JPH08238367A - Balls-lining up chute for pachinko game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a balls-lining up chute capable of effectively eliminating foreign matter mixed in the flow of game balls in a pachinko game machine. CONSTITUTION: This balls-lining up chute 14 is equipped with ball passages 19, 20 which supply game balls used in the pachinko game machine arranged in lines in the direction from the upstream side to the downstream side. A through hole 33 through which the game ball is disabled to pass is formed at the boundary part of the bottom and inner wall surface of the ball passages 19, 20.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a straightening gutter of a ball game machine such as a pachinko machine and a smart ball.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a pachinko machine, which is a typical ball-ball game machine, a predetermined number of game balls (in this case, pachinko balls) are discharged to a player as a reward for a prize generated during the game. Granted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, in the substrate 1 on the back surface of the pachinko machine, a storage tank 2 located above and storing a considerable number of balls and a plurality of balls received from the storage tank 2 are aligned. A rectifying gutter 3 for delivering the spheres and a sending gutter 4 for delivering the spheres delivered from the rectifying gutter 3 to a sphere discharging device (not shown) located downstream. Here, the ball outlet 5 of the storage tank 2 is configured to allow the ball to flow smoothly to one end of the straightening gutter 3 on the upstream side. For the discharging mechanism having such a configuration, it is required that the balls are always delivered smoothly so as not to cause a ball clogging or a ball flow defect.

Usually, the pachinko balls are circulated through each table (pachinko machine) in the store and collected in a cleaning device installed at a predetermined place, where they are washed with resin pellets (trade name Polylon). After that, it is supplied again to each table, but the pachinko balls are transferred with foreign substances such as resin pellets for cleaning, dust, and dust attached to the pachinko balls or mixed in the flow of the pachinko balls in the middle of the process. There are many.
In this case, when the foreign matter flows down into the flow straightening gutter 3 together with the balls and reaches the ball feeding mechanism 6 on the downstream side of the flow straightening gutter 3 or the counting device (not shown) below the delivery gutter 4, the foreign matter is removed. It becomes an obstacle and tends to cause ball clogging. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the foreign matter while it is in the rectifying gutter 3.

As a conventional straightening gutter 3, as shown in FIG. 6, a partition wall 7 having a height of more than half the diameter of a pachinko ball P is provided at the center of the cross section, and a ball passage is formed on both sides thereof. At the same time, the rectifying groove 8 having an appropriate width on the bottom surface of the rectifying gutter 3
It is known that the ball is made to roll smoothly by providing the above. In this case, the straightening groove 8 is used as a foreign matter discharge port, and the foreign matter in the straightening trough 3 is removed from here. Was there.

[0005]

However, in the straightening trough as described above, although foreign matter such as dust existing on the bottom surface thereof is discharged to some extent from the straightening groove, in the above straightening trough structure, Since a gap is formed at the corner of each spherical passage formed by the side wall or the partition wall, foreign matter such as dust is likely to remain there. The accumulation of foreign matter hinders the smooth movement of the sphere, and if the foreign matter moves together with the sphere to the downstream side of the straightening trough, it adversely affects the downstream ball discharge mechanism and hinders the payout of prize balls. Will be

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a straightening trough capable of effectively removing the above-mentioned foreign matter mixed in the flow of a game ball in a ball game machine.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a straightening trough having a ball passage for supplying game balls used in a ball game machine in an aligned manner from the upstream side to the downstream side. In the boundary portion between the bottom surface and the inner wall surface, a through hole having a size that a game ball does not pass is provided.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of the through holes are provided at predetermined intervals in the length direction of the ball passage and on both sides of the bottom surface of the ball passage.

In the straightening gutter of the present invention, a convex portion (rib) formed so as not to obstruct the flow of the game balls is formed at the downstream edge of the through hole at the boundary between the bottom surface and the inner wall surface of the ball passage. It is preferable to provide. In this case, the convex portion can be formed as an inclined wall extending over the bottom surface and the inner wall surface of the spherical passage.

[0010]

In the flow regulating gutter of the present invention, even if foreign matter such as dust is present on the ball passage, it is discharged through the through hole provided at the boundary between the bottom surface and the inner wall surface of the ball passage. Of course, the ball does not come out of the through hole. More specifically, the foreign matter in contact with the sphere is ejected when it reaches the through hole while moving with the sphere. Further, the boundary portion between the bottom surface and the inner wall surface of the sphere passage is an area including the corner portion of the sphere passage formed by the bottom surface and the side wall or the partition wall. It is discharged from a through hole provided at the boundary. In any case, since the foreign matter existing on the ball passage is effectively discharged from the through hole, the foreign matter stays in the corner portion of the ball passage or causes the ball clogging on the downstream side as in the conventional case. Will disappear.

