JPH0559751B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a ball dispensing method for dispensing a predetermined number of balls based on a discharge command signal in a pachinko game machine, and particularly to a method for dispensing balls at high speed and based on a signal from a winning ball detector. The present invention relates to a method of controlling a prize ball dispensing device that enables accurate dispensing of a predetermined number of prize balls.

As is well known, in a pachinko game machine, when a player drives balls into the game board one by one using a firing device installed at the bottom of the game board, they collide with obstacle nails and randomly change direction as they fall. A predetermined number of prize balls are awarded to the player by entering the winning area with a certain probability. Conventionally, such payout of prize balls has generally been accomplished by a mechanical prize ball payout device that is attached to the back of the game board and operates by transmitting the physical force generated by the winning balls.

Therefore, in the conventional pachinko game machine, the structure of the back mechanism panel attached to the back of the game board is complicated, and the assembly is troublesome and the occupied space is large, making it impossible to have a sufficient empty space at the back of the game board. In other words, the space on the back of the game board that can be used effectively is narrowed, and maintenance and inspection of the back mechanism panel becomes difficult.

On the other hand, in recent pachinko machines, those with a large variable prize winning device called the so-called "Ratsuki Seven" that creates a situation in which a large number of prize balls are awarded have become popular among players, and most of the machines have a large variable winning device. are now being installed. However, such large variable prize winning devices often extend through the game board to the back mechanism panel, so in the back mechanism panel equipped with the conventional mechanical prize ball payout device, such a system cannot be used. There will not be enough space to extend the variable prize winning device. Therefore, a small prize ball dispensing device has been desired.

In addition, with the adoption of such a large-scale variable winning device, there will be more opportunities for simultaneous or consecutive winning balls to occur. Moreover, with conventional mechanical prize ball dispensing devices, one dispensing operation takes about 1.5 seconds, whereas with current electric prize ball dispensing devices, it takes about 1 minute.
Nearly 100 batted balls are fired. In other words, since a ball is launched into the game board every 0.6 seconds, there is a possibility that a large number of winning balls will be generated in a short period of time, so a high-speed prize ball payout device is desired.

However, in the conventional mechanical prize ball dispensing device which is operated by transmitting the physical force generated by the winning ball, there is a limit to the high speed change due to the friction of each mechanical part.

This invention was made against the background as described above, and by adopting an electric ball dispensing device which is composed of a rotary sprocket and a pulse motor and is capable of discharging balls one by one, as a ball dispensing device, In addition to being small and capable of continuously dispensing balls at high speed, it also receives a signal such as a winning ball detection signal generated by detecting a hit ball that has entered a winning area (winning ball) as an ejection command signal. A control device is provided to control the pulse motor, and the control device forms a drive control signal of the number of pulses necessary to dispense a predetermined number of balls based on the emission command signal and supplies it to the pulse motor to perform the ejection operation. At the same time, a detector is provided to detect the ejection of balls, and based on the signal from this detector, it is determined whether the number of ejected balls has reached a predetermined number. It is an object of the present invention to enable more accurate dispensing by supplying a drive signal to a pulse motor to operate the pulse motor so as to eject the balls one by one.

The present invention will be specifically explained below using the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a back machine board of a pachinko game machine equipped with a prize ball payout device to which the present invention is applied.

By attaching covers 2 at regular intervals to the center of the back of a game board 1, which has a plurality of winning areas and obstacle nails on the front, so that the winning balls (winning balls) can flow down from the winning areas on the front. , a space under which winning balls flow, and a set space for various winning devices. At the lower part of the cover 2 constituting the winning ball flow space, there is provided a collection shelf 2a formed so as to slope downward toward the center. Further, a back set board 3 is provided from the upper part of the back surface of the game board to the side part (right side part in the drawing) and lower part so as to surround the cover 2, and the prize balls are paid out to this back set board 3. By setting various devices and parts constituting the mechanism and the winning ball processing mechanism in a superposed manner, a back mechanism panel is formed together with the cover 2 that constitutes the winning ball flowing space.

