JPH0588632B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a ball detector for a game machine that detects the passing of a ball by blocking the light emitted from a light emitting element by a ball or the like.

<Prior art> Micro-switch type ball detectors have been used as ball detectors for gaming machines such as pachinko machines, which operate electrical contacts by the pressing action of the ball, and which detect the ball by passing it through an oscillation coil. Proximity type ball detector detects the passing of the ball by reflecting the light from the light emitting element, reflective optical sensor type ball detector detects the passage of the ball by reflecting the light from the light emitting element, and detects the passing of the ball by blocking the light from the light emitting element. There is a light-blocking optical sensor type sphere detector that detects passing.

Since the micro-switch type ball detector is a contact type, it tends to cause so-called chattering, which occurs when the contact is pressed twice, and has the disadvantage that when used for a long period of time, the electric contacts become dirty or damaged, resulting in erroneous detection.

In addition, since the proximity ball detector is a non-contact type, there will be no detection errors due to contact failure even after long-term use.
Balls are detected by detecting the change in frequency that occurs when the ball passes through the coil, so if they are installed side by side, they tend to interfere with each other and cause malfunctions, and if they are installed near a motor or solenoid, ,
Since the frequency is disturbed by the magnetism generated by the motor or solenoid, there is a drawback that it cannot be used near a magnetism generator such as a motor.
Furthermore, malfunctions may occur due to the influence of external electromagnetic waves emitted by radio equipment and the like. Due to its configuration, this proximity type ball detector can only be applied to detecting balls made of magnetic material.

Therefore, there is also an optical sensor type ball detector that uses an optical sensor consisting of a pair of light emitting element and light receiving element as a ball detector for gaming machines.

However, among conventional optical sensor type ball detectors, reflective type optical sensor type ball detectors may not reflect properly due to dirt or dust on the ball surface, markings of game parlors etc. on the ball surface, etc. There were cases where false positives occurred. In addition, in the conventional light-shielding optical sensor ball detector 1, as shown in FIG. 4, a problem may occur in which the passing state of the winning ball that should normally be detected cannot be detected, and accurate ball detection cannot be expected.

Therefore, in order to prevent erroneous detection caused by reflection from the surface 3 of the casing, the applicant formed step portions 5, 5 at the base end of the arm, as shown in FIG. A ball detector 1' has been proposed in which light that is reflected on the surface of the casing and reaches the light-receiving element 4 is blocked by the tip projections of the parts 5, 5. By configuring in this manner, a space for preventing malfunctioning reflected light is formed between the step portions 5, 5 and the base, so that the light emitted from the light emitting element 2 is reflected by the base and reaches the light receiving element 4. It is possible to eliminate such problems.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, in the above-mentioned ball detector 1' proposed by the applicant, dust tends to adhere to the corners where the arm part and the step part 5 intersect, and this dust etc. This had the disadvantage that the light was blocked and the ball could not be detected accurately. In addition, since ball detectors for game machines are relatively small, it is difficult for store staff at game parlors to notice that malfunctions occur due to dust adhering to corners, and The work of removing dust etc. adhering to the corners is complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention provides a ball detector for gaming machines that can effectively prevent malfunctions caused by reflected light between a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and can also effectively prevent malfunctions caused by adhesion of dust, etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide a ball detector that can prevent the above problems and also facilitates maintenance work.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The present invention has been proposed in view of the above.
2 from both ends of the arm section (for example, the first arm section 13, the second
A casing 16 having a ball passage part 15 is formed between the arm parts 14) extending substantially parallel to each other, and a light emitting part 18 and a light receiving part 19 are provided at predetermined opposing parts of both arm parts.
In the ball detector 11 for a gaming machine, a pair of curved surface parts (for example, a first A light-transmitting member (for example, a first light-transmitting member 30 and a second light-transmitting member 32) is disposed at a predetermined position facing each other on the curved surface portion 24, second curved surface portion 25) and the pair of curved surface portions. A pair of window portions (for example, the first window portion 31 and the second window portion 31)
a window 33), a light emitting element 20 located on the back side of one window part, and a light receiving element 21 located on the back side of the other window part and capable of receiving light emitted from the light emitting element.
and one end is a defensive protrusion (for example, the first defensive protrusion 28
and the second protective protrusion 29), and the other end is continuous with the base end portions of both arms, and the malfunction reflected light is connected between the base and the curved surface portions of both arms. The present invention is characterized in that it includes a pair of malfunction reflected light protection parts (for example, the third plane part 26 and the fourth plane part 27) that form a defense cavity.

