JP2005110993A - Method for packing game board and its system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for packing a game board and its system easily disclosing the game board being unlawfully remodeled and capable of previously preventing the game board from being unlawfully remodeled. <P>SOLUTION: The three game boards P1 are housed in an unclosed packing case P2 in a housing process S1. A cover of the packing case P2 where the game boards P1 are housed is closed in a sealing process S3. At least one part of an outer periphery of the packing case P2 where the game boards P1 are housed and the cover is closed is wrapped with a thermoplastic sheet SH in a wrapping process S4. Heat-treating the thermoplastic sheet SH wrapping the packing case P2 in a heat treatment process S5 renders the thermoplastic sheet SH heat-shrunk to adhere to the packing case P2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and a system for packing a game board on which a part that is a game main body of a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine is mounted, and more particularly to a packing method and a system in consideration of prevention of unauthorized modification of the game board.

Conventionally, in the shipment of gaming machines such as pachinko machines, there are a form in which the entire gaming machine is delivered to the hall and a form in which the game board is delivered to the hall during so-called plate change. In the production line, the game board is manufactured, and the game board with the stamp printed with the serial number printed on the manufactured game board is housed in a cardboard box, and the lid of the cardboard box is sealed with adhesive tape, and then shipped or It is stored. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-93623 A

However, after unpacking the cardboard box containing the game board and tampering with the game board, it is relatively easy to pack the cardboard box so that it cannot be distinguished from the original packaging state. There was a problem that it was difficult to find unauthorized modification simply by looking at the packing state. In addition, since repacking is easy in this way, there has been a problem that there are no end to those who are trying to make unauthorized modifications.
The problem to be solved is to provide a game board packaging method and system that facilitates the discovery of unauthorized modifications to the game board and can prevent unauthorized modification.

Hereinafter, each means suitable for solving the above-described problems will be described with additional effects and the like as necessary.
1. A method of packing a game board,
A housing step of housing one or more game boards in an unsealed packaging box;
A sealing step of sealing a lid of a packaging box containing the game board;
An encapsulating step of encapsulating at least a part of the outer periphery of the sealed packaging box in which the game board is housed and sealed with a thermoplastic sheet;
A game board packing method comprising: a heat treatment step of heat-treating the thermoplastic sheet enclosing the packing box.
According to the means 1, one or a plurality of game boards are accommodated in an unsealed packaging box (for example, a cardboard box) in the accommodation process, and the lid of the packaging box in which the game boards are accommodated in the sealing process is sealed. Since at least a part of the outer periphery of the packaging box in which the game board is accommodated and sealed in the process is encapsulated with the thermoplastic sheet, and the thermoplastic sheet encapsulating the packaging box in the heat treatment process is subjected to heat treatment, the thermoplastic sheet Heat shrinks and adheres to the packaging box. After the heat treatment is completed, the thermoplastic sheet is cooled and cured at room temperature, so that the state in which the thermoplastic sheet is firmly adhered to the packaging box is maintained.

  And since the packing box which accommodates the game board packed by the means 1 is wrapped closely by the thermoplastic sheet, it is possible to discover unauthorized modification more reliably and to prevent unauthorized modification. it can. That is, in order to tamper with the part that controls the game board such as the main board, it is necessary to first cut and open the thermoplastic sheet and then open the packaging box. For this reason, when unauthorized modification is performed, since the thermoplastic sheet that encloses the packaging box is opened, the unauthorized modification can be reliably detected. In addition, it is extremely difficult to enclose the packaging box in the original state by using the used thermoplastic sheet after cutting and opening the thermoplastic sheet once, and trying to tamper with it. It is also expected that the willingness of those who do it will be reduced and the effect of preventing unauthorized modification will be demonstrated.

2. The thermoplastic sheet is wider than the packaging box,
2. The game board packaging method according to claim 1, wherein the packaging step encapsulates the packaging box such that a part of the thermoplastic sheet protrudes from a peripheral edge of the packaging box.
According to the means 2, the packaging box is encapsulated so that a part of the thermoplastic sheet wider than the packaging box protrudes from the periphery of the packaging box in the encapsulation process, and the thermoplastic sheet protrudes in the heat treatment process. The portion shrinks due to heat treatment and adheres firmly to the side of the packaging box. Therefore, it becomes impossible to remove the thermoplastic sheet from the packaging box without cutting, and it is possible to more easily facilitate the discovery of unauthorized modification and prevent unauthorized modification.

3. The game board packing method according to means 1 or 2, wherein a heat treatment temperature in the heat treatment step is 100 ° C to 200 ° C.
According to the means 3, since the heat treatment temperature in the heat treatment step is 100 ° C. to 200 ° C., the thermoplastic sheet can be surely thermally contracted, and the game board accommodated in the packing box is not adversely affected. .

