JPH0584192B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a ball dispensing device used in a pachinko machine or an arrangement machine.

[Conventional technology]

In a pachinko machine 1 as shown in FIG. 6 or an arrangement machine 2 as shown in FIG. 7, balls are paid out a number of times according to the number of winning balls or winning points. The number of payouts at one time is, for example, 10 to 20, and is determined depending on the type of gaming machine.

Many conventional pachinko machines utilize the falling force of winning balls to pay out balls.

This is a device in which, for example, a cylindrical stocker into which a predetermined number of balls can be placed is held rotatably around a support shaft. This stocker works by increasing the falling force of the winning ball using a cam or lever. The ball is then ejected with its open end facing downward. When the stocker is empty, it assumes a ball supply position with the open end facing upward due to its own weight, so balls are resupplied. This operation is repeated for each winning ball to pay out the ball.

There is also one that uses electrical control to pay out the ball. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a motor 4 rotates a disc 3 on the outer periphery of which concavities into which balls are inserted are continuously formed, and balls 6 fitted into each of the recesses 5 are rotated by a motor 4. The ball 6 is discharged into the discharge path 7, and the detection lever 8 is moved by the ball 6 falling into the discharge path 7 at this time.
The movement of this detection lever 8 is detected by a sensor 9 to count the ejected balls, and the motor drive circuit 10 is controlled by this count signal.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] The mechanical payout device described above needs to align and separate winning balls and feed them one by one at a predetermined falling speed, and also requires a complicated mechanism using cams and levers. becomes. Therefore, there is a drawback that the mechanism 20 for collecting the winning balls and thereby dispensing the balls is enlarged as shown in FIG. 9.

Since the electric dispensing device 11 shown in FIG. 8 dispenses balls one by one, the dispensing operation is delayed and the mechanisms 8, 9, and 10 for detecting the balls one by one and controlling the motor 4 are complicated. In particular, since the disk 3 is used for cutting out, there is a drawback that the apparatus becomes large in size.

Therefore, the present invention provides an electric ball dispensing device,
To provide a small and simple structure that is difficult to break down, and to easily set the number of balls to be put out.

[Means to solve the problem]

The ball dispensing device provided by the present invention includes a cylindrical ball stocker in which a plurality of window holes are arranged in a row in the vertical direction on the front surface with the diameter of the ball as one pitch, and the ball flows down from the upper end opening toward the lower end opening; A plurality of fulcrum members are arranged on the outside of the ball stocker in correspondence with each of the window holes, and the tip is rotatably fitted into any one of the fulcrum members, and the distal end claw is inserted into the ball stocker through the window hole. A ball stopper member that moves in and out, a guide cylinder that is rotatably arranged with its upper end opening always facing the lower end opening of the ball stocker and whose lower end opening faces the stop plate or the dispensing port, and an electromagnetic solenoid that provides driving force. and an actuating lever which is arranged along the front surface of the ball stocker having a window hole and connects the rotating force receiving part of the guide tube and the electromagnetic solenoid, and the coupling part with the ball stopper member is formed at a predetermined pitch in the longitudinal direction. When discharging a ball, an electromagnetic solenoid is used to move the actuating lever so that the tip claw of the ball stopping member enters the ball stocker to stop the ball from flowing midway, and at the same time, the guide cylinder is removed from the stop plate. It is characterized in that the balls below the tip claw of the ball stopper are discharged to the payout port by rotating in the direction in which they come off.

[Effect]

In the above configuration, balls are always supplied to the ball stocker. When the electromagnetic solenoid is not energized, the operating lever is projected from the electromagnetic solenoid by a return spring, and the lower end opening of the guide cylinder is directed toward the stop plate. Therefore, the balls flowing into the guide cylinder from the ball stocker are blocked by this stop plate and do not fall.

When a ball release signal is generated and the electromagnetic solenoid is energized, the operating lever is pulled upward, causing the ball stopper member to rotate around the fulcrum member. Then, the tip claw of the ball stopper enters the ball stocker and prevents the balls above it from descending. At the same time, the guide cylinder connected to the operating lever rotates, and its lower end opening is removed from the stop plate and directed toward the dispensing port. As a result, the balls below the ball stopper are ejected from the ball stocker and guide tube.

When the electromagnetic solenoid is subsequently de-energized again, the operating lever is projected by the return spring, the guide cylinder is rotated, and its lower end opening is closed by the stop plate. At the same time, the tip claw portion of the ball stopper comes out of the ball stocker. The balls then descend, filling the ball stocker and the guide tube, and are ready for the next payout.

