JP4876787B2 - Sphere detector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball detector that is attached upstream of a ball payout device of a pachinko machine and detects whether or not a predetermined number of balls are secured when the balls are paid out from the ball payout device.

  In general, pachinko machines have a storage tank that stores a large number of spheres in the upper part of the back. The storage tank is supplied with spheres from the upper supply mechanism and stored, and the stored spheres pass through the sphere passage. Then, the ball is guided to the lower ball dispensing device, and a predetermined number of balls designated by the ball dispensing device are paid out to a tray located at the lower front portion of the pachinko machine.

  When the ball dispensing device receives a ball dispensing control command from the control unit of the pachinko machine, it is necessary to dispense a number of balls corresponding thereto, so that a predetermined number or more of balls to be dispensed at a time are always stocked. It is necessary to keep. Therefore, a ball detector is installed upstream of the ball dispensing device, and it is determined whether or not a ball exists up to the installation position. It recognizes that there are more than a predetermined number of balls on the side, and performs normal ball payout processing according to the payout command. On the other hand, when it is recognized that a ball does not exist, the ball payout process is not performed even if a payout command is issued. For example, when paying out a winning ball as it passes through the winning opening, the number of balls that have been won is stored, and after a predetermined number of balls are stored in the ball paying device, the paying out of the balls based on the stored number Process.

  The sphere detector for detecting the sphere includes a main body having two rows of sphere passages that are open at both ends, and each detector that is rotatably disposed in the main body corresponding to the two rows of sphere passages. As shown in FIG. 11, each contact includes a movable contact piece 111, which is displaced by being pressed by the detection lever, as shown in FIG. 11. 112 and a fixed contact piece 113, 114 disposed in a pair with the movable contact piece 111, 112, and a series circuit 115 in which two fixed contact pieces 113, 114 are connected to each other, and A pachinko ball detector is known in which movable contact pieces 111 and 112 are provided with connectors (terminal portions C) for connection to external circuits (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In this type of sphere detector, when the sphere passes through the sphere passage, the detection lever protruding in the sphere passage rotates, and the movable contact piece contacts the fixed contact piece based on the rotation of the detection lever. Then, the circuit is closed, so that the control unit detects that a sphere is present in the sphere path. In this case, when the control unit recognizes that the two rows of ball passages both detect the ball, the control unit outputs a detection signal with a ball to recognize the presence of the ball on the upstream side.

  By the way, when many pachinko machines installed in the game hall are inspected or rearranged, the balls remaining in the storage tanks, passages and ball dispensing devices in the pachinko machines are taken out to empty the balls. When the ball is removed, the ball dispensing device executes the ball removal according to a command from the control unit. If the ball is not present in the ball passage of the ball detector during the ball removal, A remaining ball is generated in the ball dispensing passage in the dispensing device.

For this reason, in order to remove the remaining balls, the remaining balls in the pachinko machine are discharged to the tray by manually operating driving means such as sprockets and solenoids constituting the ball dispensing device.
For this reason, it has a problem that it is troublesome and has poor workability.

JP-A-8-332261.

  Then, this invention aims at providing the ball | bowl detector which can perform a ball | bowl extraction operation | work easily by an attendant by arrange | positioning and using it upstream of a ball | bowl paying-out apparatus.

  The present invention includes a main body having a plurality of rows of spherical passages open at both ends, a plurality of detection levers disposed in the main body corresponding to the plurality of spherical passages, and a plurality of detection levers. It has a plurality of contact circuits that open and close independently with rotation, and a series circuit in which the plurality of contact circuits are connected in series between a pair of output terminals. A sphere detector that outputs a signal with a sphere between the output terminals when detecting a short circuit that is connected in parallel to the series circuit and has a short-circuit contact portion, and the short-circuit contact portion. A ball detector that is provided on the main body and has a manual switch operation unit that displaces the short-circuit piece by manual operation, and that outputs a signal with a ball between the output terminals by manual operation. Characterize

  As an embodiment of the present invention, the short-circuit contact portion is patterned on the surface of a substrate built in the main body, while the contact circuit is composed of a movable contact piece and a fixed contact piece, and the short-circuit piece is each fixed contact piece. Is formed by cutting and raising from the connected conductive member, and the short circuit can be short-circuited by receiving the operation force of the manual switch operation unit.

