JP2002272995A - Stopper lever for game board - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stopper lever which can solve a problem associated with the rotation of the stopper lever. SOLUTION: This stopper lever 33 is composed of a stop part 33b having an abutting face 33a; an arm 33c extending in a curve from the root part of the stop part 33b; a ball receiving part 33d of recessed shape formed between the stop part 33b and the arm part 33c so as to receive game balls, a shaft part 33e serving as the rotational center of the stopper lever 33; a lever part 33f extending backward from the shaft part 33e; and a locking shaft part 33g provided at the lever part 33f and locking a plunger 37a thereto. Particularly the right side of a bottom part 33d1 of the ball receiving part 33d is provided with a bottom raising part 33d2 swollen to form a flat face in the tangential direction (that is, the vertical direction) of a circle around the shaft part 33e.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stopper lever of a gaming table (pachinko machine) for allowing a game ball to pass or prevent the ball from rotating by rotating itself.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a game ball enters (wins) a winning opening of a pachinko machine, which winning opening has been detected by a sensor (winning ball switch), and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the game ball (winning ball) is guided to a safe ball path P1 below the pachinko machine. In this safe ball passage P1, the passage P1 is closed by the stopper lever P3 rotating in the direction of arrow B to stop the game ball at a predetermined stop position, and the sensor (safe ball switch P
The game ball is detected by 4).

When a safe ball switch P4 detects a game ball, for example, five, ten, or five game balls are determined for one game ball in accordance with the type of winning opening detected by the prize ball switch. They have paid out 15 prize balls. At the same time, the stopper lever P3 is rotated in the direction of arrow A, and once the game ball is once received by the concave ball receiving portion,
By rotating the stopper lever in the direction of arrow B, the game ball is discharged from the ball receiving portion to below the path P1.

[0004] At this time, if a plurality of prizes are successively won, a plurality of game balls are lined up in the path P1 in contact with each other.
By one reciprocating operation of the stopper lever P3, the game balls are discharged downward one by one.

[0005]

However, in connection with the vertical rotation (directions of arrows A and B) of the stopper lever P3, there is a slight play in the stopper lever, or burrs or irregularities on the contact surface. In some cases, such as when there is an unexpected failure, the next game ball may be flipped in the return direction by the stopper lever, and normal operation of the pachinko machine may be hindered.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a stopper lever that can prevent a problem associated with rotation of the stopper lever.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stopper lever, wherein one of the game balls is put into a holding state or a discharging state by its own rotation. A stop portion that abuts the game ball on the contact surface to put the game ball in a hold state, and at a position rotated upward, releases the contact with the game ball by the contact surface to release the game ball;
The shaft part, which is the center of rotation of the stopper lever, and the lower part of the abutment surface of the stop part so that the game ball is not flipped in the return direction when the stopper lever rotates upward from below. And a notch portion formed by notching, and the notch portion is notched so that a distance from the shaft portion is shorter than an upper portion of the contact surface.

Particularly, in the present invention, the contact surface of the stopper portion of the stopper lever is cut out, and the lower portion of the contact surface, which is the cutout portion, is the center of the rotation rather than the upper portion of the contact surface. Notched so that the distance from the shaft is shorter, so even if the stopper lever has some backlash, or if the contact surface has burrs or irregularities, the next game ball will be It is not flipped in the return direction (by the stop).

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect, when the stopper lever rotates upward, the stopper lever receives the released game ball and rotates downward. In the case of having a ball receiving portion that discharges the game ball received in the release state to the downstream side, and when the stop portion rotates downward, the game ball received by the ball receiving portion The ball receiving portion is raised so that the next game ball in contact with the ball is not flipped in the return direction.

That is, according to the present invention, even if there is a problem due to an unexpected cause and the stop position of the stopper lever may deviate from an appropriate position, the ball receiving portion is raised, so that the stopper lever is When rotating downward, the next game ball is not flipped in the return direction by the game ball in the ball receiving portion.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the raised portion of the ball receiving portion of the stopper lever is raised so as to form a flat surface tangentially to the center of rotation of the stopper lever. I have. That is, as the shape of the raised portion of the ball receiving portion of the stopper lever, a shape that forms a flat surface in the tangential direction with respect to the rotation center of the stopper lever can be adopted. In addition to the effect of the invention of the third aspect, the next game ball is not further hit in the return direction.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the stopper lever guides the game ball to the downstream side and is provided in a passage for stopping the game ball at a predetermined stop position. It can be stopped reliably without flipping in the direction and guided to the downstream side.