In addition, a winning ball outlet path 4 curved in a substantially S-shape is connected to the center of the collecting shelf 2a.
The winning balls that have entered the winning ball flow space on the back of the game board 1 from the winning area provided on the front of the game board 1 are collected by the collection shelf 2a, and are sent out of the machine through the entered prize ball outlet path 4. It is designed to be discharged.

A winning ball detector 5 and a winning ball separator 6 are provided in the middle of the winning ball lead-out path 4, and the winning balls passing there are separated one by one by the winning ball separator 6 and flowed down. , are electrically detected by the winning ball detector 5 below. In this way, the prize ball payout device 20, which will be described later, is operated based on the winning ball detection signal detected for each winning ball to pay out a predetermined number of prize balls.

Further, on the upper part of the back set board 3, there is a preliminary storage section 7 for storing balls (spare balls) before being paid out by the prize ball dispensing device 20, and a preliminary storage section 7 for dispensing the prize balls from the preliminary storage section 7. A guide path 8 that automatically aligns and guides the spare balls to the device 20, and a receiving tray 9 (see Fig. 4) for receiving the prize balls put out by the prize ball payout device 20 on the front side of the game board. A prize ball lead-out path 11 for guiding the prize balls, and a diverting gutter 13 for diverting the prize balls to the auxiliary tray 12 when the tray 9 is full are provided.

In this embodiment, as will be described later, an electric prize ball dispensing device 2 includes a pulse motor 21 and a sprocket 22 that is rotationally driven by the pulse motor 21.
0, and the control device 50 forms a drive signal based on the winning ball detection signal from the winning ball detector 5 provided in the middle of the winning ball lead-out path 4, and the prize ball payout device 20 generates a drive signal for each winning ball. is operated to pay out a predetermined number of prize balls.

Furthermore, by mounting the prize ball dispensing device 20 and the prize ball lead-out path 11 off to one side of the back surface of the game board, a relatively wide space A is formed in the center of the back mechanism board. be. This space A is designed to make the prize ball dispensing device 20 compact by using an electric type consisting of a sprocket and a pulse motor, and to attach the prize ball dispensing device 20 to the rear set board 3. This is realized by arranging them in parallel with the ball extraction passage 31 and centrally disposing them on one side.

In the back mechanism panel of FIG. 1, tread levers 14a and 14b are tiltably provided at the starting end and the middle of the horizontal portion of the guideway 8, facing the outlet 7a of the preliminary storage section 7; 15a and 1
5b is a ball shortage detector that detects the presence or absence of balls by detecting the tilting state of the step levers 14a and 14b, which are tilted by the weight of the spare balls in the preliminary storage section 7 and the guideway 8, respectively. When there are no balls in the preliminary storage section 7, the ball shortage detector 15 is activated.
When a is turned on, a signal is sent to a control room (not shown) to replenish balls into the reserve storage section 7, and if balls are not replenished due to a malfunction of the ball shortage detector 15a or an abnormality in the ball replenishing device. When the second ball shortage detector 15b is turned on by not being turned on, the operation of the prize ball dispensing device 20 is stopped. Reference numerals 16 and 17 are a ball guide and a ball holding plate which are provided in the middle of the guideway 8 and assist in rectifying the prize balls.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the electric prize ball dispensing device 20.

As shown in the figure, the end of the vertical portion of the guideway 8, which is formed in a substantially inverted L shape and consists of a horizontal portion and a vertical portion, is bent diagonally downward, and has two exit portions 8a and 8b. It is provided. This exit part 8
A sprocket 22 is disposed so as to face the sprockets a and 8b, and this sprocket 22 is fixed to the tip of a rotating shaft 21a of a pulse motor 21 fixed to the back set board 3 by a mounting frame 23. As shown in FIG. 6, a locking gear 24 is fixed to the terminal end of the rotating shaft 21a, and a locking solenoid 2 is attached to the mounting frame 23 corresponding to the locking gear 24.
5 is installed. The tip of a locking rod 26 integrated with the actuator inserted into this locking solenoid 25 is arranged so that it can engage with the locking gear 24, and when the solenoid 25 is not energized, The locking rod 26 is pushed out by the force and its tip engages the locking gear 24 to prevent the motor 21 from rotating.
Furthermore, when the solenoid 25 is energized, the locking rod 26 moves backward and disengages from the locking gear 24, the motor 21 is unlocked, and the rotating shaft 21a becomes rotatable.