  As an embodiment of the present invention, the manual switch operating portion is provided with a cover that is attached to the main body by opening the ball passage side of the main body, covering the switch configuration side, and slitting a part of the outer wall of the cover. A cover-integrated push button that is elastically displaced in the thickness direction of the outer wall of the cover can be used.

  According to this invention, the ball remaining in the ball dispensing device can be easily removed by manual operation. Therefore, the ball removal process required when many pachinko machines are rearranged can be efficiently executed in a short time.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The drawing shows a ball detector disposed at the entrance of a ball payout passage in a ball payout device provided on the back side of the pachinko machine, FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the ball detector 11, and FIG. 2 is a ball detector. 3 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sphere detector 11, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

  Here, since the configuration of each part of the pachinko machine other than the ball detector 11 according to the present invention can be basically applied as it is, the illustration and detailed description of the specific configuration and operation are omitted. To do. Therefore, only the sphere detector 11 will be described below.

  The sphere detector 11 is provided with two rows of sphere passages 13 having upper and lower openings in a rectangular main body 12. These ball passages 13 are connected in communication with a supply passage (not shown) between a storage tank (not shown) for supplying an upstream ball on the upper side and a ball dispensing device, and a lower portion on the downstream side. It is connected in communication with a dispensing device (not shown). Therefore, the ball P guided from the upstream side is supplied to the ball dispensing device via the ball passage 13.

  The spherical passage 13 is formed in a region on one side of the main body 12, and a detection switch unit 14 is mounted in a region on the other side of the main body 12. The detection switch unit 14 is mounted on the main body 12 so that the cover 15 is covered with the cover 15.

  The cover 15 is configured such that the planar shape of the top surface 16 substantially coincides with a rectangular shape on one side formed when the planar shape of the main body 12 is divided into two from the center. The long side wall 17 and the short side wall 18 are suspended from the short side, and a locking port 19 is opened on the inner end side (mounting side) of both the short side walls 18. When the cover 15 is attached to the main body 12, the locking port 19 is locked to the locking protrusion 20 protruding from the side surface of the main body 12 and fixed as shown in FIG. 1.

  When the cover 15 is attached to the main body 12, when the side opening of the cover 15 is pushed into the side opening of the main body 12 so as to correspond to the side opening of the cover 15, the locking opening 19 on the side of the cover 15 It is attached to the locking projection 20 so as to be locked. After the cover 15 is attached, it covers and closes the upper surface open part on the circuit side (detection switch part 14 side) constituting the switch of the main body 12.

  Further, a cover integrated push button 22 is provided at the center of the long side wall 17 of the cover 15. This push button 22 has two rows of parallel slits 21 inserted in the vertical direction, and the free end portion connecting the slit lower end portion with the upper end portion of the slit closed as the base point of the long side wall 17. Elastic displacement is allowed in the thickness direction. Then, the push button 22 is formed on the free end so as to protrude outward, and is provided so as to be pressed from the outside with a fingertip. By depressing the push button 22, an internal series circuit can be turned on and off manually (described later).

  In addition, a connector connection opening 23 is opened in the long side wall 17 below the push button 22 in a horizontally long shape. A connector 24 attached to the main body side of the connector connection opening 23 corresponds to the outward direction, and the lead terminal 24a of the connector 24 is wired to an external control unit (not shown) through the connector connection opening 23. Connected.

  Further, substrate fixing projections 25 are respectively provided on the inner surfaces on both sides of the long side wall 17. These substrate fixing protrusions 25 push the lower surface of the substrate 26 attached to the main body 12 upward when the cover 15 is inserted into the main body 12 and attached. Then, the upper surface of the substrate 26 is pressed against the upper surface of the substrate insertion opening 27 on the main body 12 side. This serves to stably fix the substrate 26 in place.

  When both spheres exist in the two sphere passages 13 formed in the main body 12, the lead switch 24a is electrically connected by the action of the detection switch unit 14 built in the main body 12, and based on this. The control unit detects ON / OFF of the detection switch unit 14.

  Next, a specific configuration of the detection switch unit 14 will be described. In this detection switch part 14, since the switch parts which have the same structure are respectively incorporated symmetrically with respect to two parallel ball passages 13, and perform the same movement, one switch part is explained.

