JPH0583273B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to prize ball discharging devices, automatic ball lending machines, ball replenishing devices, etc. of pachinko gaming machines and slot gaming machines installed in pachinko gaming parlors. The present invention relates to a preferred method for controlling a ball ejecting device.

[Prior art and its problems] As is well known, the prize ball ejecting device of a pachinko game machine placed in a game parlor or the ball ejecting device of an automatic ball rental machine cannot reliably release a preset number of pachinko balls. Required to be discharged.

Therefore, a pachinko ball ejecting device that is required to eject balls reliably has a counting function that counts the pachinko balls ejected into a receiving tray or storage tank, etc.
It is necessary to have a stopper function that stops the ejection of pachinko balls when a predetermined number of pachinko balls have been ejected.

A discharge device with a ball counting function that has been conventionally used is a device that measures the dead weight of pachinko balls as they flow down the path from the supply chute, which is part of the island equipment, to the pachinko ball discharge port. There is a device in which a ratchet wheel that rotates one pitch at a time is exposed, and the rotation is stopped when the ratchet wheel rotates by a predetermined angle. In addition, although it does not have a ball counting function, a swingable ball sheath that can store a predetermined number of pachinko balls is placed on the top of the device, and each time a coin is inserted or a pachinko ball wins, the ball sheath is A predetermined number of pachinko balls stored in a ball sheath are ejected by swinging the ball.

However, although this type of conventional pachinko ball ejecting device has sufficiently high accuracy when looking only at its counting function, it has the problem of requiring a large storage space due to the large number of mechanical parts. .

Moreover, in a ratchet-type ball ejecting device, in order to increase the discharge speed, it is conceivable to have two downstream paths, but in that case, two ratchet wheels would be required for each downstream path. Furthermore, there is the disadvantage that the number of parts increases.

On the other hand, a conventional ball ejection device using a ball sheath has two flow paths, and can discharge at a higher speed than a single flow path. Moreover, even with two articles, the structure does not become so complicated. However, in the case of a ball sheath-type ball ejecting device, the number of balls ejected in one operation is structurally limited, so changing the number of balls ejected requires a complicated adjustment method. . Furthermore, if the balls stop flowing in one of the two flow paths due to ball clogging, etc., the number of balls ejected per swing motion will be halved, so it will be difficult to eject the correct number of balls. In addition to being difficult, in order to prevent the wrong number of balls from being ejected, it is necessary to stop the ball ejecting device immediately when a ball jam or the like occurs. However, in this case, the game is interrupted midway, causing dissatisfaction to the players. In particular, recent pachinko gaming machines are equipped with variable winning devices that temporarily increase the probability of winning, so when a condition called a jackpot (special game mode) in which the variable winning device operates occurs, prize balls are ejected. If the equipment stops, players will be at a disadvantage.

[Objective of the Invention] The object of the present invention is to provide a ball ejecting system that allows a predetermined number of pachinko balls to be ejected accurately and at high speed, and in which the ejecting operation is rarely stopped due to ball clogging in the downstream path. The purpose is to provide a processing method.

[Structure of the Invention] This invention provides two paths for pachinko balls to flow down, and provides an operating member corresponding to each path to control the falling balls, thereby accurately and quickly moving a predetermined number of pachinko balls. In addition to making it possible to discharge
The procedure for checking the presence or absence of a discharge request signal and the above 2.
A procedure for checking whether or not there are balls in each flow path of a row, a procedure for determining the state of one-sided discharge to detect when a state has come to discharge balls only on one route, and a procedure for determining whether or not a ball is present in each of the flow paths of the row, and a procedure for determining the state of one-sided discharge to detect the state in which balls should be discharged only on one route. a procedure for entrusting the discharge process to the route on the side where the ball exists based on the procedure, a procedure for releasing the falling blocking state by the blocking member in accordance with this discharge delegation procedure and the above-mentioned discharge ball confirmation procedure, and a signal from the falling ball detector. A procedure for accumulating the number of ejected balls for each downstream route based on the above, and determining whether the number of ejected balls matches the radix in the radix storage means, and when they match, actuating a blocking member of the corresponding route to prevent the ball from flowing down. By performing the ball ejection process using the procedure, even if one path becomes clogged or one operating member or drive source malfunctions, a predetermined number of balls can be ejected only through the other path. In this way, the above object of providing a ball discharge processing method in which the discharge operation is rarely stopped due to ball clogging in the downstream path is achieved.

