JPH0530788Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] <Industrial field of application> This invention relates to a ball detector for pachinko machines that uses light as a detection means. Pachinko balls are detected by changing the light reception state of the sensor.

<Prior Art> As is well known, various ball detection devices for pachinko machines have been proposed. For example, a shielding member that is displaced by a pachinko ball passing through a ball path changes the light receiving state of an optical sensor to detect pachinko. A device for detecting balls is known from Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 58-166382.

This conventional ball detection device has a ball detection lever that is rotatably provided in a half-split case having a ball passage, and a detected lever that is integrated with the ball detection lever. The passing of the ball is detected by a photoelectric detector which is rotationally biased by a spring so as to return to its original position, and whose transmitted light quantity changes suddenly due to the rotational displacement of the detection lever that collides with the ball.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> However, in the conventional ball detection device described above, the photoelectric detector is integrated with the case, so it not only takes time and effort to assemble including position adjustment, but also the photoelectric detector is difficult to assemble. Unable to replace equipment. Further, this conventional ball detection device has a complicated structure and is not suitable for miniaturization. Furthermore, since each member was assembled individually, there were many variations in accuracy from product to product.

On the other hand, in a typical conventional ball detector using an optical sensor, the positioning of the light emitting element and the light receiving element is complicated, and assembly is time-consuming and wiring is troublesome.

Furthermore, in conventional ball detectors, the light is directly blocked by the ball passing through the passage, and detection is performed based on changes in the light receiving state in the light receiving device. If the sensor is dirty, it may not be able to detect it accurately, and it may react to external light sources, causing malfunctions.

<Means for solving the problem> The present invention was proposed in view of the above, and includes a swingable light-shielding member and a set of a light emitting element and a light receiving element in a synthetic resin case having a ball passage. In a ball detector for a pachinko machine that houses a sensor body, the case has a pair of substantially parallel support arms extending from the base end, and a bearing part is installed approximately in the middle of the support arms. A spherical passage is formed between the proximal end portion, the bearing portion, and the proximal end portion of the support arm portion, and a positioning means is provided on the pair of opposing support arms. A sensor body including a light-receiving element and a detection space is housed, one end of a light-shielding member pivoted to the bearing part faces into the ball passage, the other end faces into the detection space of the sensor body, and the light-shielding member A biasing means is provided to bias the light shielding member so that one end thereof normally protrudes into the ball passage.

<Function> The light shielding member that swings as the ball passes blocks the light emitted from the light emitting element toward the light receiving element, changes the light receiving state of the light receiving element, and detects the ball by detecting this change. be able to. Moreover,
A sensor body including a light emitting element and a light receiving element,
Since the light shielding member is accommodated by a pair of support arms having positioning means and is pivotally mounted by a bearing portion provided on the support arms, the light shielding member can be assembled accurately and easily.

<Embodiments> The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments of the drawings.

A ball detector 1 according to the present invention includes a case 3 having a ball passage 2, a light shielding member 4 that is swingably housed in the case 3, and a sensor that includes a set of a light emitting element 5 and a light receiving element 6. The light shielding member 4 has a main body 7, and the light shielding member 4 is swingable, but is biased by a biasing means 8 so as to maintain a constant state.

According to the illustrated embodiment, the case 3 has a proximal end 9
substantially parallel support arms 10, 10 extend from;
A prismatic bearing part 11 protrudes inward at the middle of the support arm part 10, and the base end part 9 and the bearing parts 11, 11
and proximal portions 12, 12 of the support arms 10, 10.
This forms a ball passage 2 that opens in the vertical direction.

The bearing part 11 has a shaft hole 13 which also serves as a positioning means.
A stopper 14 is provided at the lower end of the bearing portion 11.
A rocking space 15 is formed between the opposing bearing parts 11 and 11, and the swing space 15 is narrowed at the bottom by the stopper 14.

