JP2022039499A - Shooting device of game ball - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a shooting device for easily adjusting a relationship between the amount of operation of an operation part by a player and a shooting speed of game balls.SOLUTION: A shooting device includes: a voltage adjustment part 34 for outputting a higher drive voltage as the amount of operation of an operation part 4 by a player increases; and a current supply part 35 for increasing a drive current supplied to a drive part 12 for driving a shot game ball member 11 such that a shooting speed of game balls by the shot game ball member 11 becomes faster as the drive voltage is higher. The voltage adjustment part 34 includes: a variable resistor 51 for increasing a control voltage outputted from an output terminal as the amount of operation increases; an offset voltage setting part 52 that is connected with the variable resistor 51 in series and sets a control voltage to a non-zero, predetermined offset voltage even if the amount of resistance of the variable resistor 51 is zero; and an increase ratio adjustment part 53 for generating a drive voltage corresponding to a control voltage and setting a ratio of an increase of a drive voltage to an increase of the control voltage to a predetermined ratio.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a launching device for a game ball.

The ball gaming machine is equipped with a launching device for launching a gaming ball. Such a rate of fire is such an amount of operation (eg, a rotatable handle) of the launcher's controls (eg, a rotatable handle) by the player to allow the player to launch the game ball towards a intended position. It is possible to adjust the rate of fire of the game ball according to the rotation angle of the handle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-267538

In such a launching device, the operation amount and the rate of fire are adjusted so that the player can launch the game ball to various places in the game area of the gaming machine by adjusting the operation amount of the operation unit. It is preferable that the relationship is set appropriately. However, depending on the structure of the gaming machine on which the launching device is mounted, in particular, the structure of the path through which the launched gaming ball passes, the specifications of the solenoid used to launch the gaming ball, or the mounting position of the launching device, the operation unit may be used. In some cases, the relationship between the amount of operation and the rate of fire was not appropriate.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a launching device in which it is easy to adjust the relationship between the amount of operation of the operation unit by the player and the firing speed of the game ball.

As one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a launching device mounted on a gaming machine to launch a gaming ball. This launching device is composed of a voltage adjusting unit that outputs a higher driving voltage as the amount of operation of the operating unit by the player increases, and a ball member that accelerates the game ball to launch the game ball as the driving voltage increases. It has a current supply unit that increases the drive current supplied to the drive unit that drives the ball member so that the firing speed of the game ball becomes high, and the voltage adjustment unit is connected between the power supply and the ground. As the amount of operation increases, there is a resistance value that increases between the ground and the terminal where the control voltage is output, and as the resistance value increases, the variable resistance that increases the control voltage output from that terminal, and the variable resistance It is connected in series, and even if the resistance value of the variable resistor becomes zero, it generates an offset voltage setting unit that sets the control voltage output from that terminal to a predetermined non-zero offset voltage, and a drive voltage according to the control voltage. It also has an increase ratio adjusting unit that sets the ratio of the increase in the drive voltage to the increase in the control voltage to a predetermined ratio.
By having such a configuration, this launching device can facilitate the adjustment of the relationship between the amount of operation of the operation unit by the player and the firing speed of the game ball.

In this launcher, the increase ratio adjusting unit preferably has an amplifier that outputs a drive voltage by amplifying an input control voltage at a predetermined ratio.
As a result, this launcher can make the increase in the drive voltage steeper than the increase in the control voltage input to the increase ratio adjustment unit, and as a result, the operation unit required for the fluctuation of the rate of fire of the game ball. The amount of change in the amount of operation can be reduced.

Further, in this launching device, it is preferable that the offset voltage setting unit has a constant voltage source that applies a predetermined offset voltage.
Thereby, this launching device can reduce the influence on the relationship between the operating amount of the operating unit and the firing speed of the game ball due to the manufacturing variation of the variable resistance.

Alternatively, in this launcher, the increase ratio adjustment unit is a resistor connected between the terminal to which the control voltage is input and the terminal to output the drive voltage, and one end of the side that outputs the drive voltage of the resistance. It is preferable to have a second variable resistance connected to the ground.
As a result, this launcher can adjust the ratio of the rate of fire of the game ball to the increase in the operation amount of the operation unit by adjusting the resistance value of the second variable resistance, so that the mechanism of the operation unit or the drive unit can be adjusted. It is possible to reduce the influence on the relationship between the operation amount of the operation unit and the rate of fire of the game ball due to deterioration over time.

Alternatively, in this launcher, the offset voltage setting unit preferably has a third variable resistor connected between the variable resistor and ground.
As a result, this launcher can adjust the offset voltage by adjusting the resistance value of the third variable resistor, so that the amount of operation of the operation unit due to the deterioration of the mechanism of the operation unit or the drive unit over time It is possible to reduce the influence on the relationship with the rate of fire of the game ball.