4). The game board packing method according to any one of means 1 to 3, wherein the heat treatment step forcibly cools the packing box immediately after the heat treatment.
According to the means 4, since the packaging box is forcibly cooled immediately after the heat treatment, the heat-shrinkable thermoplastic sheet can be cured in a short time, and the subsequent process (for example, binding with a band) is immediately performed. Can be implemented.

5). 5. The game board packing method according to any one of means 1 to 4, further comprising a printing step of printing shipping information related to shipping of the game board on the packing box.
According to the means 5, since the shipping information related to the shipping of the game board is printed on the packing box in the printing process, the shipping information printed on the packing box can be visually recognized and stored and shipped.

6). The shipping information is one of a delivery name, delivery address, a management number of a sticker attached to the game board, a model name, the number of sheets, or a combination thereof. The game board packing method according to claim 5, wherein the game board is packed.
According to the means 6, any one of the shipping information printed on the packing box, that is, the delivery destination name of the accommodated game board, the delivery address, the management number of the certificate affixed to the game board, the model name, the number of sheets, or It is possible to carry out storage and shipping operations by visually checking these combinations.

7). The game board packaging method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the packaging step encapsulates the packaging box with the heat-shrinkable sheet so as to cover a shipping information printing surface of the packaging box.
According to the means 7, since the packaging box is encapsulated with the heat shrinkable sheet so as to cover the shipping information printing surface of the packaging box in the encapsulation process, the shipping information printing surface of the packaging box is covered with the thermoplastic sheet. It is protected and it is possible to prevent the printing of shipping information from fading or disappearing.

8). The game board packing method according to any one of means 1 to 7, further comprising a bundling step of bundling the outer periphery of the packing box after the heat treatment step with a band.
According to the means 8, in the bundling step, since the outer periphery of the packaging box to which the thermoplastic sheet is in close contact with the band is bound by the band, it is impossible to open the packaging box without cutting the band. It is possible to more surely facilitate the detection of unauthorized modification and prevent unauthorized modification.

9. 9. The game board packing method according to any one of means 1 to 8, wherein the thermoplastic sheet is made of a thermoplastic resin.
According to the means 9, since the thermoplastic sheet is made of a thermoplastic resin, it can be easily contracted by heat treatment and can be cured by cooling at room temperature.

10. The game board packaging according to means 9, wherein the thermoplastic resin is one of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, ABS resin, vinyl chloride resin, methyl methacrylate resin, fluororesin, polyester, polycarbonate, and nylon. Method.
According to means 10, packing is performed using an inexpensive thermoplastic sheet made of any thermoplastic resin of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, ABS resin, vinyl chloride resin, methyl methacrylate resin, fluororesin, polyester, polycarbonate, or nylon. The box can be encapsulated, easily shrunk by heat treatment, and cured by cooling at room temperature.

11. A system for packing game boards,
An enveloping device for encapsulating at least a part of the outer periphery of a packaging box containing the game board and sealed with a lid with a thermoplastic sheet;
A game board packing system comprising: a heat treatment device for heat-treating the thermoplastic sheet enclosing the packing box.
According to the means 11, the enveloping apparatus encapsulates at least a part of the outer periphery of the packaging box in which the game board is accommodated and the lid is sealed with the thermoplastic sheet, and the heat treatment apparatus heats the packaging box. Since the heat treatment is performed on the plastic sheet, the thermoplastic sheet is thermally shrunk to adhere to the packaging box. After the heat treatment is completed, the thermoplastic sheet is cooled and cured at room temperature, so that the state in which the thermoplastic sheet is firmly adhered to the packaging box is maintained.
And the packing box which accommodates the game board packed by the game board packing system of the means 11 has the same various effects as the packing box packed by the method of the means 1 mentioned above.

12 The encapsulation device is
Conveying means for conveying the packing box;
Sheet supply means for supplying the thermoplastic sheet so as to cover at least a part of the outer periphery of the packaging box;
The game board packing system according to claim 11, further comprising: a heat-welding / cutting means for heat-welding and cutting the thermoplastic sheet.
According to the means 12, the conveying means conveys the packaging box in which the game board is accommodated and sealed, and the sheet supply means supplies the thermoplastic sheet so as to cover at least a part of the outer periphery of the packaging box. Thereby, the thermoplastic sheet is wound around the outer periphery of the packaging box as the packaging box is conveyed by the conveying means. On the other hand, the heat welding and cutting means is configured such that the entire thermoplastic sheet encapsulating the packaging box is formed into a cylindrical shape by subjecting the thermoplastic sheet to thermal welding and cutting, and other preceding or succeeding packaging boxes. Separated from the thermoplastic sheet to be encapsulated. Next, the heat treatment apparatus heat-treats the thermoplastic sheet encapsulating the packaging box to cause heat shrinkage and adheres closely to the packaging box.