Positioning means are provided at the upper and lower edges of the free end side portion 16 of the support arm portion 10. That is, guide pieces 18, 18 are provided at the upper and lower edges between the bearing portion 11 and the locking pawl 17, which slightly protrude inward. Furthermore, inward locking claws 17 are provided at the tips of the support arms 10, respectively.
Each of the locking pawls 17 has a jaw surface 21 that faces each other and is substantially parallel to the inclined surface 19 and the side end surface 20 of the bearing portion 11.
It has

The case 3 as described above is integrally formed of synthetic resin, and both support arms 10 have elasticity directed slightly inward toward each other.

On the other hand, the light shielding member 4 includes a shaft portion 23 protruding from both sides of the substrate 22, a ball receiving portion 24 formed wide at the upper edge of one end of each substrate 22, and a light shielding portion 25 at the other end of the substrate 22. Become. The ball receiving portion 24 is connected to the shaft portion 23
It has a gentle slope 26 continuous to the top and a steep slope 27 on the tip side, and a back surface 27' of the steep slope 27 can be engaged with the stopper 14.

The sensor body 7 is a nearly U-shaped unitized component having a detection space 28, and houses a pair of light emitting elements 5 and light receiving elements 6 facing each other, and has wiring for each element 5, 6. 29 extends from the rear. If there is no obstruction, the light emitted by the light emitting element 5 in the sensor body 7 crosses the detection space 28 through the irradiation hole 30 and enters the light receiving element 6 through the light receiving hole 31.

To accommodate the light shielding member 4 in the case 3, the support arms 10, 10 are expanded against elasticity, and in this state, the light shielding member 4 is inserted into the swing space 15, and the shaft portion 23 is inserted into the swing space 15.
When the small-diameter shaft end 32 is inserted into the shaft hole 13 of the bearing part 11, the letter-shaped arm part 10 returns to its original state with its own elasticity and can swingably support the light shielding member 4. . Then, the light shielding member 4 is biased by the biasing means 8 so as to maintain the state in which the ball receiving portion 24 faces the ball passage 2. According to the illustrated embodiment, the biasing means 8 is a coiled spring 33 wound around the shaft portion 23, with one end of the coiled spring 33 being locked to the ball receiving portion 24 and the other end being locked to the support arm portion. 10 to lock it.

In order to house the sensor main body 7 in the case 3, the sensor main body 7 must be placed between the guide pieces 18 and 1 so that the light shielding part 25 of the light shielding member 4 is located in the detection space 28.
8 from the inclined surface 19 of the locking claw 17. When the sensor body 7 is pushed in, the tip surface 3 is divided into two parts by the detection space 28 of the sensor body 7.
4 and 34 abut against the side end surfaces 20 and 20 of the bearing portion 11, respectively, and the jaw surface 21 of each locking pawl 17 supports the rear end surface 35 of the sensor body 7. Further, the guide piece 18 provided on the support arm 10 is connected to the sensor body 7.
Hold the top and bottom.

In the above-described ball detector 1, normally the gentle slope 26 of the light shielding member 4 extends substantially horizontally into the ball passage 2, while the steep slope 27 extends downward, and in this normal state, the light shielding portion 25 is the irradiation hole 30
The light emitted from the light emitting element 5 reaches the light receiving element 6 (the state shown in FIG. 3). In the ball path 2 of the ball detector 1 in such a normal state, the ball a
When the ball enters from above and passes downward, the ball comes into contact with the ball receiving portion 24 of the light shielding member 4, and the light shielding member 4 rotates counterclockwise. When the light shielding member 4 rotates, the light shielding part 25 closes the detection space 2 of the sensor body 7.
8 and blocks the light emitted from the light emitting element 5 toward the light receiving element 6 (the state shown in FIG. 4). When the light is interrupted, the light receiving state of the light receiving element 6 changes, and this change is sent out as a detection signal. When the ball a falls from the ball path 2, the light shielding member 4
is rotated back by the urging force of the coiled spring 33, and the light receiving element 6 receives the light from the light emitting element 5 again.

