US 5,683,081 AGranted

Game apparatus

AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Ace Denken

InventorsTakemoto Takatoshi, Kawashima Kazunari

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Abstract

A game machine capable of reducing the operating expenses by carrying out the dispense of pachinko balls by a single pachinko ball dispenser, and capable of dispensing pachinko balls efficiently; and a pachinko ball dispenser adapted to accurately and speedily dispense an optional number of pachinko balls used in this machine. A game machine (40) has a pachinko ball dispenser (101) adapted to recieve a dispensing signal which is outputted from a controller (50) on the basis of a money signal from a rental ball dispensing unit (30), and a prize signal which is also outputted from the controller (50) on the basis of prescribed rules, counts pachinko balls the munber of which corresponds to these signals and dispenses pachinko balls into a player's ball tray (11). The pachinko ball dispenser (101) has a rotatable ratchet wheel (110) facing the interior of a pachinko ball passage (171) and provided in the periphery thereof with concave portions (110a) in each of which one pachinko ball is fitted, this ratchet wheel being rotated continuously until the number of dispensed balls has reached to an ordered number, then switched to intermittent rotation, and stopped when the number of dispensed balls has reached the ordered number.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A game machine, comprising:

a pachinko ball dispensing unit;
a game machine unit using pachinko balls as a game medium;
means for integrated control of said pachinko ball dispensing unit and said game machine;
an overflow sensor means for outputting a signal for stopping dispensing of said pachinko balls;
a gained pachinko ball display;
an inserted ball number display;
recording media issuing means;
said pachinko ball dispensing unit having a money identification means for identifying an amount of money placed into said pachinko ball dispensing unit and for sending to said control means an amount signal corresponding to any one of said money amount placed into said pachinko ball dispensing unit and a ball signal equivalent to said amount of money placed into said pachinko ball dispensing unit;
said control means having means for outputting a dispensing signal based on said amount signal from said pachinko ball dispensing unit and for outputting a prize signal based on a set of predetermined rules;
said game machine unit having a pachinko ball dispenser which has means for receiving said dispensing signal outputted from said control means and said prize signal also outputted from said control means, for calculating a number of said pachinko balls which corresponds to said dispensing and prize signals, and for dispensing said pachinko balls into a ball tray;
said overflow sensor means having means for detecting a state of said ball tray being filled with said pachinko balls dispensed from said pachinko ball dispenser and for stopping dispensing of said pachinko balls by said pachinko ball dispenser via said control means after sending a fill signal to said control means;
said gained pachinko ball display having means for indicating an amount of said pachinko balls after subtracting a number of said pachinko balls dispensed into said ball tray from a total number of said pachinko balls to be dispensed;
said inserted ball number display having means for indicating an amount of said pachinko balls inserted for gaming;
and
said recording media issuing means having means for recording a number of player's total keeping balls, equal to a sum of said pachinko balls indicated with said gained pachinko ball display and said pachinko balls in said ball tray, on a recording medium, and for electing a recorded recording medium.

12 more elements

A pachinko ball dispenser for dispensing a prescribed number of pachinko balls, comprising:

a pachinko ball passage;
a sprocket formed with a plurality of peripheral concave portions, wherein each peripheral concave portion of said plurality of peripheral concave portions is for catching one falling pachinko ball, respectively, said sprocket being rotatably mounted with said concave portions facing towards an interior of said pachinko ball passage;
a rachet wheel coupled to and rotated together with said sprocket;
a main stopper mounted movably on a side portion of said rachet wheel, for stopping rotation of said sprocket by engaging one end of said main stopper with any one tooth of teeth of said ratchet wheel when said ratchet wheel moves in one direction;
a main actuator means for moving said main stopper;
a sub-stopper mounted to move together with said main stopper when said sub-stopper is not pressed by an external force which exceeds a prescribed force, said sub-stopper being adapted to rotate said sprocket only at an angle corresponding to one half of a width of any one peripheral concave portion of said plurality of peripheral concave portions by engaging one end of said sub-stopper with any one tooth of said teeth of said ratchet wheel when said main stopper comes out of said ratchet wheel by moving in a direction opposite to said one direction;
a sub-actuator means for moving said sub-stopper towards a direction to remove said sub-stopper from said ratchet wheel by pressing said sub-stopper with an external force greater than said prescribed force regardless of a movement of said main stopper;
a dispensing ball detecting means for detecting and counting said pachinko balls dispensed from a lower portion of said pachinko ball passage;
a controller having means for maintaining said main stopper and said sub-stopper in a disengaged state with said sprocket by controlling an action of said main actuator means and said sub-actuator means until a number of detected dispensed balls reaches an amount near to an ordered number of said pachinko balls, and for, after said number of detected dispensed balls reaches an amount near to said ordered number of said pachinko balls, engaging said main stopper and said sub-stopper with said sprocket alternately by operating only one of each of said main actuator means and said sub-actuator means, so as to establish intermittent operation.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.