JPH01198577A - Prize winning ball device for pinball machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent an end of a ball receiving piece from troubles such as early wear due to collisions with driven-in balls by locating the end of closed ball receiving piece inside the outermost left and right ends of a guide member. CONSTITUTION:When a ball entering a prize winning region 34 is distributed to a prize winning hole 34b by a distributing piece 334 and detected by a ball detecting switch 24, a ball receiving piece drive circuit 63 energizes a solenoid 52b to open a ball receiving piece 37b. When arm members 36a, 36b are not opened, even if the driven-in ball enters the prize winning hole 34a or 34b for winning a prize, any actuation signals are not given by an arm member drive circuit 61, so that the ball receiving piece drive circuit 62 or 63 does not energize the solenoid 52a or 52b. On the other hand, when the driven-in ball passes by the prize winning region 14, a ball detecting switch 25 detects said ball and gives the output to the arm member drive circuit 61 and ball receiving piece drive circuits 62, 63 to open the arm members 36a, 36b while opening the ball receiving pieces 37a, 37b.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a winning ball device for a pinball game machine such as a pachinko game machine, and relates to a pinball game machine including a pair of left and right ball receiving pieces that can be opened and closed. Regarding the winning ball device.

[Prior Art] Among winning ball devices for this type of pinball game machine, one that has been generally known is, for example, a Yakumono ball called Tulip. When a predetermined game condition is reached, the pair of ball receivers on the left and right sides of the tulip open, and the balls hit into a prize-winning hole form, thereby increasing the interest of the game.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the winning ball device of this type of conventional pinball game machine, when the ball catch piece is in the closed state, a ball that falls from above is hit by the ball catch piece. This causes problems such as early wear of the tip of the ball receiving piece due to collision with the tip.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to prevent problems associated with collisions of balls, such as premature wear of the tip of the ball receiving piece.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A winning ball device for a pinball game machine according to the present invention includes a mounting board that forms a winning area, and a mounting board that is formed above the winning area and that rolls falling balls. and a pair of left and right ball holders that are provided below the guide member so as to be freely openable and closable and that allow the balls to be received into the award winning area in an open state. The guide member is characterized in that the tip of the ball receiving piece in the open state is located inside the outermost end in the left-right direction of the guide member.

[Function] In the present invention, a guide member is formed above the winning area of the winning ball device, and the guide member causes the falling balls to roll and guide them to the outside of the winning area. A pair of right and left ball receiving pieces are provided below the guide member, and when the ball receiving pieces are in an open state, it becomes possible to receive the driven ball into the prize entry area. and,
Since the tip of the ball receiving piece in the closed state is located inside the outermost end of the guide member in the left-right direction, a ball falling from above collides with the guide member. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ball from colliding with the tip of the ball receiving piece in the open state as much as possible.

[Embodiments of the Invention] Next, specific embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, a pachinko game machine will be described as an example of a pinball game machine.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachinko machine equipped with a winning ball device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, pachinko machine 1
0 is configured such that a front frame 11 is attached to the front frame 11 so as to be openable and closable, and a game board 12 is detachably attached to the front frame 11. Game board 12
In the game area surrounded by the guide rail, there are Yakumono (tulip) 13a, 13b, prize area 14. 15
a, 15 bs and an out ball population of 16 are formed. When there is a winning ball or passing ball in the winning area 14,
The conditions under which the arm members and left and right ball receiving pieces included in the winning ball device 20, which will be described later, can be opened are defined.

Furthermore, a winning ball device 30 (described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3A to 4), which is a feature of this embodiment, is mounted approximately in the center of the game board 12.

A front plate 111 is attached to the lower front frame 12 of the game board 12 so as to be openable and closable. On the front plate 111, there is a batted ball waiting gutter 1.
7 is provided. The batted ball waiting gutter 17 is the prize ball number exit 17.
, 1 serves as an upper tray for storing the balls ejected from the balls. is provided with a ball handle 18 and an upper tray 19. The upper tray 19 is used as a lower upper tray for storing balls overflowing from the batted ball supply gutter 17 and released from the prize ball number outlet 191.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the pachinko machine. In the figure, a plurality of paths 211 to 216 are provided on the back surface of the game board 12. The path 211 guides the winning ball into the winning hole 32 included in the winning ball device 30 to the ball detection switch 22. Route 2
22 guides the ball detected by the ball detection switch 22 to a downward path 213.