<Function> By providing the malfunction reflected light protection parts in both arms on the base side of the arrangement position of the light emitting element and the light receiving element, a malfunction reflected light protection hollow area is formed, and the light emitted from the light emitting element is transmitted to the casing. There is no possibility that the light will be reflected off the base of the light receiving element.

Furthermore, by providing the windows in which the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element are located on the back side on the curved surface part that narrows the ball passage part toward the base side, it becomes difficult for dust to adhere to the window part, and the window part It becomes easy to remove attached dirt, etc.

<Example> Hereinafter, an example in which the present invention is applied to a pachinko machine will be described based on the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sphere detector 11 has a first arm 13 and a second arm 14 extending substantially parallel to each other from both left and right ends of a horizontally long base 12 with an open rear surface.
A hollow, substantially U-shaped casing 16 in which a ball passing portion 15 slightly wider than the ball diameter is formed between the arm portion 13 and the second arm portion 14, and a base portion 1 of the casing 16.
2, a substrate 17 made of an insulating plate that can be stored in the interior of the substrate 17; a light emitting section 18 that is attached to the left and right sides of the substrate
and a light receiving section 19 including an electric circuit. Note that the light emitting section 18 includes at least a light emitting element 20, and the light receiving section 19 includes at least a light receiving element 21.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a first planar portion 22 and a second planar portion 23 are formed approximately parallel to each other midway from the opposing tip portions of the first arm portion 13 and the second arm portion 14. However, a ball passing portion 1 is provided between each end of the first plane portion 22 and the second plane portion 23 to the vicinity of the base end portion.
5, the first curved surface portion 24 and the second curved surface portion 2 are such that the width becomes gradually narrower as the distance between them approaches the base 12.
5, and a first curved surface portion 24 having a minimum interval;
A third plane part 26 and a fourth plane part 27 are formed substantially parallel between each end of the second curved surface part 25 and the base 12, and the end of the first curved surface part 24 is connected to the first protective protrusion 28. , the end of the second curved surface part 25 is connected to the second protective protrusion 2
9.

That is, the ball detector 11 according to the present invention has a first and second curved surface portion 2 that is a pair of curved surface portions that narrow the ball passage portion 15 toward the base 12 side.
4, 25, one end is continuous with the first and second curved surface parts 24, 25, respectively, via the first defense protrusion 28 or the second defense protrusion 29, and the other end is connected to the first and second arms. A third plane part 26 and a fourth plane part 27 as a pair of malfunction reflected light protection parts continuous with the base end parts of the parts 13 and 14 are connected to the first and second arm parts 13 and 14.
The structure is such that they are provided on the inner surfaces facing each other.

By doing so, a malfunction reflected light protection cavity is formed between the base 12 of the casing 16 and the first and second curved surfaces 24 and 25 of the first and second arm parts 13 and 14, and the light emitting element By reaching the light receiving element 21 after the light emitted from the base 12 is reflected, it is possible to eliminate the problem that the state in which the winning ball passes through the ball passing section 16 cannot be detected. Therefore, even if the light emitted from the light emitting element 20 is reflected by the base 12, the reflected light can be prevented from reaching the light receiving element 21 by the malfunction reflection light prevention cavity, and the ball detection The reliability of the device 11 can be improved.

Then, an opening 13' is formed from the first plane part 22 to the first curved surface part 24 of the first arm part 13, and a first translucent member 30 is formed in the opening 13'.
The first window portion 31 is constructed by fitting the first window portion 31. Note that, in the first light-transmitting member 30 shown in FIG. 1, only the portion through which the light of the light emitting element 20 passes is transparent, and the other portion is black like the casing 16.