For example, six recesses 22a and six claws 22b are formed on the outer periphery of the sprocket 22, with which pachinko balls can engage. Sprocket 2
When facing the second recess 22a, the other is configured to face the claw 22b. Further, at the terminal end of the taxiway 8, an exit portion 8 of the taxiway 8 is provided.
A discharge ball flow path 18 having a blocking plate portion 18a at a position separated by one ball from the ends of the bulbs a and 8b,
A discharge gutter 19 is formed integrally with the guiding path 8 and is connected to the upper end of the prize ball outlet path 11 below the guiding path 8.

The blocking plate portion 18a of the discharge ball flow path 18 is connected to the mounting frame 23 of the motor 21.
It is placed so that it is in contact with the front of the Therefore, when the motor 21 is installed, as shown in FIG.
will be located.

Therefore, the balls that have flowed down to the outlet portions 8a and 8b of the guideway 8 reach the claw portions 2 of the sprocket 22 at the outlet.
2b comes into contact with the claw portion 22b with only half of the face sticking out from the exit. On the other hand, the outlet section 8a,
8b is opposed to the recess 22a of the sprocket 22, the prize ball escapes from the guiding path 8, enters the recess 22a, and hits the blocking plate portion 18a.
It comes into contact with and is held.

In other words, the prize ball B that has come into contact with the claw portion 22b of the sprocket 22 has not completely come out of the guideway 8 and cannot flow out, but the prize ball B' that has engaged with the concave portion 22a has come into contact with the blocking plate portion 18a. After being held between the following prize ball B'', when the sprocket 22 rotates, it is pushed and separated by the claw portion 22b, and is made to flow down into the discharge gutter 19 below.In the above case, Blocking plate part 18
The ball held between a and the following ball is at the exit part 8
On the b side, the claws of the sprocket 22 prevent it from falling by itself. On the other hand, in order to prevent the ball flowing out from the outlet 8a and engaging the recess 22a from falling naturally,
A support piece 18b is provided within the flow path 18. Moreover, the balls flowing out from the outlet part 8b pass through the outside of the cylindrical discharge ball flow passage 18 and directly reach the lower discharge gutter 1.
The balls falling onto the outlet 9 and flowing out from the outlet 8a pass through the discharge ball flow path 18 and fall onto the discharge gutter 19 from the opening 18c at the lower end.

FIG. 8 shows the ejecting action in the prize ball dispensing device 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the ball B ₁ that first engages with the recess 22a ₁ of the sprocket 22 engages with the claw portion 22b as the sprocket rotates. When the ball B ₃ following the ball B ₁ comes into contact with the claw portion 22b ₁ as shown in FIG. 2, the recess 22a _{3 and} the ball B ₂ engage. Claw part 2
2b ₂ to send it downward and separate it. When the ball B ₄ following the ball B ₂ comes into contact with the claw portion 22b ₂ , the ball B ₃ engages with the recess 22a ₂ and is separated by the claw portion 22b ₂ . In this way, the prize balls aligned in the outlet sections 8a and 8b are alternately taken out one by one by the separating action accompanying the rotation of the sprocket 22 and are discharged into the discharge gutter 19.

Further, on the upper part of the blocking plate portion 18a,
An L-shaped notch is formed, and by mounting the motor 21 so that the rotating shaft 21a is positioned in this notch, prize balls flowing out from either of the exits 8a and 8b of the guideway are also blocked by the blocking plate. 18a once.

A control system for controlling the prize ball dispensing device 20 can be configured as shown in FIG. 9, for example.