A path 213 leads the winning ball to the winning ball processing device. route 214
guides the winning ball into the winning hole 34a (see FIG. 3A) included in the winning ball device 30 to the ball detection switch 23. A path 215 guides the ball won into the winning hole 34b (see FIG. 3A) to the ball detection switch 24. The balls detected by the ball detection switches 23 and 24 are guided to the path 213 via the path 216.

-Here, the ball detection switch 22 is connected to a winning hole 32 in which conditions are set for opening the arm member included in the winning ball device 30.
It detects the winning balls and is used as the first condition detection means. The ball detection switch 23 detects a ball that has entered the winning hole 35a. The ball detection switch 24 is for detecting a ball that has entered the winning hole 35b. These ball detection switches 23 and 24 are connected to winning holes 35a and 35 which are defined to open ball receiving pieces, which will be described later.
It works as a second condition detection means for detecting a ball that has passed through b. The ball detection switch 25 detects a winning ball entering the winning area 14 to detect that the conditions are such that a pair of arm members and a pair of ball receiving pieces included in the winning ball device 30 can be simultaneously opened. It is.

3A to 3C are illustrative views of a winning ball device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and in particular, FIG. 3A is a front view of the winning ball device;
FIG. 3B shows its rear view, and FIG. 3C shows its longitudinal sectional view.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of each member included in the winning ball device.

Next, the specific configuration of the winning ball device 30 of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3A to 4.

The winning ball device 30 includes a mounting board 31. Mounting board 31
A winning hole 32 and a winning hole 33, which is an example of a winning area, are formed in the upper and lower parts of the player. The winning hole 32 has conditions that allow it to open arm members 36a and 36b, which will be described later, when a winning ball is found. At the bottom of the winning hole 33,
A plate-like protrusion 331 for receiving balls into the winning hole 33 is provided to protrude to the front. Pins 311 for rotatably supporting the arm members 36a and 36b are formed on both the left and right sides sandwiching the winning hole 33, protruding from the front. Left and right pin 31
A guide hole 312 is provided in a protruding manner at the diagonally upper portion of the guide hole 1 . This guide hole 312 is formed in an arc shape centered on the corresponding pin 311. Pins 5 of levers 56a and 56b, which will be described later, are located slightly below the pins 311 of the mounting board 31.
A guide hole 313 for guiding the moving direction of 62 is bored. On both sides of the mounting board 31, there are light emitting dies and
A through hole 314 for inserting the ord 39 is bored.

The game board 12 is installed at appropriate locations around the mounting board 31.
A mounting hole 315, which is an example of a mounting portion, is drilled to screw the mounting board 31 thereto. A pin 316 for supporting levers 44a and 44b, which will be described later, is formed on the back surface of the mounting board 31 and slightly above the position where the winning hole 33 is formed. A projection 317 is formed at a position slightly above the position where the pin 316 is formed to stop the upper end portions of springs 46a and 46b, which will be described later.

A winning area 34 is formed approximately in the center of the mounting board 31. The winning area 34 includes winning holes 34a and 34b formed in the mounting board 31. A guide wall 341 is formed to protrude from the surface of the mounting board 31 around the winning holes 34a, 34b except for the upper part thereof. Guide protrusions 342, which are an example of a guide member, are formed on the left and right sides of the upper part of the guide wall 341 at an interval that allows a ball to pass through. Prize holes 34a and 3
4b, a pin 343 is formed to protrude. A distribution piece 344 is rotatably supported by this pin 343 .

An upper decorative member 35 is provided between the prize entry hole 32 and the prize winning area 34. The upper decoration member 35 has the winning hole 32
A ball receiving wall 351 is formed at the bottom of the
2 is fixed. And below the plaque 352,
A window 353 is formed.