Further, in this launching device, the increase ratio adjusting unit changes a predetermined ratio according to the gaming state of the gaming machine, and the offset voltage setting unit changes the predetermined offset voltage according to the gaming state of the gaming machine. Is preferable.
Thereby, this launching device can change the relationship between the operation amount of the operation unit and the rate of fire of the gaming ball according to the gaming state of the gaming machine, and as a result, the gaming in a specific gaming state. It is possible to facilitate a person to point the game ball in a specific direction on the game board of the game machine.

It is a schematic front view of the gaming machine equipped with the launching apparatus which launches a gaming ball according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is an exploded perspective view of the launching apparatus according to one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the launching apparatus according to one Embodiment of this invention. It is a circuit block diagram of the launching circuit which a launching apparatus has. It is a circuit diagram which shows an example of a voltage adjustment circuit and a current supply circuit for firing. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the voltage between both terminals of the resistance on the ground side of a variable resistance, and the exciting current supplied to a firing solenoid. It is a circuit diagram of an increase ratio adjustment circuit by a modification. (A) and (b) are circuit diagrams of a constant voltage source included in the offset voltage setting circuit, respectively. It is a circuit block diagram of the voltage adjustment circuit by the modification. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the voltage between both terminals of the resistance on the ground side of a variable resistance, and the exciting current supplied to a firing solenoid by a modification.

Hereinafter, a game ball launching device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This launching device supplies an exciting current according to the amount of operation of the operation unit by the player to the firing solenoid that drives the ball member for firing the game ball, and at a rate of fire according to the amount of operation. Fire a game ball. In this launching device, the manipulated variable of the operation unit and the exciting current supplied to the firing solenoid are not in a direct proportional relationship, but the offset of the exciting current with respect to the manipulated variable and the increase of the exciting current with respect to the increase in the manipulated variable. By making it possible to set the ratio, it becomes easy to adjust the relationship between the amount of operation of the operation unit by the player and the firing speed of the game ball.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a gaming machine equipped with a launching device for launching a gaming ball according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the gaming machine 1 is composed of a gaming board 2 provided in most of the area from the upper part to the central part, a ball receiving portion 3 arranged in the lower part, a rotary handle 4, and the like. In the gaming machine 1, when the player rotates the rotation handle 4, the launching device built in the gaming machine 1 launches the gaming ball at a constant firing interval and a firing speed according to the angle of rotation. The rotary handle 4 is an example of an operation unit. The rotary handle 4 is provided with a touch switch (not shown) for detecting that the player touches the rotary handle 4 and a stop switch (not shown) for stopping the firing of the game ball. .. The launched game ball moves upward along the rail 5 provided on the side of the game board 2 and falls between a large number of obstacle nails (not shown) provided on the game board 2. Then, when the falling game ball enters the winning opening 6, that is, when a prize is won, a predetermined number of game balls are sent to the ball receiving portion 3 through a prize ball payout device (not shown) installed on the back surface of the game board 2. Will be paid out to. Further, the display device 7 arranged at the substantially central portion of the game board 2 displays game information that changes variously depending on the presence or absence of winning or the like to the player.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the launcher according to one embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the launching device. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the launching device 10 engages a ball croquet 11 for launching a game ball, a launching solenoid 12 for driving the ball ball 11, and a game ball in a guide passage 20. It has a locking member 13 for stopping and a ball feed solenoid 14 that drives the locking member 13 to move the game ball in the guide passage 20 to the launch position. The launching device 10 further includes a launching circuit that supplies an electric current for driving the launching solenoid 12 and the ball feed solenoid 14. The details of the launch circuit will be described later.

The ball croquet 11 is an example of a ball member that accelerates a game ball to launch the game ball, and one end thereof is rotatably attached so as to approach or move away from the firing solenoid 12. Further, at the other end of the ball hammer 11, a protruding hammer portion 11a for playing the game ball P at the launch position on the standby passage 21 is formed. Then, the bullet ball 11 rotates at a rotation speed corresponding to the exciting current supplied from the firing circuit to the firing solenoid 12, and hits the game ball P at the firing position with the hook portion 11a, whereby the game ball P Is given an acceleration corresponding to the rotation speed to launch the game ball P.

The firing solenoid 12 is an example of a driving unit, and generates a magnetic force corresponding to an exciting current supplied from the firing circuit. The firing solenoid 12 rotationally drives the bullet magnet 11 with the generated magnetic force to launch the game ball at a firing speed corresponding to the exciting current supplied from the firing circuit.