[Embodiment] The present invention normally involves inserting a blocking member (stopper) into the downstream path of pachinko balls to prevent the balls from passing, and also by retracting this blocking member from the downstream path based on a discharge request. A stopper-type ball ejection device that allows the balls to flow down realizes high-speed ball ejection.

However, this type of stopper-type ball ejecting device can achieve extremely high accuracy due to recent advances in sensor technology and electronics when focusing on the counting function, but the stopper function is not necessarily as described above. It was not possible to guarantee sufficient responsiveness for the counting function.

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention have studied the factors that prevent sufficient responsiveness from being obtained regarding the stopper function of the stopper type ball ejecting device.

As a result, in the stopper type ball ejection device, due to mechanical constraints, the position of the sensor and the blocking member (stopper)
It is impossible to match the positions of the pachinko balls, and it takes some time for a certain pachinko ball to arrive at the stop position by the blocking member after passing the sensor position. In addition, in order to always discharge only a predetermined number of pachinko balls while operating the blocking member at certain timings as described above, it is necessary to at least increase the falling speed of the pachinko balls passing between the sensor and the blocking member. There must be a certain distance between the pachinko ball and the next pachinko ball, which is constant and immediately before the blocking member is activated.

However, in reality, the flow velocity and ball spacing of pachinko balls flowing down the flow path vary widely due to various factors. Even if the relative actuation timing of the blocking member is slightly earlier or slightly later than the flow velocity of the pachinko balls, it cannot be guaranteed that a predetermined number of pachinko balls can be accurately ejected. In other words, it has been found that even if the activation time of the blocking member is constant, the activation time differs each time due to variations in the speed of the falling balls and the distance between the balls, and there is a drawback that reliability cannot be guaranteed.

This invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the stopper type ball ejecting device by improving the flow path and blocking member as shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, and also By configuring the control device as shown, it is possible to avoid an abnormal situation in which the discharging operation stops even if the balls stop flowing in one of the downstream paths due to ball clogging or the like.

The ball ejection device of this embodiment is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
As shown in the figure, there is a gutter component 1 that constitutes the main part of the pachinko ball ejection path, and a ball ejection device 2 that prevents or releases the pachinko balls flowing down the pachinko ball ejection path. It is integrally formed with a holder 3 for holding. The holding body 3 includes a solenoid 21 which is a driving means for the ball ejecting device 2.
is fixed.

The gutter component 1 includes a gently inclined alignment gutter 11, a flow regulation gutter 13 extending substantially vertically downward from the downstream end of the alignment gutter 11, and a connection between the alignment gutter 11 and the flow regulation gutter 13. an adjustment section 12 that changes the direction of the flowing ball by approximately 90 degrees; and the flow control gutter 13.
The guide gutter 14 extends obliquely downward at an angle of about 45 degrees from the lower end of the guide gutter 14, and the discharge gutter 15 extends substantially vertically downward from the terminal end of the guide gutter 14.

A pair of support pieces 16 protrude from the outer wall of the gutter component 1 near the boundary between the guide gutter 14 and the discharge gutter 15, and the support shaft 4 is horizontally suspended between the support pieces 16.

Although not particularly limited, in this embodiment, two ejection paths for pachinko balls are formed, and the support shaft 4 is formed in correspondence with these two ejection paths.
A pair of fan-shaped flow prevention members 22 as actuating members are rotatably attached to the member. A pair of solenoids 21 are also provided corresponding to the flow prevention members 22. The tip end of the flow prevention member 22 enters through a slit provided in the inner wall of the gutter component 1 and projects into the guide gutter 14. The rear end of the flow prevention member 22 is connected to the front end of the plunger 21a of the solenoid 21 via a link member 23, and as the plunger 21a expands and contracts, the flow prevention member 22 rotates around the support shaft 4. It is rotated back and forth, and the tip is the guide gutter 14.
It is designed to move inward or retreat.

In addition, the side wall of the guide gutter 14 is bulged to the outside,
A storage section 17 is formed, and a falling ball detector 5 consisting of a transmission type optical sensor is inserted into this storage section 17. The details of the storage section 17 are shown in FIG. In addition, this storage section 1 is shown in Fig. 6.
A slit 19 formed continuously at 7 for entry of the flow prevention member 22 is shown.