A lamp or light emitting diode 354 is provided on the back side of the window 353 to notify the open state of the arm members 36a, 36b.

The arm member 36a has a shaft hole 361 formed at its lower end,
An engagement pin 362 is formed slightly above the shaft hole 361 so as to protrude toward the back surface, and a shaft hole 363 is formed at the upper end of the engagement pin 362 . Note that the arm member 36b has the same structure as the arm member 36a except that it has a laterally symmetrical shape, so the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals as the arm member 36a. Arm members 36a, 36
Each shaft hole 363 of b has a corresponding ball receiving piece 37a.
.

37b pin 371 may be inserted. Thereby, the ball receiving pieces 37a, 37b are rotatably supported at the tips of the arm members 36a, 36b. The ball receiving pieces 3-7a, 37b and the arm members 36a, 36b are provided on the front surface side of the mounting board so as to be openable and closable, and when opened, the ball receiving member receives the balls and guides them into the awarding area. A predetermined interval is formed between the ball receiving pieces 37a, 37b and the surface of the mounting board 31, so that
Even if used for a long period of time, there will be no inconvenience that the ball receiving pieces 37a, 37b will come into contact with the surface of the mounting board and the ball receiving pieces 37a, 37b may not move smoothly.Arm members 36a, 3
The shaft hole 361 of 6b is rotatably supported by a corresponding pin 311. The pins 362 of the arm members 36a, 36b are inserted into the corresponding guide holes 312. A pin 372 is formed slightly below the pin 371 on the back surface of the ball receiving piece 37a.

The pin 372 of each ball receiving piece 37a, 37b is inserted into a shaft hole 561 formed at the upper end of the corresponding operating lever 56a, 56b, and is rotatably supported. The pins 562 formed at the lower ends of the operating levers 56a and 56b are connected to the guide holes 31 bored on both left and right sides sandwiching the winning hole 33.
3 is inserted.

The arm members 36a, 36b and the ball receiving piece 37a.

A front cover 38, which is an example of a front plate, is attached to the front surface of the mounting board 31 on which the mounting board 37b is attached. A see-through hole 381 is formed in the front cover 38 at a position corresponding to the winning area 34. Also, the ball receiving piece 37a.

37b is provided so as to fit within the distance T between the surface of the front cover 38 and the surface of the mounting board 31. Even if the glass of the glass door 950 is pressed when the ball receiving pieces 37a and 37b are opened, the front cover 3 that protrudes forward
8 acts as a tension member and can prevent the ball receiving pieces 37a, 37b from being pressed down in the open state. The see-through hole 381 is provided so that it can be confirmed from the outside which of the left or right winning holes 34a, 34b the balls that entered the winning area 34 have been sorted by the sorting piece 344. . Spacers 382 to 384 are formed at appropriate locations on the back surface of the front cover 38.

The spacers 382 to 384 have screw holes formed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting board 31, and are screwed onto the back surface of the mounting board 31 with screws.

- On the back side of the mounting board 31, an arm member driving means 40 for rotating the arm members 36a, 36b and a ball receiving piece 3 are provided.
A ball receiving piece driving means 50 for rotating 7a and 37b is installed. More specifically, the arm member driving means 40 includes a mounting plate 41 . A solenoid 42 is fixed to the mounting plate 41.

This mounting plate 41 is attached to the back surface of the mounting board 31. A connecting member 43 is fixed to the plunger 421 of the solenoid 42 . The front side of the connecting member 43 is bent, and an engagement hole 431 is formed in the bent portion. Connecting member 43
A pin 441 connecting the levers 44a and 44b is engaged with the engagement hole 431. Levers 44a and 44
A hole 442 is formed approximately at the center of each of the holes 442b. Hole 442 in each lever 44a, 44b
A corresponding pin 316 is inserted into. Thereby, the levers 44a, 44b have their respective open ends pivoted downward or upward by the vertical movement of the pin 441 of the connecting portion, using the respective holes 442 as fulcrums. Lever 44a
, 44b is formed with a pin 443 protruding from the back surface. A pin 443 of the lever 44a is formed at the upper end of the plate 45a and is engaged with a hole 451.