According to the invention described in claim 5, the stopper lever of the present invention can be used for a CR machine in which a game ball is paid out by a card. According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, as the preferred stopper lever in which the present invention is implemented, a stopper lever having a lever portion extending rearward from a shaft portion which is the center of rotation of the stopper lever can be employed.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments (embodiments) of a stopper lever of a pachinko machine (gaming table) according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment) A pachinko machine to which this embodiment is applied is a so-called CR machine that can pay out game balls with a card. FIG.
Fig. 3 shows the CR machine from the front side, and Fig. 3 shows the part excluding the game board and the like from the back side.

A) As shown in FIG. 2, the CR machine is a gaming table 2 on which a card unit 1 is arranged on the side.
The game board 3 is provided with a plurality of winning openings 5. A prize ball switch 7 (see FIG. 6), which is a proximity sensor, is disposed at each winning opening 5 to detect a game ball (winning ball) that has entered (wins) the winning opening 5. Since the number of prize balls differs depending on which winning opening 5 is entered, the number of prize balls is set according to the signal from the prize ball switch 7.

As shown in FIG. 3, a tank 11 for storing game balls is provided above the rear side of the CR machine, and a tank rail 13 for guiding the game balls from the tank 11 to the downstream side is provided below the tank. Have been. A prize ball payout mechanism 15 is provided downstream of the tank rail, and a discharge motor 16 for paying out prize balls is arranged below the prize ball payout mechanism 15. Further, a safe ball passage 17 (guiding passage) for guiding the game ball entered from the winning opening 5 to the downstream side is provided at a lower position of the game board 3, and the safe ball passage 17 checks the winning ball. Safe mechanism 1
9 are provided.

B) The prize ball payout mechanism 15 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), the mechanism is driven when a game ball enters the winning opening 5, and pays out a number of prize balls according to the type of the winning opening 5. This prize ball payout mechanism 15
A prize ball passage 21 for introducing game balls (prize balls) from the tank rail 13, a motor cam 23 for rotating and passing the prize balls one by one (the prize ball passage 21), and a discharge motor for rotating the motor cam 23. 16 (see FIG. 3), a motor cam stopper 25 for stopping the rotation of the motor cam 23, a discharge solenoid 27 for driving the plunger 25a (downward in the figure) to release the motor cam stopper 25, and a motor. A spring member 29 for urging the plunger 25a (upward in the figure) to apply the cam stopper 25, and a discharge switch 31 for detecting a prize ball to be paid out are provided.

On the other hand, the safe mechanism 19 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (d), the game ball (winning ball) entered into the winning opening 5
Ball passage 17 that guides the ball, a stopper lever 33 that opens and closes the safe ball passage 17, and a safe ball switch 35 that detects a game ball stopped by the stopper lever 33
And own plunger 3 to open safe ball passage 17
A safe ball solenoid 37 for rotating the stopper lever 33 by driving the bottom 7a (downward in the figure) and a safe ball passage 17
And a spring member 39 for urging the plunger 37a (upward in the figure) to rotate the stopper lever 33.

As shown in FIG. 5, the stopper lever 33 has a substantially square stop portion 33b having a contact surface 33a for contacting and stopping the game ball, and a diagonally forward curve from the root of the stop portion 33b. Arm 33c extending between the stop portion 33b and the arm 33c, a ball receiving portion 33d which is concave between the stop portion 33b and the arm 33c and receives a game ball, a shaft portion 33e which is a rotation center of the stopper lever 33, and a shaft portion 33e. It comprises a lever portion 33f extending rearward, and a locking shaft portion 33g provided on the lever portion 33f and locking the plunger 37a of the safe ball solenoid 37.

On the right side of the bottom portion 33d1 of the ball receiving portion 33d in the figure, a bottom raised portion raised so as to form a flat surface in a tangential direction of a circle centered on the shaft portion 33e (ie, a vertical direction in the drawing). 33d2 is provided. That is,
Conventionally, the dotted line in the figure is the bottom, but a raised bottom 33d2 is formed to fill this bottom.

In this embodiment, the height of the raised portion 33d2 is set to, for example, 1.5 mm. This number is
As shown in FIG. 7 (a), when the game ball is released from the ball receiving portion 33 d of the stopper lever 33 to below the safe ball passage 17, the convex portion 1 of the safe ball passage 17 that bends in a substantially rectangular shape.
7a is set so as not to be caught on the floor 7a.
The height of d2 can be set.