In this system, the control device 50 is constituted by a control circuit including a microcomputer (CPU), etc., which has a setting device 51 such as a register for setting the number of prize balls to be paid out for one winning ball. has been done.

When there is a winning ball, that is, when a winning ball detection signal is input from the winning ball detector 5, this control device 50 drives the solenoid 25 to drive the pulse motor 2.
After releasing the lock state of 1, the prize ball dispensing device 2
A drive signal of a predetermined number of pulses is sent to the pulse motor 21 constituting the pulse motor 21, which rotates the pulse motor 21 by a predetermined angle, and pays out the number of prize balls set in the internal setting device. .

To explain more specifically, the pulse motor 2
1 is configured to rotate once in 48 steps, for example. Therefore, by supplying a four-pulse drive signal to the pulse motor 21, the control device 50 can rotate the rotating shaft 21a by 30 degrees. However, sprocket 22
The guideway 8 has six claws and is formed in two strips.
Since the prize balls are alternately separated and ejected from the ball, one prize ball will be ejected when the sprocket 22 is rotated 30 degrees.

The control device 50 is configured to form and output a drive signal consisting of a predetermined number of pulses corresponding to the number of prize balls preset in the setting device 51. In other words, in the above case, the number of prize balls set is
Assuming that there are 15 balls, the control device 50 forms a drive signal consisting of 15×4, that is, 60 pulses for one winning ball, and supplies it to the pulse motor 21. Then,
The pulse motor 21 is driven and the sprocket 22
is rotated 450 degrees. At this time, if the prize balls are smoothly discharged from the guideway 8, 15 prize balls are discharged by rotating 450 degrees.

If the above control procedure is shown in a flowchart, the 10th
It will look like the figure. That is, first, in step S1, when it is detected that a winning ball has been hit by inputting the winning ball detection signal from the winning ball detector 5, the process moves to step S2, and the solenoid 2 is activated.
5 to release the locked state of the pulse motor 21, and at the same time send a drive signal consisting of the number of pulses necessary to eject a predetermined number of prize balls to the pulse motor 21 to drive it, thereby dispensing the prize balls. After executing the process, it shifts to a standby state and waits until the next winning ball is detected.

Even with the relatively simple control procedure described above, the pulse motor has the characteristic of rotating very accurately and reliably depending on the number of pulses of the control drive signal, so it is possible to accurately pay out prize balls. is possible.

In addition, in the above case, the steps should be taken according to the example.
In S2, the solenoid 25 that constitutes the locking means provided on the rotating shaft of the pulse motor 21 is driven to release the locked state and then the ejection process begins. Instead of configuring the
It is also possible to prevent the rotation of. Alternatively, the locking means may be omitted since it is not necessarily necessary.

Next, a control method according to the present invention will be explained.

In applying this control method, a ball ejection detection means is required to detect ejected balls. Therefore, as an example, as shown in Figure 1,
An ejected ball detector 35 made of a Hall element or the like is provided midway along the vertical portion of the guideway 8. This ejected bulb detector 35 has a guide path 8 which is formed in two lines inside.
It is preferable to provide one corresponding to each row of the vertical part of the screen, so that the phenomenon in which the prize balls arranged in each row move downward as the ejecting operation is detected is detected, and the ejected balls are detected. A sensing signal can be formed.

As mentioned above, when using the ejected ball detector 35 installed in the middle of the guideway 8, accurate payout can be achieved by operating the host controller 50 according to the flow shown in FIG. 11, for example. can be done.

That is, first in step S11, when it is detected that a winning ball has been hit by inputting a winning ball detection signal from the winning ball detector 5, the process moves to step S12. In step S12, a drive signal consisting of the number of pulses required to eject a predetermined number of prize balls is sent to the pulse motor 21 to drive it, thereby executing a process for dispensing a predetermined number of prize balls. Then, the process advances to step S13, and the actual number of ejected balls is confirmed by reading the value of the internal counter that counts the signal from the ejected ball detector 35.
In the next step S14, it is determined whether the read number of ejected balls matches the predetermined number of prize balls set in the setting device 51.