The locking member 13 takes in the game ball P supplied from the ball receiving portion 3 shown in FIG. 1 from the receiving port 22, and guides the game ball P from the feeding port 23 to the guiding passage 20. The guidance path for guiding the game ball from the receiving port 22 to the sending port 23 is formed by the housing of the launching device 10.

One end of the locking member 13 is formed as a ball receiving portion 13a capable of holding a game ball, and is arranged so as to be located in the guide passage 20. On the other hand, the other end of the locking member 13 is located outside the guide passage 20 and is fixed to a rotation shaft 13b provided along a direction orthogonal to the surface on which the guide passage 20 is formed. Further, the locking member 13 has a magnetic body 13c on a connecting portion that connects the ball receiving portion 13a and the rotating shaft 13b. In these ball receiving portions 13a, the magnetic body 13c, and the rotating shaft 13b, the magnetic force generated by the ball feed solenoid 14 acts on the magnetic body 13c, so that the ball receiving portion 13a reciprocates on the induction passage 20 with the rotating shaft 13b as an axis. It is arranged so as to swing.

The locking member 13 blocks the game ball P flowing from the receiving port 22 by the ball receiving portion 13a in a state where the ball receiving portion 13a swings to the first position on the side of the feeding port 23 of the guide passage 20. Prevent P from flowing down through the guide passage 20.

On the other hand, the locking member 13 holds the game ball P flowing from the receiving portion 22 in the ball receiving portion 13a in a state where the ball receiving portion 13a swings to the second position on the side of the receiving portion 22 of the guide passage 20. After that, when the ball receiving portion 13a swings toward the feeding port 23 of the guiding passage 20, the game ball P held by the ball receiving portion 13a can flow down from the feeding port 23 to the waiting passage 21. ..

The ball feed solenoid 14 is arranged outside the induction passage 20 at a position facing the magnetic body 13c of the locking member 13, and generates a magnetic force corresponding to the exciting current supplied from the launch circuit. Then, the ball feed solenoid 14 causes the generated magnetic force to act on the magnetic body 13c to reciprocate and swing the ball receiving portion 13a of the locking member 13 between the receiving port 22 and the feeding port 23 of the induction passage 20.

The details of the launch circuit will be described below. The firing circuit has an exciting current supplied to the firing solenoid 12 and an exciting current supplied to the ball feed solenoid 14 so as to launch the game ball at a specified rate of fire through the rotary handle 4 of the game machine in a predetermined firing cycle. To control.

FIG. 4 is a circuit configuration diagram of the launch circuit 15. As shown in FIG. 4, the launch circuit 15 includes a drive permission / rejection signal generation circuit 31, a control signal generation circuit 32, a ball feed current supply circuit 33, a voltage adjustment circuit 34, and a launch current supply circuit 35. , A constant voltage generation circuit 36 that supplies a constant DC voltage to each part of the launch circuit 15.

The drive permission / rejection signal generation circuit 31 determines whether or not to permit the launch of the game ball based on the signals from the touch switch 41 and the stop switch 42 provided on the rotary handle 4, and permits the launch of the game ball. In some cases, a pass / fail signal with a signal value indicating that the launch of the game ball is permitted is generated, while a permit / fail signal having a signal value indicating that the launch of the game ball is not permitted when the launch of the game ball is not permitted. Generate a signal. Then, the drive permit / fail signal generation circuit 31 outputs the generated permit / fail signal to the control signal generation circuit 32. Therefore, the drive permission / rejection signal generation circuit 31 has, for example, an AND circuit that inputs a signal from the touch switch 41 and a signal from the stop switch 42, and the AND circuit has a signal from the touch switch 41 and a stop switch 42. Only when any of the signals from the above has a value indicating that the launch of the game ball is permitted, a pass / fail signal having a signal value indicating that the launch of the game ball is permitted is output. The drive permission / rejection signal generation circuit 31 is transmitted not only from the signals from the touch switch 41 and the stop switch 42, but also from signals from the outside of the launching device 10, for example, from the payout mechanism unit (not shown) of the gaming machine. The launch stop signal may also be an input of the AND circuit. In this case, when the AND circuit has a value indicating that not only the signal from the touch switch 41 and the signal from the stop switch 42 but also other signals input to the AND circuit allow the launch of the game ball. As long as it is configured to output a pass / fail signal having a signal value indicating that the launch of the game ball is permitted.

The control signal generation circuit 32 generates a control signal having a predetermined firing cycle, and outputs the control signal from the drive permission / rejection signal generation circuit 31 to a permission / rejection signal having a signal value indicating that the launch of the game ball is permitted. Only while receiving, it outputs to the ball feed current supply circuit 33 and the firing current supply circuit 35.