The upper portion 33a1 of the contact surface 33a above the contact portion SP with which the game ball contacts (when the game ball is stopped) is formed to have a circular curvature centered on the shaft portion 33e. I have. When the center line is set as shown in FIG. 5, an angle of 49 ° from the vertical position is the contact part SP. The lower portion 33a2 of the contact portion SP is arranged such that the contact surface 33a is on the inner side of the curvature circle of the upper portion 33a1, that is, the lower the contact portion 33a2, the lower the contact surface 33a and the shaft portion 33e.
The notch is smoothly cut so that the distance from the notch becomes short (the notch width increases).

For example, assuming that the intersection of the extension line of the arc forming the upper portion 33a1 of the contact surface 33a and the extension line of the upper side surface of the ball receiving portion 33d is KP (not shown), in this embodiment, The stop portion 33b is cut out by a straight line that is inclined downward by 0.5 ° (that is, counterclockwise) about the contact portion SP as an axis with respect to the straight line connecting the portion SP and the intersection KP. In addition, the ball receiving portion 33d
Are subjected to R processing.

In this embodiment, FIGS. 4 (c) and 4 (d)
As shown in FIG. 7, a stopper pin 33h is attached to stop the stopper lever 33 at a predetermined position (when the stopper lever 33 rotates in the direction of arrow A).
3h is made of a metal (for example, an aluminum alloy) so as not to be deformed by aging.

C) Next, the control device of the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6, in order to control the prize ball payout device of the pachinko machine of the present embodiment, specifically, to control the prize ball payout mechanism 15 and the safe mechanism 19, etc. A control circuit (main board) 41 and a sub control circuit (sub board) 43 are provided.

The main control circuit 41 includes a well-known CPU 41
a, ROM 41b, RA (including output port buffer)
It is configured as a microcomputer including an M41c, an input / output unit 41d, and a bus line 41e connecting them. The prize ball switch 7 and the ejection switch 31 are connected to the input / output unit 41d, and signals thereof are input. The input / output unit 41d receives a prize ball data request signal from the sub control circuit 43, and outputs a prize ball data and a prize ball data determination signal to the sub control circuit 43.

The prize ball data request signal is a 1-bit signal for requesting prize ball data from the main control circuit 41, and is changed from OFF (OFF) to ON (O).
N) indicates that a request for prize ball data has been made. The prize ball data is a 4-bit signal indicating the number of 5 or 10 prize balls. The award ball data determination signal is a 1-bit signal indicating that the award ball data has been output, and indicates that the output of the award ball data has been completed when switched from OFF to ON.

The ROM 41b stores award ball data indicating which award ball switch 7 is turned on and the number of award balls (for example, 5 or 10). When the switch 7 is turned on, the award ball data corresponding to the award ball switch 7 is retrieved, and is temporarily stored in the RAM 41c as the current award ball data.

On the other hand, the sub-control circuit 43 is also a well-known CPU.
43a, ROM 43b, (including output port buffer)
It is configured as a microcomputer including a RAM 43c, an input / output unit 43d, and a bus line 43e connecting them. The safe ball switch 35 is connected to the input / output unit 43d to input a signal thereof, and the discharge solenoid 27, the discharge motor 16, and the safe ball solenoid 37 are connected thereto, and control signals are sent to them. Further, the sub control circuit 43 sends the main control circuit 41
At the same time, the award ball data request signal is output, and the award ball data and the award ball data determination signal are input from the main control circuit 41.

D) Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Before the game ball wins the winning opening 5, the prize ball payout mechanism 15 and the safe mechanism 19 are set in a holding state as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (c). That is, in the prize ball payout mechanism 15, the discharge solenoid 27 is in the OFF state, and the motor cam stopper 25 is driven by the upward biasing force of the spring member 29, and the motor cam 2
The rotation of 3 is stopped. Thereby, the prize ball passage 2
1 is closed, so that many game balls are staying in the prize ball passage 21.

On the other hand, in the safe mechanism 19, the safe ball solenoid 37 is in the OFF state, and the spring member 39
The stopping portion 33b of the stopper lever 33 is stopped in a state of turning downward (in the direction of arrow B) by the upward biasing force of. Thereby, the safe ball passage 17 is closed.