The pin 36 of the arm member 36a inserted into the guide hole 312 is inserted into the engagement hole 452 formed at the lower end of the plate 45a.
2 are engaged. Similarly, the pin 443 of the lever 44b is engaged with an engagement hole 451 formed in the upper end of the plate 45b. Engagement hole 4 formed at the lower end of plate 45b
52 is engaged with a pin 362 of the arm member 36b. A hole 44 is provided at the open end of each lever 44a and 44b.
4 is formed. Then, the holes 4 of the levers 44a, 44b
44 is associated with the lower ends of springs 46a, 46b. As a result, the levers 44a, 44b are normally in a state where their respective open ends are elastically biased upward by the springs 46a, 46b.

The ball holder driving means 50 includes a first ball holder part movement mechanism 50a for rotating the left ball holder 37a and a second ball holder for rotating the right ball holder 37b. It includes a partial movement mechanism 50b. First and second ball receiver part movement mechanisms 50
a and 50b are each attached to a common attachment member 51. To explain more specifically, a passage 510 is formed in the center of the upper part of the mounting member 51 to guide the winning balls downward into the winning hole 33. A fan-shaped opening 511 is formed through which a pin 562 of the corresponding one of the levers 56a and 56b is inserted.Solenoids 52a and 52b are held in the horizontal direction on both the left and right sides of the mounting member 51 across the passage 510. A holding portion 512 is formed for holding the passage 5 of the mounting member 51.
Projections 513 are formed on the left and right sides of 10. These protrusions 513 are engaged with engagement holes 411 formed in the mounting plate 41, so that the mounting member 51 is provided in relation to the mounting plate 41. Pins 414 are formed on both sides of the back surface of the mounting member 51, sandwiching the passage 510.

Ball passages 515 and 516 are formed in the upper part of the mounting member 51, sandwiching the passage 510 and slanting to the left and right sides. The ball path 515 sends the winning balls to the winning hole 34a through the path 21.
Leads to 4. The ball passage 516 guides the winning ball into the winning hole 34b to the path 215.

The first ball receiving piece opening/closing mechanism 50a includes a solenoid 52a. A disk 522 is formed at one end (the right side in FIG. 4) of the plunger 521 of the solenoid 52a. A portion of the front and rear of this disc 522 is inserted into a hole 531 formed in each plate 53a, 54a so that it is sandwiched between the plates 53a, 54a. A long hole 532 is bored on one side (the right side in the figure) of the plate 53a. plate 53
The pin 551 of the L-shaped lever 55a is located in the long hole 532 of a.
is inserted. The tip of the pin 551 is fixed with a C ring. A shaft hole 5 is provided at the upper end of one side of the L-shaped lever 55a.
52 is drilled. The shaft hole 552 is inserted into a pin 514 formed on the left side of the passage 510 and is rotatably supported. The tip of the other side of the L-shaped lever 55a (the front end in the figure) is bent, and an engagement hole 553 is formed in the bent portion. The other side of this L-shaped lever 55a is inserted into the opening 510. And L-shaped lever -55
The actuation lever 56.a is located in the engagement hole 553 of FIG. pin 56 of a
2 are engaged.

Note that the second ball rest part movement mechanism 50b has the same structure as the first ball rest part movement mechanism 50a, except that it has a symmetrical shape, so a description thereof will be omitted. Indicated by b instead of a at the end of the corresponding component. The arm member driving means 4
0 and the ball receiving piece driving means constitute a ball receiving member driving means for driving the ball receiving member to open and close. The ball receiving member may be one that slides horizontally instead of rotating, or may have a ball receiving area that changes in the height direction.

5A and 5B are illustrative views of the arm member of the winning ball device in an open state, particularly FIG. 5A is a front view thereof, and FIG. 5B is a rear view thereof.

6A and 6B are illustrative views of the winning ball device in a state where the arm member and the ball receiving piece are opened, and in particular, FIG. 6A is a front view thereof, and FIG. 6B is a rear view thereof.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of a drive control circuit for explaining the operation of a winning ball device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Next, the operation of the winning ball device 20 of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. First, a pair of arm members 36
A case where a and 36b are opened will be described. When a hit ball enters the winning hole 32, the ball detection switch 22 derives a winning ball detection output and provides it to the arm member drive circuit 61. In response, arm member drive circuit 61 energizes solenoid 42 . In response to this, the solenoid 42 sucks the plunger 421 upward, so that the connecting member 43 is pulled upward. Therefore, the pin 441 of the connecting portion of the levers 44a and 44b is pulled upward, so that the lever 44a and the pin 441 are pulled upward.
and the open end of 44b rotates downward. Lever 44
In conjunction with the rotation of arms a and 44b, arm members 36a and 36
b respectively rotate outward. At this time, the pins 562 of the operating levers 56a, 56b are connected to the solenoids 52a, 5
Since 2b is not biased, it is not slid within the guide hole 313.

As a result, if only the solenoid 42 is energized, 1
Only the pair of arm members 36a and 36b are in the open state, and the ball receiving pieces 37a and 37b are in the upright state.

This condition is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

In this state, when the ball hits the winning hole 33, the ball hits the guide wall 342 and the ball receiving piece 37a or 37b.
This is the case when passing through the area or space between the upper edge of the

Therefore, the probability that the ball will enter the winning hole 33 is slightly higher than when the arm members 36a and 36b are closed, or the ball receiving piece 37a.

37b is opened. When the ball passes through the space between the guide wall 342 and the upper end of the ball receiving piece 37a or 37b, the ball passes through the upper end of the arm member 36a or 37b.
It is guided to the winning hole 33 while rolling' on the upper surface of 6b.

As described above, in the state where the pair of arm members 36a and 36b are open, an activation signal is given from the arm member drive circuit 61 to the ball holder drive circuits 62 and 63. In this state, if the ball hits the winning hole 34a,
The ball cover release switch 23 detects this and the ball cover piece drive circuit 6
Give to 2.

The ball receiver piece drive circuit 62 energizes the solenoid 52g in response to an activation signal being given from the arm member drive circuit 61 and an output from the ball detection switch 23. The solenoid 52a moves the plunger 521 toward the center, that is, toward the L-shaped lever 55a, in response to electrical bias. Therefore, the L-shaped lever 55a is rotated toward the center, and the pin 562 of the operating lever 56a is rotated toward the center (toward the winning hole 33 side).
Move to. At this time, since the arm member 36a that pivotally supports the pin 371 remains fixed to the ball receiving piece 37a, the pin 372 is pulled toward the center in conjunction with the movement of the lower end of the operating lever 56a using the pin 371 as a fulcrum. It will be done. Therefore, the ball receiving piece 37a is rotated counterclockwise to be in the open state. This state becomes the state shown in FIG. 6A (that is, the state in which the ball receiving piece 37a is open and the ball receiving piece 37b is closed as shown by the two-dot chain line). In this state, a ball falling from the upper left direction of the winning hole 33 is caught by the ball receiving piece 37a and guided to the winning hole 33 via the arm member 36a.

In addition, the ball that entered the winning area 34 and the distribution piece 334
When the winning balls are distributed to the winning hole 34b by the above, the winning balls are detected by the ball detection switch 24. In this case, the ball holder drive circuit 63 energizes the solenoid 52b in response to the output of the ball detection switch 24 to open the ball holder 37b. Note that if the arm members 36a and 36b are not opened, the ball may be hit in the winning hole 34a or 3.
4b, since the activation signal is not given from the arm member drive circuit 61, the ball receiver piece drive circuit 62 or 6
3 does not energize solenoid 52a or 52b.

On the other hand, when the hit ball passes through the winning area 14, the ball detection switch 25 detects it. The output of the ball detection switch 25 is sent to an arm member drive circuit 61 and a ball support piece drive circuit 62.
63. In this case, the pair of arm members 36a and 35b are opened and the ball receiving piece 37a is opened in the same manner as the above-mentioned operation.

37b is opened. In other words, the driving means with a ball receiving portion can change the receiving area of the ball received by the ball receiving member. Therefore, the driving means with a ball receiving portion can change the opening amount of the ball receiving member. It includes a variable opening amount ball receiving member driving means that can change the ball receiving area by changing the ball receiving area. Moreover, since the receiving area of the hit ball is changed depending on which winning area the hit ball enters into, the variable opening amount ball receiving member driving means is configured to operate on a plurality of winning holes provided on the game board. The opening amount variable driving means for changing the opening amount depending on which of the winning holes the ball has won is included. Note that the conditions for closing the arm members 36a and 36b are appropriately selected depending on the circuit configuration of the drive circuits 61 to 63. For example, a pair of arm members 36a, 36b and a ball receiving piece 37a.

The conditions for closing 37b are selected after a certain period of time has elapsed since the arm member was opened or until a certain number of balls have entered the winning hole 33.

As described above, according to this embodiment, since the arm member and the ball receiving piece operate in two stages, there is an advantage that there are many changes in the state in which it is easy to win a prize into the winning hole 33.

In addition, compared to a device in which the ball holder piece is directly rotated instead of the arm member, the arm member and ball holder piece can be opened even though there is less storage space in the open state of the arm member and the ball holder piece. There is also the advantage that the ball can be received over a large area when the ball is played, the probability of winning can be greatly increased, and the service to the players can be greatly improved.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, when opening only one pair of arm members as a condition for opening the arm members and ball receiver pieces, one of the left and right ball receiver pieces is opened with one pair of arm members opened. Three cases have been described, in which the pair of arm members and the left and right ball receiving pieces are opened at the same time. However, the technical concept of the present invention is not limited to these conditions, and open driving may be performed under other conditions. For example, 1
In the state where the pair of arm members are opened, the left and right ball receiving pieces may be simultaneously opened based on a predetermined gaming state.

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention having the above configuration protects the tip of the ball receiver piece in the closed state from collisions with driven balls by the guide member, and prevents abrasion of the tip of the ball receiver piece due to collisions with driven balls. It has now become possible to reduce the inconvenience of

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachinko machine equipped with a winning ball device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the pachinko machine. FIGS. 3A to 3C are illustrative views of a winning ball device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the winning ball device. FIGS. 5A and 5B are illustrative views of the winning ball bag with the arm member opened. FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are illustrative views of the winning ball device in a state where the arm member and the ball receiving piece are opened. FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of a drive control circuit for explaining the operation of the winning ball device. In the figure, 10 is a pachinko machine, 12 is a game board, 30 is a winning ball device, 31 is a mounting board, 32, 33° 34 a,
34b is a winning hole, 35 is an upper decoration member, 36a,
36b is an arm member, 37a and 37b are ball holder pieces, 38 is a front cover, 40 is an arm member driving means, 50 is a ball holder piece driving means, 50a and 50b are first and second ball holder piece drive mechanisms,
Reference numeral 342 indicates a guide protrusion that is an example of a guide member, D indicates a predetermined interval, and 38 indicates a front cover that is an example of a front plate.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A winning ball device installed on the game board of a pinball game machine, which includes a mounting board forming a winning area, and a winning ball device formed above the winning area to roll falling balls. a guide member that guides the ball to the outside of the winning area laterally; and a pair of left and right ball receiving pieces that are provided below the guide member so as to be openable and closable, and that allow balls to be received into the winning area in an open state. A winning ball device for a pinball game machine, characterized in that the tip of the ball receiving piece in the closed state is located inside the outermost end in the left-right direction of the guide member. (2) The pair of ball receiving pieces are rotatably attached to the mounting board with a predetermined distance between them and the surface of the mounting board. A winning ball device for a pinball game machine according to item 1.