Therefore, the control signal generation circuit 32 includes, for example, an oscillator, a frequency dividing circuit, an AND circuit, and a delay circuit. The oscillator generates an oscillation signal having a predetermined period and outputs the oscillation signal to the frequency dividing circuit. The frequency dividing circuit divides the oscillation signal from the oscillator to generate a control signal having a predetermined emission cycle (for example, a pulse signal having one pulse for each emission cycle), and transfers the control signal to the AND circuit. Output. A pass / fail signal is input to the AND circuit together with the control signal. Then, the AND circuit outputs the control signal as it is only when the permission / rejection signal has a signal value indicating that the launch of the game ball is permitted. The control signal output from the AND circuit is output to the ball feed current supply circuit 33, and is delayed by the time required for the game ball to be guided from the induction passage 20 to the standby passage 21 via the delay circuit. Is output to the firing current supply circuit 35. The control signal generation circuit 32 is not limited to the above configuration, and generates a control signal having a firing cycle only while receiving a permission / rejection signal having a signal value indicating that the game ball is allowed to be fired. However, it suffices to have a configuration capable of outputting.

The ball feed current supply circuit 33 supplies an exciting current to the ball feed solenoid 14 at each firing cycle while receiving a control signal from the control signal generation circuit 32. Therefore, the ball feed current supply circuit 33 has, for example, a switching element such as a MOSFET connected in series with the ball feed solenoid 14 between the DC power supply and the ground. Then, the switching terminal of the switching element, such as the gate terminal of the MOSFET, is connected to the control signal generation circuit 32. Therefore, while the control signal (for example, the pulse signal as described above) is input to the ball feed current supply circuit 33, the switching element is turned on at each firing cycle, and while the switching element is turned on, direct current is applied. An exciting current is supplied from the power source to the ball feed solenoid 14.

The voltage adjustment circuit 34 is an example of the voltage adjustment unit, and generates a drive voltage that increases as the rotation angle of the rotation handle 4 increases, and outputs the drive voltage to the firing current supply circuit 35. The firing current supply circuit 35 is an example of a current supply unit, and while receiving a control signal from the control signal generation circuit 32, supplies an exciting current corresponding to the drive voltage to the firing solenoid 12 for each firing cycle. The exciting current supplied from the firing current supply circuit 35 to the firing solenoid 12 is an example of the driving current for driving the firing solenoid 12.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a voltage adjusting circuit 34 and a firing current supply circuit 35. As shown in FIG. 5, the voltage adjusting circuit 34 includes a variable resistor 51, an offset voltage setting circuit 52, and an increase ratio adjusting circuit 53.

The variable resistor 51 is built in the rotary handle 4 and is connected between the constant voltage generation circuit 36 and the ground. The variable resistor 51 has a resistor VRc1 whose resistance value decreases as the rotation angle of the rotary handle 4 increases, and a resistor VRc2 whose resistance value increases as the rotation angle of the rotary handle 4 increases. Is connected in series from the constant voltage generation circuit 36 side to the ground side in order. The sum of the resistance values of the resistance VRc1 and the resistance VRc2 is constant. Then, from the output terminal between the resistance VRc1 and the resistance VRc2, a control voltage Vin that increases as the rotation angle of the rotation handle 4 increases is output.

The offset voltage setting circuit 52 is an example of an offset voltage setting unit, and is connected in series with the variable resistor 51 between the variable resistor 51 and ground, and outputs even when the resistance value of the resistor VRc2 of the variable resistor 51 becomes zero. The control voltage Vin output from the terminal is set to a predetermined non-zero offset voltage. In this embodiment, the offset voltage setting circuit 52 has a fixed resistor VRb.

The increase ratio adjustment circuit 53 is an example of the increase ratio adjustment unit, generates a drive voltage V1 according to the control voltage Vin, and sets the ratio of the increase of the drive voltage V1 to the increase of the control voltage Vin to a predetermined ratio. .. Therefore, the increase ratio adjusting circuit 53 has an operational amplifier OP1 and two fixed resistors VRa and R1. The control voltage Vin output from the variable resistor 51 is input to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP1, and the voltage output from the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP1 is input to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP. Further, the voltage output from the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes the drive voltage V1 via the resistor R1 and is supplied to the firing current supply circuit 35.

Further, one end of the resistor VRa is connected between the resistor R1 and the firing current supply circuit 35, and the other end of the resistor VRa is grounded.

In the launch circuit 15, each circuit other than the resistor VRb and the resistor VRa may be integrally configured as one integrated circuit. Further, as the resistor VRb and the resistor VRa, resistors having appropriate resistance values according to the specifications of the game machine 1 on which the launching device 10 is mounted may be used, respectively.