Further, from the second plane part 23 of the second arm part 14,
An opening is opened across the curved surface portion 25 in the same manner as described above, and the second transparent member 32 is fitted into the opening to form the second window portion 33. Note that small holes 3 are formed on the distal end surfaces of the first arm portion 13 and the second arm portion 14.
4 and 35 are ventilation holes that prevent the inner surfaces of the first and second translucent members 30 and 32 from becoming cloudy. Also,
On the outside of each tip of the first arm part 13 and the second arm part 14, there are vertical groove-shaped locking recesses 36, 36 used when attaching the ball detector 11 to a prize-winning device such as a chucker or a chulip. It has been formed.

In order to house the light emitting section 18 and the light receiving section 19 in the casing 16 having the above-described structure, as shown in FIG. 19 into the first arm part 13 and the light emitting part 18 into the second arm part 14, and the light receiving part 19 is arranged on the back side of the first window part 31, and the light emitting part 18 is inserted into the second window part 33. As shown in FIG. 2, the back opening of the base 12 is filled with a filler 37 such as an epoxy resin adhesive and sealed with the substrate 17 in contact with the inner surface of the base 12. Note that when fitting the first and second light-transmitting members 30 and 32 described above into the openings, epoxy resin adhesive or the like is applied in the same manner to fit them.

By sealing the rear opening of the casing 16 and the openings of the first and second arms 13 and 14 in this manner, it is possible to reliably prevent static electricity from entering the casing 16. Therefore, in the main bulb detector 11 in which the electric circuit is integrally housed within the casing 16, it is possible to reliably prevent the electric circuit from being damaged by static electricity.
Note that the light receiving section 19 and the light emitting section 18 are connected to the light receiving element 21 when the substrate 17 is fixed in the casing 16.
The protrusion length from the substrate 17 is set so that the light emitting element 20 is located on the back side of the first window part 31 and the light emitting element 20 is located on the back side of the second window part 33.

As described above, the light emitting element 20 and the light receiving element 2
1 is located on the back side of the first and second window portions 31 and 3, respectively.
3 is provided on the first and second curved surface portions 24 and 25 that narrow the ball passage portion 15 toward the base 12 side, so that the light emitting element 20 and the light receiving element 2
Each window part 31, 33 greatly affects the operating state of 1.
It is difficult for dust etc. to adhere to the surface, and since there are no recessed corners, it is easy to remove the adhered dust etc., and maintenance work etc. can be performed easily and quickly.

In order to detect winning balls, for example, by using the ball detector 11 having the above-described configuration, it is installed in the middle of the winning ball collection gutter 38, as shown in FIG. In this case, if the width A of the ball flow downstream path on the upstream side of the ball detector 11 is made slightly larger than the ball diameter and the head height B is increased, the ball detector 11 will be If the width C of the ball flow path on the downstream side of the ball detector 11 is made sufficiently larger than the ball diameter and the head D is increased, the detected winning balls can be quickly delivered to the ball passage section 15. It can be flowed down.