In addition, on the upper part of the holder 3, the lead wires drawn out from the solenoid 21 and the falling ball detector 5 are concentrated in one place, and the wiring for connecting to the control device of the pachinko game machine etc. is connected from the front. A connector 6 is provided to allow simultaneous connection.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown by the chain line A in FIG. , the terminal end of a supply gutter 10 that guides the balls in the pachinko ball storage tank 7 is connected. Supply gutter 1
A step-like pressure reducing section 18 is formed near the terminal end of 0.

FIG. 3 shows the supply gutter 1 having a pressure reducing section 18.
0 is shown as a unit with a gutter component 1 and a ball discharge device 2.

In this embodiment, each gutter member constituting the two flow paths in the above embodiment, the flow prevention member 22 corresponding to each flow path, and the solenoid 21 serving as its driving means are each connected to a pair of parallel plates 24.
held between. These two sets of parallel plates 24 are integrally connected to each other by a connecting rod 25. Further, the supply gutter 10 is placed on a connecting rod 25 provided at the rear end of the parallel plate 24.

As a result, the gutter component 1, the ball discharging device 2, and the supply gutter 10 are integrally held between the two sets of parallel plates 24, and the ball discharging device can be installed in a pachinko game machine or a ball lending machine in its vicinity. It can be installed with a single touch, and the entire device can be configured compactly.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the flow prevention member 22
A stopper pin 26 is provided protruding from the side of the arcuate guide hole 24 formed in the parallel plate 24.
a to regulate the rotation range of the flow prevention member 22. Further, a spring 28 is stretched between the pin 27 horizontally suspended at the lower front end of the parallel plate 24 and the tip of the flow prevention member 22, so that the flow prevention member 22 is rotated by the return spring 21b in the solenoid 21. When the discharge is completed, the falling ball can be quickly rotated to prevent the falling ball from being discharged. However, when the spring 28 is provided, it is also possible not to provide the return spring 21b inside the solenoid 21.

In the case of the above embodiment, the supply gutter 10 and the alignment gutter 1
1 can be considered as one alignment gutter. In that case, the pressure reducing part 18 will be provided in the middle of the alignment gutter.

Next, the operation of the flow path 1 and the ball discharge device constructed as described above will be explained in detail with reference to FIG. 4.

When the fan-shaped flow prevention member 22 enters the guiding path ₁₄ as shown by the solid line in FIG. It is stopped by contacting the outer peripheral surface of the member 22.

At this time, two balls B ₁ and B ₂ are inside the guide gutter 14,
Further, the dimensions of the guide gutter 14 and the flow control gutter 13 are determined so that the three balls B ₃ , B ₄ , and B ₅ are accommodated in the flow control gutter 13 . Furthermore, the uppermost ball B ₅ in the flow regulating gutter 13 is pushed by the balls B ₆ , B ₇ . By being pressed toward the adjustment part 12, the ball _B5 receives a repulsive force from the adjustment part 12, and the repulsion force is applied to the ball _B5 and the ball _B4 below it,
It is transmitted to B ₃ ... and acts to push them downward. As a result, the flow prevention member 22
When the ball is retreated from the inside of the guide gutter 14 as shown by the broken line c in the figure, the ball inside the flow regulating gutter 13 and the guide gutter 14 is
B ₁ to _{B 5} begin to flow down immediately.

When the balls B ₁ to _{B 5} flow down, the balls B ₆ in the alignment gutter 11,
B ₇ ...follows this and starts flowing down. and,
At the outlet of the alignment trough 11, the water first collides with the adjustment section 12 to reduce the flow rate, and the flow direction is changed from horizontal to vertical by approximately 90 degrees, and then enters the flow adjustment section 13.
Since the ball is accelerated by its own weight, a distance between the balls and the following ball that is decelerated by the adjusting section 12 is ensured. Therefore, the output waveform of the detector 5 becomes as shown in FIG. 5, and compared to the detection interval t ₁ of the balls B ₃ to B ₅ in the flow regulating gutter 13, the following balls B ₆ , B ₇ . . .
The detection interval t ₂ becomes wider. As a result, for example ball B ₇
If the solenoid 21 is demagnetized when the ball is detected, even if there is a delay in the operation of the flow prevention member 22, the ball will
You will be able to stop the flow of _B7 before it passes.