  Two lever storage portions 28 are formed at the boundary portion between the ball passage 13 portion of the main body 12 and the mounting portion of the detection switch portion 14. These lever storage portions 28 communicate with the respective ball passages 13 and are opened at the top and bottom, and the upper side of the lever storage portion 28 is closed by finally attaching the cover 15. Further, a bearing portion 29 is formed on the top surface side of the lever storage portion 28 and is pivotally supported in parallel with the parallel direction of the ball passages 13. A pin 31 inserted through a shaft support hole 30 a in the upper part of the detection lever 30 is supported by the bearing 29, and the detection lever 30 is provided so as to be rotatable about the pin 31 supported by the shaft.

  Further, since the lever housing portion 28 is opened on the side of the ball passage 13 and is in communication with the ball passage 13, when the detection lever 30 is rotated, the detection lever 30 is moved as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 4 (B) and 4 (C), the detection lever 30 is retracted from the ball passage 13 and protrudes from the side of the ball passage 13 into the lever housing portion 28. It moves back and forth between the state stored in the container.

  A pair of left and right fixed link pieces 32 having a shape extending to the detection switch portion 14 side (the side opposite to the ball passage 13) are connected to the detection lever 30 at the upper portion. The connected fixed link piece 32 is integrally rotated in a reverse L-shape with the detection lever 30 around the pin 31.

  The bottom surface of the detection lever 30 is formed as an inclined surface 30b that is inclined downward from the spherical passage 13 side toward the lever storage portion 28 side. The inclined surface 30b ensures the rotation of the detection lever 30 when the inclined surface 30b comes into contact with the sphere P moving in the vertical direction even if the sphere temporarily contacts the bottom surface of the detection lever 30. The detection lever 30 is not locked.

  Further, a link storage portion 47 is provided in communication with the other side of the lever storage portion 28 that communicates with the ball passage 13 on one side. The link storage portion 47 communicates with the lever storage portion 28 in correspondence with the lever storage portion 28 and is also opened on the upper surface of one side of the main body 12, and the upper side is closed by the cover 15. And here, both link pieces 32 and 34 of the fixed link piece 32 and the movable link piece 34 are accommodated.

  In the link structure of both the link pieces 32 and 34 described above, the shaft support holes 32a are horizontally penetrated at the tip portions of the pair of left and right fixed link pieces 32, and the relay pin 33 is inserted between the shaft support holes 32a. The relay pin 33 is fixed to the distal end portion of the fixed link piece 32. Further, a shaft support hole 34a at the base end portion of the movable link piece 34 that rotates for switch operation is inserted into the center portion of the relay pin 33, and the movable link piece 34 is pivotally supported freely. At the position of the relay pin 33, the relay pin 33 is not pivotally supported at a fixed position but is in a space position where the relay pin 33 is movable and displaceable. Therefore, the relay pin 33 is freely displaced around the pin 31.

  Further, the movable link piece 34 rotates via a fixed link piece 32 linked to the detection lever 30. The movable contact piece 35 is opposed to the movable link piece 34, and when the movable link piece 34 rotates, the movable contact piece 35 is pushed by the movable link piece 34 and elastically deforms into a curved state, and the movable contact piece 35 A fixed contact piece 36 that is brought into contact with each other during bending is disposed. The movable contact piece 35 and the fixed contact piece 36 constitute a contact point.

  The movable contact piece 35 is independently provided with a strip-shaped conductive metal piece vertically raised from the base end, and the upper end raised from the base end is in a position where it can contact the movable link piece 34. Be placed. Further, a tongue piece 35a raised smaller than the base end portion of the movable contact piece 35 leads through a conductive pattern 44b (see FIG. 5) formed on the back surface of the substrate 26 and a lead terminal base end portion 24b of the connector 24. It is electrically connected to the terminal 24a.

  Furthermore, the contact surface side of the upper end portion, which is the contact portion on the movable contact piece 35 side where the movable contact piece 35 and the fixed contact piece 36 stand upright and face each other, is one of the crossbars that are in contact with each other. A horizontal contact bar 35b is formed. A vertical contact bar 36a which is the other of the cross bars is formed on the contact surface side of the upper end portion of the fixed contact piece 36 facing the horizontal contact bar 35b. As a result, the movable contact piece 35 and the fixed contact piece 36 are in point contact with each other by the cross bar, and are stable even during wiping in which the movable contact piece 35 moves while contacting the fixed contact piece 36 after the contact. Contactability is obtained.

  The fixed contact piece 36 is provided with a flat plate-like connecting piece 37 made of a conductive metal plate in a horizontal state, and the two strip-like fixed contact pieces 36 are cut from both long sides of the connecting piece 37 in the horizontal state. Wake up vertically. The vertical contact bar 36 a is formed on the contact surface side of the upper end portion of the fixed contact piece 36.

  Further, a short-circuit piece 38 is raised at an intermediate portion of the connection piece 37. The short-circuit piece 38 has an inclined surface 38b that is bent obliquely downward from the top of a vertical surface 38a that is vertically raised and raised, and the tip of the inclined surface 38b is divided into two forks and provided at the short-circuit contact. ing. And the vertical surface 38a side of this short-circuit piece 38 has a corresponding structure pressed by the press part (refer FIGS. 7-9) 22a of the inner end of the push button 22 of the said cover integrated type. Further, fitting portions 39 are opened on both long sides of the connecting piece 37, and the connecting piece 37 is fitted and fixed to the upper surface of the substrate 26 via the fitting portion 39. The movable contact piece 35 (tongue piece 35a) and the fixed contact piece 36 (the connecting piece 37 and the short-circuit piece 38) are integrally formed by pressing a metal plate.

  FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the relationship between the substrate 26 and its mounted components as viewed from the back side of the substrate. The substrate 26 is a rectangular plate shape that is horizontally accommodated in the substrate insertion port 27 of the main body 12 and is formed in a U shape with a part of the long side cut out, and mounting holes for the movable contact pieces 35 on both sides of the long side. 40 is opened through vertically. The movable contact piece 35 is attached by inserting the movable contact piece 35 upward from below the attachment hole 40. In this case, the mounting hole 40 has a Y-shaped opening that can stably fix the strip-shaped movable contact piece 35, and the mounted movable contact piece 35 has a lower substrate 26 as a base point and an upper end portion side. It is elastically displaced freely.

  Further, on both sides of the long side of the board 26, board fitting holes 41 for attaching fixed contact pieces are provided penetrating in the vertical direction, and the fitting parts of the connecting pieces 37 are provided above the board fitting holes 41. The fixed contact piece 36 is integrally mounted on the substrate 26 by fitting and fixing 39 correspondingly.

  Further, the U-shaped notch portion of the substrate 26 becomes the connector mounting portion 42, and the connector 24 having a shape corresponding to the U-shaped notch portion is inserted into the substrate 26 from the horizontal direction and attached to the substrate 26 integrally. In addition, when the connector 24 is mounted, the short-circuit contact portion 43 formed on the substrate 26 side and the current-carrying members of the front and back conductive patterns 44a and 44b, the lead terminal base end portion 24b and the lead terminal 24a of the connector 24 are electrically connected. Is electrically conducted.

  The short-circuit contact portion 43 described above is formed on the upper surface of the central portion of the substrate 26, the short-circuit contact portion 43 is formed small at a position corresponding to the short-circuit piece 38, and the conductive patterns 44 a and 44 b are formed on the short-circuit contact portion 43. It is connected. One side of the conductive patterns 44 a and 44 b is electrically connected to the short-circuit contact portion 43, and the other side is electrically connected to the movable contact piece 35. Accordingly, the movable contact piece 35 is electrically connected to the connector 24 via the short-circuit contact portion 43 and the conductive patterns 44a and 44b. Note that the conductive pattern 44 a on the upper surface side of the substrate 26 and the conductive pattern 44 b on the lower surface side of the substrate 26 are electrically connected through a conduction hole 45. Further, the tongue piece 35a of the movable contact piece 35 is fitted from the lower surface side of the conduction hole 45 and is conducted.

  Next, when the detection switch unit 14 is mounted on the main body 12, a pair of the movable contact piece 35 and the fixed contact piece 36 face each other, and contact is made when the movable contact piece 35 is elastically displaced toward the fixed contact piece 36. Are arranged at a parallel interval.

  Among these, the movable link piece 34 provided to press the upper portion of the movable contact piece 35 is, as shown in FIG. 4, a link pressing surface 34b provided on the front end side with the relay pin 33 as a rotation fulcrum. Abuts on the upper part of the movable contact piece 35, and the top 34c of the movable link piece 34 slides and guides the track guide surface 46 formed on the inner surface of the top plate of the cover 15, so that the movement of the movable link piece 34 is performed. Is guided.

  Therefore, when the movable link piece 34 is displaced in conjunction with the passage of the sphere, the link pressing surface 34b on the front side of the movable link piece 34 comes into contact with the upper end portion of the movable contact piece 35, and the upper top portion 34c is tracked. When there is no load in the sphere passage 13 where the sphere is in contact with the guide surface 46, or when the sphere first flows in, the movable contact piece 35 does not move as shown in FIG. The separated state where the pieces 36 face each other in parallel is maintained.

  4B, when the ball P supplied from the upstream side contacts the detection lever 30 when passing through the ball passage 13, the fixed link piece 32 fixed to the detection lever 30 is obtained. Are rotated together, and the movable link piece 34 is also rotated in conjunction with the rotation. At this time, the movable link piece 34 presses the movable contact piece 35 and elastically displaces the upper end portion of the movable contact piece 35 toward the fixed contact piece 36 so that the movable contact piece 35 and the fixed contact piece 36 correspond to each other. The positional relationship between the respective parts is adjusted so that the horizontal contact bar 35b and the vertical contact bar 36a come into contact with each other and become conductive (contacts are turned on).

  In particular, the movement of the movable contact piece 35 in the contact direction is greatly displaced via the movable link piece 34 at the time of the initial rotation when the detection lever 30 is pushed by the descending sphere P to rotate and retract. On the other hand, the movement in the contact direction of the movable contact piece 35 is slightly displaced via the movable link piece 34 from the initial turn to the final turn when the detection lever 30 is pushed by the descending ball P to turn and retract. The link mechanism has a different and unique movement (described later).

  With this link mechanism, when the detection lever 30 is initially rotated, the movement of the movable contact piece 35 in the contact direction is greatly increased so that it is immediately brought into contact with the fixed contact piece 36 to detect the presence of a sphere. The movement of the piece 35 in the contact direction is reduced, the wiping stroke at the contact portion is reduced, and wear of the contact portion is suppressed. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4C, since the movement (displacement amount) of the movable link piece 34 and the movable contact piece 35 is small even when the ball P passes through the ball passage 13 at the end of the ball, it is suitable for the contact portion. It becomes a movement (described later).

  After the passage of the sphere, the control unit detects that one sphere has passed, and in the sphere passage 13 again, the detection lever 30 is moved by the elastic return force of the movable contact piece 35 as shown in FIG. It projects into the original ball passage 13 and prepares for the detection of the next ball.

  FIG. 6 shows a circuit diagram of the sphere detector 11. The sphere detector 11 opens and closes (outputs a sphere presence / absence signal) in conjunction with the rotation of the detection lever 30 in a series circuit in which contacts are configured in series. Separately from the detection lever interlocking series circuit 61 provided as described above and the detection lever interlocking series circuit 61, a manually operated type that outputs a signal with a ball by short-circuiting the movable contact pieces 35 by manual operation. A composite circuit 63 including both circuits 61 and 62 with the short circuit 62 is constructed.

  The detection lever interlocking series circuit 61 outputs a signal with a sphere by interlocking the detection operation described in FIGS. 4A to 4C, that is, the detection operation of the sphere P with the passage of the sphere P. can do.

  On the other hand, the manually operated short circuit 62 includes a push button 22, a pressing portion 22a, a short piece 38, a short contact portion 43, and conductive patterns 44a and 44b. In the manual operation type short circuit 62, for example, when an attendant presses the push button 22, the pressing portion 22a at the inner end of the push button 22 presses the short piece 38 as shown in FIGS. . As a result, the short-circuit piece 38 can simultaneously contact and short-circuit the left and right short-circuit contact portions 43. By this short circuit, the movable contact pieces 35 can be short-circuited through the conductive patterns 44a and 44b, and a signal with a ball can be output from the connector 24 to the external control unit through the conductive patterns 44a and 44b.

  Normally, when there is no load when the push button 22 is not pressed, the tip of the short-circuit piece 38 and the short-circuit contact portion 43 are spaced apart and face each other as shown in FIG. Only when the push button 22 is pressed by manual operation to short-circuit the internal short-circuit contact portion 43, a signal with a ball can be output artificially. When the ball is removed by a pachinko machine, the manual operation type short-circuit circuit is used when the detection lever-linked series circuit 61 is driven to remove the ball and then completely remove the remaining ball. 62 is used together. In particular, the clerk only needs to press the button with one touch, and can easily remove the ball completely.

  Next, a specific description will be given of the movement of the movable link piece 34 by the unique link mechanism. In this link mechanism, the fixed link piece 32 integral with the detection lever 30 rotates the linear movement of the sphere descending the ball passage 13. Convert to motion in the direction of movement. At this time, the movement of the fixed link piece 32 rotating is further varied by the movable link piece 34 according to the rotation stage. The displacement of the movable link piece 34 is preferably large so that the contact portion that outputs a signal with a ball immediately contacts when the detection lever 30 is initially rotated. In order to avoid this, it is preferable to take a small amount of displacement suitable for contact at the contact portion thereafter.

  Therefore, in order to obtain a large movement of the movable link piece 34, if the bending angle of the fixed link piece 32 and the movable link piece 34 is increased at the initial position and the movable link piece 34 is extended from this, a large amount of displacement is obtained. be able to. On the other hand, in order to obtain a small movement, the movable link piece 34 is set to be in a substantially extended state so that the amount of displacement is small from the time after the initial rotation of the fixed link piece 32 to the final rotation. ing.

  Thus, since the sphere P passing through the sphere passage 13 passes in the same direction at a constant speed, the transmission force from the sphere P can only obtain a constant movement, but the timing at which the detection lever 30 moves and the sphere P pass. The detection state up to can be reflected and taken out by the link mechanism using both link pieces 32 and 34, so that the amount of displacement of the movable link piece 34 at the time of initial rotation of the detection lever 30 and after that can be made different. it can. Therefore, the detection lever interlocking type contact structure suitable for detecting the sphere P can be secured.

  In particular, a relay pin 33 corresponds to the shaft support portion of the movable link piece 34, the relay pin 33 connects the fixed link piece 32 and the movable link piece 34 in a freely rotating manner, and the relay pin 33 is a link storage portion. It is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction within 47 spaces. Further, the trajectory guide in the displacement direction corresponds to the trajectory guide surface 46 formed on the inner surface of the top plate of the cover 15, and the trajectory guide surface 46 specifies the displacement direction of the movable link piece 34.

Furthermore, by setting different link length ratios of the fixed link piece 32 and the movable link piece 34 according to the angle of the detection lever 30, precise condition setting can be performed. In this case, the link length of the fixed link piece 32 is set short and the link length of the movable link piece 34 is set long. In addition, the fixed link piece 32 and the movable link piece 34 have a V-shape with the relay pin 33 as a rotation fulcrum when there is no load, and when the load is applied, the V-shaped angle gradually increases. Therefore, the movement of the movable link piece 34 is
(1) The axial support action while displacing at the relay pin 33 that is not fixed in place;
(2) The top 34c of the movable link piece 34 slidably contacted with the track guide surface 46, which is a planar guide surface on the inner surface of the top plate of the cover 15, is guided substantially linearly in the direction of the movable contact piece 35. Trajectory guide action,
Thus, the movable link piece 34 can be largely displaced when the detection lever 30 is initially rotated.

  On the other hand, since the movable link piece 34 approaches the fully extended state after the initial rotation of the detection lever 30, the movable link piece 34 can be displaced small. In this way, the movable link piece 34 ensures the optimum movement to the opposed movable contact piece 35. For this reason, the detection lever interlocking type detection operation interlocking with the passage of the sphere P can be made the most preferable form. In particular, in the passage of the continuous sphere P through which the spheres P pass through the sphere passage 13, the next sphere P flows in until the detection lever 30 that contacts the sphere P and rotates in the detection direction returns. Therefore, the detection lever 30 is kept in the detection state as it is moved to the detection position, the movement at the contact portion is reduced, and the life of the contact can be extended by suppressing the wear of the contact.

  Next, an example of experimental data will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a value of experimental data showing the relationship between the operating angle of the detection lever 30 and the contact moving distance of the movable contact piece 35 by comparing the conventional example 101 in which the link mechanism is not used and the inventive example 102. FIG.

  As a result of considering the values of these experimental data, when the operation angle of the detection lever is 0 degree, the movable contact piece does not operate in the no-load state, so the non-contact state is maintained. There is no change in the contact distance.

  Subsequently, when the operation angle of the detection lever is rotated from 0 degrees, 10 degrees, 20 degrees, 25 degrees, and 30 degrees, the operation angle of the detection lever hardly changes from the initial rotation to the final rotation. It was found to be a data value. This is because the movable contact piece corresponds to the fixed contact piece with a constant contact pressure from beginning to end, so contact wear due to wiping after contact tends to increase, and the detection timing at the time of initial rotation of the detection lever is delayed. It turns out that it is a sphere detection switch with low sensitivity.

  On the other hand, in this invention example, when the operation angle of the detection lever is rotated from 0 degree to 10 degrees, 20 degrees, 25 degrees, and 30 degrees, the operation angle of the detection lever is the initial rotation (from 10 degrees to 20 degrees), a large displacement amount was recognized. From this point on, it was confirmed that the amount of displacement was small during the final rotation. From such experimental data, in the example of the present invention, the movable contact piece 35 can be greatly displaced in the contact direction via the link mechanism at the time of the initial rotation in which the detection lever 30 rotates in contact with the sphere P. It can be seen that the sphere P can be detected. Thereafter, since the movement of the movable contact piece 35 in the contact direction is displaced small, it can be seen that a switch operation suitable for contact with little wear at the contact portion can be obtained. It can also be seen that the detection timing at the time of initial rotation is fast and the detection device has a high detection sensitivity.

Next, the operation of the sphere detector 11 will be described.
When the sphere P is supplied from the upstream side and the sphere P exists in the two sphere passages 13 of the sphere detector 11, the detection lever 30 is retracted from the sphere passage 13 by the sphere P existing in the sphere passage 13. Are located in the lever housing 28. In this detection lever retracted state, the movable link piece 34 presses the corresponding movable contact piece 35 via both detection levers 30 and the fixed link piece 32. As a result, the two movable contact pieces 35 come into contact with the fixed contact piece 36, and the two contact points are closed together. Since the fixed contact piece 36 is conducted through the connecting piece 37, the two movable contact pieces 35 are also brought into conduction, and the lead terminals 24a of the connector 24 connected to the movable contact piece 35 are conducted. It becomes. A ball presence detection signal is sent from the lead terminal 24a to the control unit, and the control unit recognizes that a predetermined number of balls P that can continue the game are supplied to the ball dispensing device, and performs a normal ball dispensing operation.

  On the other hand, when the sphere P does not exist in any one of the two rows of the sphere passages 13 (including the case where neither of them exists), the detection lever 30 protrudes toward the sphere passage 13 side. At this time, the movable contact piece 35 and the fixed contact piece 36 are separated from each other and the contact is opened. Since the two contacts are connected in series by the connecting piece 37, when at least one of the contacts is opened, the lead terminal 24a is not conductive (OFF). Therefore, the control unit recognizes that the predetermined number of balls P has not been supplied to the ball payout device, and transmits a ball payout stop command to the ball payout device.

  By the way, when a ball is removed for inspection or rearrangement of the pachinko machine, the ball removal is executed according to a command from a control unit provided in the main body of the pachinko machine. When this ball removal is performed, if there is no more ball in the ball passage 13 of the ball detector 11, the payout is restricted and a remaining ball is generated in the ball payout device.

  In order to completely remove such remaining spheres, the clerk may manually press the push button 22 protruding from the outer surface of the sphere detector 11. As the push button 22 is pressed, the manually operated short circuit 62 is short-circuited, and a ball detection signal is output to the control unit to continue the ball removing operation, and the remaining balls are removed. Thereafter, when the ball is completely removed, the clerk releases the fingertip from the push button 22 to complete the ball removal operation.

  As described above, when a ball removal operation is performed in response to a payout signal from the control unit and then a ball remaining in the ball passage is completely removed, the ball can be completely removed with a single operation by a manual operation. Therefore, the complete ball removal process does not take time and can be removed easily and in a short time.

  Furthermore, when creating a short-circuit piece, it can be cut and raised from the connection piece, so that it can be formed integrally with the connection piece, and since it is not newly attached as a separate part, the number of parts can be reduced.

  In addition, by providing a slit in the cover, it is possible to efficiently provide a push button having an elastic support function on a part of the outer wall of the cover. Particularly, since the push button can be shared with the cover, the number of parts can be reduced, In addition, the sphere detector can be kept compact with a wasteful arrangement configuration.

  Furthermore, since the movable contact piece, the fixed contact piece, the short-circuit piece, the short-circuit contact portion, the conductive pattern, the connector, the lead terminal, the connector connecting portion, etc. for constituting the composite circuit are integrally provided on the substrate, Many circuit members can be arranged and configured efficiently as a common mounting member. Therefore, many circuit members can be compactly incorporated into the ball detector via this substrate.

  In addition, the movable contact piece and the fixed contact piece are constructed by a unique link mechanism that varies the amount of displacement between the detection lever and the contact part so that movement suitable for contact at the contact part can be obtained. It is possible to shorten the wiping stroke after the contact, reduce the wear at the contact portion, and extend the contact life.

In correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the above-described embodiment,
The manual switch operating portion of the present invention corresponds to the cover integrated push button 22 of the embodiment,
Similarly,
The conducting member corresponds to the connecting piece 37,
Although the short-circuit conducting member corresponds to the short-circuit contact portion 43 and the conductive patterns 44a and 44b, the present invention can be applied based on the technical idea shown in the claims, and is limited only to the configuration of the above-described one embodiment. Is not to be done.

The external appearance perspective view of a sphere detector. The exploded perspective view of a ball detector. The top view of a sphere detector. The AA arrow directional cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 which shows the detection operation state accompanying passage of a sphere. The exploded perspective view which looked at the relationship between a board | substrate and its mounting components from the board | substrate back surface side. The circuit diagram which shows the composite circuit of a sphere detector. The principal part fracture | rupture perspective view which shows the inside of a bulb | ball detector. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the relationship between the push button of a ball | bowl detector, and a short circuit piece. The principal part expansion longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the relationship between a pushbutton and a short circuit piece. The table | surface which shows the relationship between the operation angle of a detection lever, and the movement distance of a movable contact piece comparing the example of an invention with a prior art example. The circuit diagram which shows the series circuit of the conventional bulb | ball detector.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Ball detector 12 ... Main body 13 ... Ball passage 22 ... Push button 30 ... Detection lever 35 ... Movable contact piece 36 ... Fixed contact piece 38 ... Short-circuit piece 43 ... Short-circuit contact part 61 ... Detection lever interlocking type series circuit 62 ... Manually operated short circuit 63 ... Composite circuit

Claims (3)

A body having a plurality of rows of spherical passages open at both ends;
A plurality of detection levers rotatably disposed in the main body corresponding to the plurality of ball passages;
A plurality of contact circuits that open and close independently with each rotation of the detection levers, and a series circuit in which the plurality of contact circuits are connected in series between a pair of output terminals,
In a plurality of rows, a sphere detector that outputs a sphere presence signal between the output terminals when all spheres are detected.
A short circuit connected in parallel to the series circuit and having a short-circuit contact portion;
A short-circuit piece for short-circuiting the short-circuit contact portion;
A manual switch operating portion provided in the main body and displacing the short-circuit piece by manual operation;
A sphere detector in which a sphere presence signal is output between the output terminals by manual operation. The short-circuit contact portion is patterned on the surface of the substrate built in the main body, while the contact circuit is composed of a movable contact piece and a fixed contact piece, and the short-circuit piece is a conductive member to which the fixed contact pieces are connected. The ball detector according to claim 1, wherein the ball detector is formed by cutting and raising from a short circuit and short-circuits the short circuit upon receiving an operation force of the manual switch operation unit. The manual switch operation unit is provided with a cover that is attached to the main body by opening the ball passage side of the main body and covering the switch component side, and a slit is formed in a part of the outer wall of the cover so that the thickness of the outer wall of the cover The sphere detector according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a cover-integrated push button that is elastically displaced in a direction.

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