In the ball detector 11, when the winning ball does not pass, the light receiving element 21 of the light receiving section 19 is connected to the light emitting section 18.
The light from the light emitting element 20 is received. The light emitting element 20 shown in FIG. 4 generates pulsed light of, for example, 10 KHz in synchronization with the pulses of the oscillator 39. When the light receiving element 21 receives this light, it converts it into an electrical signal, and this electrical signal is amplified by the amplifier 40 and sent to the synchronization detection section 41. The synchronization detection section 41 is
The pulse from the amplifier 40 and the pulse from the oscillator 39 are ANDed and sent to the demodulator 42 . The demodulation unit 42 demodulates the output pulse from the synchronization detection unit 41 into “H” or “L” for a certain period of time. In the embodiment, three consecutive pulses from the synchronization detection unit 41 are considered as one set, and the pulse If there are three pulses, it is determined to be "H", and if there are no three pulses, it is determined to be "L". Ball detector 11
If there is no ball in the ball passing section 15, the light emitting element 20
emits light in synchronization with the pulse of the oscillator 39, the light receiving element 21 receives this light and sends a signal to the amplifier 40, and the synchronization detector 41 ANDs the amplified signal from the amplifier 40 and the pulse from the oscillator 39. take. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, since the output from the amplifier 40 is synchronized with the signal from the oscillator 39, "H" is output from the demodulator 42. The output from the demodulator 42 is sent to the switching transistor 43.
When "H" is output from the demodulator 42, the switching transistor 43 is turned on, and current from Vcc flows through the switching transistor 43 to GND. Therefore, when the light from the light-emitting element 20 reaches the light-receiving element 21 without being blocked by the sphere, the output of OUT, that is, the output of the sphere detector 11, becomes "L" and the sphere passes through. detect that it is not.

On the other hand, when a ball passes through the ball passing section 15 of the ball detector 11, the end of the ball blocks the light from the light emitting element 20. Note that the light from the light emitting element 20 may be directed in a direction other than the regular optical axis (especially the direction toward the base 12).
Even if the light is irradiated to the first and second defense protrusions 2,
8 and 29, the light does not reach the light receiving element 21. Moreover, even after long-term use, the proximal end portion of the ball passing portion 15 of the casing 16 remains in the first position.
Since it is curved by the second curved surface parts 24 and 25, it is difficult for dust etc. to adhere to it, and the first and second window parts 31,
33 is not blocked by dust or the like.

When the sphere blocks the light from the light emitting element 20 as described above, the light receiving element 21 will not receive the light.
When the light-receiving element 21 is in a state where it does not receive light, the pulse output from the amplifier 40 becomes "L" continuously as shown in FIG. It becomes "L".
Therefore, the output from the demodulator 42 is converted to "L" at the fall of the third pulse, the switching transistor 43 is turned off, and the current from Vcc flows to OUT. Therefore, the output of OUT, that is, the output of the ball detector 11, is converted to "H", and it is possible to detect that the ball has passed. When the light-receiving element 21 begins to receive light from the light-emitting element 20 due to the passing of the sphere, the output of the demodulator 42 becomes "H" at the fall of the third pulse from the synchronous detector 41. ”, which turns on the switching transistor 43 again.
Current from Vcc flows to GND. For this reason,
The output of OUT, that is, the output of the ball detector 11 is "L"
Return to

In this embodiment, since the presence or absence of a sphere is determined based on whether or not a set of three pulses is input in synchronization with the pulse of the oscillator 39, the light receiving element 21
Even if the sensor receives external light, the above conditions are almost never satisfied in the case of external light, so there is virtually no chance of erroneous detection due to external light.

In the embodiment described above, the casing 16 is approximately U-shaped, but the ball detector 11 according to the present invention
is not limited to this. For example, the sixth
In another embodiment of the ball detector 11' shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 7, the casing 44 is formed into a thin rectangular box shape similar to the conventional proximity type ball detector, and a box-shaped base with an open rear surface is formed. A third arm part 46 and a fourth arm part 47 are extended from both left and right ends of the casing 45, and the third arm part 46 and the fourth arm part 47 are connected between their ends by a connecting part 48 to form a rectangular casing 44. It will be configured. Then, a fifth plane part 49 and a sixth plane part 50 are formed to face each other along the length direction of the casing 44 at the base end part of the third arm part 46 and the base end part of the fourth arm part 47,
A substantially circular ball passing portion 51 slightly larger than the ball diameter is formed in a portion surrounded by the connecting portion 48, the third arm portion 46, the fourth arm portion 47, and the base portion 45, and the ball passing portion 51 is formed as described above. The fifth plane part 49 and the sixth plane part 50 are connected to both ends thereof. The protrusion where the fifth plane part 49 and the ball passage part 51 connect is the third defense protrusion 52, and the protrusion where the sixth plane part 50 and the ball passage part 51 connect is the fourth defense protrusion. 53, the front of the third defensive protrusion 52 (on the side of the connecting part 48) is a third curved surface part 54, the front of the fourth defensive protrusion 53 is a fourth curved surface part 55, and an opening is provided in the third curved surface part 54. A light-transmitting member similar to that of the embodiment described above is fitted into the opening to form a third window portion 56, and a light-transmitting member is fitted to the opening in the fourth curved surface portion 55 to form a fourth window portion 57. shall be. Note that the light receiving section 58 is located on the back side of the third window section 56, the light emitting section 59 is arranged on the back side of the fourth window section 57, and the board 60 is inserted through the rear opening of the base section 45. Then, the filling material 61 such as epoxy resin adhesive is filled behind the substrate 60 and sealed, as in the embodiment described above.