On the other hand, since the alignment gutter 11 is provided with the pressure reducing part 18, the balls B ₁₁ , B ₁₂ ,
Since the ball pressure due to the weight of the upstream ball transmitted through ... acts in the horizontal direction, a considerable portion is absorbed by the pressure reducing section 18. By this,
Since the ball pressure transmitted to the ball B ₁₁ in the stopped (standby) state is hardly transmitted to the balls B ₁ to B ₅ in the flow regulating gutter 13 and the guiding gutter 14, the pressure acting on the flow prevention member 22 is also reduced. As a result, the flow prevention member 22 can be moved backward with a relatively small force. The angle of inclination of the alignment gutter 11 is preferably about 7°.

Furthermore, the flow path is such that the center 0 ₅ of the ball B ₅ located at the uppermost part of the flow regulating gutter 12 is aligned in the alignment gutter 11 with the flow being prevented by the flow prevention member 22 . The dimensions of the guide gutter 14 and the flow regulating gutter 13 are determined so that they are located below the extension line of the center line connecting the centers ₀₆ to ₀₁₀ of _B6 to _B10 .

Therefore, the pressure transmitted from the waiting balls B ₆ to B ₁₀ to B ₅ generates a component force that pushes down the ball B ₅ .
As a result, when the flow prevention member 22 retreats, the uppermost ball _B5 of the flow control gutter 13 is sandwiched between the following ball _B6 and the outer wall 13a of the flow control gutter 13, and the ball
It is not prevented from flowing down following the flow of B ₁ to B ₄ .

The falling ball detector 5 provided in the middle of the guide gutter 14 is arranged so that its detection optical axis F is located slightly away from the center of the ball flowing down inside the gutter. If the detection optical axis F is positioned so that it passes through the center of the sphere, if multiple spheres come down in succession, the pulse interval of the detection signal will become narrow and accurate counting may not be possible. . However, in this embodiment, as described above, by shifting the detection optical axis F from the center of the sphere, accurate counting becomes possible.

Further, in the embodiment described above, the flow prevention member 22 is attached so that the rotating surface of the fan-shaped flow prevention member 22 coincides with the flow trajectory of the center of the falling ball,
The ball is moved downward from above the guide gutter 14 and enters the gutter to stop the balls flowing down. Therefore, when the falling ball stops, the impact force acting on the falling ball stopping member 22 is absorbed by a stopper portion (for example, the end of the guide hole 24a in FIG. The slit end of the guide trough 14)
It can easily have the strength to withstand the impact that occurs when stopping.

Moreover, since the ball B ₁ at the lowest end contacts the outer peripheral surface of the fan-shaped flow prevention member 22 and is stopped, the ball B ₁ at the lower end contacts the outer peripheral surface of the flow prevention member 22 and the guide gutter 1 .
Even if the ball B 1 is stopped in such a way that it bites into the space between the ball B 1 and the wall surface of the ball B 1 , when the flow prevention member 22 is retreated, it moves away while rotating the ball B ₁ on its outer peripheral surface. Therefore, the flow prevention member 22 can be retreated with a relatively small force, and the flow prevention member 22 can be moved backward with a relatively small force.
This eliminates the possibility of the ball getting stuck between the wall surface of the guide gutter 14 and the ball becoming stuck.

Furthermore, the rotational center of the flow prevention member 22 and the guide gutter 1
The line connecting the center 0 ₁ of the lowest ball B ₁ in 4 is horizontal. Therefore, as soon as the end of the flow prevention member 22 comes off the outer periphery of the ball B ₁ , the ball B ₁ becomes able to flow down, and the flow prevention member 22
As the ball B 2 rotates, the blocking force is removed after the ball B ₁ slides down a little, and the ball B 1 does not start flowing down.