The firing current supply circuit 35 has an operational amplifier OP2. The non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 is connected to the voltage adjustment circuit 34 via a switching element (not shown) such as a MOSFET. Further, the switching terminal of the switching element is connected to the control signal generation circuit 32. Therefore, only when the control signal output from the control signal generation circuit 32 is input to the switching element, the drive voltage V1 output from the voltage adjustment circuit 34 is input to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 for each firing cycle. Will be done. On the other hand, the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 via the firing solenoid 12, and is grounded via the resistor R2.

Therefore, the relationship expressed by the following equation is established between the control voltage Vin, the voltage V2 input to the inverting input terminal of the drive voltage V1 and the operational amplifier OP2, and the exciting current Iout supplied to the firing solenoid 12. .. In the following description, the resistance value of each resistor is represented by the reference code of the resistor. Further, the constant voltage supplied from the constant voltage generation circuit 36 is represented by VCC.
Vin = VCC * (VRc2 + VRb) / (VRc1 + VRc2 + VRb)
V1 = V2 = Vin * VRa / (R1 + VRa) (1)
Iout = V2 / R2

As shown in the equation (1), the exciting current Iout does not depend on the state of the firing solenoid 12. Further, as the rotation angle of the rotary handle 4 increases, that is, as the resistance value of the ground side resistance VRc2 of the variable resistance 51 increases and the resistance value of the power supply side resistance VRc1 decreases, the output is output from the variable resistance 51. The control voltage Vin increases, and as the control voltage Vin increases, the drive voltage V1 also increases linearly. Therefore, as the rotation angle of the rotary handle 4 increases, the exciting current Iout supplied to the firing solenoid 12 also increases, and the magnetic force generated by the firing solenoid 12 becomes stronger, so that the firing speed of the game ball also increases. However, even if the rotation angle of the rotary handle 4 is zero, that is, the resistance VRc2 is zero, the control voltage Vin output from the variable resistance 51 does not become zero, and the constant voltage VCC supplied from the constant voltage generation circuit 36 is used. The voltage is obtained by dividing the voltage between the resistance VRc1 and the resistance value VRb of the offset voltage setting circuit 52. Further, as the resistance value of the resistor VRa of the increase ratio adjustment circuit 53 increases, the ratio of the increase of the drive voltage V1 to the increase of the control voltage Vin also increases, and as a result, the firing with respect to the increase of the rotation angle of the rotation handle 4. The rate of increase in the exciting current Iout supplied to the solenoid 12 also increases.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the voltage Vol between both terminals of the resistance VRc2 on the ground side of the variable resistance 51 and the exciting current Iout supplied to the firing solenoid 12. In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis represents the voltage Vol and the vertical axis represents the exciting current Iout. Graph 601 shows the relationship between the voltage Vol and the exciting current Iout for a comparative example (that is, VRa = VRb = 0) in which the offset voltage setting circuit 52 and the increase ratio adjustment circuit 53 are omitted. On the other hand, the graph 602 shows the relationship between the voltage Vol and the exciting current Iout according to the present embodiment.

As shown in Graph 601, when the offset voltage setting circuit 52 and the increase ratio adjusting circuit 53 are omitted, the exciting current Iout is directly proportional to the voltage Vol. Therefore, the relationship between the voltage Vol and the exciting current Iout cannot be adjusted. On the other hand, as shown in Graph 602, in the present embodiment, even when the voltage Vol becomes zero, that is, even when the rotation angle of the rotation handle 4 becomes zero, the control voltage Vin does not become zero. The exciting current Iout has an offset current corresponding to the resistance value of the resistor VRb of the offset voltage setting circuit 52. Further, the ratio of the increase of the exciting current Iout to the increase of the voltage Vol, that is, the increase of the rotation angle of the rotation handle 4, corresponds to the resistance value of the resistor VRa of the increase ratio adjustment circuit 53. Therefore, depending on the structure of the gaming machine on which the launching device 10 is mounted or the characteristics of the solenoid used as the launching solenoid 12, the resistor VRb included in the offset voltage setting circuit 52 and the resistor VRa included in the increase ratio adjusting circuit 53 are provided. By selecting, the relationship between the rotation angle of the rotation handle 4 by the player and the firing speed of the game ball should be appropriate so that the player can easily shoot the game ball to the intended position. Can be done.

As described above, the voltage adjusting circuit that adjusts the exciting current supplied to the firing solenoid according to the operation amount of the operation unit has an offset voltage setting circuit and an increase ratio adjusting circuit. The offset of the exciting current with respect to the operation amount of the operation unit and the ratio of the increase of the current amount of the exciting current to the increase of the operation amount can be adjusted. Therefore, this launching device can facilitate the adjustment of the relationship between the amount of operation of the operation unit by the player and the firing speed of the game ball.