The number of balls to be dispensed at one time can be easily set on a one-by-one basis depending on which fulcrum member the ball stopper member is fitted into.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ball dispensing device 30, which is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the device disassembled into its component parts.

In the figure, reference numerals 31 and 31 denote two cylindrical ball stockers, which are formed by integrating two side plates 32 and 32 of plane symmetric shape with an intermediate base plate 33 in between and screwed together. That is, parallel ribs 35 and 36 are erected on the side plate 32 so as to form a groove 34 downward from the upper end, and this groove 34 is closed by the intermediate base plate 33 to form two parallel ribs. Cylindrical stockers 31, 31 are formed. 37, 37... are cylindrical stockers 3 with the diameter of the ball 38 as one pitch.
A window hole formed in the front surface of 1, 31, side plate 32,
It is formed by comb-shaped notches provided in the ribs 35, 35 of 32. In addition, the intermediate base plate 33
is provided with a slit 33a into which the comb tooth portion of the rib 35 is inserted.

Reference numerals 39, . . . support members are formed as cylindrical bodies protruding from both sides of the outwardly extending portion of the intermediate base plate 33 which is held between the cylindrical stockers 31, 31 in the illustrated example.

Reference numerals 40 and 40 denote ball stopper members, which are connected to the fulcrum member 39.
... is the above-mentioned cylindrical body, a tip claw portion 40c is attached to a base body 40b having a through hole 40a that can be fitted onto the base body 40b.
and an action point portion 40d. The action point portion 40d in the illustrated example is a long hole provided in the base body 40b.

Reference numeral 41 denotes a guide tube, which is, for example, in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped with two parallel through holes 42, 42 provided therein. Bearing parts 43, 43 are formed at the upper end of this back side, and a driving force receiving part 45 is formed on the opposite side. The bearing parts 43, 43 are fitted into a first fulcrum pin 44 which is clamped and fixed to the lower rear side of the side plates 32, 32. In the illustrated example, the driving force receiving portion 45 is formed by supporting a pin 46 with two protruding pieces 45a and 45.

Reference numeral 48 denotes a stop plate, which is rotatably held by a second fulcrum pin 49 which is clamped and fixed to the lower rear side of the side plates 32,32. However, a manual payout lever 50 is disposed under the front part of the ball 38 that receives the ball 38, and prevents the front part from rotating downward under normal conditions. A weight 48a is fixed to the rear part of the stop plate 48, and when the ball 38 is not placed on the front part, the front part is lifted by the weight balance.

Reference numeral 51 denotes an electromagnetic solenoid having a return spring 51a, which is sandwiched between the upper front sides of the side plates 32 and 32 and fixed with screws. Reference numeral 52 denotes an operating lever, which is arranged along the front surface of the ball stockers 31, 31 having the window holes 37, 37, .
5 and the output shaft of an electromagnetic solenoid 51 are connected. On both sides of the operating lever 52, pins 53, which are connection parts with the ball stoppers 40, 40, are provided to protrude in the longitudinal direction with one pitch equal to the diameter of the ball. 54 is a gutter-shaped protective cover, and the combined side plate 3
It is fitted into the U-shaped concave portion between the front sides of the parts 2 and 32, and covers the fulcrum member 39..., the operating lever 52, the ball stopper members 40, 40, etc.

The ball dispensing device 30 operates as follows.

When the electromagnetic solenoid 51 is not energized, the operating lever 52 is lowered by the biasing force of the return spring 51a, as shown in FIG.
1 is placed in a vertical position, with its tip opening facing the stop plate 48. At this time, the ball stocker 3
The balls 38... supplied from the upper end openings of 1 and 31 are as follows:
Ball stocker 31 and guide tube 41 communicating therewith
, and has reached the stop plate 48 position.

In this standby state, a ball payout signal is generated,
When the electromagnetic solenoid 51 is energized, the operating lever 52 is pulled upward as shown in FIG.
At the beginning, the action point 40d of the ball stopper 40 is pulled up by the operating lever 52, and the ball stopper 40 is pulled up by the operating lever 52.
0 and 40 rotate, and the tip claw portion 40c protrudes into the ball stocker 31, 31, and the ball 38 above it
prohibited from descending. Next, the guide tube 41 is rotated by the operating lever 52, and the tip of the guide tube 41 is removed from the stop plate 48 and directed toward the dispensing port 55. As a result, all of the balls 38 below the ball stopper members 40, 40 are delivered to the delivery port 55.