Here, if it is determined that the number of ejected balls matches the number of prize balls, the game moves to a standby state and waits until the next winning ball is detected, and when the next number of winning balls occurs, it returns to step S11 and ranks higher. Repeat the action.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S14 that the number of ejected balls does not match the number of prize balls (in this case, the number of ejected balls is always less than the number of prize balls due to the configuration of the device), in step S15, the pulse motor 21 is In order to cause the sprocket 22 to rotate 30 degrees and eject only one prize ball, a drive signal consisting of four pulses is sent to execute the one-prize ejection process. next,
Proceeding to step S16, it is again determined whether the number of ejected balls matches the predetermined number of prize balls. If the two do not match, the process returns to step S15. In this way, the one-piece ejecting operation is repeated until the two match, and when the two match, the state shifts to the standby state.

According to the above control method, even if prize balls stop flowing in one or both of the two taxiways due to a ball clogging in the taxiway 8, for example, accurate payout is possible. It is done. In other words, the 10th pulse motor 21 is driven by forming a drive signal of a predetermined number of pulses in advance.
According to the control method shown in the figure, there may be cases where a predetermined number of prize balls cannot be accurately paid out due to ball jamming or the like. On the other hand, according to the control method shown in FIG. 11, discharging is continued one by one until the number of dispensed items reaches a predetermined number, so more accurate dispensing is possible.

Incidentally, if the number of items to be ejected does not reach a predetermined number even after the above-mentioned one-item ejection is repeated several times, the ejection operation may be stopped and an error display may be displayed. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the ball dispensing device 20 from spinning idly and to avoid overheating of the motor.

Next, another method of controlling the ball ejecting device 20 will be explained.

When applying this control method, the taxiway 8
In order to detect whether or not there is a spare ball in the outlet portions 8a, 8b at the end of each, a detector such as an optical sensor is installed, for example, in the blocking plate 18a, so as to face the opening of the outlet portions 8a, 8b. (at the position shown by arrow C in FIG. 7). Based on the detection signal from this detector, the first
By controlling according to the flow shown in FIG. 2, accurate payout becomes possible.

First, when it is detected in step S21 that a winning ball has landed, the process moves to step S22, and based on the signal from the ejected ball detector, the exit section 8 at the end of the taxiway is detected.
It is determined whether there is a spare ball to be ejected next within a or 8b. Here, if it is determined that there is a spare ball in at least one of the exit sections,
Proceeding to step S23, the pulse motor 21 is driven to rotate the sprocket 22 by one step (30 degrees).

This will normally result in only one spare ball being ejected, but it is possible that none will be ejected. Therefore,
In the next step S24, it is confirmed whether the balls have been ejected by determining whether the balls in the exit portions 8a, 8b confirmed in step S22 are gone. If it is determined in step S24 that the ball is not missing, or if there was no ball originally on the exit side of the discharge side (the side where the recessed part of the sprocket 22 was facing), the process returns to step S23. Rotate the pulse motor one step again. This will cause the ball to be ejected and the step
If it is determined in S24 that there are no more balls, the process proceeds to the next step S25, in which the counter in the control device 50 is counted up by "1" and 1 is added to the number of ejected balls, and then the process proceeds to step S26.

In step S26, it is determined whether the counted value of the counter matches the number of prize balls set in the setting device 51 in the control device 50. If it is determined that they do not match, the process returns to step S22, confirms the existence of the ejected bulb, and then returns to step S22.
Proceed to S23 and S24 and eject one more prize ball.

In this way, a predetermined number of prize balls are ejected, and when it is determined in step S26 that the number of ejected balls has reached the number of prize balls, the ejection is finished and the system enters a standby state, and the next winning ball is ejected. Wait until detected.