According to the modification, the increase ratio adjustment circuit 53 may be configured as an amplifier.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of the increase ratio adjusting circuit 531 according to this modification. In the increase ratio adjustment circuit 531 according to this modification, the output voltage from the operational amplifier OP1 is the resistor R4 instead of omitting the resistor R2 and the resistor VRa as compared with the increase ratio adjustment circuit 53 shown in FIG. It is different in that the operational amplifier OP1 operates as an amplifier because the inverting input terminal is returned to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP1 via the resistor and the inverting input terminal is grounded via the resistor R3.

In this modification, the control voltage Vin output from the variable resistor 51, the drive voltage V1 input to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 of the firing current supply circuit 35, and the voltage input to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2. The relationship expressed by the following equation is established between V2 and the exciting current Iout supplied to the firing solenoid 12.
Vin = VCC * (VRc2 + VRb) / (VRc1 + VRc2 + VRb)
V1 = V2 = (1 + R4 / R3) * Vin (2)
Iout = V2 / R2

As is clear from the equation (2), the control voltage Vin is amplified at a ratio corresponding to the resistance value of the resistor R3 and the resistance value of the resistor R4 to become the drive voltage V1. Therefore, by adjusting the resistance value of the resistor R3 and the resistance value of the resistor R4, the ratio of the increase of the drive voltage V1 to the increase of the control voltage Vin can be adjusted. As a result, the ratio of the increase in the exciting current Iout supplied to the firing solenoid 12 to the increase in the angle of rotation of the rotary handle 4 can be adjusted. Further, in this modification, the ratio of the increase in the drive voltage V1 and the increase in the exciting current Iout to the increase in the control voltage Vin can be made larger than 1.

According to another modification, the offset voltage setting circuit 52 may have a constant voltage source that applies an offset voltage.

8 (a) and 8 (b) are circuit diagrams of a constant voltage source included in the offset voltage setting circuit, respectively. In the modification shown in FIG. 8A, the offset voltage setting circuit 521 has a Zener diode that is reverse-biased as a constant voltage source. In this case, the control voltage Vin output from the variable resistor 51 is expressed by the following equation.
Vin = Vz + (VCC-Vz) * VRc2 / (VRc1 + VRc2) (3)
The voltage Vz is the breakdown voltage of the Zener diode included in the offset voltage setting circuit 521. As is clear from the equation (3), even if the resistance value of the resistor VRc2 is zero, that is, the rotation angle of the rotation handle 4 is zero, the control voltage Vin does not become zero and becomes equal to the breakdown voltage Vz of the Zener diode. .. That is, the offset voltage becomes equal to the breakdown voltage Vz of the Zener diode included in the offset voltage setting circuit 521 configured as a constant voltage source. Therefore, the launcher according to this modification can also set the offset of the exciting current according to the breakdown voltage of the Zener diode.

In the modification shown in FIG. 8B, the offset voltage setting circuit 522 has an operational amplifier OP3 and three resistors R5 to R7. The voltage obtained by dividing the constant voltage VCC from the constant voltage generation circuit 36 by the resistance value of the resistor R5 and the resistance value of the resistor R6 is input to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP3, while the operational amplifier is used. The voltage output from the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP3 is input to the inverting input terminal of OP3. Further, the resistor R7 is connected between the variable resistance 51 and the ground, and the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP3 is connected between the resistor R7 and the variable resistance 51. In this case, the control voltage Vin output from the variable resistor 51 is expressed by the following equation.
V3 = VCC * R6 / (R5 + R6)
Vin = V3 + (VCC-V3) * VRc2 / (VRc1 + VRc2) (4)
The voltage V3 is the output voltage from the operational amplifier OP3. As is clear from the equation (4), even if the resistance value of the resistor VRc2 is zero, that is, the rotation angle of the rotation handle 4 is zero, the control voltage Vin does not become zero and becomes equal to the output voltage V3 of the operational amplifier OP3. .. That is, the offset voltage becomes equal to the output voltage V3 of the operational amplifier OP3 included in the offset voltage setting circuit 521 configured as a constant voltage source. Therefore, the launcher according to this modification can also set the offset value of the exciting current according to the output voltage V3 of the operational amplifier OP3.

The output terminal of the operational amplifier OP3 may be connected between the constant voltage generation circuit 36 and the variable resistor 51. In this case, the offset of the exciting current has a negative value.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, when the offset voltage setting circuit is configured as a constant voltage source, the resistance value of the entire variable resistor 51 due to the manufacturing variation of the variable resistor 51. Even if the voltage varies, it becomes easy to keep the offset of the exciting current supplied to the firing solenoid 12 constant with respect to the rotation angle of the rotation handle 4.