Further, in the above embodiment, the angle α between the flow regulating gutter 13 and the guiding gutter 14 may be in the range of 0 to 90°, but if it is set to around 45°, the angle α between the flow regulating gutter 13
The speed of the falling ball accelerated within the falling ball is not significantly reduced, and when stopped, the falling ball
2 can be reduced.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when the ball is prevented from flowing down by the flow-down prevention member 22, from the contact point between the flow-down prevention member 22 and the lowest ball _B1 in the guide gutter 14, the diameter of the ball is Guide so that the distance d between the vertical line G passing through points separated by the distance d and the wall surface 15a of the discharge gutter 15 is smaller than the radius r of the sphere and larger than r-rcosα (r-rcosα<d<r). Gutter 14
The position of the terminal end 14a has been determined. As a result, when the flow-down prevention member 22 enters the guide gutter 14 and prevents the balls from flowing down, the last ball to be discharged is pushed back by the end face 22a of the flow-down prevention member 22 and is discharged. When the end 1 of the guide trough 14
When it reaches 4a, it flows down into the discharge gutter 15 and can escape from the flow prevention part 22. Therefore, the final ejection bulb remains in the guide gutter 15 forever and does not obstruct the entry of the flow prevention member 22, making it possible to quickly stop the ejection.

However, the guide gutter 14 can also be extended as shown by the chain line E.

Note that when a spring 28 is used as a means for applying a force to cause the flow prevention member 22 to enter the guide gutter 14 as in the embodiment shown in FIG.
As shown by the broken line C in FIG. 3, the spring 23 is such that when the end of the flow prevention member 22 begins to enter the guide gutter 14, the line of action D of the spring 28 is approximately perpendicular to the end surface 22a of the flow prevention member 22. It is best to arrange it so that Thereby, when the falling ball 22 comes into contact with the ball in the guide gutter 14, the rotational speed is set to be the highest, and the falling ball can be stopped crisply.

Next, an embodiment of a control device for controlling a ball ejecting device to eject a predetermined number of balls will be described with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, the ball ejection device is controlled using a CPU (microcomputer).

A discharge request signal S0 is input to the CPU 200. When the above ball ejecting device is used as a prize ball ejecting device of a pachinko game machine, the signal from the winning ball detector is transmitted, and when the ball ejecting device is used as a ball lending machine, the signal from the coin detector is transmitted. Furthermore, when used as a replenishing device for a spare ball storage tank of a pachinko game machine or a ball rental machine, the replenishment request signal is inputted as the discharge request signal S0. Further, the CPU 200 receives the ejected ball detection signals S1 and S2 from the pair of detectors 5 provided in the middle of the downstream path 1 of the ball ejecting device 2, and the waveform shaping circuit 211,
After the waveform is shaped by filter 212, filter 2
13 and 214, only the regular detection signals are extracted and input.

The CPU 200 has internal read-only memory.
A ROM 201 and a RAM 202 which is a memory that can be read and written at any time are provided. Among these, the ROM 201 contains programs to be executed by the CPU 200 in order to control the ball ejecting device, etc., as well as the balls to be ejected through two downstream paths in the ball ejecting device 2 in response to a single ejection request signal S0. number (base 1, 2) and wait time (discharge interval)
Store fixed data such as.

On the other hand, the RAM 202 receives the ejected ball detection signal S.
1 and S2, it stores the cumulative number of balls ejected from each downstream path, and provides a register area constituting a soft timer and a work area for the CPU 200.

Furthermore, the CPU 200 includes a driver 221,
222, 223, and 224 are connected, and when the ejection request signal S0 is input, the driver 221 is driven to light the ejection display lamp LMP, and the drivers 222 and 223 are also driven to turn on the pair of bulbs in the bulb ejecting device. Solenoid as a discharge drive means
Excite SOL ₁ , SOL ₂ , and 21.

As a result, the flow-down prevention member 22 is retracted from inside the flow-down path 1, and a predetermined number of balls are discharged. Further, when it is determined that there are no spare balls in the downstream path based on the ejected ball detection signals S1 and S2, the driver 224 is driven to sound an alarm (alarm output). 230 is CPU20
This is the power supply section of 0.

Next, an example of a control procedure for operating the ball ejecting device by the control device to accurately eject a desired number of balls will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Note that FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the register area within the CPU 200 when the ejection process is performed according to the flow shown in FIG. 9.

When the CPU is started, it first starts accessing the ROM 201 and sequentially reads and executes the instructions of the program stored there. As a result, a series of discharge processing shown in FIG. 9 is started.