If it is determined in step S22 that there are no spare balls at either of the exits 8a, 8b at the end of the guideway 8, the process jumps to step S27, stops the ejection operation, and displays an error message. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the prize ball dispensing device 20 from spinning idly, thereby avoiding unfair operations.

The above-mentioned error display can be carried out by, for example, lighting up an alarm lamp provided at the upper part of the front surface of the game board. Further, the discharge operation stopped state in step S27 can be canceled by, for example, a pachinko parlor staff member checking the back mechanism panel and normalizing it, and then pressing a restart switch (not shown) provided on the back set board, etc. The system is configured so that the processing state can be changed, thereby returning to the normal processing state.

By executing the above control method, prize balls can be paid out more accurately and reliably.

In the above embodiment, by changing the set value of the setting device 51 in the control device 50, an arbitrary number of prize balls can be paid out at one time.

Moreover, a plurality of setting devices 51 are provided in the control device 50 of the above embodiment to set different setting values, and a winning ball detector is provided for each of the plurality of winning areas provided on the front surface of the game board to determine the type of winning. It is also possible to differentiate the prize balls and change the number of prize balls to be paid out according to the type (characteristic) of the prize.

Furthermore, by counting winning detection signals,
A recording circuit such as a counter that holds the number of winning balls is provided, and while the content of this recording circuit is ``1'' or more, prize balls are paid out, and for each payout, the number of balls in the recording circuit is The number of winning pitches may be subtracted by one.

Next, a supplementary explanation will be given regarding the structure around the prize ball dispensing device 20.

A deeply U-shaped bent part 8c is formed in the curved part from the horizontal part to the vertical part of the guide path 8 that aligns the balls in the preliminary storage part 7 and guides them to the prize ball dispensing device 20. and this bent part 8
At c, a ball removal mechanism 30 is disposed, and a socket of a ball removal path 31 is made to face.

The bent portion 8c is provided with a peripheral wall portion 32 that can open and close a portion of its outer circumferential surface, a swinging rod 33 that swingably holds the peripheral wall portion 32, and an operating rod 34 that can freely tilt above the wall portion 32. By operating the operating rod 34 from the outside, the swinging rod 33 is rotated outward as shown by the broken line to open the peripheral wall 32 and guide the spare balls in the guide path 8 to the ball extraction path 31. It is set as.

The ball extraction path 31 is arranged in parallel with the guide path 8, and the lower part of the flow path is bent halfway toward the space between the prize ball lead-out path 11 and the back set board 3, and is buried. It extends to the center of the lower part of the board 1 and merges with the out ball discharge path, so that the spare balls can be taken out of the machine.

Between the discharge gutter 19 provided below the prize ball dispensing device 20 and the upper end of the prize ball outlet path 11,
The opening/closing door 41 is rotatably hung down, and the prize balls discharged from the prize ball dispensing device 20 and falling loosely onto the discharge gutter 19 collide with the opening/closing door 41 and are rectified into the prize ball outlet path 11. flows down to. Also,
Since the opening/closing door 41 is provided, an attempt is made to illegally rotate the sprocket by entering the piano wire from the outlet of the saucer 9, etc. below the game board, passing through the lead-out path 11, and reaching the prize ball dispensing device 20. It is possible to prevent fraudulent acts.

The prize ball lead-out path 11 descends approximately vertically from below the prize ball payout device 20 and then bends toward the center, and at the lower end of the vertical portion, about a quarter of the circumference is the lead-out path. A bell 42 is arranged so as to face inside. The prize balls discharged from the prize ball dispensing device 20 are accelerated in the vertical part of the exit path 11 and collide with the bell 42 below to generate an exhilarating sound, and then change direction and move towards the flow path converting section 43. do.