Even when the offset voltage setting circuit is configured as a constant voltage source as in this modification, the increase ratio adjusting circuit may have an amplifier as shown in FIG. 7.

According to still another modification, the resistor VRb included in the offset voltage setting circuit 52 may be a variable resistance (second variable resistance). In this case, as the resistance value of the offset voltage setting circuit 52 increases, the control voltage Vin when the rotation angle of the rotary handle 4 is zero also increases, so that the offset value of the exciting current Iout supplied to the firing solenoid 12 also increases. Become. Alternatively, the resistor VRa included in the increase ratio adjusting circuit 53 may be used as a variable resistance (third variable resistance). As a result, even if the change characteristic of the exciting current supplied to the firing solenoid 12 with respect to the rotation angle of the rotating handle 4 changes due to the aging deterioration of the firing solenoid 12 or the aging of the mechanism of the rotating handle 4, those variable resistances By adjusting the resistance value, it becomes easy to restore the change characteristic.

According to still another modification, the voltage adjusting circuit 34 can change the characteristics of the change in the exciting current supplied to the firing solenoid 12 with respect to the rotation angle of the rotating handle 4 according to the gaming state of the gaming machine. It may be configured as follows.

FIG. 9 is a circuit configuration diagram of the voltage adjustment circuit 341 according to this modification. In this modification, the offset voltage setting circuit 523 included in the voltage adjusting circuit 341 has a variable voltage source 61, an operational amplifier OP4, and a resistor R1. The resistor R1 is connected between the variable resistance 51 and the ground. The variable voltage source 61 outputs the voltage Va specified by the control signal from the upper control device. The variable voltage source 61 may be a power source capable of changing the output voltage Va in two or more stages. The voltage Va output from the variable voltage source 61 is input to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP4, while the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP4 is connected between the variable resistor 51 and the resistor R1 and is connected to the output terminal thereof. The voltage from the output terminal is input to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP4.

Further, the increase ratio adjusting circuit 532 included in the voltage adjusting circuit 341 has a variable voltage source 62, two operational amplifiers OP5 and OP6, and three resistors R2 to R4. The variable voltage source 62 outputs the voltage Vb specified by the control signal from the upper control device. The variable voltage source 62 may be a power source capable of changing the output voltage Vb in two or more stages. Further, the control voltage Vin output from the variable resistor 51 is input to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP5, and the voltage output from the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP5 is input to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP5. Further, the voltage output from the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP5 becomes the drive voltage V1 via the resistor R2, and the drive voltage V1 is supplied to the firing current supply circuit 35. On the other hand, the voltage Vb output from the variable voltage source 62 is input to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP6, and the voltage output from the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP6 is input to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP6. Further, the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP6 is connected between the resistor R3 and the resistor R4 which are connected in series between one end of the resistor R2 on the firing current supply circuit 35 side and the ground.

In this modification, the control voltage Vin output from the variable resistor 51, the drive voltage V1 input to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 of the firing current supply circuit 35, and the voltage input to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2. The relationship expressed by the following equation is established between V2 and the exciting current Iout supplied to the firing solenoid 12.
Vin = Va + (VCC-Va) * VRc2 / (VRc1 + VRc2)
V1 = V2 = Vb + (Vin-Vb) * R3 / (R2 + R3) (5)
Iout = V2 / R2

As is clear from the equation (5), the higher the voltage Va output from the variable voltage source 61 of the offset voltage setting circuit 523 and the voltage Vb output from the variable voltage source 62 of the increase ratio adjustment circuit 532, the higher the exciting current. As the offset value of Iout increases, the ratio of the increase of the exciting current Iout to the increase of the rotation angle of the rotary handle 4 also increases. Therefore, the variable voltage source 61 and the variable voltage source 62 output voltage Va and voltage Vb when a control signal indicating that they are in a specific gaming state such as a jackpot is input from a higher-level control device. It is higher than when the control signal indicating that the state is input is input. As a result, even if the rotation angle of the rotation handle 4 is smaller than the rotation angle in the normal gaming state in a specific gaming state, the launcher can fly the gaming ball far away. .. That is, so-called "right-handed" becomes easy.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the voltage Vol between both terminals of the resistance VRc2 on the ground side of the variable resistance 51 and the exciting current Iout supplied to the firing solenoid 12 according to this modification. In FIG. 10, the horizontal axis represents the voltage Vol and the vertical axis represents the exciting current Iout. In the graph 1001, the normal gaming state, that is, the voltage Va output from the variable voltage source 61 of the offset voltage setting circuit 523 and the voltage Vb output from the variable voltage source 62 of the increase ratio adjustment circuit 532 are relatively low. It shows the relationship between the voltage Vol and the exciting current Iout when it is set. On the other hand, in the graph 1002, the specific gaming state, that is, the voltage Va output from the variable voltage source 61 of the offset voltage setting circuit 523 and the voltage Vb output from the variable voltage source 62 of the increase ratio adjustment circuit 532 are relatively relative. It shows the relationship between the voltage Vol and the exciting current Iout when it is set high.