When the discharge process starts, first, the discharge request signal S0 is read (routine R1), and it is determined whether there is a rising edge of the signal, that is, whether the discharge request signal S0 has changed to a high level (routine R1).
R2), when an edge is detected, 1 is added to the value of the instruction register (see FIG. 8) in the RAM 202 (routine R3), and the process proceeds to routine R4. If there is no signal edge, jump from routine R2 to R4. In routine R4, the mode register in the RAM 202 is checked to determine whether or not the mode regarding the two downstream paths of the discharge system 1 and discharge system 2, that is, the ball discharge device, is set to "0". Here, if the mode is "0", the process moves to the discharge system 1.

Since the registers are set to "0" when the system starts operating, the determination result in the first routine R4 becomes yes (Y) and the routine proceeds to routine R5.

In routine R5, it is determined whether the value of the instruction register in the RAM 202 is "0" or distorted. If it is "0", the process moves to the discharge system 1, and if it is not "0", that is, ≠0, Move to routine R6. Therefore, when 1 is added to the instruction register in the above routine R3, the routine always moves to routine R6.

In routine R6, the signal from the discharge ball detector of discharge system 1 is checked to determine whether or not there is a ball in the downstream path. Look at the detector signal. and,
Determine whether there is a ball in the downstream path. routine
If it is determined that there is no ball in R6 and R7, the routine jumps to routines R21 and R26, respectively, and if there is no ball in both routes, it is determined as a no (N) in routine R21 as well, and the routine jumps to routine R30 to sound an alarm.

When there are balls in the paths of both ejection systems 1 and 2, two solenoids in the ball ejection device are energized to start ejection. After (routine R8) and setting radix 1 and radix 2 held in the ROM 201 in radix registers 1 and 2 (routine R9),
Change the mode of exhaust systems 1 and 2 from "0" to "1" (routine R10). Then, turn on the lamp LMP to indicate that it is being ejected (routine
R11). Further, as a result of notifying that there is no ball in the falling path in the above routine R30, when the no-ball state is canceled by an employee of the game parlor, routine R12
After stopping the alarm output, proceed to the next discharge system 1 process (Ruling R31 to R42).

On the other hand, proceed from routine R6 → R21, and the routine
If R21 is judged as yes (Y), that is,
If it is determined by routines R6 and R21 that there is a ball only in the path of exhaust system 2, the routine
Proceed to R22. Then, after turning on the solenoid of the discharge system 2 to start discharge, the mode of the mode register 2 of the discharge system 2 is changed from "0" to "1", and the mode of the mode register 1 of the discharge system 1 is changed to " 0” to “3” (routine)
R23, R24). Then, the sum of the radix 1 and radix 2 in the ROM 201 is set in the radix register 2 of the ejection system 2 as a new radix (routine
R25). Through the above steps R22 to R25, all discharge processing is delegated to the discharge system 2.

Also, proceed from routine R6 → R7, and then routine R7
If it is determined to be NO (N), that is, the discharge system 1
If it is determined that there is a ball only in the path of , the routine
Proceed to R27. Then, after turning on the solenoid of the discharge system 1 to start discharge, change the mode of the mode register 1 of the discharge system 1 from "0" to "1", and change the mode of the mode register 2 of the discharge system 2 to "0". ”
to “3” (routine R27,
R28). Then, in radix register 1 of ejection system 1,
The sum of radix 1 and radix 2 in the ROM 201 is set as a new radix (routine R29).
Through the above steps R26 to R29, all discharge processing is delegated to the discharge system 1. After the above-mentioned delegation procedure processing, the routine proceeds to routines R11 and R12, and then shifts to the discharge system 1 processing (R31 to R42).

In the process of the exhaust system 1, first, the mode register related to the exhaust system 1 is checked and it is determined whether the mode is set to "1" (routine R31). Mode is "1"
If so, proceed to the next routine, read the signal from the ejected bulb detector, and determine whether there is an edge in the signal (R32, R33). Here, if there is no edge of the signal, the process of the discharge system 1 is ended and the process shifts to the process of the discharge system 2. When the edge of the signal is detected, the value of the discharge register 1 in the RAM 202 is set to 1.
Add. In other words, the number of ejected balls is increased by one (routine R34).