Next, when a game ball wins in the winning opening 5,
The winning of the game ball is detected by the prize ball switch 7,
The signal from the prize ball switch 7 is sent to the main control circuit 41
Is input to The ROM 41b of the main control circuit 41 stores prize ball data indicating how many prize balls are to be put out corresponding to each prize ball switch 7, so that the prize ball data is read from the ROM 41b in accordance with the input signal. The prize ball data is temporarily stored in the RAM 41c.

Next, when the game ball winning the winning opening 5 is guided to the safe ball passage 17 through the passage on the back side of the game board 3, the game ball is stopped by the stopper lever 33 of the safe mechanism 19. Can be That is, as shown in FIG. 7A, the game ball comes into contact with the contact portion SP, which is the most distal end side of the contact surface 33a of the stop portion 33b of the stopper lever 33, and stops.

The game ball stopped at this position is
The signal is detected by the safe ball switch 35, and the signal is input to the sub control circuit 43. This safe ball switch 3
When the signal from No. 5 is input, the prize ball data request signal is output from the sub control circuit 43 to the main control circuit 41 (turns on the prize ball data request signal).

When the main control circuit 41 confirms that the award ball data request signal has been turned on, it outputs the award ball data stored in the RAM 41c to the sub control circuit 43. That is, in response to detection of one game ball by the safe ball switch 35, one prize ball data (for example, data of five prize balls) is output. Then, after outputting the prize ball data, a prize ball data determination signal is output to the sub control circuit 43 to indicate to the sub-control circuit 43 that all the current prize ball data has been output (prize ball data determination). Signal is turned on).

When the sub control circuit 43 confirms that the prize ball data decision signal has been turned on, it reads the prize ball data at that time. After that, the award ball data request signal is turned off.
I do. The main control circuit 41 outputs the O of the award ball data request signal.
When the FF is confirmed, the award ball data stored in the RAM 41c is cleared, and the award ball data determination signal is sent to the OF 41.
F.

Next, the sub-control circuit 43 performs a discharging process. In other words, the prize ball payout mechanism 15 and the safe mechanism 19 are controlled to the release state as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4D. Specifically, in the prize ball payout mechanism 15,
The discharge solenoid 27 is turned on, the motor cam stopper 25 is released, and the discharge motor 16 is driven to rotate the motor cam 23 so that the game balls of the number of the prize ball data are passed, and the prize ball is formed. To be discharged. After the discharge, the state is returned to the holding state.

On the other hand, in the safe mechanism 19, the safe ball solenoid 37 is turned on, and the stop portion 33b of the stopper lever 33 is rotated upward (in the direction of arrow A), thereby causing the ball receiving portion 3 to rotate.
The game ball is received in 3d. After that, safe ball solenoid 3
Since 7 is turned off, the stopper lever 33 rotates in the direction of arrow B by the urging force of the spring member 39, and returns to the above-mentioned holding state. The game ball received by the ball receiving portion 33d is discharged downward by the operation of returning to the holding state.

That is, the stopper lever 33 is indicated by arrows A, B
One reciprocation in the direction causes one game ball to pass through the safe ball passage 17. Here, the operation of the stopper lever 33 will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 7A, in the suspended state, the game ball comes into contact with the contact portion SP of the contact surface 33 a of the stopper lever 33 and stops.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (b), when the stopper lever 33 rotates in the direction of the arrow A in order to make the ejection state, the contact surface 33a also rotates according to the movement.
The game ball starts moving toward the ball receiving portion 33d along the lower portion 33a2 of the contact surface 33a. At this time, the contact surface 33a
The lower portion 33a2 of the contact portion SP is smoothly cut out so that the notch width increases toward the lower end.
Even if there is some play in the stopper lever 33, the game ball is not hit in the return direction.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (c), the stopper lever 33 is further moved by the arrow A (as compared with the state shown in FIG. 7 (b)).
By rotating in the direction, the game ball is completely received by the ball receiving portion 33d. At this time, the game ball does not enter so deeply because it abuts on the raised portion 33d2 of the ball receiving portion 33d. That is, the game ball in the ball receiving portion 33d is located slightly to the left of the figure by the bottom raising portion 33d2, so that the next game ball in contact with this game ball also slightly moves back in the conventional direction. Will be located.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), when the stopper lever 33 rotates in the direction of arrow B, the contact surface 33a of the stop portion 33b moves between the game ball in the ball receiving portion 33d and the next game ball. To prevent the next game ball from advancing. At the same time, the game balls in the ball receiving portion 33d are discharged to the downstream side.

That is, the next game ball is raised to the bottom 33d2.
The ball is pushed in the return direction of the safe ball passage 17 and moved in the return direction by the game ball in the ball receiving portion 33d lifted up by the arrow B of the stop portion 33b even if the stopper lever 33 has a play. It is located outside the trajectory of the rotation in the direction. Therefore, the next game ball is not hit in the return direction.

Therefore, by the above-described operation, the game balls are sequentially sent below the safe ball passage 17 without being hit by the next game ball. e) Next, among the operations of the present embodiment described above, the processing in the main control circuit 41 and the sub-control circuit 43 will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 10 and the time chart of FIG.

First, the overall control processing will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 11A. In step 100 of FIG. 8, the winning of the game ball is detected by the prize ball switch 7. Then, depending on the type of the detected prize ball switch 7, the main control circuit discriminates between 5 data indicating that 5 prize balls to be paid out and 10 data indicating that 10 prize balls are to be paid out. 41 in the RAM 41c. Although the signals indicating the fifteen data are not particularly set, this is because the safe ball switch 35
When there is no signal of the prize switch 7 corresponding to the above, the maximum 15 are set to be discharged.

In the following step 110, the safe mechanism 19
Is detected by the safe ball switch 35. In the following step 120, the safe ball switch 3
5 in response to the winning ball detected by the sub-control circuit 4
3 to the main control circuit 41 at time t1 (FIG. 11 (a)
The same applies to the following, and the prize ball data request signal is output (O
N) to request prize ball data. The prize ball data request signal is turned off at time t5 after about 10 ms has elapsed from time t1 (time t4).

In step 130, the main control circuit 41 outputs the prize ball data to the sub control circuit 43 at time t2, and outputs (ON) the prize ball data determination signal at time t3. In this example, the award ball data is turned off at a time t6 after the award ball data request signal is turned off, and the award ball data determination signal is received at a time t7 after the off operation of the award ball data in response to the off operation of the award ball data. Is turned off.

In the following step 140, the sub control circuit 4
The prize ball payout mechanism 15 is driven by the control signal from 3 to discharge the prize ball. That is, the discharge solenoid 27 is turned on at a time t8 after the prize ball data determination signal is turned off, and the discharge solenoid 27 is turned off at a time t9 after a predetermined period of paying out a required prize ball.

In the following step 150, the sub control circuit 4
The safe mechanism 19 is driven by the control signal from
Eject the winning ball. That is, the OF of the discharge solenoid 27
The safe ball solenoid 37 is turned on at time t10 after F, and the safe ball solenoid 37 is turned off at time t11 after a predetermined period necessary for discharging the winning ball, and this process is once ended.

Next, a control process in the main control circuit 41 will be described with reference to FIG. In particular, in the present embodiment, when there are a plurality of prize ball data, a process of paying out the prize balls in ascending order is performed. Step 200
Then, it is determined whether or not a prize ball data request signal from the sub control circuit 43 has been input (ON). If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 210, whereas if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 260.

In step 210, the main control circuit 41
Is searched to determine whether or not there is five data, that is, whether or not there are five pieces of prize balls. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 215, while if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 220.

At step 215, signals indicating five pieces of prize ball data are stored in the output port buffer. At the same time, the five data stored in the RAM 41c are deleted. On the other hand, in step 220, similarly to step 210, the prize ball data stored in the main control circuit 41 is searched to determine whether or not there are 10 data, that is, there is 10 prize ball data. Confirm whether or not. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 225, while if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 230.

In step 225, signals indicating ten pieces of winning ball data are stored in the output port buffer. In addition, along with this, the 1st stored in the RAM 41c is
Zero data is erased. On the other hand, in step 230,
Even though a prize ball is detected by the safe ball switch 35, neither the five data nor the ten data is stored, so that it is assumed that the number of prize balls corresponding to the prize ball is fifteen. A signal indicating the prize ball data is stored in the output port buffer.

In the following step 240, the prize ball data, which is the content of the output port buffer, is output to the sub control circuit 43. In the following step 250, the award ball data determination signal is turned ON and output to the sub control circuit 43. In the following step 260, the contents of the output port buffer are cleared.
In the following step 270, the award ball data determination signal is turned off.
And the process is once ended. Hereinafter, the same processing is repeatedly executed each time a winning ball is detected by the safe ball switch 35, so that the next five prize balls are sequentially processed, that is, until the processing of all five data is completed. Can be paid out from the sequentially smaller prize balls without proceeding to the processing of the ten data.

Next, a control process in the sub-control circuit 43 will be described with reference to FIG. Step 30
At 0, based on the signal from the safe ball switch 35,
It is determined whether or not there is a winning ball. Here, if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 310, while if the determination is negative, the process ends once.

At step 310, the award ball data request signal is turned on and output to the main control circuit 41. In the following step 320, it is determined whether or not there is an award ball data determination signal from the main control circuit 41, and the process waits until an affirmative determination is made. In the following step 330, the award ball data output from the main control circuit 41 is read. In the following step 340, the award ball data request signal is turned off. In the following step 350, a number of prize balls according to the prize ball data are discharged.

In the following step 360, the winning ball is ejected, and this processing is once ended. Thus, in this embodiment,
When the award ball data request signal is output (ON) from the sub control circuit 43 to the main control circuit 41, the award ball data is output from the main control circuit 41 to the sub control circuit 43, and after the award ball data is output. The award ball data determination signal is output (ON). Then, the sub-control circuit 43
When the award ball data confirmation signal is confirmed, the award ball data at that time is read. That is, the award ball data is read immediately after the sub-control circuit 43 confirms the award ball data determination signal.

As a result, since there is no need to wait for a predetermined time as in the prior art between the time when the award ball data request signal is turned on and the time when the award ball data is read, the data processing time is shortened, and the discharging operation time of the award ball is reduced. It has a remarkable effect of being shortened. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, in this embodiment, the ON period of the prize ball data request signal is about 10 ms, which is 40 ms shorter than the conventional about 50 ms. The time required to complete the discharge is also shortened. In addition, since about 40 ms can be shortened for one winning ball, for example, about 10 × 16 = about 160 in one big hit.
× 40 = 6400 ms (= 6.4 seconds), and
If a big hit is made 10 times a day, one car can be reduced by 64 seconds. Therefore, in a store equipped with 500 pachinko machines, there is an advantage that the operation time of the pachinko machines can be increased by 64 × 500 = 32000 seconds (= about 533 minutes = about 8.8 hours).

Further, noise and C of the main control circuit 41
Even if a runaway or the like of the PU 41a occurs, the prize ball data is read after confirming the prize ball data determination signal, so that there is an advantage that the risk of reading the abnormal prize ball data as it is is reduced.

Further, in this embodiment, when there are a plurality of prize ball data, the prize ball data having a small number of prize balls is searched, and the prize ball data is sequentially paid out from the prize ball with a small number. Therefore, even if a trouble such as a power failure occurs during the payout of the prize balls, the prize ball data stored in the RAM 41c is lost, so that a maximum of 15 prize balls must be paid out. Thus, the damage on the store side can be considerably reduced. In other words, at the time of trouble, the prize balls of the prize ball data that have not been paid out are considered to have relatively many prize balls. Therefore, even if 15 prize balls are paid out according to each remaining prize ball, There is an effect that the number of prize balls to be paid out exceeding the number of prize balls (to be paid out) can be reduced as much as possible.

As described in detail above, in the prize ball payout apparatus of the pachinko machine of the present invention, the main control circuit outputs the prize ball data to the sub-control circuit and the prize ball data for confirming the output of the prize ball data. Since the confirmation signal is output to the sub-control circuit, the time required for data processing is shortened, and there is a remarkable effect that the operation time for discharging the prize ball is shortened.

In addition, noise and the CPU of the main control circuit
Even if a runaway occurs, the prize ball data is read after confirming the prize ball data confirmation signal. This reduces the risk of reading abnormal prize ball data as it is, and has the advantage of improving data reliability. is there.

Further, when the prize ball data with a small number of prize balls is paid out earlier, even if the prize ball data is lost, a prize ball closer to a more accurate number can be paid out. . e) Next, the effect of the stopper lever of the present embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, since the bottom raising portion 33d2 is provided at the bottom portion 33d1 of the ball receiving portion 33d of the stopper lever 33, when a plurality of game balls are stopped in the safe ball passage 17, the stopper lever 33 is used. When the pivot 33 moves in the direction of the arrow B, even if the stopper lever 33 has some backlash, the next game ball in contact with the game ball in the ball receiving portion 33d is
The tip of the stop portion 33b (including the lower end side) or the game ball in the ball receiving portion 33d is not hit in the return direction. Therefore, the same game ball is not detected again by the safe ball switch 35.