The flow path conversion unit 43 has a communication port 44 that transforms the flow path of the prize ball by about 90 degrees and communicates with the saucer 9 on the front of the game board 1, and an auxiliary saucer 12 provided below the front of the game board. A branch gutter 13 is connected to the flow path, forming a branch point between two flow paths going forward and downward. A regulating piece 45 that protrudes upward is provided at the boundary between this flow path conversion section 43 and the above-mentioned branch gutter 13, and the prize balls flowing down the prize ball outlet path 11 collide with this regulating piece 45. The water then changes direction and flows toward the saucer 9 in front. However, from the saucer 9 to the connection port 4
When the space between 4 and 4 is filled with prize balls, the subsequent prize balls overcome the regulating piece 45, overflow into the diversion gutter 13, and flow out toward the auxiliary saucer 12 below.

An overflow detector 46 is provided at the lower part of the diversion gutter 13 in the communication area with the auxiliary tray 12 to detect when the auxiliary tray 12 is full of prize balls. The operation of the batted ball firing device or the prize ball dispensing device 20 is stopped, and the space from the diverter gutter 13 to the prize ball outlet path 11 is filled with prize balls, which interferes with the normal operation of the prize ball dispensing device 20. It is designed to prevent this from happening.

In addition, an out hole 47 that penetrates the game board 1 is provided at a position approximately at the same height as the connection between the first collecting shelf section 2a and the winning ball outlet path 4, and the out hole 47 is provided below the out hole 47. , an out ball gutter 48 is provided in the space formed by hollowing out the frame board 10 that supports the game board 1, and the floating end of the out ball gutter 48 is located at the rear of the game board 1, as shown in FIG. The ball extraction passage 3 is bent into a shape and is arranged so as to be located between the diversion gutter 13 and the back surface of the frame board 10.
It merges with the downstream end of No. 1 so that out balls can be collected outside the machine.

Therefore, the space where the out ball gutter 48 is provided, the space where the lower part of the winning ball lead-out path 4 and the ball extraction path 31 are provided, and the space where the branch gutter 13 is provided are as shown in FIG. The three-layered space structure has three layers, and each of the passages is provided in the space of each layer in the layered space structure. As a result, a plurality of passages can be housed neatly and compactly within a limited space without interfering with each other.

Furthermore, in order to form a space for installing the out ball gutter 48 , a frame board 10 that supports the game board 1 is provided.
In order to prevent a decrease in the rigidity of the board, a reinforcing member 4 in a lattice shape as shown in the figure is installed at the hollowed out part.
9 is formed.

The entered prize ball lead-out path 4 and the winning ball separator 6 provided midway are configured as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 14. That is, a cylindrical rotary separation body 61 is disposed at the curved part of the winning ball lead-out path 4 having a substantially S-shape so that a portion thereof protrudes into the path, and is rotatable by a support shaft 62. Supported. A recess 61a that can engage one ball is formed on the outer periphery of the rotary separation body 61, and a weight 63 having a weight slightly lighter than a pachinko ball is placed at a position axially symmetrical to this recess 61a. is fixed. Furthermore, the member constituting the winning ball lead-out path 4 is provided with a set of stoppers 64a, 64 at positions that can come into contact with the wall of the rotary separation body constituting the recess 61a.
b is provided protrudingly. These stoppers 64a, 64
14b, the rotating separator 61 is rotated by the weight of the weight 63, and the recess 61 is formed as shown in FIG. 14a.
In a state where a is tilted upward and facing the entrance of the winning ball lead-out path 4, it comes into contact with the wall forming the recess 61a to prevent clockwise rotation, and the winning ball engaged with the recess 61a When the rotating separator 61 is rotated counterclockwise by the ball, the recess 61
a is positioned so as to abut against the wall surface constituting the recess 61a at a position facing the exit of the winning ball lead-out path 4 to prevent rotation.

Therefore, when the moment generated by the winning ball engaged with the recess 61a overcomes the rotational moment of the weight 63 and the rotating separator 61 is rotated as shown in FIG. The outer peripheral surface prevents the fluid from flowing down. The winning ball separates from the recess 61a due to its own weight and reaches the winning ball detector 5 below.
14a, the rotating separator 61 rotates due to the rotational moment of the weight 63 and returns to the state shown in FIG. 14a.

In this way, by separating the winning balls one by one by the rotating separator 61 and letting them flow down at appropriate time intervals, even when a large number of winning balls are generated in succession, the prize ball dispensing device Two or more winning balls are prevented from flowing down the lead-out path 4 within the time required for detection and counting of winning balls at step 20 or for paying out prize balls once. This makes it possible to accurately pay out prize balls corresponding to the number of winning balls.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to prize ball ejection control in a pachinko game machine. The present invention can also be applied to the case where control is performed to eject rented balls based on an ejection command signal from a ball rental machine.

As explained above, the invention uses an electric ball dispensing device that is composed of a rotary sprocket and a pulse motor and is capable of discharging balls one by one as a ball dispensing device. In addition to enabling the ball to be paid out, the pulse motor is controlled by receiving a signal such as a winning ball detection signal generated by detecting a hit ball that has entered a winning area (winning ball) as a discharge command signal. A control device is provided, and based on the ejection command signal, a drive control signal of the number of pulses necessary to eject a predetermined number of balls is formed in the control device and supplied to the pulse motor to perform the ejection operation.
The characteristic of the pulse motor that it rotates accurately by an angle corresponding to the number of pulses supplied has the effect that balls can be delivered accurately.

Further, based on the ejection command signal, a drive control signal of the number of pulses necessary to eject a predetermined number of balls is formed in the control device and supplied to the pulse motor to perform the ejection operation, and the ball ejection detection means Based on the signal, the ejecting operation for each ball is repeated until the number of ejected balls reaches a predetermined number, so that the predetermined number of balls is always ejected, making it possible to pay out balls more accurately. be effective.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a rear view showing an example of the overall configuration of the back mechanism panel on the back of the game board of a pachinko game machine equipped with a prize ball dispensing device to which the method of the present invention is applied, and FIG.
The sectional view taken along the - line in the figure, Figure 3, is
1, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the same line, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of the prize ball dispensing device, FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view thereof,
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of the prize ball dispensing device, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the dispensing action in the prize ball dispensing device, and FIG. 9 is a control system for the prize ball dispensing device to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an outline of the control method of the prize ball dispensing device using the control system, and FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the prize ball dispensing device according to the invention. 12 is a flowchart showing another control method of the prize ball dispensing device,
FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the winning ball outlet path at the bottom of the back mechanism panel, and FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing an example of the structure of the winning ball separator. 1... Game board, 2a... Collection shelf section, 3... Back set board, 4... Winning ball lead-out path, 5... Winning ball detector, 6... Winning ball separator, 7... Preliminary storage section , 8... Taxiway, 11... Prize-seeking guideway, 15
a, 15b... Ball shortage detector, 20... Prize ball dispensing device, 21... Pulse motor, 22... Sprocket, 24... Locking gear, 25... Solenoid, 26... Locking rod, 30... ...Ball removal mechanism, 31...Ball removal path, 35...Ejected ball detector, 4
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Opening/closing door, 43... Flow path converter, 45... Regulating piece, 47... Out hole, 50... Control device, 6
0... Winning ball separator, 61... Rotating separator, 63
...Weight.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotary sprocket having a plurality of recesses on its outer periphery that are capable of engaging a single ball, the rotary sprocket being arranged so as to face a guideway in which spare balls are aligned and guided before being ejected, and this rotary sprocket being arranged in a predetermined manner. an electric ball dispensing device having a pulse motor for ejecting the spare balls by rotating the ball; a ball discharging detection means for detecting the ejection of the balls; and operating the pulse motor of the ball dispensing device based on an ejection command signal. a control means, the control means generates a drive signal having a pulse number such that a predetermined number of balls are ejected from the ball dispensing device when the ejection command signal is generated; The pulse motor of the dispensing device is supplied to dispense a predetermined number of balls, and it is determined whether or not the predetermined number of ejected balls has been reached based on the signal from the ball ejection detection means, and if the number has not been reached,
A method for dispensing balls in a Pachinko game machine, characterized in that a ball discharging operation is repeatedly performed one by one until a predetermined number is reached.