If a plurality of through holes are provided at a predetermined interval in the lengthwise direction of the ball passage and on both sides of the bottom surface of the ball passage, the chances or frequency of discharging foreign matter increases and the ball passage on the ball passage is increased. Foreign matter in the can be discharged faster.

Further, when a convex portion (rib) which does not obstruct the flow of the game balls is provided at the downstream edge of the through hole, foreign matters are blocked by the convex portion and fall into the through hole. Therefore, the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the sphere can be easily removed, and the foreign matter can be discharged more reliably. Further, by forming the convex portion as an inclined wall extending over the bottom surface and the inner wall surface of the ball passage, it is possible to obtain a structure having a simple shape that does not hinder the movement of the game sphere and prevents the foreign matter from moving downstream.

[0013]

EXAMPLE FIG. 1 shows a part of a substrate on the back surface of a pachinko machine using the rectifying gutter of the example. A storage tank 12 that stores a considerable number of pachinko balls supplied from a ball replenishing device (not shown) is arranged above the substrate 11 on the back surface of the pachinko machine. The bottom surface of the storage tank 12 is provided with a ball outlet 13 at the left end in the drawing, through which a plurality of balls can flow out.

Below the storage tank 12, the rectifying gutter 14 of the embodiment is arranged so as to be inclined gently to the lower right. The ball outlet 13 of the storage tank 12 is provided at the left end of the straightening gutter 14 in the figure.
A ball receiving portion 15 for receiving the supply of balls is provided, and a delivery path 16 forms a passage for one ball at the right end of the flow straightening gutter 14 in the figure, and the lowermost end thereof is connected to the delivery gutter 17.

The rectifying gutter 14 has a ball leveling plate 18 made of an elastic thin plate at a substantially central position thereof, and has a claw-shaped member that is rotated at its downstream end so as to feed the balls one by one to a delivery gutter 17. It has a sprocket 21 having protrusions. The ball leveling plate 18 smoothes the balls in the straightening gutter 14 from an irregular state to a regular state, and the sprocket 21 causes the delivery gutter 17 located therebelow to regularly deliver the balls one by one.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rectifying gutter 14 is horizontally long,
The sidewalls 22 are formed in a gutter shape having an open upper surface. The inside of the flow straightening trough 14 is divided into two rows by a partition wall 23 provided in the center of the bottom surface along the ball delivery direction.
Two ball passages 19 and 20 are formed. Each ball passage 1
9 and 20 are provided with straightening grooves 24 and 25 that are linearly cut from the ball receiving portion 15 to the delivery path 16.
As a result, the balls are easily aligned and arranged in rows in the lateral direction in the ball passages 19 and 20 and are easily delivered. Since the rectifying grooves 24 and 25 extend over substantially the entire length of the rectifying gutter 14, by arranging a plurality of reinforcing plates 26 (FIG. 1) on the outer bottom surface of the rectifying gutter 14 at a predetermined interval, the rectifying gutter 14 is formed. The bottom of the gutter 14 is reinforced. This rectifying gutter 14
Has a gentle gradient (horizontal inclination) from the above-mentioned ball receiving portion 15 to the delivery passage 16 and rolls the ball from the side of the ball receiving portion 15 toward the delivery passage 16 by its own weight. There is.

The ball leveling plate 18 has a substantially H shape when viewed from above, and is provided with a flat portion facing the ball passages 19 and 20 in a central portion thereof substantially in parallel with each other. On the upstream side of the flat portion, an upper inclined portion which is bifurcated and has an inclination angle larger than the inclination of the ball passages 19 and 20 and is located above each of the ball passages extends. On the downstream side of the flat portion, a downward slanted portion that is also bifurcated and slanted downward extends. The ball leveling plate 18 is formed of an elastic thin plate, which prevents the ball clogging by elasticity when the upper inclined portion and the lower inclined portion come into contact with the sphere moving in the sphere rectifying paths 19, 20. It is for.

The ball leveling plate 18 has overhanging portions 27 and 28 that project outward from the upper edges of the side walls 22 of the flow straightening trough 14.
Supported on. Below each overhang 27, 28,
Since a mounting portion (not shown) having a screw hole formed inside is integrally provided, the balls 29, 30 are inserted into the screw hole of the mounting portion from above the ball leveling plate 18 to stop the ball. A leveling plate 18 is fixed so as to bridge above the two ball passages 19 and 20.