Further, since the stopper pin 33h is made of metal, the stopper pin 33h is not normally deformed. However, if the stopper pin 33h is defective due to an unexpected cause, the stopper lever 33h may be deformed. In this embodiment, even if the stop position of the stopper lever is shifted from the proper position in the direction of arrow A, in the present embodiment, the bottom lever 33d1 of the ball receiving portion 33d of the stopper lever 33 is provided with the bottom raising portion 33d2. When rotating in the direction of arrow B, the next game ball is not flipped in the return direction by the game ball in the ball receiving portion 33d. Therefore, the same game ball is not detected again by the safe ball switch 35.

Since the output of the safe ball switch 35 and the output of the prize ball switch 7 coincide with each other, a remarkable effect that an appropriate number of prize balls are always paid out is exerted. Furthermore,
Since the bottom raising portion 33d2 is formed in a tangential direction of a circle centered on the shaft portion 33e, the game ball received by the ball receiving portion 33d can be appropriately lifted and held appropriately,
The release of game balls is also excellent.

Further, in this embodiment, the stopper lever 3
The lower portion 33a2 of the third contact surface 33a below the contact portion SP is:
When the stopper lever 33 rotates in the direction of the arrow A, the stopper lever 33 may have some backlash or a contact surface. Even if there are burrs or irregularities on the 33a, the game ball will not be hit in the return direction (by the lower portion 33a2). Therefore, also in this case, the same game ball is not detected again by the safe ball switch 35.

It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the technical scope of the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a control device of a CR machine according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the front side of the CR machine according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a part of the back side of the CR machine according to the embodiment in a cutaway manner.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a prize ball payout mechanism and a safe mechanism according to the embodiment, and FIG.
(B) shows the released state, (c) shows the suspended state of the safe mechanism, and (d) shows the released state.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing the stopper lever of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a control device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the stopper lever of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an entire control process according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing on the main control circuit side of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing on the sub-control circuit side according to the embodiment.

11A is a time chart of the embodiment, and FIG.
Is a time chart of a conventional example.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 ... Winning Port 7 ... Prize Ball Switch 15 ... Prize Ball Dispensing Mechanism 17 ... Safe Ball Passage 19 ... Safe Mechanism 21 ... Prize Ball Passage 27 ... Discharge Solenoid 33 ...・ Stopper lever 35 ・ ・ ・ Safe ball switch 37 ・ ・ ・ Safe ball solenoid 41 ・ ・ ・ Main control circuit 43 ・ ・ ・ Sub control circuit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C088 BA13 BA17 BA55 BA60 BA63 BA68 BA88 BB07 BB11 EA10

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A stopper lever for turning one game ball into a hold state or a release state by its own rotation. In a position where the stopper lever is rotated downward, the stopper lever contacts the game ball on a contact surface. The game ball in the holding state,
A stop portion for releasing the contact of the contact surface with the game ball to the release state at a position rotated upward, a shaft portion which is a center of rotation of the stopper lever, and the stopper lever; A notch formed by cutting a lower portion of a contact surface of the stop portion so that the game ball is not flipped in the return direction when the ball rotates upward from below. The stopper lever is cut out so that a distance from the shaft portion is shorter than an upper portion of the contact surface. 2. When the stopper lever is turned upward, the game ball in the released state is received, and when the stopper lever is turned downward, the game ball received in the released state is received on the downstream side. And a ball receiving portion that discharges the ball so that when the stop portion rotates downward, the next game ball in contact with the game ball received by the ball receiving portion is not flipped in the return direction. The stopper lever according to claim 1, wherein the ball receiving portion is raised. 3. The stopper lever according to claim 1, wherein the raised portion of the ball receiving portion is raised so as to form a flat surface in a tangential direction with respect to the center of rotation of the stopper lever. The stopper lever according to claim 2. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the stopper lever is provided in a passage for guiding the game ball to a downstream side and stopping the game ball at a predetermined stop position. Stopper lever described in Crab. 5. The stopper lever according to claim 1, wherein the stopper lever is used for a CR machine in which a game ball is paid out by a card. 6. The stopper lever according to claim 1, wherein the stopper lever has a lever portion extending rearward from the shaft portion.