balls in the gutter, and the pachinko ball return machine is stopped when the supply tank is filled with pachinko balls. The amount of pachinko balls discharged from the pachinko machine is greater than the amount of pachinko balls supplied to the machine, and a large amount of pachinko balls may be stored in the out-ball tank.This is detected by the undelivered amount detection means. Then, the same control circuit forcibly operates the pachinko ball return machine. Further, at this time, even if more pachinko balls are transferred than the capacity of the supply tank, the excess pachinko balls are returned to the out-ball tank through the overflow path.

Therefore, according to the pachinko ball return machine of the present invention,
It is possible to supply the optimal amount of pachinko balls to the pachinko machine while minimizing the operation of the pachinko ball return machine to the necessary minimum, and it also prevents pachinko balls from accumulating in the out-ball tank and making it impossible to play with the pachinko machine. It will also be possible to avoid such abnormal situations.

As a result, the pachinko ball return machine always operates in optimal condition without any operation by employees, etc., and by increasing the operating rate, it prevents noise and extends the product life, making it an extremely superior pachinko ball return machine. It will become.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of its replenishment tank, and FIG. 3 is an electric circuit diagram of its control circuit. 10... Supply tank, 12... Gutter, 22... Electric motor, 40A, 40B, 40C... Electronic non-contact circuit, 50... Control circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Pachinko balls are transferred from an out-ball tank that stores pachinko balls used by a pachinko machine to a supply tank, and from the supply tank, the pachinko balls are supplied to the pachinko machine again through a gutter. In the pachinko ball return machine, when pachinko balls exceeding the capacity of the supply tank are lifted, an overflow path for returning the excess pachinko balls to the out ball tank, and an overflow path that returns the excess pachinko balls to the out ball tank, and the balls that have not yet been pumped out from the out ball tank. unlifted amount detection means for detecting the amount of pachinko balls; remaining amount detection means for detecting whether or not there are pachinko balls in the gutter; and filling detection means for detecting the degree of filling of pachinko balls in the supply tank. , when the residual amount detection means detects that there are no pachinko balls in the gutter, the pachinko ball return machine is operated; and when the filling means detects that the supply tank is filled with pachinko balls, the pachinko ball return machine is operated. control means for stopping the operation of the machine and for operating the pachinko ball return machine with priority over stopping the operation when the amount of pachinko balls exceeding a predetermined amount is detected by the unlifted amount detection means; This pachinko ball return machine is characterized by: