Pachinko machine

Abstract

To provide a game machine capable of reducing disassembly work when separated for recycling and the like.SOLUTION: In a Pachinko machine 1 which has a plurality of general winning ports 2001 which game balls can enter and is provided with a side unit 2800 fitted to a front surface of a panel plate 1110 of a game panel 1100 on whose front surface the game balls can flow, the side unit 2800 has: a positioning protrusion 2811c inserted in a positioning hole 1113 provided on the panel plate 1110 and a mounting hole 2811d to be fitted to the panel plate 1110; a first constituting member 2811 fitted to the panel plate 1110 so as to close an opening 1112 provided to go through the panel plate 1110 from a front side; and a second constituting member 2812 which has a mounting hole to be fitted to the first constituting member 2811 and is fitted from a back side of the first constituting member 2811.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 76

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a gaming machine such as a pachinko gaming machine (commonly also referred to as a "pachinko machine").

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a pachinko machine as a gaming machine equipped with a game board has been configured such that the game board is detachably provided with respect to a frame body, and it has been possible to change the gaming machine to a different specification by replacing an old game board with a new game board (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the above-described gaming machine, when newly creating a game board, a member corresponding to the shape of an opening formed in the new game board is required, which has complicated the design of the gaming machine. Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, the present invention The object is to provide a gaming machine that can simplify the design of the gaming machine and enhance convenience.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present invention is a gaming machine including a game board having a game area where game balls can flow down, the game board including a game plate having the game area formed on the front side, and a specific part attached to an opening formed in the game plate, From the front side of the game board and further having a connecting wire that can connect the specific part and a specific part of the game board, the connecting wire being capable of preventing the specific part from falling below the lower end of the gaming machine even when the specific part is removed from the game plate, the specific part connected to one end of the connecting wire being provided on the back side of the game plate, The front side of and further, the connecting wire being made difficult to visually recognize from the front by a predetermined decorative body ​​It is characterized by the following. As another invention different from the present invention, the following means are disclosed for reference. Means 1: In a gaming machine capable of controlling to a jackpot gaming state advantageous to a player when a symbol lottery is performed and the result of the symbol lottery becomes a jackpot result, a game panel, comprising a ball entry unit attached to the front surface of the game panel, the ball entry unit a first component member attached to the game panel so as to close an opening provided to penetrate the game panel from the front side, a second component member having an attachment hole for attaching to the first component member and attached from the rear side of the first component member, It is characterized by the following.

[0007] Here, examples of the "ball entry port" include "a winning port that grants a predetermined privilege when a game ball enters (for example, a general winning port, a normal winning port, a start winning port (start port), a big winning port, a device winning port, a V winning port, etc.)", "an out port that discharges the game ball outside the gaming machine without granting a privilege even when the game ball enters and without returning it to the player", and the like.

[0008] Also, the "ball entry port" may be provided in the first component member or the second component member.

[0009] Examples of the "game panel" include "one made of a wooden plywood such as a veneer board", "one composed of a panel board obtained by cutting a transparent resin board and a panel holder holding the outer periphery of the panel board", "one obtained by injection molding a transparent resin", and the like.

[0010] According to the configuration of means 1, in a gaming machine including a ball entry unit having a plurality of ball entry ports through which game balls can enter and attached to the front surface of a game panel through which the game balls can flow down, the ball entry unit has a positioning protrusion inserted into a positioning hole provided in the game panel and a first attachment hole for attaching to the game panel, and is attached to the game panel so as to block an opening provided so as to penetrate the game panel from the front side, a first component member; and a second component member having a second attachment hole for attaching to the first component member and attached from the rear side of the first component member (refer to the chapter of [12-1. Side unit of the second embodiment] and the descriptions in FIGS. 75 to 77, etc. in [Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]).

[0011] Thus, since the second component member is attached to the first component member by a mounting screw through the second attachment hole, and the first component member is attached to the front surface of the game panel by a mounting screw through the first attachment hole, the rigidity of the ball entry unit composed of the first component member and the second component member can be increased. Therefore, in the disassembling operation of the gaming machine due to recycling or the like, when the mounting screw screwed into the game panel through the first attachment hole is removed and the ball entry unit is pulled forward, the ball entry unit does not bend because its rigidity is increased, so the positioning protrusion of the ball entry unit (first component member) does not tilt with respect to the positioning hole of the game panel, and the ball entry unit can be easily removed from the game panel, and a gaming machine capable of reducing the disassembling operation during sorting can be provided.

[0012] Also, since the second component member is attached from the rear side of the first component member by a mounting screw through the second attachment hole, the mounting screw for attaching the second component member from the front can be made less visible, and the appearance of the gaming machine can be improved.

[0013] In addition, it is desirable to provide a first mounting hole for mounting on the game panel in the first component member in the vicinity of the positioning projection. By screwing a mounting screw into the game panel through the first mounting hole, the positioning projection can be strongly pressed against the game panel side and surely inserted into the positioning hole of the game panel, preventing the positioning projection from lifting due to incomplete insertion.

[0014] Also, the second component member may be attached from the rear side of the first component member so as to protrude into the opening. As a result, since the second component member attached from the back side of the first component member protrudes into the opening of the game panel, compared with the case where the second component member protrudes to the front or rear surface of the game panel, the plate thickness of the game panel can be effectively utilized, and it is easier to secure the empty space in front of or behind the game panel. Therefore, it becomes possible to provide an effect device such as a decorative body, an LED board, or a movable accessory in the empty space, and a game machine with higher appeal to players can be provided.

[0015] Furthermore, the second component member may be attached from the rear side of the first component member so as to protrude into the opening, and may have a ball passage for allowing a game ball that has entered the ball entrance to flow down along the surface of the game panel between the first component member and the second component member. As a result, since a ball passage for allowing the game ball to flow down along the surface of the game panel is provided in the second component member, the cross section of the ball passage portion is U-shaped, so the rigidity of the second component member can be increased due to the presence of the ball passage. And since the second component member whose rigidity is increased by the ball passage is attached from the rear side of the first component member to form an entrance ball unit, the rigidity of the entrance ball unit can be further increased, and a game machine capable of surely achieving the above-described operational effects can be provided.

[0016] Also, as described above, the second component member attached from the back side of the first component member protrudes into the opening of the game panel, and a ball passage for allowing the game balls that have entered the ball entrance to flow down along the surface of the game panel is provided between the first component member and the second component member. Therefore, compared with the case where the ball passage is provided behind the rear surface of the game panel, the thickness of the game panel can be effectively utilized, and it is easier to secure the empty space behind the game panel. Accordingly, it becomes possible to provide an effect device such as a decorative body, an LED substrate, or a movable accessory in the empty space, and it is possible to provide a game machine with a higher appeal to players.

[0017] Also, it is desirable to provide at least two positioning protrusions so as to be separated in the longitudinal direction of the first component member. Thereby, since a plurality of positioning protrusions in the first component member are provided so as to be separated in the longitudinal direction of the first component member, when the ball entrance unit is attached to the game panel, the ball entrance unit does not rotate along the surface of the game panel, and the ball entrance unit can be surely positioned at a desired position on the game panel.

[0018] By the way, when a plurality of positioning protrusions are provided at intervals in the longitudinal direction on a conventional ball entrance unit with low rigidity, when the ball entrance unit is pulled forward during the disassembly operation, the center of the ball entrance unit bends in a curved shape so as to move forward, and due to this bending, a force acts on each positioning protrusion so that the tips of the positioning protrusions separated in the longitudinal direction approach each other, and the positioning protrusions cannot come out of the positioning holes in the game panel. On the other hand, as described above, when a plurality of positioning protrusions in the first component member are provided so as to be separated in the longitudinal direction of the first component member, since the rigidity of the ball entrance unit is increased by attaching the second component member to the first component member, even if the ball entrance unit is pulled forward, the ball entrance unit does not bend and the positioning protrusions separated in the longitudinal direction do not tilt, and it is possible to provide a game machine that can easily remove the ball entrance unit from the game panel and reduce the disassembly work during sorting.

[0019] Furthermore, it is desirable to provide the first component member with the ball entry ports so as to project forward of the front surface of the game panel. By doing so, since the plurality of ball entry ports project forward of the front surface of the game panel, when pulling the ball entry unit forward to remove it from the game panel during the disassembling operation of the gaming machine, the ball entry ports can be grasped and pulled, making it easier to remove the ball entry unit.

[0020] Also, the second component member may have a plurality of ball entry ports that project forward of the front surface of the first component member and a flat front plate that connects the front ends of the plurality of ball entry ports. By doing so, since the second component member that connects the front ends of the plurality of ball entry ports projecting forward with the flat front plate is attached from the rear side of the first component member that is attached to the front surface of the game panel via the first attachment hole to form the ball entry unit, the rigidity can be increased compared to the conventional ball entry unit, and the same operational effects as described above can be achieved.

[0021] Also, the first component member may have a flat base plate that can abut against the front surface of the game panel. By doing so, since the first component member is provided with the flat base plate, by attaching the first component member to the front surface of the game panel via the first attachment hole, the opening of the game panel can be closed from the front side by the base plate, and it becomes possible to hide the rear of the game panel from the front side (the player side) through the opening with the base plate, improving the appearance of the gaming machine. At this time, although the rigidity of the first component member may decrease because the base plate is flat, since the second component member is attached from the rear side of the first component member, the rigidity of the ball entry unit formed by the first component member and the second component member can be increased compared to the rigidity of the conventional ball entry unit, and the same operational effects as described above can be achieved.

[0022] Means 2: In the configuration of Means 1, "the second component member is attached from the rear side of the first component member so as to project into the opening" is characterized by this.

[0023] According to the configuration of means 2, the second component member is attached from the rear side of the first component member so as to project into the opening (refer to the description of the second component member 2812 of the side unit 2800 in [Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]).

[0024] Thus, since the second component member attached from the back side of the first component member projects into the opening of the game panel, compared with the case where the second component member projects to the front or rear surface of the game panel, the thickness of the game panel can be effectively utilized, and it is easier to secure the empty space in front of or behind the game panel. Therefore, it becomes possible to provide an effect device such as a decorative body, an LED substrate, or a movable accessory in the empty space, and a gaming machine with a higher appeal to players can be provided.

[0025] Means 3: In the configuration of means 1 or means 2, "the second component member is attached from the rear side of the first component member so as to project into the opening, and has a ball passage for causing the game ball that has entered the ball entrance to flow down along the surface of the game panel between the first component member and the second component member." It is characterized by being such.

[0026] According to the configuration of means 3, the second component member is attached from the rear side of the first component member so as to project into the opening, and has a ball passage for causing the game ball that has entered the ball entrance to flow down along the surface of the game panel between the first component member and the second component member (refer to the description of the second component member 2812 of the side unit 2800 in [Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]).

[0027] As a result, since a ball passage for allowing a game ball to flow down along the surface of the game panel is provided in the second component member, the cross-section of the portion of the ball passage is U-shaped, and thus the rigidity of the second component member can be enhanced by the presence of the ball passage. And since the second component member whose rigidity is enhanced by the ball passage is attached from the rear side of the first component member to form the ball entry unit, the rigidity of the ball entry unit can be further enhanced, and a gaming machine capable of surely achieving the above-described operational effects can be provided.

[0028] Also, the second component member attached from the back side of the first component member protrudes into the opening of the game panel, and a ball passage for allowing the game ball that has entered the ball entry port to flow down along the surface of the game panel is provided between the first component member and the second component member. Therefore, compared with the case where the ball passage is provided behind the rear surface of the game panel, the plate thickness of the game panel can be effectively utilized, and it is easier to secure the empty space behind the game panel. Accordingly, it becomes possible to provide an effect device such as a decorative body, an LED board, or a movable accessory in the empty space, and a gaming machine with a higher appeal to players can be provided.

[0029] In addition, when providing a ball sensor for detecting the game ball flowing through the ball passage, it is desirable to provide the ball sensor within the plate thickness (inside the opening) of the game panel. Alternatively, it is desirable to provide the ball sensor below the effect device (movable accessory) provided at the rear. By these means, the ball sensor does not interfere with the effect device, and the movable range of the movable accessory can be made larger.

[0030] Means 4: In any one of the configurations from Means 1 to Means 3, "at least two of the positioning protrusions are provided so as to be separated in the longitudinal direction of the first component member" is characterized by being such.

[0031] According to the configuration of means 4, at least two positioning protrusions are provided so as to be separated in the longitudinal direction of the first constituent member (refer to the description of the first constituent member 2811 of the side unit 2800 in [Embodiment for Carrying Out the Invention]).

[0032] Thus, since a plurality of positioning protrusions in the first constituent member are provided so as to be separated in the longitudinal direction of the first constituent member, when the ball entry unit is attached to the game panel, the ball entry unit does not rotate along the surface of the game panel, and the ball entry unit can be surely positioned at a desired position on the game panel.

[0033] By the way, when a plurality of positioning protrusions are provided at intervals in the longitudinal direction on a conventional ball entry unit with low rigidity, when the ball entry unit is pulled forward during disassembly work, the center of the ball entry unit bends in a curved shape so as to move forward, and due to this bending, a force acts on each positioning protrusion so that the tips of the positioning protrusions separated in the longitudinal direction approach each other, and the positioning protrusions cannot come out of the positioning holes in the game panel. In contrast, in this configuration, as described above, since the rigidity of the ball entry unit is increased by attaching the second constituent member to the first constituent member, even if the ball entry unit is pulled forward, the ball entry unit does not bend and the positioning protrusions separated in the longitudinal direction do not tilt, and it is possible to easily remove the ball entry unit from the game panel, and it is possible to provide a gaming machine capable of reducing the disassembly work during sorting.

[0034] Means 5: In any one of the configurations from means 1 to means 5, "the ball entry port is provided in the first constituent member so as to protrude forward from the front surface of the game panel" is characterized by being such.

[0035] According to the configuration of means 5, the ball entry port is provided in the first constituent member so as to protrude forward from the front surface of the game panel (refer to the description of the first constituent member 2811 of the side unit 2800 in [Embodiment for Carrying Out the Invention]).

[0036] As a result, since a plurality of ball inlets protrude forward from the front surface of the game panel, when pulling the ball in unit forward to remove it from the game panel during the disassembly operation of the gaming machine, the ball inlets can be pinched and pulled, making it easier to remove the ball in unit.

[0037] Means 6: In any one of the configurations from Means 1 to Means 5, "The second component member has a plurality of the ball inlets protruding forward from the front surface of the first component member, and a flat front plate connecting the front ends of the plurality of ball inlets." It is characterized by being such.

[0038] According to the configuration of Means 6, the second component member has a plurality of ball inlets protruding forward from the front surface of the first component member, and a flat front plate connecting the front ends of the plurality of ball inlets (refer to the description of the second component member 2812A of the side unit 2800D in [Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]).

[0039] As a result, since the second component member connecting the front ends of the plurality of ball inlets protruding forward by the flat front plate is attached from the rear side of the first component member attached to the front surface of the game panel through the first attachment hole to form the ball in unit, the rigidity can be increased compared to the conventional ball in unit, and the same operational effects as described above can be achieved.

[0040] Means 7: In any one of the configurations from Means 1 to Means 6, "The first component member has a flat base plate capable of abutting against the front surface of the game panel." It is characterized by being such.

[0041] According to the configuration of Means 7, the first component member has a flat base plate capable of abutting against the front surface of the game panel (refer to the description of the first component member 2811 of the side unit 2800 in [Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]).

[0042] Thus, since the first component member is provided with a flat base plate, by attaching the first component member to the front surface of the game panel through the first mounting holes, the opening of the game panel can be blocked from the front side by the base plate, and it becomes possible to hide the rear of the game panel from the front side (the player side) through the opening with the base plate, improving the appearance of the gaming machine. At this time, since the base plate is flat, the rigidity of the first component member may be reduced. However, since the second component member is attached from the rear side of the first component member, the rigidity of the ball entry unit formed by the first component member and the second component member can be increased compared to the rigidity of the conventional ball entry unit, and the same operational effects as described above can be achieved.

[0043] Means 8: In a gaming machine, "In a gaming machine including a ball entry unit having a plurality of ball entry ports through which game balls can enter and attached to the front surface of a game panel through which game balls can flow down, the ball entry unit includes a positioning protrusion inserted into a positioning hole provided in the game panel, and a first mounting hole for attaching to the game panel, and a first component member attached to the game panel so as to block an opening provided to penetrate the game panel from the front side, a second mounting hole for attaching to the first component member, and a second component member attached from the rear side of the first component member, and the first component member has a flat base plate on which the positioning protrusion protrudes and the first mounting hole penetrates and which can abut against the front surface of the game panel, and at least two positioning protrusions are provided so as to be separated in the longitudinal direction of the base plate, and the ball entry port is provided so as to protrude forward from the front surface of the base plate, the second component member is attached from the rear side of the first component member so as to protrude into the opening, and has a ball passage for causing a game ball that has entered the ball entry port between the first component member and the second component member to flow down along the surface of the game panel." It is characterized by being such.

[0044] According to the configuration of the means 8, in a gaming machine including a ball entry unit having a plurality of ball entry ports into which game balls can enter and attached to the front surface of a game panel through which the game balls can flow down, the ball entry unit has a positioning projection inserted into a positioning hole provided in the game panel and a first attachment hole for attaching to the game panel, and a first component member attached to the game panel so as to close an opening provided so as to penetrate the game panel from the front side, and a second component member having a second attachment hole for attaching to the first component member and attached from the rear side of the first component member. The first component member has a flat base plate on which the positioning projection protrudes and the first attachment hole penetrates and which can abut against the front surface of the game panel. At least two positioning projections are provided so as to be separated in the longitudinal direction of the base plate, and the ball entry port is provided so as to protrude forward from the front surface of the base plate. The second component member is attached from the rear side of the first component member so as to protrude into the opening, and has a ball passage for causing a game ball that has entered the ball entry port to flow down along the surface of the game panel between the first component member and itself.

[0045] Accordingly, since the first component member is provided with a flat base plate, by screwing mounting screws into the game panel through the first mounting holes penetrating the base plate and mounting the first component member on the front surface of the game panel, the opening of the game panel can be closed from the front side by the base plate, and it becomes possible to hide the rear of the game panel from the front side (the player side) through the opening with the base plate, improving the appearance of the gaming machine. On the other hand, since the second component member is provided with a ball passage for allowing game balls to flow down along the surface of the game panel, the cross-section of the portion of the ball passage is U-shaped, so the rigidity of the second component member can be increased due to the presence of the ball passage. And although the rigidity of the first component member may be reduced because the base plate is flat, since the second component member with increased rigidity due to the ball passage is mounted on the rear side of the first component member by mounting screws through the second mounting holes to form the ball entry unit, the rigidity of the ball entry unit can be increased compared to the conventional ball entry unit. Therefore, in the disassembling operation of the gaming machine by recycling or the like, when the mounting screws screwed into the game panel through the first mounting holes are removed and the ball entry unit is pulled forward, the ball entry unit does not bend because its rigidity is increased, so the positioning protrusion of the ball entry unit (the first component member) does not tilt with respect to the positioning holes of the game panel, and the ball entry unit can be easily removed from the game panel, and it is possible to provide a gaming machine capable of reducing the disassembling operation during sorting.

[0046] Incidentally, since the plurality of positioning protrusions in the first component member are provided so as to be separated in the longitudinal direction of the first component member, when the first component member is pulled forward during disassembly work, the center of the first component member will bend in a curved shape so as to move forward, and due to this bending, a force acts on each positioning protrusion so that the tips of the positioning protrusions separated in the longitudinal direction approach each other, and there is a risk that the positioning protrusions will not come out of the positioning holes of the game panel. However, in this configuration, as described above, the second component member is attached from the rear side of the first component member to form the ball entry unit, and since the rigidity of the ball entry unit is increased, even if the ball entry unit is pulled forward, the ball entry unit does not bend and the positioning protrusions separated in the longitudinal direction do not tilt, and it is possible to easily remove the ball entry unit from the game panel, and it is possible to provide a gaming machine capable of reducing the disassembly work during sorting.

[0047] Furthermore, since the plurality of ball entry ports protrude forward from the front surface of the game panel, in the disassembly work of the gaming machine, when pulling the ball entry unit forward to remove it from the game panel, the ball entry port can be pinched and pulled, making it easier to remove the ball entry unit.

[0048] Also, since the second component member is attached from the rear side of the first component member with mounting screws through the second mounting holes, it is possible to make the mounting screws for attaching the second component member less visible from the front, improving the appearance of the gaming machine.

[0049] In addition, since a ball passage for allowing a game ball that has entered the entry port to flow down along the surface of the game panel is provided so as to protrude into the opening of the game panel between the first component member and the second component member, compared with the case of guiding a game ball that has entered the entry port like a conventional ball entry unit to the rear of the game panel and providing a ball passage behind the game panel to cause it to flow downwards, the thickness of the game panel can be effectively utilized, and it becomes easier to secure an empty space behind the game panel. Therefore, it is possible to provide an effect device such as a decorative body, an LED board, or a movable accessory in the empty space, and a game machine with a higher appeal to players can be provided.

[0050] Furthermore, since a plurality of positioning protrusions in the first component member are provided so as to be spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the first component member, when the ball entry unit is attached to the game panel, the ball entry unit does not rotate along the surface of the game panel, and the ball entry unit can be surely positioned at a desired position on the game panel.

[0051] In addition, if a first mounting hole for mounting to the game panel in the first component member is provided in the vicinity of the positioning protrusion, by screwing a mounting screw into the game panel through the first mounting hole, the positioning protrusion can be strongly pressed against the game panel side and surely inserted into the positioning hole of the game panel, and it is possible to prevent lifting due to incomplete insertion of the positioning protrusion.

[0052] Means 9: In any one of the configurations from Means 1 to Means 8, the gaming machine is characterized in that it is a pachinko machine in which at least one of the plurality of entry ports is a winning port that grants a predetermined privilege when a game ball enters.

[0053] Here, as the "winning opening", there are "general winning openings that are always open within the game area", "starting winning openings (starting openings) that are always open within the game area and in which a special lottery is conducted to determine whether a favorable gaming state that benefits the player as a predetermined privilege is generated by the entry of a game ball", "variable winning openings (variable starting openings, accessory winning openings, etc.) in which a game ball can enter the game area as a predetermined privilege when a game ball enters a specific receiving port (chucker) within the game area", "variable winning openings (variable starting openings, accessory winning openings, etc.) in which a game ball can enter the game area as a predetermined privilege according to the result of a regular lottery conducted when a game ball passes through a specific area (gate, through chucker, etc.) within the game area", "variable starting winning openings (variable starting openings) in which a game ball can enter the game area as a predetermined privilege according to the result of a regular lottery conducted when a game ball passes through a specific area (e.g., gate, chucker, etc.) within the game area, and in which a special lottery is conducted to determine whether a favorable gaming state that benefits the player as a predetermined privilege is generated by the entry of a game ball", "V winning openings in which, when a game ball that has entered an accessory winning opening is distributed and enters by a distributing means, a favorable gaming state that benefits the player as a predetermined privilege is generated", "large winning openings and accessory winning openings that open and close in a predetermined pattern and allow the entry of game balls as a favorable gaming state that benefits the player as a predetermined privilege", etc.

[0054] In addition, as a "pachinko machine", there is one equipped with "a lottery means for conducting a special lottery to generate an advantageous gaming state in which a player benefits as a predetermined privilege when a gaming ball enters a start opening; a special lottery result display means as a display for variably displaying a special symbol according to the special lottery result selected by the lottery means and then stopping and displaying it, and displaying the special lottery result selected by the combination of the special symbols stopped and displayed; and an advantageous gaming state generation means for opening and closing a big winning opening in a predetermined pattern when a special lottery result that generates an advantageous gaming state is displayed in the special lottery result display means (so-called digital pachinko machine)", one equipped with "a distribution means for distributing the gaming balls that have entered a winning opening for accessories; and an advantageous gaming state generation means for opening and closing the winning opening for accessories in a predetermined pattern as a predetermined privilege when the gaming balls distributed by the distribution means enter a V winning opening, thereby generating an advantageous gaming state in which the player benefits (so-called honey machine)", one equipped with "a big winning opening and a winning opening for accessories, opening and closing the big winning opening or the winning opening for accessories in a predetermined pattern according to the special lottery result selected by the entry of a gaming ball into the start opening (start entry), and when the gaming balls that have entered the winning opening for accessories are distributed to the V winning opening, opening and closing the winning opening for accessories or the big winning opening in a predetermined pattern as a predetermined privilege, thereby generating an advantageous gaming state in which the player benefits (so-called composite machine)", etc.

[0055] According to the configuration of means 9, the gaming machine is a pachinko machine in which at least one of the plurality of the above-mentioned ball entry openings is used as a winning opening for granting a predetermined privilege when a gaming ball enters. Thereby, in the pachinko machine, any of the above-described effects of the means can be achieved.

Effects of the Invention

[0056] Thus, according to the present invention, The design of the gaming machine can be simplified and convenience can be enhanced 。

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0057]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0058] [1. Overall Structure of Pachinko Machine] The pachinko machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the overall configuration of the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachinko machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the pachinko machine shown in a state where the upper side is tilted forward.

[0059] The pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment is installed and used in island facilities in a game hall or the like. In this pachinko machine 1, a large number (for example, 40 to 60) of game balls B are enclosed without being discharged to the outside or supplied from the outside, and circulate inside, so that the player does not touch the game balls B. It is a so-called enclosed game machine or management game machine. In this pachinko machine 1, the number of balls held by the player is digitized and handled as held ball data.

[0060] The pachinko balls B enclosed in the pachinko machine 1 have the same diameter (hereinafter also referred to as diameter D. Diameter D = 11 mm) as the pachinko balls used in conventional pachinko machines, but are made of non-magnetic stainless steel such as SUS304. As a result, even if the pachinko balls B are enclosed in the pachinko machine 1 for a long time, they will not rust, and they are distinguished from the conventional pachinko balls (iron balls SB) that are magnetically attached.

[0061] The pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment includes a frame-shaped outer frame 2 installed in the island facility (not shown) of the game hall, a door frame 3 that closes the front surface of the outer frame 2 in an openable and closable manner, a main body frame 4 that supports the door frame 3 in an openable and closable manner and is detachably attached to the outer frame 2, and a game board 5 that is detachably attached to the main body frame 4 from the front side and has a game area 5a that can be visually recognized by the player through the door frame 3 and into which the pachinko balls B are driven by the player.

[0062] [2. Outer frame] The outer frame 2 of the pachinko machine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10. FIG. 3 is a front view of the pachinko machine shown with the door frame removed. FIG. 4 is a front view of the pachinko machine shown with the door frame and the game board removed, FIG. 5 is a rear view of the pachinko machine of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the pachinko machine of FIG. 4 seen obliquely from the front. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the pachinko machine of FIG. 4 disassembled by main components and seen from the front, and FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the pachinko machine of FIG. 4 disassembled by main components and seen from the back. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the pachinko machine of FIG. 4 cut at the upper and lower centers. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 9.

[0063] The outer frame 2 can be attached to the island equipment of a game hall (not shown), and can be attached to the main body frame 4 in a manner that allows it to be opened and closed forward and to be detachable. The outer frame 2 includes an outer frame main body 10 formed in an overall vertically long frame shape, an outer frame assembly fitting 20 for assembling the outer frame main body 10, an outer frame hinge mechanism 30 for supporting the main body frame 4 in an openable and closable manner, an outer frame locking fitting (not shown) for locking the main body frame 4 in a closed state, a curtain plate 45 attached to the lower frame body 14 of the outer frame main body 10, and a slip plate 46 attached to the upper surface of the curtain plate 45.

[0064] The outer frame main body 10 of the outer frame 2 includes a left frame body 11 and a right frame body 12 that extend in the vertical direction and are spaced apart left and right, an upper frame body 13 that connects the upper ends of the left frame body 11 and the right frame body 12, and a lower frame body 14 that connects the lower ends of the left frame body 11 and the right frame body 12. The left frame body 11 and the right frame body 12 are each formed of an extruded profile of a metal such as an aluminum alloy. The upper frame body 13 and the lower frame body 14 are formed of wood. The left frame body 11, the right frame body 12, the upper frame body 13, and the lower frame body 14 have the same dimensions in the front-rear direction.

[0065] The outer frame assembly fitting 20 of the outer frame 2 includes an upper left fitting (not shown) that connects the left frame body 11 and the upper frame body 13, an upper right fitting (not shown) that connects the right frame body 12 and the upper frame body 13, a lower left fitting 23 that connects the left frame body 11 and the lower frame body 14, and a lower right fitting (not shown) that connects the right frame body 12 and the lower frame body 14.

[0066] The outer frame hinge mechanism 30 includes an outer frame upper hinge body 31 provided at the upper left end of the outer frame main body 10 and an outer frame lower hinge body 35 provided at the lower left end of the outer frame main body 10.

[0067] The upper outer frame hinge body 31 of the outer frame hinge mechanism 30 is attached to the upper left surface of the upper frame body 13, and its front end protrudes forward from the outer frame main body 10. The upper outer frame hinge body 31 has a bearing groove 31a that penetrates vertically and is open on one side at a portion that protrudes forward from the outer frame main body 10, and a lock member 32 that is provided on the lower surface of the portion that protrudes forward from the outer frame main body 10 and can open and close the open portion of the bearing groove 31a.

[0068] The bearing groove 31a of the upper outer frame hinge body 31 can support the main body frame hinge shaft 411a of the main body frame upper hinge body 411 in the main body frame 4 by inserting the main body frame hinge shaft 411a into the bearing groove 31a. In the normal state, the lock member 32 of the upper outer frame hinge body 31 is positioned in a locked position where the open portion of the bearing groove 31a is closed by the biasing force of an elastic piece (not shown). When the lock member 32 is moved to the release position against the biasing force of the elastic piece, the bearing groove 31a is opened to the side, and the main body frame hinge shaft 411a can be inserted into the bearing groove 31a from the side, or the main body frame hinge shaft 411a inserted into the bearing groove 31a can be removed from the bearing groove 31a.

[0069] The lower outer frame hinge body 35 of the outer frame hinge mechanism 30 is attached to a portion (upper portion) that overlaps with the lower frame body 14 on the upper left surface of the curtain plate 45, and its front end protrudes forward from the outer frame main body 10. The lower outer frame hinge body 35 has a hinge shaft 35a that protrudes upward at a portion that protrudes forward from the outer frame main body 10. By inserting the hinge shaft 35a of the lower outer frame hinge body 35 into the outer frame shaft hole (not shown) of the main body frame lower hinge body 412 in the main body frame 4, the main body frame lower hinge body 412 can be rotatably supported.

[0070] The outer frame hinge mechanism 30 can support the main body frame 4 so that it can be opened and closed by pivotally supporting the main body frame hinge shaft 411a of the main body frame upper hinge body 411 in the main body frame 4 in the bearing groove 31a of the upper outer frame hinge body 31 and inserting the hinge shaft 35a of the lower outer frame hinge body 35 into the outer frame shaft hole of the main body frame lower hinge body 412.

[0071] The outer frame locking fittings of the outer frame 2 are provided in two vertically spaced positions on the inner surface (left side surface) of the right frame body 12. The outer frame locking fittings can lock the main body frame 4 in a non-openable state with respect to the outer frame 2 when the outer frame locking claws 684 of the lock unit 680 in the main body frame 4 are respectively locked thereto.

[0072] The curtain plate 45 of the outer frame 2 is attached to the lower frame body 14, and the front end thereof protrudes forward from the lower frame body 14. The curtain plate 45 is formed of a synthetic resin. The sliding plates 46 are provided in two positions spaced apart left and right on the upper surface of the curtain plate 45. The sliding plates 46 are such that when the main body frame 4 is closed with respect to the outer frame 2, the lower end surface of the main body frame 4 abuts thereon. The sliding plates 46 are formed of a low-friction material with low frictional resistance, facilitating the sliding of the main body frame 4 and making the opening and closing easier.

[0073] [3. Door Frame] The door frame 3 of the pachinko machine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The door frame 3 is formed in a rectangular shape that is substantially the same size as the inside of the frame of the outer frame 2 and extends vertically in a front view, and is attached to the inside of the frame of the outer frame 2 through the main body frame 4 so as to be openable and closable from the front side. The door frame 3 includes a door frame main body 100 having a game window 101 through which the game area 5a of the game board 5 attached to the main body frame 4 faces forward when closed, a transparent glass 120 detachably attached to the rear side of the door frame main body 100 for closing the game window 101, a held ball number display unit 140 for displaying the number of held balls of the player, a handle 160 operated by the player for driving a game ball B into the game area 5a of the game board 5, a cylindrical handle cover 170 surrounding the outer periphery of the handle 160, and a count button switch 180 operable by the player.

[0074] Further, the door frame 3 includes a door frame curtain plate 190 that extends across the entire width in the left - right direction at a certain height from the lower end on the front surface of the door frame body 100, a shelf unit 200 that protrudes forward at a position between the game window 101 and the door frame curtain plate 190 on the front surface of the door frame body 100, and an effect operation unit 250 that is provided at the center in the left - right direction of the shelf unit 200 and can be operated by the player. The held ball number display unit 140 and the counting button switch 180 are provided on the upper surface of the shelf unit 200 (the upper surface of the shelf portion 201).

[0075] Furthermore, the door frame 3 includes a door frame top unit 300 provided above the game window 101 on the front surface of the door frame body 100, a door frame left side unit 320 provided on the left side of the game window 101 on the front surface of the door frame body 100, and a door frame right side unit 340 provided on the right side of the game window 101 on the front surface of the door frame body 100.

[0076] The door frame body 100 has a door frame hinge mechanism 110 for attachably and detachably mounting to the main body frame 4. The door frame hinge mechanism 110 has a door frame upper hinge body (not shown) provided at the upper left end of the door frame body 100 and a door frame lower hinge body 112 provided at the lower left end of the door frame body 100. The door frame upper hinge body has a door frame upper hinge shaft (not shown) protruding upward. The door frame hinge mechanism 110 inserts the door frame upper hinge shaft of the door frame upper hinge body into the door frame upper shaft hole 411b of the main body frame upper hinge body 411 (to be described later) from below, and inserts the door frame lower hinge shaft 112a of the door frame lower hinge body 112 into the door frame lower shaft hole 412b of the main body frame lower hinge body 412 (to be described later) from above, so that the door frame 3 can be supported to be openable and closable with respect to the main body frame 4.

[0077] The held ball number display unit 140 is composed of 6 - digit 7 - segment LEDs. The held ball number display unit 140 is provided at a position on the upper surface of the shelf unit 200 that is to the left of the center in the left - right direction.

[0078] The handle 160 is provided at the lower right corner on the front surface of the door frame body 100, that is, near the right end between the game window 101 and the door frame curtain plate 190 on the front surface of the door frame body 100. The handle 160 is attached so that the player can rotate it with the rotation axis facing the front-rear direction. The handle 160 is formed in a shape like an automobile steering wheel, and has a central hub portion 160a, a plurality (here, three) of spoke portions 160b extending outward from the hub portion 160a, and an annular ring portion 160c connecting the tips of the spoke portions 160b.

[0079] The ring portion 160c of the handle 160 is provided at a front portion slightly separated from the front end of the cylindrical handle cover 170, and is provided so that the player cannot grip the ring portion 160c. Therefore, when the player rotates the handle 160, mainly, the player operates in a state of gripping the hub portion 160a with the fingers passing through between the spoke portions 160b. In this state, the player's fingers are in a state of being inserted into the cylinder of the handle cover 170. As a result, when the player operates the handle 160 and the air vibration (wind) generated by the drive of the main body frame speaker 403 from the bus bar duct 401e of the main body frame 4 is released forward, the wind is sent to the fingers of the player gripping the handle 160 through the duct grill 191 of the door frame curtain plate 190 and the opening 171 of the handle cover 170, which can startle the player and allow the player to experience an unprecedented effect.

[0080] The handle 160 is provided with a firing stop switch 161 that can be pressed by the player, a handle touch sensor 162 that detects a change in the capacitance of the handle 160, and a handle rotation sensor 163 that detects the rotation angle of the handle 160 (see FIG. 35).

[0081] When the launch stop switch 161 is pressed by the player, the drive of the launch solenoid 453 is stopped by the frame control board 640. Therefore, when the player presses the launch stop switch 161 during the rotation operation of the handle 160, the launch of the game ball B can be temporarily stopped without returning the rotation operation of the handle 160. Then, if the rotation operation of the handle 160 remains the same and the pressing operation of the launch stop switch 161 is released, the game ball B can be driven into the game area 5a again with the driving strength before the pressing operation of the launch stop switch 161 (the driving strength corresponding to the rotation operation of the handle 160).

[0082] The handle touch sensor 162 detects static electricity acting on the handle 160. When the player touches the handle 160, it detects the static electricity acting from the player and detects the player's contact (touch) with the handle 160. Then, when the handle 160 is rotated while the handle touch sensor 162 is detecting the player's contact, the detection of the handle rotation sensor 163 is received, and the drive of the launch solenoid is controlled according to the rotation angle of the handle 160, so that the game ball B can be driven in.

[0083] Therefore, even if the player tries to rotate the handle 160 by some means without touching it and drive the game ball B into the game area 5a, since the handle touch sensor 162 does not detect the player's contact, the launch solenoid 453 is not driven and the game ball B cannot be driven in. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the game from being played by rotating the handle 160 in a way different from the original, and it is possible to reduce the load (burden) on the game hall where the pachinko machine 1 is installed.

[0084] The handle rotation sensor 163 is a variable resistor. When the handle 160 is rotated, the detection axis rotates and the internal resistance changes according to the rotation angle of the detection axis. Therefore, when the handle 160 is rotated to change the internal resistance of the handle rotation sensor 163, the driving force of the firing solenoid 453 in the ball firing unit 450 described later changes according to the internal resistance, and the game ball B can be driven into the game area 5a with a strength corresponding to the rotation angle of the handle 160.

[0085] The handle cover 170 extends rearward from a portion behind the annular portion of the handle 160 so that the diameter increases, and is formed in a conical tube shape. Openings 171 communicating with the inside are provided on the right circumferential surface and the lower circumferential surface of the outer circumferential surface of the handle cover 170. Below the opening 171 on the lower circumferential surface of the handle cover 170, the duct grill 191 of the door frame curtain plate 190 is located. Thereby, when the player operates the handle 160 and the air vibration (wind) due to the drive of the body frame speaker 403 is released forward from the bass reflex duct 401e of the body frame 4, the wind is sent to the fingers of the player holding the handle 160 through the duct grill 191 of the door frame curtain plate 190 and the opening 171 of the handle cover 170, which can startle the player and allow the player to experience an unprecedented effect.

[0086] The count button switch 180 is provided at a position on the upper surface of the shelf unit 200 to the right of the center in the left-right direction. Although the details will be described later, when the count button switch 180 is pressed while there are balls in hand, the balls in hand can be sent to the game ball lending device 8 for settlement.

[0087] The door frame curtain plate 190 extends left and right with a certain height and the same length as the width of the door frame body 100 in the left-right direction, and is attached to the lower end on the front surface of the door frame body 100. The door frame curtain plate 190 penetrates through in the front-rear direction near the right end, and has a duct grill 191 located in front of the bass reflex duct 401e of the body frame 4 described later.

[0088] The duct grill 191 is formed in a lattice shape consisting of vertical and horizontal grids. The horizontal grid of the duct grill 191 is in the shape of a strip plate with a constant width in the front-rear direction, and is provided in an inclined state such that the front end is positioned above the rear end. This duct grill 191 is provided below (directly below) the handle 160. As a result, when the player operates the handle 160 and air vibration (wind) due to the drive of the body frame speaker 403 is discharged forward from the bus bar duct 401e of the body frame 4, the wind is guided obliquely upward and forward by the horizontal grid of the duct grill 191, and the wind is sent to the fingers of the player holding the handle 160 through the opening 171 of the handle cover 170, which can startle the player and allow the player to experience an unprecedented effect.

[0089] The shelf unit 200 is provided at a position between the game window 101 and the door frame curtain plate 190 on the front surface of the door frame body 100. A spherical effect operation unit 250 is provided at the center in the left-right direction of the shelf unit 200. The shelf unit 200 has a shelf portion 201 that bulges forward in a shelf shape along the lower end of the game window 101 from the upper end, a dish portion 202 that bulges forward from a portion on the left side of the center in the left-right direction at the lower end, a speaker grill 203 provided at a position between the shelf portion 201 and the dish portion 202, and a setting adjustment button 204 provided on the upper surface of the shelf portion 201 and consisting of four push buttons arranged in the front, rear, left, and right directions.

[0090] The upper surface of the shelf portion 201 is formed as a smooth surface. The shelf portion 201 has a front decorative portion 201a formed in a semi-tube shape so as to be continuous from the lower ends of the door frame left side unit 320 and the door frame right side unit 340 at the front edge. The semi-tube-shaped front decorative portion 201a is provided so as to be connected to the left and right side surfaces of the spherical effect operation unit 250. On the upper surface of the shelf portion 201, a held ball number display portion 140 is provided at a position on the left side of the center in the left-right direction, a counting button switch 180 is provided at a position on the right side of the center in the left-right direction, and a setting adjustment button 204 is provided at a position in front of and to the left of the counting button switch 180.

[0091] The dish part 202 is formed in a shallow dish shape. This enables a player to place their hand (finger) on the dish part 202 or place small items such as a pouch, a mobile phone, a key of a wallet, a car key, etc., which is convenient.

[0092] The speaker grill 203 is located in front of the main body frame speaker 403 in the main body frame 4 described later and is formed of a punching metal having a plurality of through holes.

[0093] The effect operation unit 250 is provided at the center in the left - right direction in the shelf unit 200. The front end protrudes forward from the shelf unit 200, and the upper end protrudes upward from the shelf unit 200. The effect operation unit 250 is formed entirely in a spherical shape. The effect operation unit 250 has a circular first effect button 251 provided near the center on the upper surface and an annular second effect button 252 provided so as to surround the first effect button 251. Although detailed illustration is omitted, the first effect button 251 is formed in a columnar shape, and the second effect button 252 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The first effect button 251 and the second effect button 252 are provided coaxially, and their axis is inclined so as to move forward as it goes upward.

[0094] The first effect button 251 and the second effect button 252 are provided so as to move (pop - up) upward as a whole according to the player - participation type effect. The first effect button 251 can be pressed at all times, while the second effect button 252 can be pressed only when it pops up.

[0095] Although not shown in the figure, a vibrator (vibration device) is provided inside the first effect button 251.

[0096] The door frame top unit 300 is provided at a position above the game window 101 on the front surface of the door frame main body 100, and both left and right ends in the horizontal direction are sandwiched between the upper end portions of the door frame left side unit 320 and the door frame right side unit 340. The door frame top unit 300 protrudes forward like an eaves. The door frame top unit 300 includes a semi-tube-shaped door frame top decorative body 301 that extends left and right along the front edge and has translucency. The door frame top decorative body 301 is curved in the front-rear direction such that the center in the left-right direction is located most forward in plan view.

[0097] Although not shown in the figure, the door frame top unit 300 has a door frame top decorative substrate on which a plurality of LEDs for light-emitting decoration of the door frame top decorative body 301 are mounted, and a door frame top speaker that outputs sounds such as voices, music, and sound effects.

[0098] The door frame left side unit 320 is provided at a position to the left of the game window 101 on the front surface of the door frame main body 100, and is vertically long from near the upper end of the door frame main body 100 to near the speaker grill 203 below the shelf portion 201 of the shelf unit 200. The door frame left side unit 320 extends over the entire vertical length and includes a semi-tube-shaped door frame left side decorative body 321 that has translucency. The lower end vicinity of the door frame left side decorative body 321 is curved to the right.

[0099] Although not shown in the figure, the door frame left side unit 320 has a door frame left side decorative substrate on which a plurality of LEDs for light-emitting decoration of the door frame left side decorative body 321 are mounted.

[0100] The door frame right side unit 340 is provided at a position to the right of the game window 101 on the front surface of the door frame main body 100, and is vertically long from near the upper end of the door frame main body 100 to the handle cover 170 below the shelf portion 201 of the shelf unit 200. The door frame right side unit 340 protrudes longer forward than the door frame left side unit 320 and is formed in a vertically long partition shape.

[0101] The door frame right side unit 340 includes a semi-tubular door frame right side decorative body 341 that extends vertically along the front end and has translucency, a translucent door frame right side left side decorative body (not shown) provided behind the door frame right side decorative body 341 and forming the left side surface, a translucent door frame right side right side decorative body (not shown) provided behind the door frame right side decorative body 341 and forming the right side surface, and a door frame right side decorative substrate (not shown) on which a plurality of LEDs for light-emitting decoration of the door frame right side decorative body 341, the door frame right side left side decorative body, and the door frame right side right side decorative body are mounted. The lower end vicinity of the door frame right side decorative body 341 is curved to the left.

[0102] Also, the door frame right side unit 340 has an opening 342 that penetrates front to back near the lower end and faces forward the keyhole 682 of the lock unit 680.

[0103] [3-1. Counting Button Switch] The counting button switch 180 is provided on the upper surface of the shelf unit 200 at a position to the right of the center in the left-right direction. The counting button switch 180 can send the held balls to the game ball lending device 8 for settlement by pressing the button when there are held balls (the number of held balls > 0). Although details will be described later, the counting button switch 180 can send the held balls one by one or in predetermined numbers (for example, every 250 balls) according to the pressing time. The number of held balls sent to the game ball lending device 8 is sent to the management server 9 via the communication network, and an IC card storing the number of held balls is discharged from the game ball lending device 8.

[0104] Here, the game ball lending device 8 is provided adjacent to the pachinko machine 1 in the island facility of the game hall (also referred to as a stand). Although not shown in detail in the drawings, the game ball lending device 8 is provided with an insertion slot for inserting cash, prepaid cards, etc., a card slot for inserting / removing an IC card, a ball lending button switch 8a, a return button switch, a display unit for displaying the inserted amount, the counted number of balls, etc. When the ball lending button switch 8a is pressed while cash or the like is inserted into the insertion slot, a predetermined number of game balls B are lent out within the range of the inserted amount. In this embodiment, the number of lent game balls B is transmitted as digital data to the frame control board and also transmitted to the management server 9 via the communication network for management.

[0105] When the player short-presses (for example, the pressing time for one time is less than 500 ms) the count button switch 180 while having balls in hand, one game ball B is counted from the balls in hand. When the count button switch 180 is long-pressed (for example, the pressing time for one time is 500 ms or more), until the number of balls in hand becomes less than 250, game balls B are counted in lots of 250 at the count notification timing every predetermined time (for example, 300 ms) during the long press. When the number of balls in hand becomes 250 or less during the long press, game balls B are counted one by one. Also, when the count button switch 180 is long-pressed (for example, the pressing time for one time is 500 ms or more), even if the count button switch 180 is not continuously pressed, the total number of balls in hand may be unconditionally counted.

[0106] When counted by the pressing operation of the count button switch 180, the number of balls in hand displayed on the number-of-balls-in-hand display unit 140 is subtracted and displayed, and the number of counted balls is displayed on a display unit (not shown) of the game ball lending device 8.

[0107] [4. Main body frame] The main body frame 4 of the pachinko machine 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 11 and the like. FIG. 11 is a front view of the main part showing the firing unit and the far unit etc. in cross section in the front view of FIG. 3. The main body frame 4 is formed in a box frame shape with the front being open, and the game board 5 is detachably accommodated inside from the front. The main body frame 4 is openably attached to the frame-shaped outer frame 2 that is attached to the island facilities in the game hall above and below the front left side of the front, and a door frame 3 is openably attached so that the open front side is closed.

[0108] The main body frame 4 includes a frame-shaped main body frame base unit 400 that is openably supported with respect to the outer frame 2, a ball firing unit 450 for driving the game ball B into the game area 5a of the game board 5, a far unit 470 for collecting the game ball B that was not driven into the game area 5a despite being fired by the ball firing unit 450, a circulating ball path unit 500 for sending the game ball B discharged from the game board 5 and the game ball B collected by the far unit 470 to the ball firing unit 450 side, a ball lifting unit 550 for moving the game ball B upward from the downstream end of the circulating ball path unit 500, and a ball feeding unit 600 for sending the game ball B lifted by the ball lifting unit 550 one by one to the ball firing unit 450.

[0109] Further, the main body frame 4 includes a ball receiving tray 620 for receiving the game ball B discharged from the ball outlet 513p of the circulating ball path unit 500, a frame board unit 630 having a frame control board 640 for controlling the ball firing unit 450, the ball lifting unit 550, etc., and a locking unit 680 for locking between the outer frame 2 and the main body frame 4 and between the door frame 3 and the main body frame 4.

[0110] [4-1. Main body frame base unit] Regarding the main body frame base unit 400 in the main body frame 4, it will be described in detail mainly with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13 and the like. FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the main body frame base unit in the main body frame, viewed from the front after being disassembled by each main component, and FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the main body frame base unit in the main body frame, viewed from the rear after being disassembled by each main component. The main body frame base unit 400 is supported so as to be openable and closable forward with respect to the outer frame 2, and can support the door frame 3 so as to be openable and closable forward. In the main body frame base unit 400, a ball launching unit 450, a fairing unit 470, a circulating ball path unit 500, a ball lifting unit 550, a ball feeding unit 600, a ball receiving tray 620, a frame substrate unit 630, a lock unit 680, etc. are attached.

[0111] The main body frame base unit 400 has a main body frame base 401 that penetrates in the front-rear direction and into which the game board 5 is inserted from the front, and has a game board insertion portion 401a and a base wall portion 401b provided below the game board insertion portion 401a, and the whole is formed in a vertically long rectangle, and a side surface reinforcing plate 402 that reinforces the left side surface of the main body frame base 401.

[0112] Also, the main body frame base unit 400 includes a main body frame speaker 403 attached to the rear side of the base wall portion 401b in the main body frame base 401, a box-shaped main body frame speaker box 404 attached to the base wall portion 401b so as to cover the main body frame speaker 403 from the rear and having a front side that is open, and a back cover 405 provided on the game board insertion portion 401a in the main body frame base 401 so as to be openable and closable from the rear.

[0113] Furthermore, the main body frame base unit 400 includes a game board lock member 406 attached to the main body frame base 401, a door opening switch 407 and a frame opening switch 408 attached to the main body frame base 401, and a main body frame hinge mechanism 410 attached to the main body frame base 401.

[0114] The main body frame base 401 is formed of synthetic resin and has a vertically long rectangular shape when viewed from the front. The main body frame base 401 includes a game board insertion portion 401a that penetrates from near the upper end downward in the range of about 2 / 3 of the total height in the front-rear direction, a base wall portion 401b provided below the game board insertion portion 401a, a game board regulating portion 401c that protrudes upward (into the game board insertion portion 401a) near the center in the left-right direction on the upper end surface of the base wall portion 401b, a main body frame speaker opening 401d that penetrates in the front-rear direction near the left end of the base wall portion 401b and faces the main body frame speaker 403 forward, and a bass reflex duct 401e that penetrates in the front-rear direction at the lower right corner of the base wall portion 401b.

[0115] Further, the main body frame base 401 includes a tray insertion recess 401f that is recessed from the front side rearward at the lower part of the center in the left-right direction of the base wall portion 401b and into which the ball receiving tray 620 is inserted, and a ball storage passage insertion opening 401g that penetrates in the front-rear direction above the tray insertion recess 401f in the base wall portion 401b and into which the ball meandering member 513 and the meandering cover 514 of the circulating ball path unit 500 are inserted.

[0116] Further, the main body frame base 401 includes a far unit mounting portion 401h and a ball launching unit mounting portion 401i that are provided side by side in the left-right direction above the ball storage passage insertion opening 401g on the front surface of the base wall portion 401b, a ball lifting unit mounting portion 401j that opens vertically to the right of the ball launching unit mounting portion 401i in the base wall portion 401b, a ball feeding unit mounting portion 401k that is provided at a position behind the ball launching unit mounting portion 401i on the rear surface of the base wall portion 401b, a circulating ball path unit mounting portion 401l that is provided on the rear surface of the base wall portion 401b, and a cylinder insertion opening 401m that penetrates in the front-rear direction near the upper right corner of the base wall portion 401b and through which the cylinder 681 of the lock unit 680 is inserted.

[0117] Furthermore, the main body frame base 401 protrudes forward from the left end of the tray insertion recess 401f and is elastically locked to the front end of the ball receiving tray 620 inserted into the tray insertion recess 401f, thereby providing a locking claw 401n that restricts the forward movement of the ball receiving tray 620.

[0118] The game board insertion part 401a of the main body frame base 401 is detachably inserted with the game board 5 from the front. The base wall part 401b has the game board 5 placed on its upper end surface. A door opening switch 407, a ball launching unit 450, a fairing unit 470, and a ball receiving tray 620 are attached to the front surface of the base wall part 401b. Also, a main body frame speaker 403, a main body frame speaker box 404, a frame opening switch 408, a circulating ball path unit 500, a ball lifting unit 550, and a ball feeding unit 600 are attached to the rear surface of the base wall part 401b.

[0119] The game board restricting part 401c restricts the left - right and backward movement of the game board 5 when the game board 5 is inserted into the game board insertion part 401a. As shown in the figure, the main body frame speaker opening 401d is formed in a grid pattern and is provided so as to be located behind the speaker grill 203 of the door frame 3 in a state where the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 4. The main body frame speaker 403 is attached to the rear surface of the base wall part 401b so as to close the main body frame speaker opening 401d from the rear.

[0120] The bass reflex duct 401e is formed in a long hole cylindrical shape that is long from left to right, and two of them are provided side by side from left to right. Although details will be described later, the bass reflex duct 401e communicates with the enclosure 404a of the main body frame speaker 403 composed of the base wall portion 401b and the main body frame speaker box 404, and is for reversing the phase of the sound output from the main body frame speaker 403 to the rear and emitting it forward. In the present embodiment, with the cylindrical bass reflex duct 401e, it is possible to resonate and amplify the low frequency range of the sound output from the main body frame speaker 403 to make a more heavy bass sound resonate. This bass reflex duct 401e is provided so as to be located behind the duct grill 191 of the door frame 3 in a state where the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 4.

[0121] The tray insertion recess 401f can detachably support the ball receiving tray 620 from the front. The bottom wall of the tray insertion recess 401f is inclined so that the front end side is lower (see FIG. 10). Thereby, even if the game ball B spills into the tray insertion recess 401f in a state where the ball receiving tray 620 is not inserted into the tray insertion recess 401f, it can be discharged forward. Further, since the bottom wall of the tray insertion recess 401f is inclined so that the front end side is lower, it is possible to easily slide the placed ball receiving tray 620 forward.

[0122] The ball storage passage insertion port 401g is provided so that the front side portions of the ball meandering member 513 and the meandering cover 514 of the circulating ball path unit 500 attached to the rear surface of the base wall portion 401b penetrate and protrude forward. The far unit attachment portion 401h is provided on the right side of the main body frame speaker port 401d near the upper end of the base wall portion 401b. The ball launch unit attachment portion 401i is provided on the right side of the far unit attachment portion 401h. The ball lift unit attachment portion 401j is provided at a portion between the upper end vicinity of the base wall portion 401b and the bass reflex duct 401e.

[0123] The ball delivery unit mounting portion 401k is provided on the rear surface of the base wall portion 401b such that the upper surface of the ball delivery unit 600 faces upward (inside the game board insertion portion 401a), and is provided so that the ball delivery unit 600 can be attached and detached from above. When the ball delivery unit 600 is attached to the ball delivery unit mounting portion 401k, the elastic claws 609b of the ball delivery unit 600 face forward through the locking holes of the base wall portion 401b on the right side of the ball launching unit 450. In this state, when the elastic claws 609b are pressed backward to be elastically deformed and the knob portion 609a provided on the upper surface of the ball delivery unit 600 is pinched and pulled up, the ball delivery unit 600 can be removed upward.

[0124] The circulating ball path unit mounting portion 401l is provided at a position above the box extension portion 404c of the main body frame speaker box 404, which will be described later, at the central portion in the left - right direction on the rear surface of the base wall portion 401b. The cylinder insertion port 401m is provided near the upper end of the base wall portion 401b and to the right of the ball lifting unit mounting portion 401j.

[0125] The side reinforcing plate 402 is formed in a U - shaped shape that is open to the right in a plan view and is attached to the left side surface of the main body frame base 401. The side reinforcing plate 402 is formed of an extruded metal material such as an aluminum alloy. The side reinforcing plate 402 is provided with two left position regulating members 402a spaced apart vertically. The left position regulating member 402a is for positioning the left side of the game board 5.

[0126] The main body frame speaker 403 is attached to the rear side of the base wall portion 401b so as to close the main body frame speaker opening 401d of the main body frame base 401 from the rear. The main body frame speaker 403 is a cone - type speaker that mainly outputs bass.

[0127] The main body frame speaker box 404 is formed in a box shape that is open to the front, and is attached to the rear side of the base wall portion 401b so as to cover the main body frame speaker 403 from the rear. The main body frame speaker box 404 forms an enclosure 404a of the main body frame speaker 403 by being attached to the base wall portion 401b.

[0128] The main body frame speaker box 404 has a box main body portion 404b located behind the main body frame speaker 403, a box extension portion 404c connected to the lower end of the box main body portion 404b and extending rightward in a front view, and a frame substrate unit shaft support portion 404d provided on the rear surface of the box main body portion 404b. The box extension portion 404c of the main body frame speaker box 404 extends rightward to near the right end of the main body frame base 401 so as to cover the rear of the bass reflex duct 401e, and a part thereof extends rearward from the box main body portion 404b.

[0129] The enclosure 404a is composed of the box main body portion 404b and the box extension portion 404c, and communicates with the outside through the bass reflex duct 401e. That is, the bass reflex duct 401e, the main body frame speaker 403, and the main body frame speaker box 404 constitute a bass reflex type speaker of the phase inversion type.

[0130] Specifically, a predetermined sound is output from the main body frame speaker 403 to the front and the rear. The sound output from the main body frame speaker 403 to the front is emitted to the front of the pachinko machine 1 through the main body frame speaker port 401d and the speaker grill 203.

[0131] On the one hand, the sound output rearward from the main body frame speaker 403 causes the air inside the main body frame speaker box 404 (enclosure 404a) to vibrate. And since this enclosure 404a is open to the front (outside) by the cylindrical bass reflex duct 401e, it will be emitted forward from the bass reflex duct 401e. At this time, since the bass reflex duct 401e is formed in a cylindrical shape with a predetermined length, in its interior, the low frequency range is amplified by resonance due to the vibration of the air column, and is emitted forward in a state where the phase is inverted.

[0132] As a result, the sound output forward from the main body frame speaker 403 and the sound output rearward do not act to cancel each other out and attenuate, but rather act to resonate with each other and amplify. Thus, even if the diameter of the main body frame speaker 403 is small, it is possible to output a large sound with a booming bass, and it is possible to let the player hear a sound with rich bass.

[0133] Since this bass reflex duct 401e is provided behind the duct grille 191 below the handle 160 in the door frame 3, when the air vibration (wind) due to the drive of the main body frame speaker 403 is emitted forward from the bass reflex duct 401e, the wind is guided obliquely upward and forward by the horizontal grid of the duct grille 191 and sent into the handle cover 170 through the opening 171 of the handle cover 170. Therefore, when the main body frame speaker 403 is driven (sound is output) when the player is operating the handle 160, wind is sent to the fingers of the player holding the handle 160 through the bass reflex duct 401e and the duct grille 191, which can startle the player and allow the player to experience an unprecedented effect.

[0134] The box extension part 404c of the main body frame speaker box 404 is formed such that the depth in the front-rear direction is longer than the vertical height, and the rear end is provided so as to protrude slightly rearward from the rear end of the frame substrate unit 630 (see Fig. 10). The box extension part 404c covers the lower part of the frame substrate unit 630 so that a gap is formed between it and the frame substrate unit 630 (unit base 670 and power supply substrate box 672) when assembled to the main body frame 4. Thereby, the box extension part 404c makes it difficult for various wirings connected to the frame substrate unit 630 to hang down.

[0135] The upper surface of the box extension part 404c is inclined so as to be lower toward the rear. Thereby, dust, pachinko balls B, etc. that have fallen from above can be guided rearward and discharged. Also, the lower surface of the box extension part 404c is inclined so as to be higher toward the rear. Thereby, when closing the main body frame 4 with respect to the outer frame 2, the box extension part 404c does not contact the lower frame body 14 of the main body frame 4.

[0136] This main body frame speaker box 404 supports the rear end side of the tray insertion recess 401f in the main body frame base 401 so as to suspend it when assembled to the main body frame 4. Thereby, even when a load (the weight of a plurality of pachinko balls B) acts on the tray insertion recess 401f from above via the ball receiving tray 620 when the pachinko balls B discharged from the circulating ball path unit 500 are received by the ball receiving tray 620, the tray insertion recess 401f does not deform.

[0137] The back cover 405 is provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to the main body frame base 401 so as to cover the rear of the game board 5 attached to the main body frame 4 when assembled to the pachinko machine 1. The back cover 405 is formed of a transparent synthetic resin. In a front view, the left side of the back cover 405 is rotatably supported with respect to the main body frame base 401, and the right side is detachably locked to the main body frame base 401 by an elastic locking claw.

[0138] The game board locking member 406 is rotatably attached to the front surface of the main body frame base 401 (base wall portion 401b) around an axis extending in the front-rear direction. The game board locking member 406 can prevent the lower end side of the game board 5 from moving forward by rotating it to the locking position in a state where the game board 5 is inserted into the game board insertion portion 401a.

[0139] The door opening switch 407 is for detecting the opening and closing of the door frame 3 with respect to the main body frame 4. The door opening switch 407 is attached below the cylinder insertion port 401m in the base wall portion 401b of the main body frame base 401.

[0140] The frame opening switch 408 is for detecting the opening and closing of the main body frame 4 with respect to the outer frame 2. The frame opening switch 408 is attached below the door opening switch 407 in the base wall portion 401b of the main body frame base 401.

[0141] The main body frame hinge mechanism 410 has a main body frame upper hinge body 411 attached to the upper end of the left side of the main body frame base 401 and a main body frame lower hinge body 412 attached to the lower end of the left side of the main body frame base 401.

[0142] The main body frame upper hinge body 411 includes a main body frame hinge shaft 411a that protrudes upward in a columnar shape and is inserted into the bearing groove 31a of the outer frame upper hinge body 31 in the outer frame 2, and an upper shaft hole 411b for the door frame provided adjacent to the main body frame hinge shaft 411a and into which the door frame upper hinge shaft of the door frame upper hinge body in the door frame 3 is inserted from below.

[0143] The main body frame lower hinge body 412 includes a shaft hole for the outer frame (not shown) into which the hinge shaft 35a of the outer frame lower hinge body 35 in the outer frame 2 is inserted from below, and a lower shaft hole 412b for the door frame into which the door frame lower hinge shaft 112a of the door frame lower hinge body 112 in the door frame 3 is inserted from above.

[0144] The main body frame hinge mechanism 410 supports the main body frame 4 so that it can be opened and closed with respect to the outer frame 2 by inserting the main body frame hinge shaft 411a of the upper main body frame hinge body 411 into the bearing groove 31a of the upper outer frame hinge body 31 in the outer frame 2 and inserting the hinge shaft 35a of the lower outer frame hinge body 35 in the outer frame 2 into the shaft hole for the outer frame of the lower main body frame hinge body 412.

[0145] Also, the main body frame hinge mechanism 410 supports the door frame 3 so that it can be opened and closed with respect to the main body frame 4 by inserting the upper door frame hinge shaft of the upper door frame hinge body in the door frame 3 from below into the upper shaft hole 411b for the door frame of the upper main body frame hinge body 411 and inserting the lower door frame hinge shaft 112a of the lower door frame hinge body 112 in the door frame 3 from above into the lower shaft hole 412b for the door frame of the lower main body frame hinge body 412.

[0146] [4-2. Ball Launching Unit] Regarding the ball launching unit 450 in the main body frame 4, it will be described in detail mainly with reference to FIGS. 14 to 16 and the like. FIG. 14(a) is a perspective view of the ball launching unit in the main body frame seen from the front, and (b) is a perspective view of the ball launching unit in the main body frame seen from the back. FIG. 15(a) is an exploded perspective view of the ball launching unit seen from the front after decomposition, and (b) is an exploded perspective view of the ball launching unit seen from the back after decomposition. FIG. 16(a) is a perspective view of the launching unit cover of the ball launching unit seen from the left rear, and (b) is an explanatory diagram of the ball launching unit showing only the launching unit cover in a cross section in a front view.

[0147] The ball launching unit 450 is for launching the game ball B into the game area 5a of the game board 5, and has a ball inlet 450a for receiving the game ball B sent from the ball feeding unit 600, a ball launching port 450b through which the launched game ball B is discharged to the outside, and a ball discharge port 450c for discharging the game ball B. The ball launching unit 450 can drive the game ball B with a strength corresponding to the rotation angle of the handle 160 at the lower right front corner of the door frame 3. The ball launching unit 450 is attached to the ball launching unit attachment portion 401i provided on the upper part of the front surface of the base wall portion 401b of the main body frame base 401, on the right side of the center in the left-right direction.

[0148] The ball inlet 450a of the ball launching unit 450 is provided on the rear surface and is square-shaped and open with a size allowing one game ball B to pass through. This ball inlet 450a is positioned in front of the ball delivery outlet 602 of the ball delivery unit 600 and communicates with the ball delivery outlet 602 when assembled to the main body frame 4. The ball launch port 450b is obliquely open at the left end of the upper surface with the left end side being lower. This ball launch port 450b communicates with the upper part of the far right opening 470b of the far unit 470 when assembled to the main body frame 4. The ball discharge port 450c is open on the left side surface. This ball discharge port 450c communicates with the lower part of the far right opening 470b of the far unit 470 when assembled to the main body frame 4.

[0149] The ball launching unit 450 includes a flat unit base 451, a launch unit cover 452 attached to cover the front side of the unit base 451, a launch solenoid 453 attached to the rear side of the unit base 451 such that the rotation shaft 453a protrudes forward from the unit base 451, a launch subtraction sensor 454 capable of detecting the presence or absence of the launch of the game ball B, a launch hammer 455 attached to the rotation shaft 453a of the launch solenoid 453, a nut 456 attaching the launch hammer 455 to the rotation shaft 453a of the launch solenoid 453, an annular spacer 457 inserted into the rotation shaft 453a of the launch solenoid 453, two contact rubbers 458 capable of contacting the launch hammer 455, and a contact rubber holder 459 holding one of the contact rubbers 458.

[0150] The unit base 451 of the ball launching unit 450 is formed of a metal plate such as an iron plate. The unit base 451 is provided with the ball inlet 450a which penetrates through in a square shape at a position from the center to the upper part in a front view.

[0151] The emission unit cover 452 is formed by injection molding using an opaque synthetic resin with low translucency. The emission unit cover 452 includes a flat front plate 452a provided at a distance forward from the unit base 451, a ball launch platform 452b provided on the rear side of the front plate 452a directly below the ball inlet 450a of the unit base 451 and inclined such that the left end side is higher, and a detection port 452c penetrating the ball launch platform 452b vertically.

[0152] Further, the emission unit cover 452 includes an upper wall portion 452d of the launch platform that forms a gap through which the game ball B cannot pass between the ball launch platform 452b at the upper right in the front view of the ball launch platform 452b on the rear side of the front plate 452a, and a sensor lower mounting portion 452e and a sensor upper mounting portion 452f provided so as to sandwich the ball launch platform 452b and the upper wall portion 452d of the launch platform on the rear side of the front plate 452a.

[0153] Furthermore, the emission unit cover 452 includes a guide wall portion 452g provided along the inclined extension line of the ball launch platform 452b to the left of the ball launch platform 452b on the rear side of the front plate 452a, and a discharge guide inner wall portion 452h that extends downward from the left end of the ball launch platform 452b on the rear side of the front plate 452a and then extends downward and to the left so as to become lower.

[0154] The game ball B supplied through the ball inlet 450a is placed on the ball launch platform 452b. The upper surface of the ball launch platform 452b is inclined such that the left end is higher in the front view. The upper surface of the ball launch platform 452b is recessed into a constant cross-sectional shape (trapezoidal shape) so as to narrow downward along the inclined direction. The ball launch platform 452b is formed such that the length in the inclined direction (launch direction) is slightly longer than the diameter of the game ball B, and only one game ball B is placed in contact with the two inclined surfaces recessed into a trapezoidal shape. In this embodiment, the ball launch platform 452b is inclined at an angle of approximately 27 degrees with respect to the horizontal.

[0155] The detection port 452c is provided at the bottom of the trapezoidally recessed portion in the ball launch base 452b. The upper wall portion 452d of the launch base is provided above the inclined lower end side of the ball launch base 452b. The upper wall portion 452d of the launch base is provided so as to form a gap between the ball launch base 452b through which the game ball B cannot pass and the tip of the launch hammer 455 can pass. As a result, the game ball B supplied to the ball launch base 452b abuts against the left end of the upper wall portion 452d of the launch base and is placed on the ball launch base 452b in a state where its movement downstream (here, to the right) in the inclined direction of the ball launch base 452b is restricted.

[0156] The sensor lower mounting portion 452e and the sensor upper mounting portion 452f are respectively attached with the light emitting portion 454a and the light receiving portion 454b that constitute the launch subtraction sensor 454.

[0157] The guide wall portion 452g has an upper surface that constitutes the bottom surface of the ball launch port 450b. The upper surface of the guide wall portion 452g is inclined at the same angle as the inclination of the ball launch base 452b and is provided at a position that is longer than the diameter of the game ball B to the left from the ball launch base 452b. In this embodiment, since the ball launch base 452b is made as short as possible, when the game ball B on the ball launch base 452b is struck by the launch hammer 455, the launch direction of the game ball B is difficult to determine and there is a risk that it cannot be successfully driven between the outer rail 1001 and the inner rail 1002 of the game board 5. However, since the guide wall portion 452g is provided, the game ball B launched from the ball launch base 452b bounces off the upper surface of the guide wall portion 452g, so that it can jump outwards from the ball launch port 450b and drive the game ball B between the outer rail 1001 and the inner rail 1002.

[0158] Also, since the guide wall portion 452g is provided at a distance from the ball launch base 452b, even if the game ball B tries to return in the direction of the ball launch base 452b at the guide wall portion 452g depending on the driving strength of the game ball B, it will flow down onto the lower discharge guide inner wall portion 452h through the space between the guide wall portion 452g and the ball launch base 452b and will not return to the ball launch base 452b.

[0159] The discharge guide inner wall portion 452h forms a ball discharge port 450c with the guide wall portion 452g. The discharge guide inner wall portion 452h is inclined so that the left end side is lower, guides the game ball B flowing down through the space between the ball launch base 452b and the guide wall portion 452g to the left, and can discharge it from the ball discharge port 450c at the left end to the far unit 470 side. Thereby, even though the game ball B was struck by the launch hammer 455 on the ball launch base 452b, the game ball B that was not launched from the ball launch port 450b is guided by the discharge guide inner wall portion 452h and discharged from the ball discharge port 450c to the far unit 470.

[0160] The launch solenoid 453 is composed of a rotary solenoid having a rotation axis 453a extending back and forth.

[0161] The launch subtraction sensor 454 can detect the presence or absence of the game ball B on the ball launch base 452b. The launch subtraction sensor 454 is composed of a light emitting portion 454a that irradiates detection light and a light receiving portion 454b that receives the detection light, and each is attached to the sensor lower mounting portion 452e and the sensor upper mounting portion 452f of the launch unit cover 452. The detection light emitted from the light emitting portion 454a is received by the light receiving portion 454b through the detection port 452c provided at the bottom of the ball launch base 452b. At this time, when the game ball B is placed on the ball launch base 452b, the detection light is blocked by the game ball B, and the detection light is not received by the light receiving portion 454b. Thereby, the presence or absence of the game ball B on the ball launch base 452b can be detected.

[0162] The launch subtraction sensor 454, the details of which will be described later, is for detecting that the game ball B has been launched from the ball launch base 452b and subtracting one from the number of balls held by the player.

[0163] The firing hammer 455 is for hitting and firing the game ball B. The firing hammer 455 is attached to the rotating shaft 453a of the firing solenoid 453 and rotates (pivots) together with the rotating shaft 453a. The tip of the firing hammer 455 is provided so as to be able to contact the game ball B placed on the ball firing table 452b through the space between the ball firing table 452b and the upper wall portion 452d of the firing table.

[0164] The nut 456 is screwed onto the rotating shaft 453a of the firing solenoid 453. The spacer 457 is for the rotating shaft 453a of the firing solenoid 453 to be inserted. The rotating shaft 453a of the firing solenoid 453 is inserted through the spacer 457 and the firing hammer 455 in this order from the rear, and the nut 456 is screwed onto the tip protruding forward from the firing hammer 455 and tightened, whereby the firing hammer 455 is attached.

[0165] The stopper rubber 458 is attached to the unit base 451 so as to regulate the rotation range (pivoting range) of the firing hammer 455. The stopper rubber 458 provided at the pivoting end in the direction in which the firing hammer 455 hits the game ball B (here, the counterclockwise direction) is attached to the unit base 451 via the stopper rubber holder 459.

[0166] According to the ball firing unit 450 of the present embodiment, only one game ball B is placed on the ball firing table 452b, and the firing subtraction sensor 454 detects that the game ball B has been fired from the ball firing table 452b. Therefore, it is possible to reliably detect the firing of the game balls B one by one.

[0167] Also, according to the ball firing unit 450, since the unit base 451 is a metal plate and the firing unit cover 452 is formed of an opaque synthetic resin with low light transmittance, it is possible to prevent the firing subtraction sensor 454 composed of a photosensor from being erroneously detected by external light.

[0168] Also, according to the ball launching unit 450, since the launching of the game ball B is detected, when the player stops playing and cashes out, there is no need to automatically fire the game ball B placed on the ball launching base 452b for returning to the player and turn it into a foul ball.

[0169] [4-3. Foul Unit] Regarding the foul unit 470 in the main body frame 4, it will be described in detail mainly with reference to FIGS. 17 to 19. FIG. 17(a) is a perspective view of the foul unit in the main body frame as seen from the front, and (b) is a perspective view of the foul unit in the main body frame as seen from the rear. FIG. 18(a) is an exploded perspective view of the foul unit as seen from the front after disassembly, and (b) is an exploded perspective view of the foul unit as seen from the rear after disassembly. FIG. 19(a) is an explanatory view showing the state where the foul shutter is closed in the side cross-section of the foul unit, and (b) is an explanatory view showing the state where the foul shutter is open in the side cross-section of the foul unit.

[0170] The foul unit 470 is for collecting the game ball B that was launched by the ball launching unit 450 and driven between the outer rail 1001 and the inner rail 1002 on the game board 5 but not driven into the game area 5a, the game ball B that was launched by the ball launching unit 450 but whose launching intensity was too weak to reach the game board 5 (between the outer rail 1001 and the inner rail 1002), and the like. The foul unit 470 has a foul upper opening 470a that is open on the upper surface, a foul right opening 470b that is open on the right side surface, and a foul ball outlet 470c that communicates with the foul upper opening 470a and the foul right opening 470b and is open rearward at the lower end.

[0171] The fur unit 470 is attached to a fur unit attachment portion 401h provided at the middle portion in the left - right direction at the upper front of the base wall portion 401b of the main body frame base 401. In a state where the fur unit 470 is assembled to the main body frame 4, the upper end is substantially at the same height as the upper end of the base wall portion 401b, and the fur right opening 470b is closed by the ball - launching port 450b and the ball discharge port 450c of the ball - launching unit 450. That is, in a state where it is assembled to the main body frame 4, the fur right opening 470b communicates with the ball - launching port 450b and the ball discharge port 450c. The fur upper opening 470a and the fur right opening 470b are formed by a unit base 472 and a front cover 473, which will be described later, and the ball discharge port 450c is formed in the unit base 472.

[0172] The fur unit 470 includes a fur shutter 471 that can open and close the fur upper opening 470a so that the game ball B cannot pass through, a unit base 472 attached to the base wall portion 401b of the main body frame base 401, a front cover 473 attached to the front side of the unit base 472, a rear cover 474 attached to the rear side of the unit base 472 so as to cover the rear part of the fur shutter 471, a spring 475 that biases the fur shutter 471 forward, and a fur ball grounding sheet metal 476 provided between the unit base 472 and the front cover 473.

[0173] The fur shutter 471 is supported so as to be slidable in the front - rear direction by the cooperation of the unit base 472 and the front cover 473. The fur shutter 471 has a strip - shaped shutter portion 471a that is long in the left - right direction, two front - protruding portions 471b that protrude forward from both the left and right ends of the shutter portion 471a, respectively, and a flat - plate - shaped rear wall portion 471c that extends downward from the rear - end side of the shutter portion 471a.

[0174] The fur shutter 471 can close the fur upper opening 470a so that the game ball B cannot pass through it by the shutter part 471a. The two front protruding parts 471b are provided such that the front ends protrude forward from the front cover 473 and the rear surface of the door frame body 100 in the door frame 3 can abut thereon. The rear wall part 471c has the front end of the spring 475 abutting on the rear surface.

[0175] The unit base 472 has a flat plate-shaped main body part 472a in a partial T shape having a part that extends downward near the right end and is long in the left-right direction, a shutter insertion port 472b that penetrates back and forth near the upper end of the main body part 472a and extends in the left-right direction, and a plurality of rear support ports 472c that are provided along the lower end edge on the left side of the part that extends downward in the main body part 472a and penetrate back and forth.

[0176] The unit base 472 is provided with a fur ball outlet 470c that penetrates back and forth and extends rearward in a square tube shape near the lower end of the part that extends downward in the main body part 472a. The cylindrical fur ball outlet 470c is inclined so as to be lower toward the rear.

[0177] The lower end edge of the part on the left side of the main body part 472a that is more than the part that extends downward is inclined so as to be lower toward the right. The shutter insertion port 472b is provided with a size that allows the shutter part 471a and the front protruding part 471b of the fur shutter 471 to be inserted. The plurality of rear support ports 472c are each provided long in the left-right direction so as to be lower toward the right and are arranged in a row along the inclined lower end edge of the main body part 472a. The rear support ports 472c are provided so that the support pieces 476a of the fur ball earth sheet metal 476 are inserted with a gap.

[0178] The front cover 473 includes a flat front plate 473a shaped like a partial T with a long left-right dimension and a downwardly extending portion near the right end, a left wall portion 473b extending rearward from the left end edge of the front plate 473a, a lower wall portion 473c extending rightward and rearward along the lower end edge of the front plate 473a from the lower end of the left wall portion 473b, a hanging wall portion 473d extending downward and rearward along the left end edge of the downwardly extending portion of the front plate 473a from the right end of the lower wall portion 473c, a bottom wall portion 473e extending rightward and rearward along the lower end edge of the downwardly extending portion of the front plate 473a from the lower end of the hanging wall portion 473d, and a right wall portion 473f extending rearward from the upper right end of the front plate 473a.

[0179] The upper edge and the right edge of the front plate 473a form the front edges of the far upper opening 470a and the far right opening 470b. The right end edge of the upper end of the left wall portion 473b forms the left edge of the far upper opening 470a, and the left end edge of the upper end of the right wall portion 473f forms the right edge of the far upper opening 470a, respectively. The lower edge of the right wall portion 473f forms the upper edge of the far right opening 470b, and the right end edge of the bottom wall portion 473e forms the lower edge of the far right opening 470b, respectively.

[0180] In the front cover 473, the lower wall portion 473c is located below the far upper opening 470a. After guiding the game ball B flowing down through the far upper opening 470a to the right, it can be made to flow down onto the bottom wall portion 473e along the hanging wall portion 473d. The bottom wall portion 473e is inclined such that the portion in front of the far ball outlet 470c is lower rearward, and the portion on the right side of that portion is higher rightward. Therefore, the game ball B flowing down onto the bottom wall portion 473e is guided rearward and discharged rearward from the far ball outlet 470c. Also, since the right end edge of the bottom wall portion 473e forms the lower edge of the far right opening 470b, the game ball B entering from the far right opening 470b will flow down onto the bottom wall portion 473e, be guided by the bottom wall portion 473e, and be discharged rearward from the far ball outlet 470c.

[0181] Further, the front cover 473 has a plurality of front support openings 473g that are arranged in a row left and right along the lower wall portion 473c in the front plate 473a and penetrate through in the front-rear direction. The plurality of front support openings 473g are provided so as to face the rear support opening 472c of the unit base 472. Further, the front support openings 473g are provided so that the support pieces 476a of the far ball grounding sheet metal 476 are inserted with a gap therebetween.

[0182] The rear cover 474 is formed in a box shape with the front being open. The rear portion of the far shutter 471 is inserted into the rear cover 474, and the spring 475 is disposed therein. The rear end of the spring 475 abuts against the front surface of the rear wall of the rear cover 474.

[0183] Two springs 475 are provided spaced apart left and right and are disposed inside the box-shaped rear cover 474. The front end of the spring 475 abuts against the rear surface of the rear wall portion 471c of the far shutter 471, and the rear end abuts against the front surface of the rear wall of the rear cover 474. The spring 475 biases the far shutter 471 forward.

[0184] The far ball grounding sheet metal 476 is formed of a metal plate such as an iron plate and is finally connected to the ground of the game hall via a ground wire (not shown). The far ball grounding sheet metal 476 is formed in a long strip shape extending left and right, and a plurality of support pieces 476a extend outward from the front and rear long sides. The far ball grounding sheet metal 476 is placed on the upper surface of the lower wall portion 473c of the front cover 473, and the plurality of support pieces 476a are inserted into the rear support opening 472c of the unit base 472 and the front support opening 473g of the front cover 473 with play.

[0185] As a result, the game ball B that has flowed down through the upper opening 470a of the furl and toward the lower wall portion 473c is guided to the right while the static electricity charged by contacting the furl ball grounding sheet metal 476 is removed. At this time, since the support piece 476a is loosely fitted in the rear support opening 472c and the front support opening 473g, when the game ball B contacts, the furl ball grounding sheet metal 476 vibrates, and dust and dirt on the furl ball grounding sheet metal 476 are discharged to the outside through the gaps of the loosely fitted rear support opening 472c and front support opening 473g. Incidentally, this furl ball grounding sheet metal 476 also serves to reinforce the falling game ball B.

[0186] This furl unit 470 is attached to a furl unit attachment portion 401h provided near the upper part in the center in the left - right direction on the front surface of the base wall portion 401b of the main body frame 4 when assembled to the pachinko machine 1. In this state, the ball - launching unit 450 is attached adjacent to the right side of the furl unit 470.

[0187] And, as shown in FIG. 11, the upper opening 470a of the furl unit 470 is located near the upper end of the base wall portion 401b and on the axis in the launching direction of the game ball B in the ball - launching unit 450. In other words, the upper opening 470a of the furl is provided at a position between the lower - end opening portion between the outer rail 1001 and the inner rail 1002 on the game board 5 and the ball - launching port 450b of the ball - launching unit 450.

[0188] On one hand, the upper part of the far right opening 470b of the far unit 470 communicates with the ball launch opening 450b of the ball launch unit 450, and the lower part communicates with the ball discharge port 450c of the ball launch unit 450. Therefore, the far upper opening 470a and the far right opening 470b are provided at the part between the lower end opening part between the outer rail 1001 and the inner rail 1002 on the game board 5 and the ball launch opening 450b of the ball launch unit 450. As a result, the game ball B launched from the ball launch opening 450b of the ball launch unit 450 enters the far unit 470 from the far right opening 470b, and then enters between the outer rail 1001 and the inner rail 1002 on the game board 5 through the far upper opening 470a.

[0189] When the door frame 3 is opened forward with respect to the main body frame 4 for the far unit 470 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19(a), the far shutter 471 slides forward by the biasing force of the spring 475, and the shutter part 471a of the far shutter 471 projects between the front surface of the unit base 472 and the front plate 473a of the front cover 473, closing the far upper opening 470a so that the game ball B cannot pass through. That is, the far shutter 471 is in the closed position. In this state, the rear wall part 471c of the far shutter 471 abuts against the rear surface of the main body part 472a of the unit base 472 and does not slide forward any further.

[0190] When the faro shutter 471 is in the closed position and the game ball B is launched from the ball launch unit 450, the launched game ball B enters the faro unit 470 through the faro right opening 470b, then contacts the lower surface of the shutter portion 471a of the faro shutter 471, and flows down within the faro unit 470 without being launched upward through the faro upper opening 470a. The game ball B that has flowed down within the faro unit 470 is guided by the lower wall portion 473c (faro ball grounding sheet metal 476), the hanging wall portion 473d, the bottom wall portion 473e, etc., and is supplied from the rear faro ball outlet 470c to the circulating ball path unit 500. Thereby, even when the game ball B is launched while the door frame 3 is open, the game ball B does not leak from the faro unit 470 to the outside.

[0191] In addition, when the door frame 3 is opened with respect to the main body frame 4, the door release switch 407 turns OFF. Therefore, the launch of the game ball B from the ball launch unit 450 may be stopped due to the OFF state of the door release switch 407. Alternatively, when the door frame 3 is opened, instead of stopping the launch of the game ball B, the game may be temporarily stopped by the main control board 1310, and when the door frame 3 is closed, the game may be resumed.

[0192] Also, when the main body frame 4 is opened with respect to the outer frame 2 (the frame release switch 408 is OFF), since the door frame 3 is closed and the game ball B does not leak to the outside, the launch of the game ball B from the ball launch unit 450 may not be stopped. Alternatively, when the main body frame 4 is opened, the same processing as when the above-mentioned door frame 3 is opened may be performed.

[0193] When the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 4, the rear surface of the door frame 3 abuts against the front ends of the two front protruding portions 471b of the far shutter 471, and the far shutter 471 is in a state of sliding backward against the biasing force of the spring 475 (see Fig. 19(b)). In this state, the shutter portion 471a of the far shutter 471 is located behind the front surface of the unit base 472, and the far upper opening 470a is open so that the game ball B can pass through. That is, the far shutter 471 is in the open position state.

[0194] When the game ball B is launched from the ball launch unit 450 in a state where the far shutter 471 is in the open position, the launched game ball B enters the far unit 470 from the far right opening 470b, and then is launched upward to the game board 5 side (between the outer rail 1001 and the inner rail 1002) through the far upper opening 470a. Then, when the launched game ball B crosses the backflow prevention member 1007 provided at the upper end of the inner rail 1002, the game ball B is driven into the game area 5a.

[0195] The game ball B that was launched from the ball launch unit 450 but did not cross the backflow prevention member 1007 at the upper end of the inner rail 1002 (the game ball B that was not driven into the game area) flows down between the outer rail 1001 and the inner rail 1002, enters from the far upper opening 470a as a far ball, and is recovered by the far unit 470. The game ball B recovered through the far upper opening 470a flows down onto the far ball grounding sheet metal 476 placed on the upper surface of the lower wall portion 473c, and the static electricity is removed by the far ball grounding sheet metal 476. At this time, since the far ball grounding sheet metal 476 is loosely fitted, it vibrates when the game ball B abuts, and dust, dirt, etc. on the far ball grounding sheet metal 476 are discharged outside the far unit 470 from the rear support port 472c and the front support port 473g due to the vibration.

[0196] The game ball B that has flowed down onto the fur ball earth sheet metal 476 (lower wall portion 473c) is guided to the right by its inclination, flows down onto the bottom wall portion 473e along the hanging wall portion 473d, and is guided backward by the inclination of the bottom wall portion 473e, and is discharged from the fur ball outlet 470c to the circulating ball path unit 500.

[0197] Also, in the fur unit 470, the game ball B discharged from the ball discharge port 450c of the ball launching unit 450 is received at the lower part of the fur right opening 470b. The game ball B that has entered the fur unit 470 from the lower part of the fur right opening 470b flows down onto the bottom wall portion 473e, and is guided backward by the inclination of the bottom wall portion 473e, and the fur ball outlet 470c discharges it to the circulating ball path unit 500.

[0198] In this way, according to the fur unit 470, even though it is launched from the ball launching unit 450, the game ball B that has not been driven into the game area 5a of the game board 5 can be recovered without leaking to the outside and supplied to the circulating ball path unit 500. And although details will be described later, in the circulating ball path unit 500, the game ball B supplied from the fur ball outlet 470c is detected by the fur ball sensor 507. When the game ball B is detected by this fur ball sensor 507, the number of balls held by the player is incremented by one.

[0199] Also, in the fur unit 470, since the unit base 472, the front cover 473, the rear cover 474, etc. are formed of a transparent synthetic resin, the inside can be visually recognized from the outside, and it is easy to discover ball jams inside.

[0200] [4-3a. Second Embodiment of Fur Unit] Subsequently, a second embodiment of the fur unit 470 will be described. The fur unit 470 of the second embodiment is the same as the above-described fur unit 470 except that the opening / closing mechanism of the fur shutter 471 is different. The fur unit 470 of the second embodiment is provided with an electric actuator such as a motor or a solenoid for opening and closing the fur shutter 471, which is not shown in the figure.

[0201] In this embodiment, when the door opening switch 407 is turned off by opening the door frame 3 with respect to the main body frame 4, the far shutter 471 slides to the closed position by an electric actuator. As a result, even if the game ball B is launched from the ball launching unit 450 with the door frame 3 open, the game ball B does not jump out to the outside through the far upper opening 470a.

[0202] Then, when the door frame 3 is closed and the door opening switch 407 is turned on, the far shutter 471 slides to the open position by an electric actuator, and the game ball B launched from the ball launching unit 450 can be driven into the game board 5 side through the far upper opening 470a.

[0203] Note that even when the frame opening switch 408 is turned off by opening the main body frame 4 with respect to the outer frame 2, the far shutter 471 may be slid to the closed position by an electric actuator. In this case, if the opening and closing process of the far shutter 471 by the frame opening switch 408 is made the same as the opening and closing process by the above-described door opening switch 407, the configuration related to the software can be simplified.

[0204] Further, an opening switch (not shown) capable of detecting both the opening of the door frame 3 and the opening of the main body frame 4 may be provided, and the far shutter 471 may be opened and closed by an electric actuator, and the mechanism related to the opening and closing can be made simple.

[0205] [4-4. Circulating Ball Path Unit] Regarding the circulating ball path unit 500 in the main body frame 4, it will be described in detail mainly with reference to FIGS. 20 to 27 and the like. FIG. 20(a) is a perspective view of the circulating ball path unit in the main body frame as seen from the front, and (b) is a perspective view of the circulating ball path unit in the main body frame as seen from the rear. FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective view of the circulating ball path unit as seen from the front, and FIG. 22 is an exploded perspective view of the circulating ball path unit as seen from the rear. FIG. 23(a) is a plan view showing only the ball meandering member and the ball removal shutter in the circulating ball path unit, and (b) is a perspective view of the ball meandering member and the ball removal shutter in the circulating ball path unit as seen from the front. FIG. 24(a1) is an explanatory view showing the ball removal shutter and the ball meandering member in the closed position together with the ball receiving tray in a side cross section, (a2) is an explanatory view showing only the part of the ball removal shutter in (a1) from the bottom, (b1) is an explanatory view showing the ball removal shutter and the ball meandering member in the open position together with the ball receiving tray in a side cross section, and (b2) is an explanatory view showing only the part of the ball removal shutter in (b1) from the bottom.

[0206] Also, FIG. 25(a) is an explanatory view showing the ball removal shutter in the closed position with an iron ball magnetically attached thereto together with the ball meandering member and the ball removal tray in a side cross section, (b) is an explanatory view showing the ball removal shutter in the open position with an iron ball magnetically attached thereto together with the ball meandering member and the ball removal tray in a side cross section, and (c) is an explanatory view showing the ball removal shutter slid to the closed position from the state of (b) with an iron ball magnetically attached to the lower surface together with the ball meandering member and the ball removal tray in a side cross section. FIG. 26(a) is an explanatory view showing a front cross section of the circulating ball path unit cut at the position of the out ball sensor, and (b) is an explanatory view showing a front cross section of the circulating ball path unit cut at the position of the safe ball sensor. FIG. 27(a) is a perspective view of the lower part of the main body frame together with the outer frame with the meandering cover of the circulating ball path unit removed, as seen from the front, and (b) is a perspective view of the lower part of the main body frame together with the outer frame with the meandering cover of the circulating ball path unit removed, as seen from the rear.

[0207] The circulating ball path unit 500 stores a plurality of game balls B discharged from the game board 5 and the game balls B recovered by the far unit 470, and sends the stored game balls B to the ball launching unit 450 side via the ball lifting unit 550. The circulating ball path unit 500 is attached to a circulating ball path unit attachment portion 401l provided on the rear surface of the base wall portion 401b of the main body frame base 401.

[0208] The circulating ball path unit 500 has an out ball receiving port 500a that is long in the left - right direction and opens upward, a safe ball receiving port 500b provided behind the out ball receiving port 500a that is long in the left - right direction and opens upward, a far ball receiving port 500c that opens on the front surface, and a ball discharge port 500d that opens rightward near the lower end. The out ball receiving port 500a and the safe ball receiving port 500b are formed such that the depth in the front - rear direction is slightly wider than the diameter of the game ball B, and a plurality of game balls B can pass through in the left - right direction. The far ball receiving port 500c and the ball discharge port 500d are formed to have a size through which one game ball B can pass at a time.

[0209] The out ball receiving port 500a receives the game ball B (out ball) received at the out port of the game board 5. The safe ball receiving port 500b receives the game ball B (safe ball) received at the winning ports such as the general winning port, start port, big winning port, etc. of the game board 5. The far ball receiving port 500c receives the game ball B (far ball) discharged from the far ball outlet 470c of the far unit 470. The ball discharge port 500d discharges the game balls B received at the out ball receiving port 500a, the safe ball receiving port 500b, and the far ball receiving port 500c and stored inside, and delivers them to the ball lifting unit 550.

[0210] In addition, the circulating ball path unit 500 includes an out-ball passage 501 through which the game ball B received at the out-ball receiving port 500a circulates, a safe-ball passage 502 through which the game ball B received at the safe-ball receiving port 500b circulates, a foul-ball passage 503 through which the game ball B received at the foul-ball receiving port 500c circulates, and a ball storage passage 504 that communicates with the downstream ends of the out-ball passage 501, the safe-ball passage 502, and the foul-ball passage 503, respectively, and the downstream end of which is the ball discharge port 500d.

[0211] Furthermore, the circulating ball path unit 500 includes an out-ball sensor 505 that detects each game ball B (out ball) flowing through the out-ball passage 501, a safe-ball sensor 506 that detects each game ball B (safe ball) flowing through the safe-ball passage 502, and a foul-ball sensor 507 that detects each game ball B (foul ball) flowing through the foul-ball passage 503. The safe-ball sensor 506 is equivalent to the all-win-port sensor in a conventional pachinko machine and can be used to determine cheating by comparing it with the total number of winning balls in all the winning ports.

[0212] The circulating ball path unit 500 includes a flat plate-shaped ball receiving front plate 510, a ball receiving front member 511 attached to the rear side of the ball receiving front plate 510, and a ball receiving rear member 512 attached to the rear side of the ball receiving front member 511. The ball storage passage 504 is provided below the ball receiving front plate 510, the ball receiving front member 511, and the ball receiving rear member 512.

[0213] In addition, the circulating ball path unit 500 includes a ball meandering member 513 provided below the ball receiving front plate 510, the ball receiving front member 511, and the ball receiving rear member 512 and open upward, a meandering cover 514 covering the upper part of the ball meandering member 513, a ball extraction shutter 515 for discharging the game ball B from the ball meandering member 513, a magnet 516 attached to the ball extraction shutter 515, and a circulating ball path relay substrate 517 attached to the rear side of the ball receiving front member 511.

[0214] The foul ball receiving front plate 510 extends horizontally, and a foul ball receiving port 500c is provided which penetrates through in the front-rear direction near the lower part at the center in the left-right direction.

[0215] The front ball receiving member 511 forms an out ball receiving port 500a in cooperation with the foul ball receiving front plate 510 on the upper surface. The front ball receiving member 511 is formed with an out ball passage 501 and a foul ball passage 503 in a state of being open forward, and when the foul ball receiving front plate 510 is attached, the front sides thereof are closed. The downstream end of the out ball passage 501 opens downward at the lower left end of the front ball receiving member 511. The opening at the downstream end of the out ball passage 501 is located in front of the opening at the downstream end of the safe ball passage 502. The downstream end of the foul ball passage 503 opens downward at a position in the front ball receiving member 511 that is lower right than the downstream end of the out ball passage 501.

[0216] The front ball receiving member 511 has an upper out ball receiving plate portion 511a that is inclined downward to the right from the middle of the vertical wall forming the left end edge of the out ball receiving port 500a to near the center in the left-right direction, a lower out ball receiving plate portion 511b that is inclined downward to the left from a position below the upper out ball receiving plate portion 511a in the vertical wall forming the right end edge of the out ball receiving port 500a to near the lower part of the left end edge of the out ball receiving port 500a, and a crank portion 511c that extends in a crank shape downward to the lower left from the left end of the lower out ball receiving plate portion 511b with a width that allows the game balls B to flow in a row.

[0217] The height between the right end of the upper out ball receiving plate portion 511a and the lower out ball receiving plate portion 511b is approximately twice the diameter of the game ball B, and thus the height of the lower out ball receiving plate portion 511b on the left side is formed to be lower as it goes to the left. Thereby, the game balls B received in the out ball receiving port 500a can be aligned in a single row.

[0218] An out ball sensor 505 is attached to a portion that extends vertically directly below the downstream end of the lower out ball receiving plate portion 511b in the crank portion 511c.

[0219] In the ball receiving front member 511, an out ball passage 501 is constituted by an upper out ball receiving plate portion 511a, a lower out ball receiving plate portion 511b, a crank portion 511c, and the like. Therefore, the out ball passage 501 is widely formed such that a large number of game balls B can be received on the upstream side, and the received game balls B are aligned in a row and delivered to the downstream ball storage passage 504 (ball meandering member 513).

[0220] Also, in the ball receiving front member 511, the foul ball passage 503 is inclined downward from a portion behind the foul ball receiving port 500c to a portion on the right side of the left end of the lower out ball receiving plate portion 511b at a position below the upper out ball receiving plate portion 511a and below the lower out ball receiving plate portion 511b, and then extends downward for a short distance. In the ball receiving front member 511, a foul ball sensor 507 is attached to a portion extending leftward in the foul ball passage 503. This foul ball passage 503 is formed such that the game balls b flow in a row, and the game balls B that have flowed through the foul ball passage 503 are delivered to a portion downstream of the portion where they are delivered from the out ball passage 501 in the ball storage passage 504 (ball meandering member 513).

[0221] The ball receiving front member 511 is provided with a recess 511d that is recessed at a size that does not hinder the flow of the game balls B at the front edge of the front end of the upper out ball receiving plate portion 511a, the front edge of the front end of the lower out ball receiving plate portion 511b, and the front edge of the bottom wall that forms the foul ball passage 503 and extends left and right. This recess 511d enables dust, dirt, etc. in the out ball passage 501 and the foul ball passage 503 to be discharged to the outside.

[0222] Also, the ball receiving front member 511 has a circulation ball path relay substrate 517 attached to a portion behind the foul ball passage 503 on the rear surface.

[0223] The ball receiving rear member 512 forms a safe ball receiving port 500b in cooperation with the ball receiving front member 511 on the upper surface. A safe ball passage 502 is formed in the ball receiving rear member 512 in a state of being open forward, and the front side of the safe ball passage 502 is closed by attaching the ball receiving front member 511. The downstream end of the safe ball passage 502 opens downward at the lower left end of the ball receiving rear member 512. The opening of the downstream end of the safe ball passage 502 is located behind the opening of the downstream end of the out ball passage 501. That is, the opening of the downstream end of the out ball passage 501 and the opening of the downstream end of the safe ball passage 502 are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction.

[0224] The ball receiving rear member 512 has an upper safe ball receiving plate portion 512a that is inclined downward to the right from the middle of the vertical wall forming the left end edge of the safe ball receiving port 500b to near the center in the left-right direction, a lower safe ball receiving plate portion 512b that is inclined downward to the left from a portion below the upper safe ball receiving plate portion 512a in the vertical wall forming the right end edge of the safe ball receiving port 500b to near the lower part of the left end edge of the safe ball receiving port 500b, and a crank portion 512c that extends in a crank shape downward to the left from the left end of the lower safe ball receiving plate portion 512b with a width that allows the game balls B to flow in a row.

[0225] The height between the right end of the upper safe ball receiving plate portion 512a and the lower safe ball receiving plate portion 512b is about twice the diameter of the game ball B, and thus the height of the lower safe ball receiving plate portion 512b on the left side is formed to be lower as it goes to the left. Thereby, the game balls B received in the safe ball receiving port 500b can be aligned in one row.

[0226] A safe ball sensor 506 is attached to a portion that extends vertically directly below the downstream end of the lower safe ball receiving plate portion 512b in the crank portion 512c.

[0227] In the ball receiving rear member 512, a safe ball passage 502 is formed by an upper safe ball receiving plate portion 512a, a lower safe ball receiving plate portion 512b, a crank portion 512c, and the like. Therefore, the safe ball passage 502 is widely formed so that a large number of game balls B can be received on the upstream side, and the received game balls B are aligned in a row and transferred to the most upstream portion of the downstream ball storage passage 504 (ball meandering member 513).

[0228] The ball receiving rear member 512 is provided with recessed portions 512d that are recessed at the front edge of the upper safe ball receiving plate portion 512a and the front edge of the lower safe ball receiving plate portion 512b with a size that does not obstruct the flow of the game balls B. Due to these recessed portions 512d, dust, dirt, etc. inside the safe ball passage 502 can be discharged to the outside.

[0229] The ball meandering member 513 extends in the left - right direction such that the right - hand end is lower while meandering back and forth, and forms a ball storage passage 504 capable of storing a large number of game balls B. As shown in FIG. 23 and the like, the ball meandering member 513 includes a first straight portion 513a that slopes downward toward the front with the rear portion as the upstream end, a first turning portion 513b that bends to the right from the downstream end (front end) of the first straight portion 513a and then bends further downward toward the rear, a second straight portion 513c that extends from the downstream end (rear end) of the first turning portion 513b to a position near the rear end of the first straight portion 513a so as to be lower toward the rear, a second turning portion 513d that bends to the right from the downstream end (rear end) of the second straight portion 513c and then bends further downward toward the front, a third straight portion 513e that extends from the downstream end (front end) of the second turning portion 513d to the same position as the front end of the second straight portion 513c so as to be lower toward the front, a third turning portion 513f that bends to the right from the downstream end (front end) of the third straight portion 513e and then bends further downward toward the rear, a fourth straight portion 513g that extends from the downstream end (rear end) of the third turning portion 513f to the same position as the rear end of the third straight portion 513e so as to be lower toward the rear, a fourth turning portion 513h that bends to the right from the downstream end (rear end) of the fourth straight portion 513g and then bends further downward toward the front, a fifth straight portion 513i that extends from the downstream end (front end) of the fourth turning portion 513h to the same position as the front end of the fourth straight portion 513g so as to be lower toward the front, a first bending portion 513j that bends to the right from the downstream end (front end) of the fifth straight portion 513i, a first horizontal portion 513k that extends to the right from the downstream end (right - hand end) of the first bending portion 513j so as to be lower toward the right, a second bending portion 513l that bends downward toward the rear from the downstream end (right - hand end) of the first horizontal portion 513k, a sixth straight portion 513m that extends from the downstream end (rear end) of the second bending portion 513l to a position near the downstream end of the fifth straight portion 513i so as to be lower toward the rear, a third bending portion 513n that bends to the right from the downstream end (rear end) of the sixth straight portion 513m, and a second horizontal portion 513o that extends to the right from the downstream end (right - hand end) of the third bending portion 513n. The opening at the downstream end of the second horizontal portion 513o forms a ball discharge port 500d that opens to the right.

[0230] In the ball meandering member 513 (ball storage passage 504), above the rear end of the first straight portion 513a, the opening of the downstream end of the safe ball passage 502 is located, and the opening of the downstream end of the out ball passage 501 is located in front of it. Also, above the rear end of the second straight portion 513c, the opening of the downstream end of the foul ball passage 503 is located.

[0231] Further, the ball meandering member 513 includes a ball discharge port 513p that penetrates vertically in the first horizontal portion 513k, a pair of rail portions 513q that extend forward and backward along the left and right end edges of the ball discharge port 513p on the lower surface of the first horizontal portion 513k and protrude downward, support pieces 513r that protrude from the lower ends of the pair of rail portions 513q so as to approach each other, and locking recesses 513s that are recessed on the side surfaces of the pair of rail portions 513q facing each other.

[0232] The ball discharge port 513p of the ball meandering member 513 is closed so as to be openable and closable by a ball discharge shutter 515, although details will be described later. The pair of rail portions 513q extend rearward from the ball discharge port 513p. The pair of rail portions 513q support the ball discharge shutter 515 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. The two support pieces 513r prevent the ball discharge shutter 515 from falling. Also, the two support pieces 513r protrude from the respective rail portions 513q at the portion of the ball discharge port 513p. Thereby, even if the load of the game ball B acts on the ball discharge shutter 515 through the ball discharge port 513p, the ball discharge shutter 515 can be sufficiently supported, preventing the ball discharge shutter 515 from falling off. The locking recess 513s can hold the ball discharge shutter 515 in the open position when the locking projection 515f of the ball discharge shutter 515 is inserted.

[0233] Note that the ball meandering member 513 is provided with a gauge portion 520 that can visually confirm an appropriate amount of the game ball B (circulating ball), a circulating ball shortage sensor 521, and a circulating ball excess sensor 522 that can detect the circulating game ball B, although details will be described later.

[0234] According to this meandering member 513 for balls, it is possible to form a ball storage passage 504 that meanders back and forth and extends in the left - right direction so as to be lower on the right side. Further, since the meandering member 513 for balls is provided with a plurality of turning parts (first turning part 513b, second turning part 513d, third turning part 513f, fourth turning part 513h) and a plurality of bending parts (first bending part 513j, second bending part 513l, third bending part 513n), the flow rate of the game balls B can be suppressed at these parts, and the impact on the inlet side of the ball lifting unit 550 can be alleviated.

[0235] The meandering cover 514 is attached to the meandering member 513 for balls so as to cover the open upper end of the meandering member 513 for balls. By attaching the meandering cover 514 to the meandering member 513 for balls, it is possible to prevent the game balls B from leaking out of the meandering member 513 (ball storage passage 504), and to prevent game balls B that do not correspond to the ball storage passage 504 from the outside or illegal game balls B from entering.

[0236] The length of the part extending in the front - rear direction at the left end of the meandering cover 514 is formed shorter than the first straight part 513a of the meandering member 513 for balls toward the rear. As a result, when the meandering cover 514 is attached to the meandering member 513 for balls, the rear part of the first straight part 513a of the meandering member 513 for balls is in an open state upward, and it becomes possible to communicate with the out - ball passage 501 and the safe - ball passage 502 through that part.

[0237] Further, the meandering cover 514 has an opening 514a penetrating vertically at a position above the vicinity of the rear end of the second straight part 513c in the meandering member 513 for balls. Through this opening 514a, the foul - ball passage 503 can communicate with the ball storage passage 504.

[0238] The ball extraction shutter 515 is for extracting (discharging) the game ball B (circulating game ball) from the circulating ball path unit 500 etc., and is slidably attached in the front-rear direction to the lower surface of the ball meandering member 513. The ball extraction shutter 515 includes a flat plate-shaped door portion 515a capable of closing the ball extraction opening 513p, a knob portion 515b extending vertically, horizontally, and diagonally from the front edge of the door portion 515a, a pair of paddle portions 515c each extending rearward from the rear ends of both left and right sides of the door portion 515a, a connecting portion 515e forming an opening 515d that vertically penetrates by connecting the pair of paddle portions 515c behind the door portion 515a, locking protrusions 515f bulging from the outer surfaces of the pair of paddle portions 515c between the connecting portion 515e and the rear end, hook portions 515g extending outward from each other from the rear ends of the pair of paddle portions 515c, and a magnet support portion 515h protruding cylindrically from the lower surface of the door portion 515a.

[0239] The magnet support portion 515h of the ball extraction shutter 515 can support the cylindrical magnet 516 by inserting the magnet 516 into the cylinder. This magnet support portion 515h is open rearward such that the rear end side of the outer peripheral surface of the supported magnet 516 coincides with the inner peripheral surface on the front side in the opening 515d (see Fig. 24 etc.).

[0240] When the ball extraction shutter 515 is attached to the ball meandering member 513, a pair of rail portions 513q of the ball meandering member 513 are located on both left and right outer sides of the door portion 515a and the pair of paddle portions 515c, and the lower surface of the first horizontal portion 513k and the upper surfaces of the pair of support pieces 513r are located on both upper and lower sides of the door portion 515a and the pair of paddle portions 515c. Thereby, the ball extraction shutter 515 is slidable in the front-rear direction between a closed position and an open position described later.

[0241] Note that a screw hole is provided in the lower end surface of the magnet support portion 515h of the ball extraction shutter 515. When a screw is screwed into the screw hole with the magnet 516 inserted into the magnet support portion 515h, a part of the head of the screw is located below the magnet 516, and the magnet 516 does not fall from the magnet support portion 515h.

[0242] In the normal state, as shown in FIGS. 24(a1) and (a2), the ball removal shutter 515 is in a closed position state where the ball removal opening 513p is made impassable for the game ball B by the door portion 515a. In this state, the rear surface of the knob portion 515b abuts against the front surface of the first horizontal portion 513k, and the pair of locking protrusions 515f are in contact with the respective rear end surfaces of the pair of rail portions 513q. Thereby, the ball removal shutter 515 is restricted from moving in the front-rear direction and is held in the closed position. Therefore, when the ball removal shutter 515 is in the closed position state, the game ball B is not discharged from the ball removal opening 513p to the lower ball receiving tray 620.

[0243] Also, when the ball removal shutter 515 is in the closed position state, the magnet support portion 515h (magnet 516) is located below the vicinity of the center of the ball removal opening 513p. Although details will be described later, when the iron ball SB (see FIG. 25) flows through the ball storage passage 504, the iron ball SB is magnetically attached to the door portion 515a by the magnetic force of the magnet 516, resulting in ball jamming, and it becomes possible to detect the mixing of the iron ball SB.

[0244] In the ball removal shutter 515 in the closed position state, when the knob portion 515b is grasped and pulled forward, the locking protrusion 515f provided on the lever portion 515c strongly abuts against the rear end surface of the rail portion 513q. At this time, due to the force applied to the locking protrusion 515f, the lever portion 515c is elastically deformed inward, and the locking protrusion 515f moves to the inner surface side of the rail portion 513q, and the ball removal shutter 515 slides forward from the closed position. Then, when the locking protrusion 515f reaches the position of the locking recess 513s, the locking protrusion 515f is inserted into the locking recess 513s by the elastic force of the lever portion 515c, and the hook portion 515g provided at the rear end of the lever portion 515c is in a state of approaching the rear end surface of the rail portion 513q. Thereby, the ball removal shutter 515 is in a state where further forward sliding is restricted.

[0245] In this state, as shown in FIGS. 24(b1) and (b2), the opening 515d of the ball-discharge shutter 515 coincides with the ball-discharge port 513p, and the game ball B can pass through the ball-discharge port 513p. That is, the ball-discharge shutter 515 is in the open position. When the ball-discharge shutter 515 is in the open position, the game balls B upstream of the ball-discharge port 513p in the ball storage passage 504 are discharged through the ball-discharge port 513p and the opening 515d to the lower ball receiving tray 620. As a result, it becomes possible to extract the circulating game balls B to the outside.

[0246] Then, when the game balls B accumulate in the ball receiving tray 620 and become heavy, the ball receiving tray 620 is placed on the bottom wall of the tray insertion recess 401f that is inclined so that the front end side is lower. Therefore, due to the inclination of the bottom wall, it tries to slide forward, but the sliding forward is blocked by the locking of the locking claw 401n. In this state, when the locking of the locking claw 401n is released, the ball receiving tray 620 automatically slides forward due to the weight of the stored game balls B, and the ball receiving tray 620 can be easily taken out from the tray insertion recess 401f.

[0247] Note that in the state where the ball-discharge shutter 515 is assembled in the pachinko machine 1, the rear surface of the door frame 3 is close to the front surface of the knob portion 515b. Even if the ball-discharge shutter 515 tries to slide forward for some reason, the knob portion 515b abuts against the door frame 3, and the sliding to the open position is blocked. As a result, the circulating game balls B will not accidentally escape, and no illegal game balls B will be mixed in through the ball-discharge port 513p.

[0248] The magnet 516 is formed in a cylindrical shape that can be inserted into the magnet support portion 515h of the ball-discharge shutter 515. This magnet 516 is for attracting the iron ball SB. A magnet 516 with a strong magnetic force such as a neodymium magnet is used.

[0249] Incidentally, in a game hall or the like, when the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment and a conventional pachinko machine that allows a player to touch a game ball (steel ball SB) are mixed, there is a risk that the steel ball SB will be mixed in when the game ball B is replenished or replaced due to maintenance or the like of the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment.

[0250] On the other hand, in this pachinko machine 1, when the steel ball SB is mixed in, since the magnet 516 is provided on the ball discharge shutter 515, when the steel ball SB flows through the ball storage passage 504, on the upper surface of the door portion 515a of the ball discharge shutter 515 in the closed position, the steel ball SB will be magnetically attracted and stopped by the magnetic force of the magnet 516 (see Fig. 25(a)). At this time, since the magnet 516 with a strong magnetic force is used, even if a force that presses downstream acts due to a large number of game balls B accumulating on the upstream side of the magnetically attracted steel ball SB, the steel ball SB will not move from the upper surface of the door portion 515a.

[0251] Then, when the firing of the game ball B from the ball firing unit 450 continues in a state where the steel ball SB is magnetically attached to the door portion 515a (magnet 516) of the ball discharge shutter 515 in the ball storage passage 504, the game balls B on the downstream side of the magnetically attached steel ball SB are sequentially consumed, and the consumed (fired) game balls B are sequentially supplied to the upstream side of the steel ball SB. Therefore, detection of the game ball B by the circulation ball shortage sensor 521, the lifting inlet sensor 553, etc. provided downstream of the ball discharge shutter 515 becomes OFF, and detection of the game ball B by the circulation ball excess sensor 522, the out ball sensor 505, the safe ball sensor 506, the far ball sensor 507, etc. provided upstream of the ball discharge shutter 515 becomes ON. As a result, it is possible to detect and notify that a ball jam has occurred between the circulation ball shortage sensor 521, etc. and the circulation ball excess sensor 522, etc. That is, it is possible to detect that the steel ball SB is magnetically attached to the door portion 515a.

[0252] As shown in Fig. 25(a), with the iron ball SB magnetically attached to the upper surface of the door portion 515a of the ball removal shutter 515 by the magnetic force of the magnet 516, when the ball removal shutter 515 is slid from the closed position to the forward open position, the front end of the iron ball SB magnetically attached to the upper surface of the door portion 515a abuts against the front wall of the first horizontal portion 513k, and only the iron ball SB is prevented from moving forward. Then, when the ball removal shutter 515 slides further forward, the door portion 515a that supported the lower end of the iron ball SB disappears, and the iron ball SB moves into the lower opening 515d due to gravity. At this time, since the rear end side of the outer peripheral surface of the magnet 516 coincides with the inner surface on the front side of the opening 515d, the iron ball SB is magnetically attached to the outer peripheral surface of the magnet 516 (see Fig. 25(b)).

[0253] Note that the iron ball SB tries to move from the outer peripheral surface of the magnet 516 to the pole side with strong magnetic force (here, the lower end surface side), but when the ball removal shutter 515 is in the open position, the upper end surface of the ball receiving tray 620 is located below the magnet 516, and the iron ball SB does not move below the magnet 516. Therefore, when the ball removal shutter 515 is slid to the open position, the iron ball B is located at a position overlapping the opening 515d, and the game ball B on the upstream side of the iron ball SB does not pass through the opening 515d, that is, the ball removal port 513p and is not discharged downward.

[0254] After sliding the ball removal shutter 515 to the open position and then sliding the ball removal shutter 515 back to the closed position, while preventing the game ball B on the upstream side of the iron ball SB from passing through the ball removal port 513p by the door portion 515a, the iron ball SB magnetized to the outer peripheral surface of the magnet 516 moves to the lower surface side of the magnet 516, and the iron ball SB is magnetically attached to the lower surface of the magnet 516 (see Fig. 25(c)). Then, the ball receiving tray 620 is pulled out and removed from the tray insertion recess 401f, and the iron ball SB magnetically attached to the lower surface of the magnet 516 is removed.

[0255] In this way, with the iron ball SB magnetically attached to the door portion 515a of the ball removal shutter 515 by the magnet 516, when the ball removal shutter 515 is slid back and forth, only the magnetically attached iron ball SB can be taken out from the ball storage passage 504 to the outside.

[0256] The circulating ball path relay board 517 is attached at a position behind the fair ball passage 503 on the rear surface of the ball receiving front member 511 and at a position below the out ball receiving plate part lower 511b of the ball receiving rear member 512. The circulating ball path relay board 517 is for relaying the connection between the out ball sensor 505, the safe ball sensor 506, the fair ball sensor 507, the circulating ball shortage sensor 521, and the circulating ball excess sensor 522, and the frame control board 640 described later.

[0257] In the circulating ball path unit 500 of the present embodiment, the ball receiving front plate 510, the ball receiving front member 511, the ball receiving rear member 512, the ball meandering member 513, and the meandering cover 514 are formed of a transparent synthetic resin. Therefore, it is possible to visually recognize the internal state from the outside.

[0258] In the circulating ball path unit 500, the out ball sensor 505 and the fair ball sensor 507 are attached in a state of being sandwiched between the ball receiving front plate 510 and the ball receiving front member 511, and the safe ball sensor 506 is attached in a state of being sandwiched between the ball receiving front member 511 and the ball receiving rear member 512. The out ball sensor 505 and the safe ball sensor 506 are provided side by side in the front-rear direction.

[0259] The out ball sensor 505, the safe ball sensor 506, the fair ball sensor 507, the circulating ball shortage sensor 521, and the circulating ball excess sensor 522 detect the game ball B non-contact, for example, by detecting a change in the induced current.

[0260] The circulating ball path unit 500 is attached to the base wall part 401b of the main body frame base 401 from the rear side. In a state where the circulating ball path unit 500 is assembled to the main body frame 4, the out ball receiving port 500a and the safe ball receiving port 500b are attached so as to be at the same height as the upper surface of the base wall part 401b and in contact with the rear end edge of the upper surface of the base wall part 401b.

[0261] Further, the circulating ball path unit 500 is attached in a state of being assembled to the main body frame 4 such that the ball feeding unit 600 is positioned between the base wall portion 401b and the main body frame 4.

[0262] Furthermore, in a state where the circulating ball path unit 500 is assembled to the main body frame 4, a portion of the ball meandering member 513 and the meandering cover 514 that is in front of the center in the front - rear direction penetrates the ball storage passage insertion port 401g provided in the base wall portion 401b from the rear and protrudes forward. Thereby, when the door frame 3 is opened with respect to the main body frame 4, the game balls B in the ball meandering member 513 (ball storage passage 504) can be visually recognized from the front (outside).

[0263] Also, in a state where the circulating ball path unit 500 is assembled to the main body frame 4, when the frame substrate unit 630 is opened rearward, the interiors of the out - ball passage 501, the safe - ball passage 502, the far - ball passage 503, and the portions of the ball storage passage 504 that are behind the base wall portion 401b can be visually recognized from the rear. Thereby, when a ball jam occurs, by opening the frame substrate unit 630, the inside of the out - ball passage 501 etc. can be confirmed, and it is easy to identify the location where the ball jam occurred.

[0264] Moreover, in a state where the circulating ball path unit 500 is assembled to the main body frame 4, the second horizontal portion 513o of the ball meandering member 513 is located at a position behind the base wall portion 401b and below the ball launching unit 450. That is, the circulating ball path unit 500 has a ball discharge port 500d that opens rightward at a position behind the base wall portion 401b and lower than the ball launching unit 450. This ball discharge port 500d communicates with the ball lifting inlet passage 551 of the ball lifting unit 550 described later.

[0265] The circulating ball path unit 500 of this embodiment includes a gauge unit 520 that enables visual recognition of the appropriate amount of the game balls B stored in the ball storage path 504 (the ball meandering member 513), a circulating ball shortage sensor 521 for detecting that the stored game balls B (circulating balls) are insufficient, and a circulating ball excess sensor 522 for detecting that the stored game balls B (circulating balls) are excessive (see FIG. 37).

[0266] The gauge unit 520 is colored in a color different from other parts in an appropriate amount region of a predetermined length with respect to the flow direction of the ball storage path 504 in the ball meandering member 513. Here, the state where the rear end of the row of the game balls B stored in a lined-up state reaches the gauge unit 520 is regarded as the appropriate amount.

[0267] When looking at the gauge unit 520 during maintenance or the like, if the game balls B cannot be seen at the part of the gauge unit 520 (the appropriate amount region), it can be determined that there is a shortage of game balls B, which means the number of game balls B is less than the appropriate amount. When replenishing the game balls B, the game balls B are inserted from the out port 1008 of the game board 5, or the out ball receiving port 500a or the safe ball receiving port 500b, until the appropriate amount is reached.

[0268] On the other hand, when looking at the gauge unit 520, if the game balls B can be seen at all parts of the gauge unit 520 (when the rear end of the row of the game balls B cannot be seen), it can be determined that there is an excess of game balls B, which means the number of game balls B is more than the appropriate amount. When there is an excess of game balls B, the ball discharge shutter 515 is pulled forward and slid to the open position to discharge the game balls B in the ball storage path 504 from the ball discharge port 513p to make the amount appropriate.

[0269] The circulating ball shortage sensor 521 is provided near the downstream end of the gauge unit 520 in the ball storage path 504. The circulating ball excess sensor 522 is provided near the upstream end of the gauge unit 520 in the ball storage path 504. The circulating ball shortage sensor 521 and the circulating ball excess sensor 522 are connected to the frame control board 640 via the circulating ball path relay board 517.

[0270] As will be described later, when the number of game balls B is appropriate, the circulation ball shortage sensor 521 detects the game ball B for a predetermined time (e.g., 80 ms) or more, and the circulation ball excess sensor 522 does not detect the game ball B for a predetermined time (e.g., 80 ms) or more. When the number of game balls B is insufficient, neither the circulation ball shortage sensor 521 nor the circulation ball excess sensor 522 detects the game ball B for a predetermined time (e.g., 80 ms) or more. On the other hand, when the number of game balls B is excessive, both the circulation ball shortage sensor 521 and the circulation ball excess sensor 522 detect the game ball B for a predetermined time (e.g., 80 ms) or more. In addition, when the circulation ball shortage sensor 521 does not detect the game ball B for a predetermined time (e.g., 80 ms) or more and the circulation ball excess sensor 522 detects the game ball B for a predetermined time (e.g., 80 ms) or more, a ball jam including the mixing of steel balls SB occurs between the circulation ball shortage sensor 521 and the circulation ball excess sensor 522.

[0271] Here, the reason for the predetermined time k80 ms as the threshold for detecting the presence or absence of the game ball B will be explained. For example, on the circulation path R, the positions where sensors such as the circulation ball excess sensor 522, the circulation ball shortage sensor 521, the lift entrance sensor 553, the lift exit sensor 554, and the shooter front sensor 604 are placed are the stop positions of the game ball B when the ball lift unit 550, the ball feed unit 600, etc. are stopped. This position is the position where the next game ball B is located every time one game ball B is sent. Therefore, the detection of the game ball B here is based on the detection method of whether it has been detected for 80 ms or more. This is because the time for detecting the game ball B rolling on a slope with an inclination of about 5 degrees is about 50 ms. Therefore, a margin is added to ensure that the game ball B is surely detected at that position, and the detection is performed at 80 ms. That is, the value of 80 ms is a practical value obtained through experiments.

[0272] In this way, based on the combination of the detection states of the game ball B by the circulation ball shortage sensor 521 and the circulation ball excess sensor 522, it is possible to automatically determine and notify the amount of the game ball B, ball jams, etc. on the frame control board 640.

[0273] In the above-described embodiment, as the gauge portion 520 in the spherical meandering member 513, an appropriate amount region is shown with a color different from other portions. However, the molding color of the portion of the gauge portion 520 in the spherical meandering member 513 may be made different, a seal may be attached as the gauge portion, or a gauge portion with a colored line drawn at the downstream end and upstream end portions of the appropriate amount region may also be used.

[0274] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the circulation ball shortage sensor 521 and the circulation ball excess sensor 522 are provided. However, the circulation ball shortage sensor 521 may be substituted with a lifting inlet sensor described later, and the circulation ball excess sensor 522 may be substituted with the out ball sensor 505, the safe ball sensor 506, and the foul ball sensor 507.

[0275] [4-4a. Spherical clogging elimination mechanism] Next, in the circulation ball path unit 500, a spherical clogging elimination mechanism 530 may be provided to facilitate elimination of spherical clogging at the out ball sensor 505 and the safe ball sensor 506 as shown in FIG. 28. FIG. 28(a) is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged main part of a rear cross section cut at the portion of the out ball sensor with the lid member of the spherical clogging elimination mechanism closed in the circulation ball path unit attached to the main body frame, and (b) is an explanatory diagram showing the state with the lid member opened in (a).

[0276] The spherical clogging elimination mechanism 530 is configured such that in the ball receiving front member 511 and the ball receiving rear member 512 in the circulation ball path unit 500, the wall portions above the out ball sensor 505 and the safe ball sensor 506 are formed as an openable and closable lid member 531. The lid member 531 is closed in the normal state as shown in FIG. 28(a). The lid member 531 is held in the closed state by being locked by a locking claw (not shown).

[0277] This spherical clogging elimination mechanism 530 is used to eliminate spherical clogging that occurs in the out ball passage 501 or the safe ball passage 502, or when an illegal ball B' having a larger diameter than the game ball B is inserted as an illegal act and the out ball sensor 505 or the like is blocked.

[0278] For example, when an illegal ball B' with a larger diameter than the game ball B is inserted from the out port 1008 or the like of the game board 5 and the out ball sensor 505 is blocked, if the frame substrate unit 630 is opened after opening the main body frame 4 with respect to the outer frame 2, the rear part of the circulating ball path unit 500 appears. And in the present embodiment, since a gap into which a finger can be inserted is formed between the part where the ball jamming elimination mechanism 530 in the circulating ball path unit 500 is provided and the box main body part 404b of the main body frame speaker box 404, the locking claw of the lid member 531 is released through the gap, and the lid member 531 can be opened by rotating it so that the lower end of the lid member 531 moves upward (see Fig. 28(b)).

[0279] And by opening the lid member 531, a finger can be inserted into the upper part of the out ball sensor 505 in the out ball passage 501, and the illegal ball B' blocking the out ball sensor 505 can be easily taken out. In this way, the illegal ball B' can be easily taken out without removing the circulating ball path unit 500 that is screwed using a driver.

[0280] In addition, even when the safe ball sensor 506 is blocked by the illegal ball B', the illegal ball B' can be taken out by the same procedure as above.

[0281] In the above description, a lid member 531 that can be opened and closed is provided as the ball jamming elimination mechanism 530. However, for example, elastic claws may be provided on the ball receiving rear member 512 and the ball receiving front member 511, and the ball receiving rear member 512 and the ball receiving front member 511 may be detachably attached to the rear by locking the elastic claws. In this case, in the normal state, the frame substrate unit 630 is located behind the circulating ball path unit 500, and even if the locking of the elastic claws is loosened, the ball receiving rear member 512 and the ball receiving front member 511 will not come off to the rear. And when the out ball sensor 505 is blocked by the illegal ball B', when the main body frame 4 is opened with respect to the outer frame 2 and then the frame substrate unit 630 is opened, the rear part of the circulating ball path unit 500 appears. Therefore, by releasing the locking of the elastic claws attaching the ball receiving rear member 512 and the ball receiving front member 511, the ball receiving rear member 512 and the ball receiving front member 511 can be easily removed, and the illegal ball B' blocking the out ball sensor 505 can be easily taken out.

[0282] Alternatively, as the ball jamming elimination mechanism 530, in the ball receiving front member 511 sandwiched between the ball receiving front plate 510 and the ball receiving rear member 512, the portion above the out ball sensor 505 may be slid upward and removed. In this case, in the normal state, the game board 5 is located above the circulating ball path unit 500, and due to the action of gravity, the slidable portion of the ball receiving front member 511 will not come off upward. And when the out ball sensor 505 is blocked by the illegal ball B', when the door frame 3 is opened with respect to the main body frame 4 and the game board 5 is removed from the main body frame 4, the upper part of the circulating ball path unit 500 appears. Therefore, by sliding the slidable portion of the ball receiving front member 511 upward and removing it, the illegal ball B' blocking the out ball sensor 505 can be easily taken out.

[0283] [4-5. Ball Lifting Unit] Regarding the ball lifting unit 550 in the main body frame 4, it will be described in detail mainly with reference to FIGS. 29 to 32 and the like. FIG. 29(a) is a perspective view of the ball lifting unit in the main body frame as seen from the left front, (b) is a perspective view of the ball lifting unit in the main body frame as seen from the right front, and (c) is a perspective view of the ball lifting unit in the main body frame as seen from the rear. FIG. 30(a) is an exploded perspective view of the ball lifting unit disassembled by each main component as seen from the front, and (b) is an exploded perspective view of the ball lifting unit disassembled by each main component as seen from the rear. FIG. 31 is a front view showing an enlarged view of the main part in a state where the ball grinding cassette is removed from the ball lifting unit attached to the main body frame. FIG. 32(a) is a right side view showing the main parts of the ball grinding mechanism and the ball lifting mechanism in the ball lifting unit, (b) is a rear view showing the main part of the ball lifting mechanism, and (c) is a plan view of the main part of the ball lifting mechanism as seen from the arrow A in (b).

[0284] The ball lifting unit 550 is for sending the game ball B discharged from the game board 5 and the far unit 470 and flowing through the circulating ball path unit 500 to the ball launching unit 450 via the ball feeding unit 600. The ball lifting unit 550 is attached to the ball lifting unit attachment portion 401j provided on the rear surface of the base wall portion 401b in the main body frame base 401.

[0285] The ball lifting unit 550 includes a ball lifting mechanism 560 for lifting the game ball B, a ball lifting inlet passage 551 for supplying the game ball B sent from the circulating ball path unit 500 to the ball lifting mechanism 560, a ball lifting outlet passage 552 for supplying the game ball B lifted by the ball lifting mechanism 560 to the ball feeding unit 600, a lifting inlet sensor 553 provided in the ball lifting inlet passage 551 for detecting the flowing game ball B, and a lifting outlet sensor 554 provided in the ball lifting outlet passage 552 for detecting the flowing game ball B.

[0286] In addition, the ball lifting unit 550 includes a ball lifting inlet grounding sheet metal 555 provided so as to be in contact with the game ball B in the ball lifting inlet passage 551, a ball lifting outlet grounding sheet metal 556 provided so as to be in contact with the game ball B in the ball lifting outlet passage 552, a ball lifting relay board 557 that relays the connection with the frame control board 640, and a ball polishing mechanism 580 for polishing the game ball B lifted by the ball lifting mechanism 560 of the ball lifting unit 550.

[0287] First, the ball lifting mechanism 560 of the ball lifting unit 550 includes a lifting spiral shaft 561 that extends vertically and has a spiral lifting groove 561a on its outer peripheral surface, a shaft gear 562 attached to the lower end of the lifting spiral shaft 561, a motor gear 563 that meshes with the shaft gear 562 and is rotatable about an axis orthogonal to the axis of the lifting spiral shaft 561, a lifting motor 564 with the motor gear 563 attached to its rotating shaft for rotating the lifting spiral shaft 561, a lifting motor index 565 having a detection portion 565a provided so as to be notched in a part of the circumferential direction extending flange-like from the lower end of the shaft gear 562, and a lifting motor index sensor 566 capable of detecting the detection portion 565a of the lifting motor index 565.

[0288] In addition, the ball lifting mechanism 560 includes a motor base sheet metal 567 to which the lifting motor 564 is attached and that rotatably supports the motor gear 563, and a lifting mechanism base 568 and a lifting mechanism cover 569 that are attached to the motor base sheet metal 567, rotatably support the lifting spiral shaft 561, and are attached to the ball lifting unit attachment portion 401j of the base wall portion 401b in the main body frame base 401.

[0289] The lifting spiral shaft 561 is provided with a spiral lifting groove 561a having a depth capable of accommodating the game balls B in a row on the outer peripheral surface. When viewed from above in the axial direction thereof (see Fig. 32(c)), the lifting spiral shaft 561 is formed with the lifting groove 561a so that the game balls B can be lifted by rotating in the clockwise direction. The pitch of the spiral of the lifting groove 561a is formed longer near both the upper and lower ends than between them. The lifting spiral shaft 561 is rotatably supported by a lifting mechanism base 568 and a lifting mechanism cover 569. The rotation axis of this lifting spiral shaft 561 is inclined with respect to the vertical so that the upper end is located to the right of the lower end in a front view. Thereby, the upper end side of the lifting spiral shaft 561 can be moved farther to the right from the ball feeding unit, the length of the ball lifting exit passage 552 can be made relatively longer, and the storage amount of the game balls B can be increased. In the present embodiment, the rotation axis of the lifting spiral shaft 561 is inclined at an angle of 12 degrees with respect to the vertical.

[0290] The shaft gear 562 is a spur gear. The motor gear 563 is a worm gear. Thereby, even if the lifting spiral shaft 561 tries to rotate due to the load acting when a large number of game balls B are accommodated in the lifting groove 561a of the lifting spiral shaft 561, the rotation can be blocked by the motor gear 563 composed of a worm gear meshing with the shaft gear 562. The lifting motor 564 is a DC motor.

[0291] The lifting motor index 565 is integrally formed with the shaft gear 562 in a flange shape. The detection part 565a of the lifting motor index 565 is provided so that a range of an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the entire circumference is cut out. The lifting motor index sensor 566 is a photosensor. The lifting motor index sensor 566 is in a light-receiving state at the part of the detection part 565a in the lifting motor index 565, and is shielded from light and in a non-light-receiving state at parts other than the detection part 565a. Thereby, it is possible to detect the rotation position of the lifting spiral shaft 561 via the lifting motor index 565.

[0292] Incidentally, although details will be described later, for the lifting spiral shaft 561, when the rotating shaft of the lifting motor 564 rotates 32 times by the shaft gear 562 and the motor gear 563, the lifting spiral shaft 561 rotates once. Then, in the lifting motor index sensor 566, when the lifting motor 564 rotates 28 times after being in the non-light-receiving state located at a part other than the detection part 565a, it reaches the detection part 565a and becomes the light-receiving state, and when the lifting motor 564 rotates further 4 times after becoming the light-receiving state, it moves away from the detection part 565a and becomes the non-light-receiving state. In the present embodiment, the position where the lifting motor 564 rotates 2 times after reaching the detection part 565a and becoming the light-receiving state is set as the origin. That is, the center of the detection part 565a is set as the origin of the rotation of the lifting spiral shaft 561.

[0293] The motor base sheet metal 567 mounts the lifting motor 564 on the left end side in the front view, and rotatably supports the right end of the motor gear 563 on the right end side. The upper end side of the motor base sheet metal 567 is attached to the lifting mechanism base 568, and the lower end side is attached to the lifting mechanism cover 569.

[0294] The lifting mechanism base 568 houses the lifting spiral shaft 561 in cooperation with the lifting mechanism cover 569, and rotatably supports the lifting spiral shaft 561. The lifting mechanism base 568 has a ball grinding port 568a that penetrates back and forth so that the lifting spiral shaft 561 faces forward with a size that does not allow the game ball B to pass through. This ball grinding port 568a is provided so that a part of the game ball B lifted by the lifting spiral shaft 561 protrudes forward, and the part of the game ball B that protrudes forward from the ball grinding port 568a contacts the grinding cloth 582 of the ball grinding mechanism 580, thereby grinding the game ball B.

[0295] On the hoisting mechanism base 568, a downstream portion of the spherical hoisting inlet passage 551 is provided at a position to the right of the hoisting spiral shaft 561 in a front view near the lower end. The portion of the spherical hoisting inlet passage 551 provided on the hoisting mechanism base 568 is inclined such that the upstream end opens rearward and becomes lower toward the lower end of the left hoisting spiral shaft 561. Further, a hoisting inlet sensor 553 is attached to the hoisting mechanism base 568 at a position to the right of the lower end of the hoisting spiral shaft 561 in a front view.

[0296] Also, an upstream portion of the spherical hoisting outlet passage 552 is provided near the upper end of the hoisting mechanism base 568. The portion of the spherical hoisting outlet passage 552 provided on the hoisting mechanism base 568 is inclined to be lower from the front of the upper end of the hoisting spiral shaft 561 to the left in a front view, then inclined to be lower rearward, and the downstream end opens rearward. For the spherical hoisting outlet passage 552, it is inclined to be lower from the rearward-opening portion in the hoisting mechanism base 568 to the left, then inclined to be lower forward, and opens forward at the front end. The said portion in the spherical hoisting outlet passage 552 is formed by the cooperation of the hoisting mechanism base 568 and the hoisting mechanism cover 569.

[0297] Also, a ball milling motor base 586 to which the ball milling motor 588 of the ball milling mechanism 580 is attached is rotatably attached to the hoisting mechanism base 568 around an axis extending vertically.

[0298] The hoisting mechanism cover 569 cooperates with the hoisting mechanism base 568 to accommodate the hoisting spiral shaft 561 and rotatably supports the hoisting spiral shaft 561, and is attached from the rear to the ball hoisting unit attachment portion 401j of the base wall portion 401b in the main body frame base 401. A spherical hoisting relay substrate 557 is attached to the rear surface of the hoisting mechanism cover 569.

[0299] The hoisting mechanism cover 569 is provided with a portion upstream of the portion provided on the hoisting mechanism base 568 in the ball hoisting inlet passage 551. The portion provided on the hoisting mechanism base 568 in the ball hoisting inlet passage 551 has a downstream end that opens forward at a position to the right in the front view near the lower end of the hoisting spiral shaft 561, extends rearward, bends leftward, passes behind the hoisting spiral shaft 561, and then extends obliquely forward with the upstream end opening leftward. The hoisting mechanism cover 569 is provided with a ball hoisting inlet grounding sheet metal 555 that can contact the game ball B flowing through the ball hoisting inlet passage 551 behind the lower end of the hoisting spiral shaft 561.

[0300] Also, the hoisting mechanism cover 569 is provided with a portion downstream of the portion provided on the hoisting mechanism base 568 in the ball hoisting outlet passage 552. The portion provided on the hoisting mechanism cover 569 in the ball hoisting outlet passage 552 has an upstream end that opens rearward, bends leftward in the front view, extends leftward to the left end, then bends forward, and has a downstream end that opens forward at the front end of the hoisting mechanism cover 569.

[0301] Also, the hoisting mechanism cover 569 is provided with a hoisting outlet sensor 554 near the left end of the portion extending leftward in the front view in the ball hoisting outlet passage 552. Further, the hoisting mechanism cover 569 is provided with a ball hoisting outlet grounding sheet metal 556 that can contact the game ball B flowing through the ball hoisting outlet passage 552 at a portion upstream of the hoisting outlet sensor 554 in the portion extending leftward in the ball hoisting outlet passage 552.

[0302] Subsequently, the ball lifting inlet passage 551 of the ball lifting unit 550 has an opening (inlet) at the upstream end that opens leftward near the lower part of the left side surface of the ball lifting unit 550. This opening is provided so as to face the ball discharge port 500d of the circulating ball path unit 500 when assembled to the main body frame 4. The ball lifting inlet passage 551 is inclined so as to become lower from the left end inlet toward the right, extends to the right of the lifting spiral shaft 561 so as to bypass the rear of the lifting spiral shaft 561, then turns back to the front side and extends to near the lower end of the lifting spiral shaft 561 to the left. Then, it bends in a crank shape so as to turn into the front side of the lifting spiral shaft 561 in the vicinity of the lifting spiral shaft 561, and communicates with the lifting groove 561a of the lifting spiral shaft 561 on the front side near the lower end of the lifting spiral shaft 561.

[0303] The ball lifting inlet passage 551 is provided so as to face the ball discharge port 500d that forms the opening at the downstream end of the ball storage passage 504 in the circulating ball path unit 500, and the game balls B that have flowed through the ball storage passage 504 are transferred and circulated.

[0304] The ball lifting inlet passage 551 is provided with a lifting inlet sensor 553 at a portion that becomes lower toward the left near the downstream end in contact with the lifting spiral shaft 561, and a ball lifting inlet ground sheet metal 555 is attached to a portion behind the lifting spiral shaft 561.

[0305] The ball lifting outlet passage 552 has an upstream end that communicates with the lifting groove 561a in front of the upper end of the lifting spiral shaft 561 near the upper end of the ball lifting unit 550, extends to the left of the lifting spiral shaft 561 and then bends rearward, extends to the same position as the rear end of the lifting spiral shaft 561 and then bends leftward. Then, it extends leftward near the left end of the ball lifting unit 550 and then bends forward, and the downstream end opens forward on the front surface of the ball lifting unit 550 (lifting mechanism cover 569).

[0306] The ball lifting upper exit passage 552 is provided such that the opening at the downstream end faces the ball supply port of the ball feeding unit described later, and can supply the game balls B to the ball feeding unit 600.

[0307] The ball lifting upper exit passage 552 is provided with a lifting exit sensor 554 near the left end of the portion extending leftward near the rear end of the ball lifting unit 550, and a ball lifting upper exit ground sheet metal 556 is attached to its upstream side (right side). In addition, an opening is provided in the bottom wall of the portion of the ball lifting upper exit passage 552 where the ball lifting upper exit ground sheet metal 556 is provided, the opening being sized so as not to impede the flow of the game balls B, and dust, dirt, etc. can be discharged to the outside through the opening.

[0308] The lifting entrance sensor 553 detects the presence or absence of the game balls B to be lifted when the lifting spiral shaft 561 is rotated by driving the lifting motor 564 to lift the game balls B. Although details will be described later, when the game balls B are not detected by the lifting entrance sensor 553, the lifting motor 564 is not driven.

[0309] The lifting exit sensor 554 detects the presence or absence of the game balls B supplied to the ball feeding unit. Although details will be described later, when the lifting entrance sensor 553 detects the game balls B and the game balls B are not detected by the lifting exit sensor 554, and when a predetermined condition is satisfied (here, subtraction of a predetermined number (for example, 3) of game balls B by the emission subtraction sensor 454), the lifting spiral shaft 561 is rotated by driving the lifting motor 564 to lift a predetermined number of game balls B.

[0310] The lifting entrance sensor 553 and the lifting exit sensor 554 detect the game balls B non - contact, for example, by detecting a change in induced current.

[0311] The ball lifting inlet grounding sheet metal 555 removes the static electricity of the game balls B supplied from the circulating ball path unit 500 to the ball lifting inlet passage 551. The ball lifting inlet grounding sheet metal 555 is provided upstream of the lifting inlet sensor 553. Thereby, the static electricity of the game balls B passing through the lifting inlet sensor 553 can be removed in advance, and it is possible to avoid false detection occurring at the lifting inlet sensor 553 or the frame control board 640 malfunctioning due to the static electricity from the game balls B.

[0312] The ball lifting outlet grounding sheet metal 556 removes the static electricity of the game balls B lifted by the ball lifting mechanism 560 and polished by the ball polishing mechanism 580. The ball lifting outlet grounding sheet metal 556 is provided upstream of the lifting outlet sensor 554. Thereby, the static electricity of the game balls B passing through the lifting outlet sensor 554 can be removed in advance, and it is possible to avoid false detection occurring at the lifting outlet sensor 554 or the frame control board 640 malfunctioning due to the static electricity from the game balls B.

[0313] The ball lifting relay board 557 is for relaying the connection between the lifting inlet sensor 553, the lifting outlet sensor 554, the lifting motor 564, the lifting motor index sensor 566, the ball polishing motor 588, etc. and the frame control board 640. The ball lifting relay board 557 is attached to the rear side of the lifting mechanism cover 569.

[0314] The ball polishing mechanism 580 is attached to the front side of the ball lifting mechanism 560. The ball polishing mechanism 580 includes a ball polishing cassette 581 in the shape of a vertically long rectangular parallelepiped box, an endless ring-shaped polishing cloth 582 partially exposed to the outside at the rear surface of the ball polishing cassette 581, a sheet-shaped ball polishing sponge 583 provided between the exposed part of the polishing cloth 582 to the outside and the rear surface of the ball polishing cassette 581, a ball polishing feed gear 584 rotatably supported around a horizontal axis at the lower part inside the ball polishing cassette 581, and a ball polishing driven gear 585 meshing with the ball polishing feed gear 584 with the polishing cloth 582 in between and rotatably supported around a horizontal axis.

[0315] Further, the ball milling mechanism 580 includes a flat plate-shaped ball milling motor base 586 that extends vertically with a constant front-to-back depth to the left of the ball milling cassette 581 and whose rear end side is rotatably attached to the lifting mechanism base 568, a gear cover 587 attached to the left surface of the ball milling motor base 586, a ball milling motor 588 attached to the left surface of the gear cover 587 with its rotation axis protruding between the gear cover 587 and the ball milling motor base 586, a flat gear-shaped motor gear 589 attached to the rotation axis of the ball milling motor 588, a large-diameter gear portion 590a in the shape of a flat gear that meshes with the motor gear 589, and a small-diameter gear portion 590b in the shape of a flat gear with a small diameter that rotates integrally with the large-diameter gear portion 590a. The variable speed gear 590 is rotatably supported between the ball milling motor base 586 and the gear cover 587. A transmission gear 591 in the shape of a flat gear that meshes with the small-diameter gear portion 590b of the variable speed gear 590 and is rotatably supported between the ball milling motor base 586 and the gear cover 587, and a rotary connecting portion 592 that rotates integrally with the transmission gear 591 and protrudes rightward through the ball milling motor base 586.

[0316] Furthermore, the ball milling mechanism 580 includes a flat plate-shaped cassette pressing piece 593 that abuts against the front surface of the ball milling cassette 581, with its left end side locked to the front end of the ball milling motor base 586 and its right end side attached to the front surface of the base wall portion 401b of the main body frame base 401, and a nylon latch 594 that detachably attaches the right end side of the cassette pressing piece 593 to the front surface of the base wall portion 401b.

[0317] The ball milling cassette 581 of the ball milling mechanism 580 is formed in a box shape with a hollow interior, and slits through which the polishing cloth 582 can pass are provided at the upper and lower edges of the rear surface. The ball milling cassette 581 is detachably attached from the front to the lifting mechanism base 568 of the lifting mechanism 560 so as to close the ball milling port 568a.

[0318] The polishing cloth 582 is formed in the shape of an endless loop belt with a constant width on both the left and right sides. As shown in Fig. 32(a), the polishing cloth 582 is accommodated in the ball polishing cassette 581 in a state of meandering back and forth, and a part of it is exposed behind the rear surface of the ball polishing cassette 581 through the upper and lower slits of the ball polishing cassette 581.

[0319] The ball polishing sponge 583 is provided between the rear surface of the ball polishing cassette 581 and the part of the polishing cloth 582 that is exposed rearward, and is attached to the rear surface of the ball polishing cassette 581. The inner surface of the polishing cloth 582 is in contact with the rear surface of the ball polishing sponge 583. In a state where the ball polishing sponge 583 is assembled to the ball lifting unit 550, it elastically presses the polishing cloth 582 against the game ball B that is exposed forward from the ball polishing port 568a of the ball lifting mechanism 560, so that the polishing cloth 582 contacts the spherical surface of the game ball B over a wider range. Note that the ball polishing sponge 583 is detachably attached to the ball polishing cassette 581.

[0320] The ball polishing feed gear 584 is provided in a state where the ball polishing cassette 581 is attached so that its axis coincides with the axis of the transmission gear 591 (rotation connection part 592). The left end of the rotating shaft is connected to the rotation connection part 592 and rotates integrally with the transmission gear 591.

[0321] The ball polishing driven gear 585 meshes with the ball polishing feed gear 584 so as to have a gap through which the polishing cloth 582 can enter. When the ball polishing feed gear 584 rotates, the ball polishing driven gear 585 rotates in the opposite direction and can feed the polishing cloth 582 sandwiched between it and the ball polishing feed gear 584.

[0322] The ball mill motor base 586 extends vertically along the left side surface of the ball mill cassette 581, and the rear end side is rotatably attached around an axis extending vertically with respect to the hoisting mechanism base 568. Thereby, the ball mill motor base 586 can be rotated in a direction away from the ball mill cassette 581 on the front end side. The ball mill motor base 586 has a locking hole 586a penetrating left and right at a position above the vertical center at the front edge. A locking hook portion 593a provided at the left end of the cassette pressing piece 593 is inserted into and locked to the locking hole 586a.

[0323] The ball mill motor 588 is controlled independently of the operation of the hoisting motor 564, and is controlled such that the polishing cloth 582 moves 0.17 mm every time 1000 game balls B are launched.

[0324] The cassette pressing piece 593 extends left and right, and a hook-shaped locking hook portion 593a that is inserted into and locked to the locking hole 586a of the ball mill motor base 586 is provided at the left end. A nylon latch 594 is provided near the right end of the cassette pressing piece 593.

[0325] The nylon latch 594 can be locked by pressing the operation portion 594a, and the lock can be released by pulling it forward.

[0326] The ball lifting unit 550 of the present embodiment is attached to the rear side of the base wall portion 401b of the main body frame base 401 in a state of being assembled to the main body frame 4. When assembling the ball lifting unit 550 to the main body frame base 401 of the main body frame 4, the ball grinding cassette 581 and the cassette pressing piece 593 of the ball grinding mechanism 580 are removed from the ball lifting mechanism 560, and it is attached to the ball lifting unit attachment portion 401j provided on the rear surface of the base wall portion 401b. At this time, the ball grinding motor base 586 protruding forward from the lifting mechanism base 568 is made to protrude the front end side forward through the portion penetrating in the front-rear direction in the ball lifting unit attachment portion 401j. In this state, the ball grinding port 568a of the lifting mechanism base 568 of the ball lifting mechanism 560 is located at the penetrating portion in the ball lifting unit attachment portion 401j on the rear surface of the base wall portion 401b, and the game ball B lifted onto the lifting spiral shaft 561 can be visually recognized from the front of the base wall portion 401b (main body frame 4) through the ball grinding port 568a (see FIG. 31). That is, by opening the door frame 3 with respect to the main body frame 4 and removing the ball grinding cassette 581, the lifting spiral shaft 561 and the game ball B lifted onto the lifting spiral shaft 561 can be confirmed from the front.

[0327] After attaching the ball lifting mechanism 560 side of the ball lifting unit 550 to the ball lifting unit attachment portion 401j of the base wall portion 401b, with the surface where the polishing cloth 582 is exposed facing rearward from the front of the base wall portion 401b, the ball grinding cassette 581 is disposed in front of the lifting mechanism base 568 so as to close the ball grinding port 568a from the front. At this time, the ball grinding motor base 586 is rotated so that the tip end side thereof moves away from the ball grinding cassette 581.

[0328] Subsequently, the locking hook portion 593a at the left end of the cassette pressing piece 593 is inserted into and locked to the locking hole 586a at the front end of the ball mill motor base 586, and the cassette pressing piece 593 is pushed backward to press the ball mill cassette 581 backward. As a result, the ball mill motor base 586 rotates so as to be parallel to the left side surface of the ball mill cassette 581, and the rotation connecting portion 592 protruding from the right side surface of the ball mill motor base 586 engages with the left end of the ball mill feed gear 584 supported by the ball mill cassette 581. Then, by pressing and locking the operation portion 594a of the nail latch 594, the right end side of the cassette pressing piece 593 is attached to the front surface of the base wall portion 401b, and the attachment of the ball mill cassette 581 is completed.

[0329] When removing the ball mill cassette 581, after pulling the operation portion 594a of the nail latch 594 forward to release the lock, the ball mill cassette 581 can be removed by performing the reverse procedure of the above.

[0330] In the state where the ball lifting unit 550 of the present embodiment is assembled to the main body frame 4, the opening at the upstream end of the ball lifting inlet passage 551 faces the ball discharge port 500d of the circulating ball path unit 500, and the game ball B that has flowed through the meandering ball storage passage 504 is supplied. The game ball B supplied to the ball lifting inlet passage 551 contacts the ball lifting inlet earthing sheet metal 555 to remove static electricity, and then is detected by the lifting inlet sensor 553 and supplied to the lower end of the lifting spiral shaft 561. At this time, the game ball B is inserted into the ball grinding port 568a whose front end side penetrates forward, and the front end side of the game ball B contacts the grinding cloth 582 of the ball grinding mechanism 580, and the game ball B is in a state where its movement in the left - right direction is restricted by the vertically long ball grinding port 568a.

[0331] In this state, when the lifting motor 564 rotates the lifting spiral shaft 561 in the direction of lifting the game ball B, the game ball B is pushed from below by the lifting groove 561a and moves upward along the ball grinding port 568a. At this time, the game ball B contacts the vertically extending portion on the inner peripheral edge of the ball grinding port 568a and the lifting groove 561a, and moves upward while rotating. As a result, the portion of the game ball B that is in contact with the polishing cloth 582 on the front end side changes as the game ball B ascends (rotates), and it becomes possible to evenly polish the entire surface of the game ball B.

[0332] And when the game ball B reaches the upper end side of the lifting spiral shaft 561, it enters the ball lifting exit passage 552, contacts the ball lifting exit earth sheet metal 556, is detected by the lifting exit sensor 554, and is sent from the downstream end of the ball lifting exit passage 552 to the ball feeding unit. At this time, even if the game ball B is polished by the polishing cloth 582 due to being lifted by the ball lifting mechanism 560 and static electricity is charged, the static electricity is removed by contact with the ball lifting exit earth sheet metal 556 upstream of the lifting exit sensor 554, and there will be no problems caused by static electricity of ball grinding in the lifting exit sensor 554, the frame control board 640, etc.

[0333] On the other hand, in the ball grinding mechanism 580, with the ball grinding cassette 581 attached, when the ball grinding motor 588 rotates the ball grinding feed gear 584 in the clockwise direction in a right side view, the portion of the polishing cloth 582 that is exposed outside from the rear surface of the ball grinding cassette 581 is housed into the ball grinding cassette 581 through the slit on the lower side of the ball grinding cassette 581. At this time, since the portion of the polishing cloth 582 that is exposed outside is pulled downward, the portion of the polishing cloth 582 that is housed in the ball grinding cassette 581 is fed out from the outside through the slit on the upper side of the ball grinding cassette 581.

[0334] The polishing cloth 582 of the ball grinding mechanism 580 moves intermittently at a slow speed. In this embodiment, every time 1000 game balls B are launched, the polishing cloth 582 moves 0.17 mm.

[0335] Thus, according to the ball lifting unit 550 of the present embodiment, while polishing the game ball B, the game ball B discharged from the circulating ball path unit 500 can be supplied to the ball feeding unit 600.

[0336] [4-6. Ball feeding unit] The ball feeding unit 600 in the main body frame 4 will be described in detail mainly with reference to FIGS. 33 to 35 and the like. FIG. 33(a) is a perspective view of the ball feeding unit in the main body frame as viewed from the front, and (b) is a perspective view of the ball feeding unit in the main body frame as viewed from the rear. FIG. 34(a) is an exploded perspective view of the ball feeding unit as viewed from the front, and (b) is an exploded perspective view of the ball feeding unit as viewed from the rear. FIG. 35 is a front sectional view of the ball feeding unit cut at the position of the shooter front sensor.

[0337] The ball feeding unit 600 is for supplying the game balls B lifted by the ball lifting unit 550 to the ball launching unit 450 one by one. The ball feeding unit 600 is attached to a ball feeding unit attachment portion 401k provided on the rear side of the base wall portion 401b in the main body frame base 401. The ball feeding unit 600 faces upward from the upper surface of the base wall portion 401b so as to be sandwiched between the base wall portion 401b and the circulating ball path unit 500, and is detachably attached upward.

[0338] The ball delivery unit 600 includes a ball supply port 601 that is open at the rear and through which the game balls B supplied from the ball lifting unit 550 can enter, a ball delivery port 602 that is open at the front and delivers the game balls B to the ball launch table 452b of the ball launch unit 450, a ball delivery passage 603 that connects the ball supply port 601 and the ball delivery port 602 and through which the game balls B can flow, a shooter front sensor 604 that can detect the game balls B flowing through the ball delivery passage 603, a ball delivery movable member 605 that discharges the game balls B detected by the shooter front sensor 604 one by one from the ball delivery port 602, a ball delivery solenoid 606 that moves the ball delivery movable member 605 to deliver the game balls B to the ball launch unit 450, and a ball delivery relay board 607 that relays the connection between the ball delivery solenoid 606, the shooter front sensor 604, and the frame control board 640.

[0339] Further, the ball delivery unit 600 includes a transmission member 608 that transmits the forward and backward movement of the plunger in the ball delivery solenoid 606 to move the ball delivery movable member 605, a unit base 609 that is box-shaped and open to the rear and in which the shooter front sensor 604, the ball delivery solenoid 606, etc. are provided, and a flat unit cover 610 that is attached to close the opening at the rear end of the unit base 609.

[0340] The ball supply port 601 of the ball delivery unit 600 is provided through the unit cover 610 that constitutes the rear surface of the ball delivery unit 600, and is provided at a position from the center to the upper right in a front view. The ball supply port 601 is formed to have a size through which the game balls B can pass one by one.

[0341] The ball delivery port 602 is provided through the unit base 609 that constitutes the front side of the ball delivery unit 600 in the front-rear direction, and is provided at a position slightly lower than the center in a front view. The ball delivery port 602 is formed to have a size through which the game balls B can pass one by one.

[0342] The ball feeding passage 603 connects the ball supply port 601 and the ball feeding outlet 602, and extends leftward from the position of the ball supply port 601 to a position above the ball feeding outlet 602 in a downwardly inclined manner, and then extends downward to the position of the ball feeding outlet 602. A shooter front sensor 604 is provided near the left end of the portion of the ball feeding passage 603 that extends leftward. Further, a ball receiving portion 605a of the ball feeding movable member 605 is located at a position extending vertically behind the ball feeding outlet 602 in the ball feeding passage 603.

[0343] The shooter front sensor 604 is provided near the left end of the ball feeding passage 603 that extends downward to the left. That is, the shooter front sensor 604 is provided immediately upstream of the ball receiving portion 605a in the ball feeding movable member 605. This shooter front sensor 604 detects the game ball B non - contact, for example, by detecting a change in induced current.

[0344] The ball feeding movable member 605 is movable by the drive of the ball feeding solenoid 606 to discharge the game balls B in the ball feeding passage 603 one by one from the ball feeding outlet 602 and supply them to the ball launching unit 450. The ball feeding movable member 605 has a U - shaped bottom wall that is inclined forward and can accommodate only one game ball B, a paddle portion 605b that extends leftward from the left end of the ball receiving portion 605a, a bearing portion 605c that penetrates through the left end of the paddle portion 605b in the front - rear direction and into which the first shaft pin 610a of the unit cover 610 is rotatably inserted, and a movable gear portion 605d that is provided fan - shaped to the right and coaxially with the bearing portion 605c.

[0345] The ball feeding solenoid 606 is for moving the ball feeding movable member 605 to supply the game balls B in the ball feeding passage 603 one by one from the ball feeding outlet 602 to the ball launching unit 450. The ball feeding solenoid 606 is provided at the upper left corner in a front view, with the magnetic pole portion that generates magnetic force downward, between the unit base 609 and the unit cover 610.

[0346] The ball feeding relay board 607 is for relaying the connection between the shooter front sensor 604 and the ball feeding solenoid 606 and the frame control board 640. The ball feeding relay board 607 is provided at the upper right corner in the front view between the unit base 609 and the unit cover 610.

[0347] The transmission member 608 transmits the forward and backward movement of the plunger of the ball feeding solenoid 606 so that the ball feeding movable member 605 can move. The transmission member 608 includes a sheet metal holding portion 608b to which a sheet metal 608a magnetically attachable to the magnetic pole portion of the ball feeding solenoid 606 is attached, a paddle portion 608c extending rightward from the sheet metal holding portion 608b, a bearing portion 608d that penetrates front and back at the right end of the paddle portion 608c and into which the second axis pin 610b of the unit cover 610 is relatively rotatably inserted, and a drive gear portion 608e provided fan-shaped leftward coaxially with the bearing portion 608d and meshing with the movable gear portion 605d of the ball feeding movable member 605.

[0348] The unit base 609 is formed in a box shape that is open to the rear, and a ball feeding outlet 602 is provided so as to penetrate front and back at a position near the center of the lower part of the front surface. The unit base 609 cooperates with the unit cover 610 to form a ball feeding passage 603 and holds the shooter front sensor 604, the ball feeding movable member 605, the ball feeding solenoid 606, the ball feeding relay board 607, and the transmission member 608.

[0349] The unit base 609 has a knob portion 609a that is recessed downward near the center in the left-right direction on the upper surface, and an elastic claw 609b provided at the lower right corner of the front surface. The knob portion 609a is formed so that an operator can grasp it from above and is used when removing the ball feeding unit 600 upward from the main body frame base 401 of the main body frame 4. The elastic claw 609b is for being locked in the locking hole of the ball feeding unit mounting portion 401k of the main body frame base 401 so that the ball feeding unit 600 cannot be removed upward when it is mounted on the ball feeding unit mounting portion 401k of the main body frame base 401.

[0350] When removing the ball feeding unit 600 from the main body frame base 401, press the elastic claw 609b facing forward through the locking hole of the base wall portion 401b to elastically deform it backward, and at the same time, pinch and pull up the knob portion 609a provided on the upper surface, so that it can be removed upward from the ball feeding unit mounting portion 401k of the main body frame base 401.

[0351] The unit cover 610 has a ball supply port 601 penetrating through in the front-rear direction at the upper right part from the center in the front view. The unit cover 610 cooperates with the unit base 609 to form a ball feeding passage 603, and holds the shooter front sensor 604, the ball feeding movable member 605, the ball feeding solenoid 606, the ball feeding relay substrate 607, and the transmission member 608. The unit cover 610 has a first shaft pin 610a and a second shaft pin 610b protruding forward in a columnar shape near the lower left corner in the front view. The first shaft pin 610a can support the ball feeding movable member 605 to be rotatable (pivotable) by being inserted into the bearing portion 605c of the ball feeding movable member 605. The second shaft pin 610b can support the transmission member 608 to be rotatable (pivotable) by being inserted into the bearing portion 608d of the transmission member 608.

[0352] In the assembled state, the ball feeding unit 600 of the present embodiment has the first shaft pin 610a inserted into the bearing portion 605c of the ball feeding movable member 605 and the second shaft pin 610b inserted into the bearing portion 608d of the transmission member 608, and the movable gear portion 605d of the ball feeding movable member 605 and the driving gear portion 608e of the transmission member 608 are meshed with each other. In this state, the ball receiving portion 605a at the right end of the ball feeding movable member 605 is located at a portion extending vertically above and below the rear of the ball feeding outlet 602 in the ball feeding passage 603. When the ball feeding movable member 605 rotates around the bearing portion 605c, the ball receiving portion 605a moves up and down in the vertically extending portion of the ball feeding passage 603.

[0353] In the normal state, the ball delivery solenoid 606 is de-energized (OFF). Therefore, the sheet metal 608a of the transmission member 608 is in a state of being separated downward from the magnetic pole portion of the ball delivery solenoid 606 due to gravity. In this state, the lower surface of the ball receiving portion 605a of the ball delivery movable member 605 abuts against the bottom wall at the downstream end of the ball delivery passage 603, the front end opening of the ball receiving portion 605a coincides with the ball delivery outlet 602, and the right end opening of the ball receiving portion 605a does not coincide with the ball delivery passage 603. Therefore, the game ball B flowing from the upstream toward the ball receiving portion 605a abuts against the U-shaped upper portion of the ball receiving portion 605a and is not received by the ball receiving portion 605a. On the other hand, the game ball B received by the ball receiving portion 605a rolls forward due to the inclination of the bottom wall of the ball receiving portion 605a and is discharged forward from the ball delivery outlet 602.

[0354] When the ball delivery solenoid 606 is energized (ON) in this normal state, the sheet metal 608a of the transmission member 608 is attracted upward to the magnetic pole portion by the magnetic force generated in the magnetic pole portion of the ball delivery solenoid 606, and the transmission member 608 rotates clockwise about its bearing portion 608d. When the transmission member 608 rotates clockwise, the movable gear portion 605d of the ball delivery movable member 605 meshing with the drive gear portion 608e of the transmission member 608 causes the ball delivery movable member 605 to rotate counterclockwise about its bearing portion 605c, and the ball receiving portion 605a moves upward.

[0355] When the ball receiving portion 605a of the ball delivery movable member 605 moves upward, the front end opening of the ball receiving portion 605a is in a state where it does not coincide with the ball delivery outlet 602, and the right end opening of the ball receiving portion 605a is in a state where it coincides with the ball delivery passage 603, and the game ball B is received by the ball receiving portion 605a from the ball delivery passage 603. In this state, since the right end opening of the ball receiving portion 605a does not coincide with the ball delivery outlet 602, the game ball B received by the ball receiving portion 605a does not roll forward and is not discharged from the ball delivery outlet 602. Further, since the ball receiving portion 605a is sized to accommodate only one game ball B, when one game ball B is received by the ball receiving portion 605a, the game ball B on the upstream side thereof is not received by the ball receiving portion 605a.

[0356] After that, when the energization of the ball feed solenoid 606 is stopped (turned OFF), the adsorption of the sheet metal 608a of the transmission member 608 to the magnetic pole portion of the ball feed solenoid 606 is released. At this time, since the game ball B is received by the ball receiving portion 605a of the ball feed movable member 605, the ball feed movable member 605 rotates clockwise about its bearing portion 605c so that the ball receiving portion 605a moves downward due to the weight of the game ball B. At the same time, the transmission member 608 rotates counterclockwise about its bearing portion 608d via the drive gear portion 608e that meshes with the movable gear portion 605d of the ball feed movable member 605, and returns to the normal state.

[0357] When the ball feed unit 600 returns to the normal state, since the front end opening of the ball receiving portion 605a of the ball feed movable member 605 coincides with the ball feed outlet 602, the game ball B received by the ball receiving portion 605a rolls forward and is discharged from the ball feed outlet 602 to the ball launch unit 450.

[0358] As described above, according to the ball feed unit 600 of the present embodiment, by turning the ball feed solenoid 606 ON and OFF, the game balls B can be sent to the ball launch unit 450 one by one.

[0359] [4-7. Ball receiving tray] Regarding the ball receiving tray 620 in the main body frame 4, it will be mainly described with reference to FIGS. 7, 8, 10, etc. The ball receiving tray 620 is provided below the circulating ball path unit 500 and is for receiving the game balls B discharged from the ball discharge port 513p of the circulating ball path unit 500. The ball receiving tray 620 is formed in a container shape that is open upward, and the bottom wall is inclined so as to be lower toward the front.

[0360] The ball receiving tray 620 is inserted and attached to the tray insertion recess 401f in the main body frame base 401 from the front. When the ball receiving tray 620 is attached to the main body frame base 401, it is locked by the locking claws 401n of the main body frame base 401 and cannot come out forward. When removing the ball receiving tray 620, by elastically deforming the locking claws 401n to the left, the locking is released and it can be pulled out forward.

[0361] When attaching the ball receiving tray 620 to the tray insertion recess 401f of the main body frame base 401, move the ball receiving tray 620 backward from the front of the tray insertion recess 401f and insert it into the tray insertion recess 401f. At this time, since the front end of the locking claw 401n is inclined like an arrowhead, when the rear end of the ball receiving tray 620 abuts on the locking claw 401n from the front, due to the arrowhead-like inclination, the locking claw 401n elastically deforms to the left, and the ball receiving tray 620 can be inserted into the tray insertion recess 401f. Then, when the front end of the ball receiving tray 620 reaches the part of the locking claw 401n and the contact with the front end of the locking claw 401n disappears, the elastically deformed locking claw 401n returns to its original state, locks the front end of the ball receiving tray 620, and prevents the ball receiving tray 620 from sliding forward.

[0362] Since this ball receiving tray 620 is placed on the bottom wall of the tray insertion recess 401f that is inclined so that the front end side is lower, when the game ball B discharged from the ball outlet 513p of the circulating ball path unit 500 is stored and becomes heavy, it tries to slide forward due to the inclination of the bottom wall, but the sliding is blocked by the locking of the locking claw 401n. Then, when the locking of the locking claw 401n is released, the ball receiving tray 620 automatically slides forward due to the weight of the stored game ball B, and the ball receiving tray 620 can be easily taken out from the tray insertion recess 401f.

[0363] [4 - 8. Frame Substrate Unit] Regarding the frame substrate unit 630 in the main body frame 4, it will be mainly described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 and the like. The frame control board 640, although details will be described later, is for controlling the display of the number of balls in hand at the number-of-balls-in-hand display unit 140, the settlement process by operating the count button switch 180, the ball launch unit 450, the ball lift unit 550, the ball feed unit 600, etc., and for managing (monitoring) the game balls B in the circulating ball path unit 500, etc.

[0364] The frame substrate unit 630 is detachably attached to a position behind the base wall portion 401b of the main body frame base 401 in the main body frame base unit 400. The frame substrate unit 630 includes a frame control board 640, a power supply board 650, an interface board 660, and a game ball lending device connection terminal board 665.

[0365] Also, the frame substrate unit 630 includes a unit base 670 that is detachably attached to the rear side of the main body frame base unit 400, a frame control board box 671 that is attached to the rear side of the unit base 670 and houses the frame control board 640, a power supply board box 672 that is attached between the frame control board box 671 and the unit base 670 and houses the power supply board 650, an interface board box 673 that is attached to the unit base 670 on the left side in the front view of the frame control board box 671 and houses the interface board 660 and the game ball lending device connection terminal board 665, and a nylon latch 674 for fixing the unit base 670 to the main body frame base unit 400 in a non-detachable manner.

[0366] Although not shown in the figure, the frame control board 640 includes a ROM that stores various processing programs and various commands, a RAM for temporarily storing data, a CPU for executing the processing programs and commands, etc.

[0367] The frame control board 640 has a RAM clear switch 641 for erasing the information stored in the RAM, a ball extraction switch 642 used when extracting the enclosed game balls B from the ball extraction port 513p of the circulating ball path unit 500 to the outside (the ball receiving tray 620), and a ball count storage / display clear switch 643 for clearing the number of balls held by the player stored in the RAM or the like and clearing the display on the ball count display section 140 of the door frame 3 (see FIG. 38).

[0368] The frame control board 640 is connected by two-way communication to a main control board 1310, which will be described later, provided on the game board 5, and a game ball lending device connection terminal board 665 is also connected by two-way communication. The frame control board 640 is connected to the game ball lending device 8 via the game ball lending device connection terminal board 665.

[0369] Connected to the frame control board 640 are the ball count display section 140 of the door frame 3, a firing stop switch 161, a handle touch sensor 162, a handle rotation sensor 163, and a counting button switch 180.

[0370] Also connected to the frame control board 640 are a door opening switch 407 of the main body frame 4, a frame opening switch 408, a firing solenoid 453, a firing subtraction sensor 454, an out ball sensor 505, a safe ball sensor 506, a foul ball sensor 507, a circulating ball shortage sensor 521, a circulating ball excess sensor 522, a lifting inlet sensor 553, a lifting outlet sensor 554, a lifting motor 564, a lifting motor index sensor 566, a ball polishing motor 588, a pre-firing sensor 604, and a ball feeding solenoid 606.

[0371] The power supply board 650 is for supplying power of a predetermined voltage to the frame control board 640, the main control board 1310, the peripheral control board 1510, and the like.

[0372] The interface board 660 is for relaying the connection between the frame control board 640 and various relay boards provided on the door frame 3 side and the game board 5 side.

[0373] The game ball lending device connection terminal board 665 is for relaying the connection between the frame control board 640 and the game ball lending device 8.

[0374] The unit base 670 is formed long in the left - right direction, and at the left end, there is a hinge shaft 670a pivotally supported by the frame board unit shaft support part 404d provided on the rear surface of the main body frame speaker box 404 of the main body frame base unit 400. At the right end, two nylon latches 674 are attached with the operation part 674a facing backward.

[0375] The unit base 670 has a rear part 670b that extends rightward by a length of 1 / 4 of the total length in the left - right direction from the left end in plan view, a connecting part 670c that extends forward short from the right end of the rear part 670b, and a front part 670d that extends from the front end of the connecting part 670c to the right end. Thus, the unit base 670 has a step in the front - rear direction between the rear part 670b and the front part 670d.

[0376] An interface board box 673 is detachably attached to the rear side of the rear part 670b of the unit base 670. On the other hand, a power supply board box 672 is detachably attached to the rear side of the front part 670d of the unit base 670, and a frame control board box 671 is detachably attached to the rear side of the power supply board box 672.

[0377] In the normal state (use state) of the frame board unit 630 of this embodiment, the hinge shaft 670a provided at the left end of the unit base 670 is pivotally supported by the frame board unit shaft support part 404d of the main body frame base unit 400, and the nylon latch 674 attached to the right end of the unit base 670 is attached to the rear surface of the base wall part 401b of the main body frame base 401. In this state, the frame board unit 630 covers the rear of the circulating ball path unit 500 and the ball lifting unit 550 attached to the rear side of the base wall part 401b, making it inaccessible to them.

[0378] Also, in the normal state, as shown in FIG. 10, the front portion 670d of the unit base 670, the power supply board box 672, and the frame control board box 671 in the frame board unit 630 are located above the box extension portion 404c of the main body frame speaker box 404. At this time, since the front portion 670d and the power supply board box 672 are formed to be shorter in the vertical direction than the frame control board box 671, a space capable of accommodating wirings and the like is formed between the power supply board box 672 and the box extension portion 404c.

[0379] When the operation portion 674a of the nail latch 674 is pulled backward from the normal state to release the lock, the attachment on the right end side of the unit base 670 becomes detached, and by hinge-rotating about the hinge shaft 670a at the left end, the frame board unit 630 can be opened backward. By opening the frame board unit 630 backward, the circulating ball path unit 500 and the ball lifting unit 550 attached to the rear side of the base wall portion 401b appear, and an approach to them becomes possible.

[0380] [4-9. Lock Unit] Regarding the lock unit 680 in the main body frame 4, it will be mainly described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 and the like. The lock unit 680 is attached from the rear along the right end edge in the front view of the main body frame base 401 of the main body frame base unit 400. The lock unit 680 is for locking between the outer frame 2 and the main body frame 4 and between the door frame 3 and the main body frame 4.

[0381] The lock unit 680 includes a cylindrical lock cylinder 681 that penetrates the cylinder insertion port 401m of the main body frame base 401 from the rear and has a front end protruding forward, a keyhole 682 provided on the front end face of the lock cylinder 681, a door frame lock claw 683 that unlocks the door frame 3 and the main body frame 4 when a key corresponding to the keyhole 682 is inserted and rotated in a predetermined direction, and an outer frame lock claw 684 that unlocks the main body frame 4 and the outer frame 2 when a key corresponding to the keyhole 682 is inserted and rotated in a determination direction opposite to the above.

[0382] [5. Simple Explanation of the Game Board] The game board 5 of the pachinko machine 1 has the same board surface configuration as the game board 5 shown in FIG. 75 and the like, which will be described later, and will be briefly described here with reference to FIG. 3. The game board 5 is provided with winning openings such as a general winning opening 2001, a first start opening 2003, a second start opening 2004, a big winning opening 2005, etc. in the game area 5a into which the game balls B are launched, and a privilege is given when the game balls B are received. The player operates the handle 160 so that the game balls B can be received at the winning openings, and enjoys launching the game balls B. The game board 5 is detachably attached to the game board insertion part 401a of the main body frame 4 from the front side. The game board 5 is visible from the player side through the game window 101 of the door frame 3 in the state of being assembled to the pachinko machine 1, and has a game area 5a into which the game balls B are launched by the player operating the handle 160.

[0383] The game board 5 of the pachinko machine 1 includes a front component member 1000 that demarcates the outer periphery of the game area 5a and has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the front, a plate-shaped game panel 1100 that is attached to the rear side of the front component member 1000 and demarcates the rear end of the game area 5a, and a plurality of obstacle pins (not shown) that are implanted in a predetermined gauge arrangement so as to be able to contact the game balls B within the game area 5a on the front surface of the game panel 1100.

[0384] The front component member 1000 of the game board 5 is entirely formed transparently. The front component member 1000 has a substantially square outer shape when viewed from the front, and its inner shape penetrates in the front-rear direction in a substantially circular shape. The outer periphery of the game area 5a is demarcated by the inner periphery of the inner shape. The front component member 1000 includes an outer rail 1001 that extends in an arc shape along the circumferential direction clockwise from the lower end on the left side from the center in the left-right direction when viewed from the front and passes through the upper end in the center in the left-right direction and extends to the upper right obliquely, and an inner rail 1002 that is arranged inside the front component member 1000 substantially along the outer rail 1001 and extends in an arc shape from the lower part in the center in the left-right direction to the upper left obliquely when viewed from the front. The out guide part 1003 is formed at the right side of the lower end of the inner rail 1002 in the position where the game area 5a is the lowest and is inclined so as to become lower toward the rear.

[0385] Further, the front component member 1000 includes a lower right rail 1004 that linearly inclines such that the right end side is slightly higher from the right end in the front view of the out-guiding portion 1003 to the vicinity of the right side of the front component member 1000, a right rail 1005 that extends from the right end of the lower right rail 1004 along the right side of the front component member 1000 to the lower side of the upper end of the outer rail 1001 and whose upper portion curves inward of the front component member 1000, and a shock stop portion 1006 that connects the upper end of the right rail 1005 and the upper end of the outer rail 1001 and against which the game ball B that has rolled along the outer rail 1001 abuts.

[0386] Further, the front component member 1000 includes a backflow prevention member 1007 that is rotatably supported by the upper end of the inner rail 1002, is rotatable only between a closed position that extends upward from the upper end of the inner rail 1002 so as to close the space between the inner rail 1002 and the outer rail 1001 and an open position that rotates in the clockwise direction in the front view to open the space between the inner rail 1002 and the outer rail 1001, and is biased by a spring (not shown) so as to return to the closed position side.

[0387] Furthermore, the front component member 1000 includes an out port 1008 that penetrates forward and backward at the rear end of the out-guiding portion 1003 at the lower center in the left-right direction in the front view within the frame. The game ball B received in the out port 1008 is discharged downward (to the out ball receiving port 500a of the circulating ball path unit 500) from the game board 5 behind the game panel 1100 without being returned to the game area 5a.

[0388] The game board 5 is provided behind the game panel 1100 and includes a main control board 1310 that controls the game content performed by driving the game ball B into the game area 5a, and a function display unit 1400 that displays the game situation based on a control signal from the main control board 1310 and is attached to the upper left corner of the front component member 1000 so as to be visible to the player.

[0389] The game board 5 also includes a peripheral control board 1510 provided behind the game panel 1100, an effect display device 1600 disposed at the center of the game area 5a in a front view behind the game panel 1100 and capable of displaying a predetermined effect image, a front unit 2000 attached to the front surface of the game panel 1100, and a back unit 3000 attached to the back surface of the game panel 1100.

[0390] The game board 5 (front unit 2000) includes a plurality of general winning openings 2001 that are always open and can receive the game balls B driven into the game area 5a, a gate 2010 provided at a predetermined position in the game area 5a through which the game balls B can pass, a first start opening 2003 and a second start opening 2004 provided at predetermined positions in the game area 5a for conducting a lottery for the first special symbol and the second special symbol when the game balls B are received, and a big winning opening 2005 that can receive the game balls B according to the lottery result of the special symbol lottery conducted when the game balls B are received into the first start opening 2003 or the second start opening 2004.

[0391] The first start opening 2003 is provided directly above the out opening 1008 below a frame-shaped center accessory 2500 provided at the center in the game area 5a. The second start opening 2004 is provided in the attacker unit 2400 and opens and closes to be able to receive the game balls B according to the lottery result of the normal symbol lottery conducted when the game balls B pass through the gate 2010.

[0392] The big winning opening 2005 is provided in the attacker unit 2400 attached to the lower right corner in the game area 5a.

[0393] In addition, the game board 5 is provided with a general winning opening sensor 3001 for detecting the game ball B received by the general winning opening 2001, a gate sensor 2011 for detecting the game ball B passing through the gate 2010, a first starting opening sensor 2101 for detecting the game ball B received by the first starting opening 2003, a second starting opening sensor 2401 for detecting the game ball B received by the second starting opening 2004, and a big winning opening sensor 2402 for detecting the game ball B received by the big winning opening 2005 (see FIG. 38).

[0394] The game ball B received by the general winning opening 2001 is detected by the general winning opening sensor 3001 behind the game panel 1100 and then discharged from the game board 5 to the safe ball receiving port 500b in the lower circulating ball path unit 500. The game ball B received by the first starting opening 2003 is detected by the first starting opening sensor 2101 behind the game panel 1100 and then discharged from the game board 5 to the safe ball receiving port 500b in the lower circulating ball path unit 500. The game ball B received by the second starting opening 2004 is detected by the second starting opening sensor 2401 behind the game panel 1100 and then discharged from the game board 5 to the safe ball receiving port 500b in the lower circulating ball path unit 500. The game ball B received by the big winning opening 2005 is detected by the big winning opening sensor 2402 behind the game panel 1100 and then discharged from the game board 5 to the safe ball receiving port 500b in the lower circulating ball path unit 500.

[0395] The main control board 1310 controls the game using the game ball B within the game area 5a in the pachinko machine 1. The main control board 1310 is connected to the frame control board 640 provided on the main body frame 4 by two-way communication and is connected to the peripheral control board 1510 in one direction with only output signals.

[0396] The main control board 1310 receives detection signals of the game balls B from the general winning opening sensor 3001, the gate sensor 2011, the first start opening sensor 2101, the second start opening sensor 2401, the big winning opening sensor 2402, etc. Also, the main control board 1310 outputs drive signals to the start opening solenoid 2412 for opening and closing the second start opening 2004, the attacker solenoid 2414 for opening and closing the big winning opening 2005, etc.

[0397] When the game ball B received by the general winning opening 2001 is detected by the general winning opening sensor 3001, the main control board 1310 outputs a predetermined number (for example, 10) of prize ball commands. Since this is the same as in the conventional pachinko machine, it is not necessary to change the software of the main control board 1310. When receiving this prize ball command, the frame control board 640 interprets it as a held ball addition signal. Also, when the game ball B received by the first start opening 2003 is detected by the first start opening sensor 2101, a predetermined number (for example, 1) of prize ball commands are output. Also, when the game ball B received by the second start opening 2004 is detected by the second start opening sensor 2401, a predetermined number (for example, 1) of prize ball commands are output. Further, when the game ball B received by the big winning opening 2005 is detected by the big winning opening sensor 2402, a predetermined number (for example, 10 or 13) of prize ball commands are output.

[0398] Also, the main control board 1310 outputs signals such as the lottery result of the normal symbol and the lottery result of the special symbol to the peripheral control board 1510.

[0399] The function display unit 1400 displays the game state (game situation), the lottery result of the normal symbol, the lottery result of the special symbol, etc. using a plurality of LEDs based on the signals from the main control board 1310.

[0400] The function display unit 1400 includes, although detailed illustration is omitted, a status display composed of three LEDs for displaying the game state, a normal symbol display composed of two LEDs for displaying the lottery result of the normal symbol drawn by the passage of the game ball B through the gate 2010, and a normal hold display composed of two LEDs for displaying the number of holds of the normal symbol drawn by the passage of the game ball B through the gate 2010.

[0401] In addition, the function display unit 1400 includes a first special symbol display composed of eight LEDs for displaying the lottery result of the first special symbol drawn by the acceptance of the game ball B into the first start port 2003, a first special hold number display composed of two LEDs for displaying the number of holds related to the acceptance of the game ball B into the first start port 2003, a second special symbol display composed of eight LEDs for displaying the lottery result of the second special symbol drawn by the acceptance of the game ball B into the second start port 2004, and a second special hold number display composed of two LEDs for displaying the number of holds related to the acceptance of the game ball B into the second start port 2004.

[0402] Furthermore, the function display unit 1400 includes a round display composed of five LEDs for displaying the number of repetitions (rounds) of the opening and closing pattern of the big winning port 2005 when the lottery result of the special symbol (first special symbol or second special symbol) is a "win" or the like.

[0403] In this function display unit 1400, the provided LEDs can be appropriately turned on, off, and blinked to display the number of holds, symbols, etc.

[0404] The peripheral control board 1510 is attached to the rear side of the effect display device 1600. The peripheral control board 1510 causes the effect display device 1600 to display an effect image or execute a light emission effect, a movable effect, etc. based on the signal sent from the main control board 1310.

[0405] [6. Flow of Game Balls] Next, the flow of the game balls B in the pachinko machine 1 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 36 and 37. FIG. 36 is an explanatory view showing various passages of the game balls on the rear side of the main body frame from the back. FIG. 37 is an explanatory view schematically showing the flow of the game balls in the main body frame.

[0406] In the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, when the player is not operating the handle 160, as shown in FIG. 37, a large number (for example, 40 to 60) of circulating game balls B are stored in a portion below the game board 5 in the main body frame 4. The circulation path R of the game balls B in the main body frame 4 is provided with, in order from the upstream side, a far unit 470, a circulating ball path unit 500, a ball lifting unit 550, a ball feeding unit 600, and a ball launching unit 450. The circulation path R is composed of an out ball passage 501, a safe ball passage 502, a far ball passage 503, a ball storage passage 504, a ball lifting inlet passage 551, a ball lifting outlet passage 552, and the like.

[0407] A plurality of sensors for detecting the game balls B flowing through the circulation path R are provided, in order from the upstream side, with a safe ball sensor 506, an out ball sensor 505, a far ball sensor 507, a circulating ball excess sensor 522, a circulating ball shortage sensor 521, a lifting inlet sensor 553, a lifting outlet sensor 554, a pre-launch sensor 604, and a launch subtraction sensor 454. Based on the signals from these various sensors, various control processes described later are executed on the frame control board 640.

[0408] When the player is not operating the handle 160, the safe ball sensor 506, the out ball sensor 505, the far ball sensor 507, and the circulating ball excess sensor 522 are in the OFF (non-detection) state, and the circulating ball shortage sensor 521, the lifting inlet sensor 553, the lifting outlet sensor 554, the pre-launch sensor 604, and the launch subtraction sensor 454 are in the ON (detection) state.

[0409] In the circulation path R in the main body frame 4, a large number of game balls B are stored in a state where they are lined up in a row. The large number of game balls B lined up in a row have their leading ends positioned on the ball launching table 452b of the launching unit cover 452 in the ball launching unit 450, and their rearmost parts are located within the range of the gauge part 520 in the ball storage passage 504 of the circulating ball path unit 500, upstream of the ball extraction shutter 515.

[0410] In the circulation path R, in the part between the upper end of the lifting spiral shaft 561 in the ball lifting unit 550 and the lifting exit sensor 554, a specific number (e.g., 4) of game balls B that is less than a predetermined number is lined up with respect to the length where a predetermined number (e.g., 5) of game balls B are lined up. This is to ensure a space for receiving the lifted game ball B even when one game ball B is lifted when returning the lifting spiral shaft 561 to the origin.

[0411] Also, in the circulation path R, in the part between the shooter front sensor 604 and the lifting exit sensor 554, a predetermined number (e.g., 10) are lined up. This can avoid the situation where the game balls B being launched run out before the lifted game balls B are replenished by the rotation of the lifting spiral shaft 561 when the game balls B continue to be launched by the ball launching unit 450 even after the detection of the game balls B at the lifting exit sensor 554 becomes OFF (non-detection).

[0412] When the player operates the handle 160 and the launch solenoid 453 of the ball launching unit 450 is driven, the game ball B placed on the ball launching table 452b in the launch unit cover 452 is launched, and the detection of the game ball B at the launch subtraction sensor 454 becomes non-detection (OFF). As a result, the number of balls held by the player is subtracted by 1 (the ball-holding subtraction process described later). After that, the ball feed solenoid 606 of the ball feed unit 600 is energized for a predetermined time, the ball receiving part 605a of the ball feed movable member 605 moves up and down, and one game ball B is placed on the ball launching table 452b, and the launch subtraction sensor 454 is in a detected (ON) state.

[0413] By operating the player's handle 160, game balls B are launched one by one, and the number of a plurality of game balls B stored between the launch front sensor 604 and the upper end of the lifting spiral shaft 561 (the ball lifting exit passage 552) decreases one by one. Eventually, detection of the game ball B by the lifting exit sensor 554 becomes non-detection (OFF). Then, when a predetermined number (for example, 3) of game balls B are launched after the lifting exit sensor 554 becomes non-detecting, the lifting motor 564 of the ball lifting unit 550 starts rotating the lifting spiral shaft 561. After rotating three times and supplying three game balls B to the ball lifting exit passage 552, it stops (the lifting motor operation process described later).

[0414] When the lifting spiral shaft 561 rotates by the lifting motor 564, the game ball B located at the downstream end of the ball lifting inlet passage 551 moves to the lower end side of the lifting spiral shaft 561 and is moved upward. As a result, a large number of game balls B lined up in the ball lifting inlet passage 551 and the ball storage passage 504 flow to the downstream side, and the number of game balls B stored in the ball storage passage 504 decreases.

[0415] The game ball B launched from the ball launch unit 450 and driven into the game area 5a of the game board 5 is received by either the out port 1008 or a winning port (general winning port 2001, first start port 2003, second start port 2004, big winning port 2005). The game ball B received by the out port 1008 of the game board 5 is discharged downward from the game board 5 and transferred to the out ball receiving port 500a of the circulating ball path unit 500. The game ball B transferred to the out ball receiving port 500a is detected by the out ball sensor 505 through the out ball passage 501 and sent to the ball storage passage 504.

[0416] On the other hand, the game ball B received by the winning port of the game board 5 is discharged downward from the game board 5 and transferred to the safe ball receiving port 500b of the circulating ball path unit 500. The game ball B transferred to the safe ball receiving port 500b is detected by the safe ball sensor 506 through the safe ball passage 502 and sent to the ball storage passage 504.

[0417] When the out ball sensor 505 detects the game ball B, the number of out balls is counted. When the safe ball sensor 506 detects the game ball B, the number of safe balls is counted. As a result, it becomes possible to calculate the accurate appearance rate of the game ball B. The calculated appearance rate is displayed on a display unit (not shown) provided on the main control board 1310. Since this appearance rate changes according to the game state, as the appearance rate within a predetermined period (for example, per unit time, per predetermined time, per day, etc.), it is calculated as "(the number of additional balls held due to winning within the predetermined period - the number of safe balls within the predetermined period) ÷ the number of out balls within the predetermined period = the appearance rate within the predetermined period".

[0418] By the way, the game ball B that was not driven into the game area 5a of the game board 5 despite being launched from the ball launch unit 450 (ball launch base 452b) is recovered by the foul unit 470 as a foul ball, and then is transferred to the foul ball receiving port 500c of the circulating ball path unit 500. Then, the game ball B transferred to the foul ball receiving port 500c is detected by the foul ball sensor 507 by flowing through the foul ball passage 503 and is sent to the ball storage passage 504. When the foul ball sensor 507 detects the game ball B, the number of balls held by the player is incremented by 1 (foul ball addition process described later).

[0419] Thus, in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment, the game ball B is enclosed without being discharged to the outside or supplied from the outside, and circulates inside, so that the player does not touch the game ball B.

[0420] [7. Various Control Processes] Next, various control processes in the frame control board 640 in the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 38 to 49. Fig. 38 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the pachinko machine. Fig. 39 is a flowchart showing the launch permission process. Fig. 40 is a flowchart showing the ball subtraction process, and Fig. 41 is a flowchart showing the ball addition process by foul balls. Fig. 42 is a flowchart showing the launch control process. Fig. 43 is a flowchart showing the prize ball process. Fig. 44 is a flowchart showing the lifting motor operation process, Fig. 45 is a table showing the relationship between the lifting inlet sensor and the lifting outlet sensor and the operation of the lifting motor, and Fig. 46 is a graph showing the relationship between the launching operation of the game ball and the operation of the ball lifting unit. Fig. 47 is a graph showing the operation of the ball lifting mechanism in the ball lifting unit. Fig. 48(a) is a flowchart showing the security process, and (b) is a flowchart showing the security process of an embodiment different from (a). Fig. 49 is a table showing the relationship between the circulating ball shortage sensor and the circulating ball excess sensor and the error notification. In FIG. 38, some of the electronic components such as sensors, solenoids, motors, LEDs, etc. connected to the main control board 1310 and the peripheral control board 1510 are omitted.

[0421] As shown in Fig. 38, the main control structure of the pachinko machine 1 is made up of a frame control board 640 attached to the main body frame 4, and a main control board 1310 and a peripheral control board 1510 attached to the game board 5. The frame control board 640 mainly performs control processing for the launch and circulation of game balls B, the number of balls held, etc. The main control board 1310 mainly performs control processing for the game. The peripheral control board 1510 mainly performs control processing for the presentation.

[0422] To the frame control board 640, signals from the emission stop switch 161, handle touch sensor 162, handle rotation sensor 163, count button switch 180, door opening switch 407, frame opening switch 408, emission subtraction sensor 454, out ball sensor 505, safe ball sensor 506, foul ball sensor 507, circulating ball shortage sensor 521, circulating ball excess sensor 522, lifting inlet sensor 553, lifting outlet sensor 554, lifting motor index sensor 566, shooter front sensor 604, RAM clear switch 641, ball removal switch 642, ball count memory / display clear switch 643, etc. are inputted.

[0423] Also, the frame control board 640 outputs signals to the held ball count display section 140, emission solenoid 453, lifting motor 564, ball polishing motor 588, ball feeding solenoid 606, etc.

[0424] Furthermore, the frame control board 640 inputs or outputs signals from or to the game ball lending device 8 via the game ball lending device connection terminal board 665. Also, the frame control board 640 inputs or outputs signals from or to the main control board 1310.

[0425] To the main control board 1310, signals from the general winning opening sensor 3001, gate sensor 2011, first start opening sensor 2101, second start opening sensor 2401, big winning opening sensor 2402, etc. are inputted. Also, the main control board 1310 outputs signals to the start opening solenoid 2412, attacker solenoid 2414, peripheral control board 1510, etc.

[0426] Note that the game ball lending device 8 is provided outside the pachinko machine 1 and outputs signals to the management server 9 via the communication network. To the game ball lending device 8, signals from the ball lending button switch 8a, return button switch, frame control board 640, etc. are inputted. Also, the game ball lending device 8 outputs signals to the display section, frame control board 640, etc.

[0427] [7-1. Emission Permission Process] The launch permission process will be described with reference to FIG. 39. The launch permission process is a process of determining whether or not to launch the game ball B. When the launch permission process is started, first, in step S101, it is confirmed whether or not the player is touching the handle 160. If the player is touching the handle 160 and the handle touch sensor 162 is ON (YES), the process proceeds to the next step S102. If the handle touch sensor 162 is OFF in step S101 (NO), the process proceeds to step S107, the frame control launch permission signal is turned OFF, and the process ends.

[0428] In step S102, it is confirmed whether or not the launch stop switch 161 is OFF. If the launch stop switch 161 is OFF, it is regarded as YES and the process proceeds to the next step S103. On the other hand, if the launch stop switch 161 is ON in step S102, it is regarded as NO and the process proceeds to step S107, the frame control launch permission signal is turned OFF, and the process ends.

[0429] In step S103, it is confirmed whether or not the frame control board 640 is connected to the game ball lending device 8 via the game ball lending device connection terminal board 665. If it is connected to the game ball lending device 8, it is regarded as YES and the process proceeds to the next step S104. On the other hand, if the connection to the game ball lending device 8 is not confirmed in step S103, it is regarded as NO and the process proceeds to step S107, the frame control launch permission signal is turned OFF, and the process ends.

[0430] In step S104, it is confirmed whether or not there is a main control launch permission from the main control board 1310. If there is a main control launch permission, it is regarded as YES and the process proceeds to the next step S105. On the other hand, if there is no main control launch permission in step S104, it is regarded as NO and the process proceeds to step S107, the frame control launch permission signal is turned OFF, and the process ends.

[0431] In step S105, it is checked whether the number of balls held by the player is more than 0. If the number of balls held is more than 0, then it proceeds to the next step S106 as YES, turns on the frame control launch permission signal, and ends the process. On the other hand, in step S105, if the number of balls held is less than 0 (the number of balls held is 0), then it proceeds to step S107 as NO, turns off the frame control launch permission signal, and ends the process.

[0432] In this way, the state is such that the launch of the game ball B is permitted by the launch permission process. In this state, when the player rotates the handle 160, the launch solenoid 453 is driven with a strength corresponding to the rotation angle, and the game ball B is launched from the ball launch unit 450. When driving the launch solenoid 453, the launch control process described later is executed.

[0433] [7-2. Held Ball Subtraction Process] The held ball subtraction process will be described with reference to FIG. 40. The held ball subtraction process is a process of subtracting the number of balls held by the player due to the launch of the game ball B. In the held ball subtraction process, first, in step S111, it is determined whether the launch subtraction sensor 454 of the ball launch unit 450 has changed from the ON state to the OFF state. When the game ball B is placed on the ball launch table 452b of the ball launch unit 450, the launch subtraction sensor 454 detects the game ball B and is in the ON state. From this state, when the launch solenoid 453 is driven and the launch hammer 455 strikes the game ball B on the ball launch table 452b and the game ball B is launched, the launch subtraction sensor 454 becomes non-detecting and enters the OFF state.

[0434] Then, in step S111, when the game ball B is launched and the launch subtraction sensor 454 changes from ON to OFF, it proceeds to the next step S112 as YES, subtracts 1 from the number of balls held, and ends the process.

[0435] On the other hand, in step S111, if the launch subtraction sensor 454 does not change from ON to OFF and remains in the ON state, then it ends the process without subtracting the number of balls held as NO.

[0436] In this way, when the game ball B is launched from the ball launch unit 450 by the held ball subtraction process, the number of held balls of the player is decreased by one.

[0437] [7-3. Held ball addition process] The held ball addition process by the foul will be described with reference to FIG. 41. When the game ball B is launched from the ball launch unit 450, the number of held balls of the player is decreased by the held ball subtraction process. However, if the launched game ball B is not hit into the game area 5a of the game board 5, since no game is performed by the game ball B, the player's interest will be decreased if the number of held balls remains decreased. Therefore, in the held ball addition process, the game ball B (foul ball) that is not hit into the game area 5a is added to the number of held balls of the player.

[0438] In the held ball addition process, in step S121, it is determined whether or not the foul ball sensor 507 of the circulating ball path unit 500 has changed from OFF to ON by detecting the game ball B (foul ball). If the foul ball sensor 507 becomes ON, it proceeds to the next step S122 as YES, adds one to the number of held balls, and ends the process.

[0439] On the other hand, in step S121, if the foul ball sensor 507 does not become ON and remains OFF, the process ends without adding the number of held balls as NO.

[0440] In this way, by the held ball addition process, even though it is launched from the ball launch unit 450, when the game ball B is not hit into the game area 5a of the game board 5, it is possible to avoid the player being disadvantaged by adding the foul ball to the number of held balls.

[0441] [7-4. Launch control process] The launch control process will be described with reference to FIG. 42 and the like. The launch control process determines whether to actually launch the game ball B by driving the launch solenoid 453 after the frame control launch permission signal becomes ON in the launch permission process and the player rotates the handle 160. First, in step S131, the launch control process determines whether there is frame control launch permission (ON / OFF). If there is frame control launch permission (ON), the process proceeds to the next step S132 as YES. On the other hand, if there is no frame control launch permission (OFF) in step S131, the process ends without driving the launch solenoid 453 as NO.

[0442] In step S132, it is determined whether the launch subtraction sensor 454 is ON. If the launch subtraction sensor 454 is ON (there is a game ball B on the ball launch base 452b), the process proceeds to the next step S133 as YES, turns on the launch solenoid 453, and strikes the game ball B with a strength corresponding to the rotation angle of the handle 160 to end the process.

[0443] On the other hand, if the launch subtraction sensor 454 is not ON (OFF) in step S132, the process proceeds to the next step S134 as NO. When the launch subtraction sensor 454 is OFF, since there is no game ball B placed on the ball launch base 452b, the processes from step S134 onward are performed.

[0444] In step S134, it is determined whether the pre-launch sensor 604 is ON. If the pre-launch sensor 604 is not ON (when the game ball B is not detected), the process proceeds to the next step S135 as NO, turns on the error display indicating "out of launch balls", returns to step S134, and repeats until the pre-launch sensor 604 becomes ON. The error display is displayed, for example, on the display screen of the effect display device.

[0445] Note that the error display may be provided by turning on an alarm lamp or may be displayed as an image on the effect display device. Alternatively, an error signal may be output to the hall computer (hall computer) of the game hall via the game ball lending device 8 to turn on the alarm lamp provided on the game hall side.

[0446] In this step S134, when the shooter front sensor 604 detects the game ball B and turns ON, it proceeds to the next step S136 as YES, turns ON (energizes) the ball feed solenoid 606, and moves the ball feed movable member 605. As a result, the game ball B detected by the shooter front sensor 604 is transferred to the ball receiving portion 605a of the ball feed movable member 605. When the ball feed solenoid 606 turns OFF after a predetermined short time, the game ball B transferred to the ball receiving portion 605a is supplied to the ball launch table 452b. At this time, if there is a game ball B upstream (the ball lift exit passage 552) of the game ball B sent to the ball launch table 452b by the ball feed movable member 605, that game ball B moves downstream and the shooter front sensor 604 turns ON.

[0447] In step S136, after turning ON the ball feed solenoid 606, it proceeds to the next step S137, and determines again whether the launch subtraction sensor 454 is ON. If the launch subtraction sensor 454 is not ON, it returns to step S134 as NO, and repeats the above flow until the launch subtraction sensor 454 turns ON.

[0448] Then, in step S137, when the launch subtraction sensor 454 is ON, it proceeds to the next step S138 as YES. After turning OFF the error display of "out of launch balls", it proceeds to step S133, turns ON the launch solenoid 453, and strikes the game ball B with a strength corresponding to the rotation angle of the handle 160 to end the process.

[0449] In this way, through the launch control process, after confirming that the game ball B is placed on the ball launch table 452b in the ball launch unit 450, the game ball B can be launched.

[0450] [7-5. Prize Ball Process] The bonus ball process will be described with reference to FIG. 43 and the like. When a game ball B is received at a winning opening such as the general winning opening 2001, the first start opening 2003, the second start opening 2004, the big winning opening 2005, etc. provided on the game board 5, a predetermined number of bonus balls corresponding to the winning opening are given as a privilege, and the bonus balls are added to the number of balls held by the player.

[0451] In the bonus ball process, when a signal (bonus ball signal) output from the main control board 1310 is input to the frame control board 640 because a game ball B is received at a winning opening on the game board 5, the bonus ball signal input in step S141 is analyzed. The bonus ball signal output from the main control board 1310 may be the number of bonus balls or the type of winning opening where the game ball B is received.

[0452] Then, when the bonus ball signal is analyzed in step S141, in the subsequent step S142, the number of bonus balls corresponding to the analyzed bonus ball signal is added to the number of balls held by the player, and the process ends.

[0453] In this way, by the bonus ball process, the number of game balls B (number of bonus balls) corresponding to the winning opening where the game ball B wins on the game board 5 can be added to the number of waiting balls of the player.

[0454] [7-6. Hoisting Motor Operation Process] The hoisting motor operation process will be described with reference to FIGS. 44 to 47 and the like. When the game ball B is launched by the ball launch unit 450 and the number of game balls B in the ball hoisting exit passage 552 decreases, the game balls B in the ball hoisting entrance passage 551 are hoisted by the rotation of the hoisting spiral shaft 561 of the ball hoisting unit 550 and supplied to the ball hoisting exit passage 552.

[0455] The hoisting motor operation process first clears the retry counter 1 in step S201 and proceeds to the next step S202. In step S202, it is determined whether the hoisting motor index sensor 566 for detecting the hoisting motor index 565 attached to the lower end of the hoisting spiral shaft 561 in the ball hoisting mechanism 560 of the ball hoisting unit 550 is ON.

[0456] The hoisting motor index 565 has a detection portion 565a provided so as to notch a part in the circumferential direction of a disk shape (flange shape). When the detection portion 565a of the hoisting motor index 565 is positioned at the portion of the hoisting motor index sensor 566 due to the rotation of the hoisting spiral shaft 561, the hoisting motor index sensor 566 becomes ON, and the hoisting motor index sensor 566 becomes OFF at portions other than the detection portion 565a.

[0457] In step S202, if the hoisting motor index sensor 566 is ON, it proceeds to the next step S203 as YES, and it is determined whether the hoisting exit sensor 554 is ON for 80 ms or more. In this step S203, if it is determined that the hoisting exit sensor 554 is not ON for 80 ms or more (the hoisting exit sensor 554 is OFF), it proceeds to the next step S204 as NO.

[0458] On the other hand, in step S203, if it is determined that the hoisting exit sensor 554 is ON for 80 ms or more, it returns to step S203 as YES and is repeated until the hoisting exit sensor 554 is not ON for 80 ms or more (until the hoisting exit sensor 554 becomes OFF). That is, it is repeated until the last part of the row of the plurality of game balls B in the ball hoisting exit passage 552 decreases due to the launch of the game balls B and becomes downstream of the hoisting exit sensor 554. When the hoisting exit sensor 554 becomes OFF, it proceeds to step S204.

[0459] In step S204, it is determined whether the lifting inlet sensor 553 has been ON for 80 ms or more. If it is determined that the lifting inlet sensor 553 has not been ON for 80 ms or more (the lifting inlet sensor 553 is OFF), the process proceeds to step S205 as NO, the error display indicating "lifting inlet ball breakage" is turned ON, and the process returns to step S204. Thereby, it is possible to notify of a ball breakage in the ball lifting inlet passage 551 and prompt the elimination of the ball breakage.

[0460] In step S204, if it is determined that the lifting inlet sensor 553 has been ON for 80 ms or more, the process proceeds to the next step S206 as YES. After turning OFF the error display indicating "lifting inlet ball breakage", in the subsequent step S207, after 1800 ms have elapsed, the operation of the lifting motor 564 is started to rotate the lifting spiral shaft 561. Thereby, the lifting of the game ball B in the ball lifting inlet passage 551 is started. The lifting spiral shaft 561 ejects one game ball B per rotation.

[0461] Here, rephrasing the start of the operation of the lifting motor 564, as shown in FIG. 46, in a state where the lifting inlet sensor 553 has been ON for 80 ms or more (continuous ON), the lifting motor 564 is stopped, the lifting outlet sensor 554 has been ON for 80 ms or more (continuous ON), and the shooter front sensor 604 has been ON for 80 ms or more (continuous ON), the game balls B are continuously launched at intervals of a predetermined time (here, 600 ms) by operating the handle 160. Then, when the lifting outlet sensor 554 turns OFF, after t1 time (here, 1800 ms) has elapsed from that point, the operation of the lifting motor 564 is started, and the ejection (lifting device ball ejection) of the game ball B from the upper end of the lifting spiral shaft 561 toward the ball lifting outlet passage 552 side is started.

[0462] In this embodiment, when the ascending outlet sensor 554 is turned off and three game balls B are launched, the ascending motor 564 is activated and the rotation of the ascending spiral shaft 561 starts. Note that the time interval for discharging the game balls B by the rotation of the ascending spiral shaft 561 is set shorter than the time interval for continuously launching the game balls B. Thereby, the supply of the game balls B to the ball launch unit 450 will not fall behind the launch of the game balls B.

[0463] Note that the ball polishing motor 588 provided in the ball ascending unit 550 is controlled independently of the operation of the ascending motor 564. As shown in FIG. 46, every time 1000 game balls B are launched, the polishing cloth 582 moves 0.17 mm.

[0464] As shown in FIG. 45, this ascending motor 564 does not operate and stops except when the ascending inlet sensor 553 is ON and the ascending outlet sensor 554 is OFF.

[0465] Returning to the explanation of the ascending motor operation process, when the operation of the ascending motor 564 is started in step S207, the retry counter 2 is cleared in the subsequent step S208, and in the subsequent step S209, it is determined whether the ascending motor index 565 (ascending motor index sensor 566) becomes ON again within 600 ms after turning off.

[0466] In step S209, if it is determined that the ascending motor index 565 becomes ON again within 600 ms after turning off (the ascending spiral shaft 561 is rotating), it proceeds to the next step S210 as YES, and it is determined whether the ascending outlet sensor 554 is ON for 80 ms or more. If it is not ON, it returns to step S208 as NO, and the operation of the ascending motor 564 continues.

[0467] On the other hand, in step S210, if it is determined that the lifting exit sensor 554 has been ON for 80 ms or more, the process proceeds to the next step S211 as YES, the lifting motor 564 is stopped at the position of the third detection by the detection unit 565a of the lifting motor index 565, returns to step S201, and repeats the lifting motor operation process.

[0468] That is, as shown in FIGS. 46 and 47, after the lifting exit sensor 554 becomes ON (continuously ON), when the lifting motor index 565 rotates and the non-light-shielding state (the lifting motor index sensor 566 becomes ON by the detection unit 565a) occurs for the third time, the lifting motor 564 stops. At this time, one game ball B is discharged toward the ball lifting exit passage 552 side per rotation by the lifting spiral shaft 561 that rotates integrally with the lifting motor index 565 (lifting device ball discharge). Therefore, three game balls B are discharged between the time when the lifting exit sensor 554 becomes ON and the time when the lifting motor 564 stops. In other words, when the lifting exit sensor 554 becomes ON, three game balls B are discharged toward the ball lifting exit passage 552 side and the lifting motor 564 stops. As a result, a sufficient number of game balls B are stored in the ball lifting exit passage 552. Note that, in order to smoothly execute the lifting motor origin return process described later, the ball lifting exit passage 552 is not filled with game balls B, but a predetermined number of empty spaces are provided.

[0469] In this lifting motor operation process, in step S202, if it is determined that the lifting motor index 565 is not ON (the lifting motor index sensor 566 is OFF), the process proceeds to the next step S212 as NO, and it is determined whether the retry counter 1 is less than 3.

[0470] In step S212, if the retry counter 1 is less than 3, the process proceeds to step S213 as YES, executes the lifting motor origin return process, adds "1" to the retry counter 1 in step S214, and returns to step S202.

[0471] In the lifting motor home position return process of step S213, when the lifting motor index sensor 566 is OFF, the lifting motor 564 is activated to rotate the lifting motor index 565 together with the lifting spiral shaft 561. After the detection unit 565a reaches and turns ON while the lifting motor index sensor 566 is OFF, the lifting motor 564 rotates two times and stops, and the lifting motor 564 (lifting motor index 565) returns to the origin.

[0472] Specifically, the lifting motor index 565 (lifting spiral shaft 561) is configured to rotate once when the lifting motor 564 rotates 32 times according to the gear ratio between the shaft gear 562 and the motor gear 563. And since the circumferential length of the detection unit 565a of the lifting motor index 565 is formed to be the length that the lifting motor 564 rotates 4 times, the position where the lifting motor 564 rotates two times and stops after the lifting motor index sensor 566 turns ON is located at the center of the detection unit 565a. That is, the center of the detection unit 565a in the lifting motor index 565 is set as the origin of the lifting motor 564 (lifting spiral shaft 561, lifting motor index 565) (see FIG. 47).

[0473] When the lifting motor home position return process is executed, the lifting spiral shaft 561 rotates approximately once, so one game ball B is discharged into the ball lifting exit passage 552. However, since the ball lifting exit passage 552 has a predetermined number of empty spaces for accommodating the game balls B, the discharge of the game balls B from the lifting spiral shaft 561 is not hindered, and the lifting motor 564 can be returned to the home position.

[0474] In the above step S212, when it is determined that the retry counter 1 is not less than 3, the process proceeds to step S215 as NO, the error display indicating "lifting ball jam error" is turned ON, and the operation stops in the subsequent step S216. The release condition of this operation stop can be released by turning on a power switch (not shown) provided on the power supply board 650 in the main body frame 4.

[0475] On the other hand, in step S209 above, if it is determined that the hoisting motor index 565 does not turn on again within 600 ms after turning off (the hoisting spiral shaft 561 is not rotating), it is set to ON and the process proceeds to step S217. Then, it is determined whether the retry counter 2 is less than 3. If it is determined that the retry counter 2 is not less than 3, the process proceeds to step S215 as NO, an error display indicating "hoisting ball jamming error" is turned on, and the operation stops in subsequent step S216.

[0476] On the other hand, in step S217, if it is determined that the retry counter 2 is less than 3, the ball jamming release process of the next step S218 is executed as YES. Then, in subsequent step S219, "1" is added to the retry counter 2 and the process returns to step S209.

[0477] In the ball jamming release process of step S218, after stopping the hoisting motor 564 in a state where the ON / OFF of the hoisting exit sensor 554 is not monitored, the hoisting motor 564 is rotated in the reverse direction. After a predetermined time (for example, 100 ms) has elapsed, the hoisting motor 564 is stopped, and the hoisting motor 564 is operated (rotated forward) again.

[0478] In this way, in the hoisting motor operation process, when the game ball B is launched and the number of game balls B in the ball hoisting exit passage 552 decreases, the hoisting spiral shaft 561 is rotated by the operation of the hoisting motor 564, and the game ball B in the ball hoisting inlet passage 551 is hoisted from the lower end, and at the same time, it is discharged from the upper end and supplied to the ball hoisting exit passage 552.

[0479] Note that the operation time of the hoisting motor 564, the number of discharged game balls B, etc. described above are examples, and appropriate time and number may be used.

[0480] [7-7. Security Process] The security process will be described with reference to FIG. 48 etc. The security process is for monitoring the presence or absence of improper acts. As shown in FIG. 48(a), in the security process, the contradiction counter is cleared in step S301, and in the subsequent step S302, the number of balls collected within a predetermined time in the circulating ball path unit 500 is calculated. The number of balls collected is calculated by the sum of the number of out balls, the number of safe balls, and the number of foul balls.

[0481] After calculating the number of balls collected in step S302, proceed to the next step S303, and determine whether the number of balls fired by the firing subtraction sensor 454 is the same as the number of balls collected. If it is determined that they are the same, return to step S302 as YES. On the other hand, if it is determined that the number of balls fired and the number of balls collected are not the same, proceed to the next step S304 as NO, add "1" to the contradiction counter, and proceed to the subsequent step S305.

[0482] In step S305, determine whether the contradiction counter is greater than n (for example, 50). If it is determined that it is smaller than n, return to step S302 as NO. On the other hand, if it is determined that the contradiction counter is greater than n, proceed to the next step S306 as YES. After turning on the error display indicating that an improper act has been committed, in the subsequent step S307, execute the game stop process to end the process.

[0483] The error display in step S306 can be canceled by turning on a power switch (not shown) provided on the power supply board 650 in the main body frame 4.

[0484] Also, as the game stop process in step S307, there are the stop of the firing of the game ball B in the ball firing unit 450, the stop of the lifting of the game ball B (circulation stop) by the ball lifting unit 550, the stop of the game on the main control board 1310 side, etc.

[0485] As a security process, the process shown in FIG. 48(b) may be used. In this security process, first, in step S311, the contradiction counter is cleared. Subsequently, in step S312, it is determined whether the number of balls launched by the launch subtraction sensor 454 is greater than or equal to the number of foul balls detected by the foul ball sensor 507.

[0486] In step S312, if it is determined that the number of launched balls is greater than or equal to the number of foul balls, the process returns to step S312 as YES. On the other hand, if it is determined that the number of launched balls is not greater than or equal to the number of foul balls, the process proceeds to the next step S313 as NO, adds "1" to the contradiction counter, and then proceeds to step S314.

[0487] In step S314, it is determined whether the contradiction counter is greater than n (for example, 50). If it is determined that the contradiction counter is smaller than n, the process returns to step S312 as NO. On the other hand, if it is determined that the contradiction counter is greater than n, the process proceeds to the next step S315 as YES. After turning on the error display indicating that an illegal act has occurred, in the subsequent step S316, the game stop process is executed to end the process.

[0488] The error display in step S315 can be canceled by turning on a power switch (not shown) provided on the power supply board 650 in the main body frame 4.

[0489] Also, as the game stop process in step S316, there are the stop of launching the game ball B in the ball launch unit 450, the stop of lifting the game ball B (circulation stop) by the ball lifting unit 550, the stop of the game on the main control board 1310 side, and the like.

[0490] In this way, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of an illegal act based on the number of launched balls, the number of game balls B discharged from the game board 5 (recovered ball number), the number of foul balls, and the like.

[0491] [7-8. Enclosed Ball Quantity Detection Process] The enclosed ball quantity detection process will be described with reference to FIG. 49 and the like. The enclosed ball quantity detection process detects whether the quantity (number of balls) of the enclosed game balls B is appropriate. The enclosed ball quantity detection process determines whether the game balls B are in an appropriate quantity based on the combination of the ON / OFF of the circulation ball shortage sensor 521 and the ON / OFF of the circulation ball excess sensor 522. In the ...

Claims

Claim 1 A gaming machine comprising a game board having a game area through which game balls can flow down, wherein the game board includes a game plate having the game area formed on the front side, and a specific part attached to an opening formed in the game plate from the front side of the game plate, and further has a connecting wire capable of connecting the specific part and a specific part of the game board, wherein the connecting wire is capable of preventing the specific part from falling below the lower end of the gaming machine even when the specific part is removed from the front side of the game plate, and the specific part connected to one end of the connecting wire is provided on the back side of the game plate, and further, the connecting wire is made difficult to be visually recognized from the front by a predetermined decorative body A gaming machine characterized by the above.

Images