After this, when the electromagnetic solenoid 51 is de-energized, the operating lever 52 is lowered by the biasing force of the return spring 51a. With this, the guide tube 4
1 takes a position facing the stop plate 48, and then the tip claws 40c, 40c of the ball stoppers 40, 40.
passes through the window hole 37 of the ball stocker 31 to the outside.
As a result, the balls 38 are filled into the ball stockers 31, 31 and the guide cylinder 41 again.

After this, each time the ball payout signal is generated,
The electromagnetic solenoid 51 is energized once, and the balls 38 are ejected by the above-described operation.

Here, the number of balls 38 to be paid out in one operation can be arbitrarily determined by selecting the mounting positions of the ball stoppers 40, 40. There are 14 fulcrum members 39 in total, 7 on each side of the protruding member of the intermediate base plate 33.
Since there are two ball stopper members 40,
By changing the mounting position of 40, it is possible to recognize any number of balls in the range of 6 to 20 in one ball unit.

To change the mounting position of the ball stoppers 40, 40, remove the protective cover 54 and remove the ball stoppers 40, 40.
This can be done by removing 0 from the fulcrum member 39 to which it had been attached and attaching it to another fulcrum member 39 with a screw.

Incidentally, in order to manually extract the ball from the ball dispensing device 30, the manual dispensing lever 50 may be pulled forward. As a result, the stop plate 48 becomes free and rotates forward and downward under the weight of the ball, causing the ball to fall directly below. In addition, the discharge hole 56 in this case is the partition plate 5.
7 separates it from the payout port 55.
When all the balls have fallen, the stop ball 48 returns to its original horizontal position due to the weight 48a. Therefore,
When the manual dispensing lever 50 is returned to its original position, the stop plate 48 is again restrained from rotating.

The ball dispensing device 30 is attached to a back setting plate 59 of a pachinko machine 58 or an arrangement machine, for example, as shown in FIG.

When the ball dispensing signal is given, the ball supply tray 6
0, ball stocker 31 through ball supply rail 61,
The balls being supplied from the upper end opening of the game machine 31 are discharged through the guide passage 62 into a ball tray (not shown) at the front of the gaming machine.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention uses an electromagnetic solenoid to move the actuating lever to simultaneously deliver a predetermined number of balls and prevent balls above it from falling.
It is possible to reduce the number of parts and downsize compared to a mechanical type dispensing device and a conventional electric ball dispensing device.

Therefore, not only can costs be reduced, but also the layout for incorporation into a pachinko machine or arrangement becomes easy, and the degree of freedom in the overall design increases.

Furthermore, since the structure is simple, there are fewer failures.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ball dispensing device that is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the ball dispensing device shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are the devices shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a standby state and a dispensing state, respectively. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing how the ball dispensing device is assembled to the Pachinko machine. Fig. 6 is a front view showing an example of a pachinko machine, Fig. 7 is a front view showing an example of an arranging machine, Fig. 8 is a view showing a conventional electric ball dispensing device, and Fig. 9 is a conventional ball dispensing device. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the machine is assembled into a pachinko machine. 30...Ball dispensing device, 31...Ball stocker,
37... window hole, 39... fulcrum member, 40... ball stopper member, 41... guide tube, 51... electromagnetic solenoid, 52... operating lever.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A cylindrical ball stocker in which a plurality of perforations are arranged in a row in the vertical direction on the front surface with the diameter of the ball as one pitch, and the balls flow down from the upper end opening toward the lower end opening, and each of the above-mentioned perforations. a plurality of fulcrum members arranged on the outside of the ball stocker in correspondence with the ball stocker; and a ball stopper that is rotatably fitted into any one of the fulcrum members and whose tip claw enters and exits the ball stocker through the window hole. a guide tube which is rotatably arranged with its upper end opening always facing the lower end opening of the ball stocker and whose lower end opening faces the stop plate or the dispensing port; an electromagnetic solenoid that provides a driving force; A ball is provided with an actuating lever in which a joint portion with the ball stopper member is formed at a predetermined pitch, and is arranged along the front surface of the ball stocker having a window hole to connect the rotating force receiving portion of the guide tube and the electromagnetic solenoid. When dispensing the ball, an electromagnetic solenoid is used to move the actuating lever so that the claw at the tip of the ball stopper enters the ball stocker to stop the ball from flowing down midway, while at the same time rotating the guide cylinder in the direction to remove it from the stop plate. A ball dispensing device characterized in that the balls below the tip claw portion of the ball stopper are ejected to the dispensing port.