As described above, the ball passages 19 and 2 of the straightening trough 14
The width of the straightening grooves 24 and 25 provided at 0 is smaller than the diameter of the sphere. In addition to the function as a rail for guiding the sphere, these straightening grooves are mixed with the flow of the pachinko ball as described above. It also serves as an opening for discharging foreign matter such as resin pellets and dust. However, the foreign matter that is not discharged from the flow regulating grooves 24, 25 is formed by the side wall 22 and the bottom surface 31 of the flow regulating trough 14 or the partition wall 23 and the bottom surface 31 of the ball passage 19,
It easily enters the corner 32 (FIG. 3) of the 20 and accumulates.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the ball passages 19,
A bottom surface 31 and an inner wall surface (in this case, including 20 corners 32)
The boundary portion (bottom surface 3) between the side wall 22 and each wall surface of the partition wall 23
Through holes 33 having a predetermined width and length are provided at a plurality of positions (on both sides of 1). In addition, in order to reinforce the bottom portion of the flow straightening trough 14, in addition to the above-mentioned reinforcing plate 26, each ball passage 19,
Reinforcing portions 34 arranged in three rows in the lengthwise direction between the through holes 33 on both sides of 20 are integrally provided in the rectifying grooves 24, 25.

Further, in this embodiment, each through hole 3
A rib 35 is provided at one end on the downstream side of 3. As shown in FIG. 4, these ribs 35 are formed as inclined walls extending over the bottom surfaces and inner wall surfaces of the ball passages 19 and 20, and the pachinko balls P rolling inside the ball passages 19 and 20 are formed on the ribs. Since it does not hit, the flow of the pachinko ball is not blocked.

In the straightening trough 14 constructed as described above, foreign matters other than balls fall and are discharged from the through holes 33 provided at the boundary between the bottom surfaces of the ball passages 19 and 20 and the inner wall surface. Therefore, foreign matter does not accumulate or remain on the corner 32 of each ball passage. Further, the foreign matter attached to the pachinko ball or mixed in the flow comes into contact with or hits the rib 35 at the downstream side edge of the through hole 33, and is prevented from moving to the downstream side, so that the through hole 33 enters the through hole 33. The foreign matter is discharged more reliably because it falls. Further, since the rib 35 is formed as an inclined wall, the flow of the pachinko ball can be prevented and only the movement of foreign matter can be blocked. The rib 35 is
Any shape may be used as long as it does not prevent the movement of the sphere.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a part of a back surface side of a pachinko machine using a rectifying gutter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the rectifying gutter of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged top view of the rectifying gutter of the embodiment.

4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the internal structure of a pachinko machine equipped with a conventional rectifying gutter.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 5, showing a cross section of a conventional rectifying gutter.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Substrate, 2 ... Storage tank, 3 ... Straightening gutter, 4 ... Delivery gutter,
5 ... Sphere outlet, 6 ... Sphere feeding mechanism, 7 ... Partition wall, 8 ... Straightening groove, 11 ... Substrate, 12 ... Storage tank, 13 ... Sphere outlet, 1
4 ... rectifying gutter, 15 ... ball receiving part, 16 ... sending channel, 17 ... sending gutter, 18 ... ball leveling plate, 19, 20 ... ball passage, 22 ... side wall, 23 ... partition wall, 24, 25 ... rectifying groove , 32 ... corner,
33 ... Through hole, 34 ... Reinforcing portion, 35 ... Rib.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A straightening trough having a ball passage for supplying game balls used in a ball game machine in an aligned manner from an upstream side to a downstream side, in a boundary portion between a bottom surface and an inner wall surface of the ball passage. A rectifying gutter for a ball-and-ball game machine, characterized in that a through-hole having a size such that the game ball does not pass therethrough is provided. 2. The flow straightening gutter according to claim 1, wherein the through holes are provided at a predetermined interval in a length direction of the ball passage and on both sides of a bottom surface of the ball passage. A straightening gutter for ball game machines. 3. The straightening gutter according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a convex portion formed so as not to obstruct the flow of the game ball is provided at an edge of the boundary portion on the downstream side of the through hole. A rectifying gutter of a ball game machine characterized by. 4. The straightening gutter of a ball-and-ball game machine according to claim 3, wherein the convex portion is formed as an inclined wall extending over a bottom surface and an inner wall surface of the ball passage.