In the above embodiment, a pachinko machine was used as an example of a gaming machine, but the present invention can be applied to other gaming machines that use spherical objects. Although pachinko balls are described as balls, the ball detector according to the present invention can not only detect balls made of steel like conventional pachinko balls, but also detect balls made of non-magnetic materials, such as synthetic resin. It is also possible to detect spheres made of ceramics, etc.

<Effects of the Invention> As explained above, according to the ball detector for gaming machines according to the present invention, the malfunction reflected light protection portion is provided on both arms closer to the base than the placement positions of the light emitting element and the light receiving element. Therefore, it is possible to form a malfunction reflected light protection cavity between the base of the casing and the curved surfaces of both arms. Therefore, even if the light emitted from the light emitting element is reflected at the base of the casing,
It becomes possible to prevent the reflected light from reaching the light receiving element by the malfunction reflected light prevention cavity,
The reliability of the ball detector for game machines can be improved.

In addition, the windows in which the light emitting element and the light receiving element are located on the back side are provided on the curved surface that narrows the ball passage part toward the base side, which greatly affects the operating state of the light emitting element and the light receiving element. It is difficult for dust etc. to adhere to the window portion, and since there are no recessed corners, it is easy to remove the adhering dust etc., and maintenance work etc. can be performed easily and quickly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a ball detector, Fig. 2 is a sectional view, and Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view.
The figure is a front view of the ball detector attached to the winning ball collection gutter, Figure 4 is a block diagram of the light emitting part and light receiving part, Figure 5 is a timing chart, and Figure 6 is another implementation of the ball detector. FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway plan view of the ball detector shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a plan view of a conventional optical sensor type ball detector, and FIG. 9 is a base end of the arm. FIG. 2 is a plan view of an optical sensor type ball detector in which a stepped portion is provided in a protruding manner. In the figure, 11 is a ball detector, 12 is a base, 13 is a first arm, 14 is a second arm, 15 is a ball passage part, and 16
is a casing, 18 is a light emitting part, 19 is a light receiving part, 2
0 is a light emitting element, 21 is a light receiving element, 24 is a first curved surface part, 25 is a second curved surface part, 26 is a third plane part,
27 is a fourth plane part, 28 is a first protective protrusion, 29 is a second protective protrusion, 30 is a first transparent member, 31 is a first window part, 32 is a second transparent member, 33 is a first transparent member. It has 2 windows.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Arms extend substantially parallel from both ends of the base to form a casing having a ball passage section between the arms, and a light emitting section and a light receiving section are provided at opposing predetermined portions of both arms. A pair of curved surface portions formed on opposing inner surfaces of the arm portions and narrowing the ball passage portion toward the base portion; a pair of windows each having a light-transmitting member disposed at a predetermined position facing each other on the curved surface of the window, a light emitting element located on the back side of one window part, and a light emitting element located on the back side of the other window part. , a light-receiving element capable of receiving light emitted from the light-emitting element, one end of which is continuous with each curved surface part through the protective protrusion, the other end of which is continuous with the base end parts of both arms, and the base A ball detector for a gaming machine, comprising: a pair of malfunction reflected light protection sections forming a malfunction reflected light protection hollow section between the curved surface portions of both arms.