In addition, a magnet 36 is embedded in a part of the case 3, and a magnet or a magnet absorber 37 that can be attracted to the magnet 36 is provided in the light shielding member 4 to prevent the light shielding member 4 from inadvertently swinging due to vibration or the like. You can do it like this.

According to the sphere detector 1 having the above configuration, the width is narrow and the size can be reduced, and the light emitting element 5 and the light receiving element 6 are
No position adjustment is required, wiring is simple, and the effort required for assembly is significantly reduced. Furthermore, since accurate assembly is possible, variations in each product are less likely to occur. The ball detector 1 according to the present invention can be used as a ball detector for various purposes such as a special winning switch, a 10 count switch, a starting port, or a chatter in a variable winning device.

In the above description, the light receiving element 6 receives light from the light emitting element 5 under normal conditions, and the light shielding member 4 is set to shield the light when the ball passes through the ball path 2. However, the light shielding member 4 By changing the shape of the lens, it is possible to set it so that it normally blocks light and receives light when the ball passes by.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications as long as the structure described in the claims for utility model registration is not changed. For example, a weight may be embedded in the shielding member as a biasing means so that the shielding member rotates back, or magnets that attract or repel each other may be provided in the case and the shielding member so that they are biased by magnetic force to rotate back. You can also.

<Effects of the Invention> In summary, the present invention provides a pachinko machine in which a swingable light-shielding member and a sensor body comprising a pair of light-emitting elements and a light-receiving element are housed in a synthetic resin case having a ball passage. In the ball detector, the case has a pair of support arms extending in parallel from the base end, a bearing part is protruded inward at approximately the middle of the support arms, and the base end A spherical passage is formed between the bearing section and the proximal end portion of the support arm section, and a positioning means is provided on the pair of opposing support arm sections, and the sensor includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element and has a detection space. The main body is housed, one end of the light shielding member pivoted to the bearing part faces the inside of the ball passage, and the other end faces into the detection space of the sensor body, and the light shielding member is provided with a biasing means. Since the light shielding member is normally biased so that one end thereof protrudes into the ball passage, the structure is simplified and miniaturization is possible. Furthermore, the effort required for assembly, such as adjusting the mounting position of each element and processing wiring, can be significantly reduced. Moreover, since it can be assembled with high precision, variations in each product are less likely to occur, and the product value is significantly improved. Furthermore, the ball detector according to the present invention can perform accurate detection without causing malfunctions due to reactions to external light sources or swinging of the light shielding member due to vibrations, etc., and has extremely practical value. expensive.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exploded state, FIG. 2 is a plan view of an assembled state, and FIG. 3 is a state in which light emitted by a light emitting element reaches a light receiving element. A cross-sectional view, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the light shielding member swings to shield light. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Ball detector, 2... Ball passage, 3... Case, 4... Light shielding member, 5... Light emitting element, 6... Light receiving element, 7... Sensor main body, 8... Biasing means,
9... Base end portion, 10... Support arm portion, 11... Bearing portion, 18... Guide piece, 28... Detection space.

Claims (1)

[Claim for Utility Model Registration] Ball detection for a pachinko machine in which a swingable light-shielding member and a sensor body comprising a set of light-emitting elements and light-receiving elements are housed in a synthetic resin case having a ball passage. In the case, a pair of substantially parallel supporting arms extends from the base end, and a bearing section is provided inwardly protruding approximately in the middle of the supporting arms, so that the base end and the bearing section are connected to each other. A spherical passage is formed between the support arm and the proximal end portion of the support arm, and a positioning means is provided on the pair of opposing support arms to accommodate a sensor body that is equipped with a light emitting element and a light receiving element and has a detection space. one end of the light shielding member pivotally attached to the bearing part faces into the ball passage, and the other end faces into the detection space of the sensor body, and the light shielding member is provided with a biasing means to cause the light shielding member to move. A pachinko ball detector characterized in that one end is biased so as to plunge into a ball path under normal conditions.