Then, it is determined whether the value of the ejection register 1 has reached the predetermined base number 1 (the set number of balls for the ejection system 1) (routine R35), and if it has not reached the value, the ejection system 2 processes (routines R51 to R62).

In the process of the discharge system 2, the process for the discharge system 2 of the bulb discharge device is similar to that of the discharge system 1 described above, including mode determination (R51), discharge ball detection signal check (R52, R53), discharge Adding registers (R54) and checking the number of ejected balls (R55)
If the predetermined number has not been reached, the process moves to post-processing (routines R71 to R77).

In the post-processing, first, it is determined whether or not the solenoids of the exhaust systems 1 and 2 are both turned off. If they are not turned off, that is, if at least one solenoid is turned on, the routines R1 to R30 are executed again.
Return to the first discharge process consisting of.

While repeating the above procedure, the number of balls ejected from the ejection system 1 of the ball ejection device reaches a predetermined number (base 1).
When the exhaust system 1 processing routine R35 is determined to be yes, the process proceeds to routine R36, where the exhaust system 1
After turning off the solenoid and setting wait timer 1 in RAM (routine R37),
Change mode 1 in mode register 1 to mode 2 (routine R38). Similarly, when the number of balls ejected by the ejection system 2 reaches a predetermined number (radix 2), a yes is determined in the ejection system 2 processing routine R55, and the process proceeds to routine R56, where the solenoid of the ejection system 2 is turned off. Then, after setting wait timer 2 in RAM (routine R57), mode 1 in mode register 2 is changed to mode 2 (routine
R58).

After that, when proceeding to post-processing, it is determined in routine R71 that the solenoids of discharge systems 1 and 2 are both turned off, so the routine proceeds to routine R72, where the lamp LMP indicating that discharge is in progress is turned off, and then the routine
In R73, it is determined whether the modes of the mode register 1 of the discharge system 1 and the mode register 2 of the discharge system 2 are both "3", and if the mode is not "3", the process returns to the first process. Since the mode immediately after the solenoid is turned off is "2", the process returns to the initial process from routine R73.

Furthermore, when the next discharge request signal comes in during the discharge process in the bulb discharge device, the number of discharge requests is memorized by reading the signal edge in routine R2 and adding it to the instruction register (routine R3). .

After turning off the discharge solenoid, discharge processing (R1
~R30), since the modes of the exhaust systems 1 and 2 are set to "2" at that time, the routine jumps directly to the exhaust system 1 process from routine R4. Then, the routine advances from routine R31 to R39, where the determination is YES, and the routine advances to the next routine R40, where the wait timer 1 is subtracted. Then, it is determined whether or not the wait timer 1 has reached "0", and if it is not "0", the process moves to the discharge system 2. In the discharge system 2, follow the same procedure as above to perform the processing related to the wait timer 2 (R51 → R59 → R60 → R61), and then
Move to post-processing. In post-processing, R71→R72→
Proceed to R73 and then return to the initial processing.

While repeating the above steps, when a predetermined period of time has elapsed, it is determined that the wait timer has reached "0" in routine R41 for exhaust system 1 processing and routine R61 for exhaust system 2 processing, and the next routine is started. Proceed to R42 and R62, change the mode in the mode register from "2" to "3", and proceed to post-processing. Then, in the post-processing, a YES determination is made in routine R73, and the process proceeds to the next routine R74, where the instruction register is subtracted. In other words, the number of stored discharge request signals is reduced by "1" after a certain period of time has elapsed after one discharge process is completed. Then, discharge registers 1 and 2 which store the number of discharged balls in each downstream path.
After clearing the value of and the values of radix registers 1 and 2 (R75, R76), change the mode in mode registers 1 and 2 from "3" to "0" again, and then return to the initial processing. (routine R77).

By repeating the above procedure, the ball ejection device ejects a predetermined number of balls a number of times corresponding to the number of ejection request signals. For example, the CPU is 2m
When an interrupt occurs once every second, the discharge processing program according to the above flow is executed. Therefore, timer management is possible by counting the number of interrupts.

In addition, if you want to change the number of balls ejected at one time by the ball ejection device, among the fixed data in the ROM201,
This can be easily achieved by rewriting base 1 and base 2.