As shown in Graph 1001, when the voltage Va and the voltage Vb are set relatively low, the offset of the exciting current Iout when the voltage Vol is zero is relatively low, and the voltage Vol The increase, that is, the increase in the exciting current Iout with respect to the increase in the angle of rotation of the rotary handle 4, is also relatively gradual. On the other hand, as shown in Graph 1002, when the voltage Va and the voltage Vb are set relatively high, the offset of the exciting current Iout when the voltage Vol is zero is relatively high and the voltage. The increase in the exciting current Iout with respect to the increase in Vol, that is, the increase in the angle of rotation of the rotary handle 4, is also relatively steep. As described above, when the gaming state of the gaming machine is a specific gaming state, it can be seen that the gaming ball can be thrown far away even if the rotation angle of the rotating handle 4 is small.

As in this modification, instead of using the variable voltage sources 61 and 62, the resistor VRb included in the offset voltage setting circuit 52 in the above embodiment is configured as a variable resistance, and the increase ratio adjustment circuit 53 is used. The resistor VRa possessed by the above may be configured as a variable resistance. Then, the resistance value of the variable resistance VRb and the resistance value of the variable resistance VRa may be changed according to the control signal indicating the gaming state from the upper control device. In this case as well, the launching device may change the characteristics of the change in the exciting current supplied to the firing solenoid 12 with respect to the rotation angle of the rotation handle 4 according to the gaming state of the gaming machine, as in the above modification. can.

As described above, a person skilled in the art can make various changes within the scope of the present invention according to the embodiment.

1 Game machine 2 Game board 3 Ball receiving part 4 Rotating handle 5 Rail 6 Winning opening 7 Display device 10 Launching device 11 Bullet ball 11a 霚 part 12 Launching solenoid 13 Locking member 13a Ball receiving part 13b Rotating shaft 13c Magnetic body 14 Ball Feed solenoid 15 Launch circuit 20 Induction passage 21 Standby passage 22 Receptacle 23 Feed port 31 Drive permission / rejection signal generation circuit 32 Control signal generation circuit 33 Ball feed current supply circuit 34, 341 Voltage adjustment circuit 35 Launch current supply circuit 36 Constant voltage generation Circuit 41 Touch switch 42 Stop switch 51 Variable resistance 52, 521, 522, 523 Offset voltage setting circuit 53, 531, 532 Increase ratio adjustment circuit 61, 62 Variable voltage source

Claims (6)

It is a launching device that is mounted on a gaming machine and launches a gaming ball.
A voltage adjustment unit that outputs a higher drive voltage as the amount of operation of the operation unit by the player increases,
The higher the drive voltage, the higher the drive current supplied to the drive unit that drives the ball member so that the rate of fire of the game ball by the ball member that accelerates the game ball and launches the game ball increases. The current supply unit to make
Have,
The voltage adjusting unit is
It is connected between the power supply and the ground, and as the operation amount increases, it has a resistance value that increases between the ground and the terminal from which the control voltage is output, and as the resistance value increases, it is output from the terminal. A variable resistor that raises the control voltage
An offset voltage setting unit connected in series with the variable resistor and setting the control voltage output from the terminal to a predetermined non-zero offset voltage even when the resistance value of the variable resistor becomes zero.
An increase ratio adjusting unit that generates the drive voltage according to the control voltage and sets the ratio of the increase of the drive voltage to the increase of the control voltage to a predetermined ratio.
Launcher with. The launching device according to claim 1, wherein the increase ratio adjusting unit has an amplifier that outputs the drive voltage by amplifying the input control voltage at the predetermined ratio. The launching device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the offset voltage setting unit has a constant voltage source that applies the predetermined offset voltage. The increase ratio adjusting unit includes a resistance connected between a terminal to which the control voltage is input and a terminal to output the drive voltage, and one end of the resistance on the output side of the drive voltage and ground. The launcher according to claim 1, wherein the launcher has a second variable resistance connected between them. The launching device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the offset voltage setting unit has a third variable resistor connected between the variable resistor and the ground. The increase ratio adjusting unit changes the predetermined ratio according to the gaming state of the gaming machine, and the offset voltage setting unit changes the predetermined offset voltage according to the gaming state. The launcher described in.

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