Also, if the number of balls to be ejected is small (for example, 5
By setting the radix in only one discharge register and setting the value of the other discharge register to "0", it is also possible to execute the discharge of the sphere using only one downstream path. Furthermore, if one of the ejection systems is unable to eject the prescribed number of balls due to a blockage or solenoid failure during ejection, the remaining number of balls that have not been ejected is reset to the radix register of the other ejection system, and the other ejection system is It is also possible to use the ejection system to eject the remaining balls.

[Operations/Effects] As explained above, the present invention provides two paths for pachinko balls to flow down, and provides an operating member corresponding to each path to control the falling balls.
In addition to making it possible to eject a predetermined number of pachinko balls accurately and at high speed, there is also a procedure for checking the presence or absence of an ejection request signal, a procedure for checking whether each ball is within the falling path of the above two articles, and one side A situation occurs in which balls should be ejected only along the flow path (when there are balls only in one flow path and not in the other, when the operating member or drive source on one side is broken, when the number of ejected balls is small). A one-sided ejection state determination procedure for detecting that the ball has been ejected, a procedure for entrusting the ejection process to the route on the side where the ball exists based on the result of the discrimination procedure, and a blocking member according to this ejection delegation procedure and the above ejected ball confirmation procedure. a procedure for canceling the flow-blocking state, a procedure for accumulating the number of ejected balls for each falling path based on the signal from the falling ball detector, and determining whether the number of ejected balls matches the radix in the radix number storage means. When they match, the ball discharge process is performed by activating the blocking member of the corresponding route to prevent the balls from flowing down, so that a predetermined number of balls can be discharged using only one route. This greatly reduces the possibility that the discharging operation will be stopped due to ball clogging on one downstream path or failure of the operating member or drive source on one side. As a result, when the above-mentioned ball ejecting device is used as a prize ball ejecting device for a pachinko game machine, it is possible to avoid situations where pachinko games are interrupted midway due to ball jams or malfunctions, and temporarily win prizes. This has the effect that the player is less likely to be disadvantaged by stopping the ejection of prize balls when a game state with a high rate is occurring.

Furthermore, when the number of balls to be ejected is small, by ejecting the balls using only one side of the flow path, the total number of times the drive source is operated can be reduced, thereby reducing malfunctions and noise generation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a ball ejecting device to which the method of the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a side view of the ball ejecting device, and FIG. 3 is a second embodiment of the ball ejecting device. A perspective view showing an example, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow path and the action of the flow prevention member, FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram showing the output waveform of the falling ball detector, and FIG. 6 is the above flow path. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the control device for a ball ejecting device according to the present invention, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of the register area of the RAM in the CPU. The explanatory diagram, Figure 9, is
It is a flowchart showing an example of a control procedure of a ball ejecting device by a CPU. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Falling path (gutter component), 2... Ball discharge device, 5... Falling ball detector, 11... Aligning gutter, 1
3... Flow control gutter, 14... Induction gutter, 15... Discharge gutter, 21... Solenoid, 22... Downflow prevention member, 26... Stopper pin.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Two flow paths through which pachinko balls are guided in rows before being ejected, a pair of actuating members that can enter into each flow path and prevent the balls from flowing down; A pair of electric drive sources that can each be driven independently in correspondence with the operating members, a pair of falling ball detectors that are provided in the middle of each of the above-mentioned falling paths to detect falling balls, and an external discharge request signal. and a control means for controlling the drive source based on the detection signal from the falling ball detector to eject a predetermined number of pachinko balls, a procedure for checking the presence or absence of the ejection request signal; ,
A procedure for checking whether or not there are balls in each of the falling paths in Article 2 above, a procedure for determining the state of one-sided discharge to detect when a state has reached a state where balls should be discharged only on one route, and a procedure for determining the state of discharge on one side. A procedure for entrusting the discharge process to the path on the side where the ball exists based on the result, a procedure for canceling the falling blocking state by the actuating member in accordance with the discharge delegation procedure and the above-mentioned discharge ball confirmation procedure, and the above-mentioned falling ball detector. A procedure for accumulating the number of ejected balls for each downstream route based on a signal from the radix, and determining whether the number of ejected balls matches the radix in the radix storage means, and when they match, actuating the actuating member of the corresponding route. 1. A discharge processing method for a ball discharge device, characterized in that the ball discharge processing is performed by a procedure for preventing the flow of the balls.