13. The thermoplastic sheet is wider than the packaging box,
13. The game board packaging system according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the enveloping device encloses the packaging box such that a part of the thermoplastic sheet protrudes from a peripheral edge of the packaging box.
According to the means 13, the enveloping apparatus encapsulates the packing box so that a part of the thermoplastic sheet wider than the packing box protrudes from the peripheral edge of the packing box, and the heat treatment apparatus protrudes the thermoplastic sheet. The part is shrunk by heat treatment and firmly adhered to the side surface of the packaging box. Therefore, it becomes impossible to remove the thermoplastic sheet from the packaging box without cutting, and it is possible to more easily facilitate the discovery of unauthorized modification and prevent unauthorized modification.

14 The game board packing system according to any one of means 11 to 13, wherein the heat treatment apparatus performs heat treatment at 100 ° C to 200 ° C.
According to the means 14, since the heat treatment temperature in the heat treatment apparatus is 100 ° C. to 200 ° C., the thermoplastic sheet can be surely thermally contracted, and the game board accommodated in the packaging box is not adversely affected. .

15. The game board packing system according to any one of means 11 to 14, wherein the heat treatment apparatus includes a cooling means for forcibly cooling the packing box immediately after the heat treatment.
According to the means 15, since the cooling means forcibly cools the packaging box immediately after the heat treatment, the heat-shrinkable thermoplastic sheet can be cured in a short time, and work in a later process (for example, by a band) Bundling) can be performed immediately. The cooling means may be constituted by, for example, a blower fan capable of blowing air to the packaging box.

16. The game board packaging system according to any one of means 11 to 15, further comprising a sealing device for sealing a lid of an unsealed packaging box in which the game board is accommodated.
According to the means 16, the lid of the unsealed packing box in which the game board is accommodated can be automatically sealed by the sealing device.

17. The game board packing system according to any one of means 11 to 16, further comprising a printing device that prints shipping information on shipping of the game board in the packing box.
According to the means 17, since the printing device prints the shipping information related to the shipping of the game board on the packing box, the shipping information printed on the packing box can be viewed and stored and shipped.

18. The shipping information is one of a delivery name, delivery address, a management number of a sticker attached to the game board, a model name, the number of sheets, or a combination thereof. The game board packing system according to the means 17 characterized by the above.
According to the means 18, any one of the shipping information printed on the packing box, that is, the delivery name of the accommodated game board, the delivery address, the management number of the certificate affixed to the game board, the model name, the number of sheets, or It is possible to carry out storage and shipping operations by visually checking these combinations.

19. The game board packaging system according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the packaging device encapsulates the packaging box with the heat-shrinkable sheet so as to cover a shipping information printing surface of the packaging box.
According to the means 19, since the enveloping apparatus encapsulates the packing box with the heat shrinkable sheet so as to cover the shipping information printing surface of the packing box, the shipping information printing surface of the packing box is covered with the thermoplastic sheet. And the printing of the shipping information can be prevented from thinning or disappearing.

20. The game board packing system according to any one of means 11 to 19, further comprising a binding device for binding the outer periphery of the packaging box subjected to the heat treatment with a band.
According to the means 20, the bundling apparatus binds the outer periphery of the packaging box to which the thermoplastic sheet is adhered after the heat treatment is finished with the band, so that it is impossible to open the packaging box without cutting the band. It is possible to reliably detect unauthorized modification and prevent unauthorized modification.

21. The game board packaging system according to any one of means 11 to 20, wherein the thermoplastic sheet is made of a thermoplastic resin.
According to the means 21, since the thermoplastic sheet is made of a thermoplastic resin, it can be easily contracted by heat treatment and can be cured by cooling at room temperature.

22. The game board packaging according to means 21, wherein the thermoplastic resin is one of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, ABS resin, vinyl chloride resin, methyl methacrylate resin, fluororesin, polyester, polycarbonate, and nylon. system.
According to the means 22, packing is performed using an inexpensive thermoplastic sheet made of any thermoplastic resin of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, ABS resin, vinyl chloride resin, methyl methacrylate resin, fluororesin, polyester, polycarbonate, or nylon. The box can be encapsulated, easily shrunk by heat treatment, and cured by cooling at room temperature.

According to the game board packaging method of the present invention, one or a plurality of game boards are accommodated in an unsealed packaging box (for example, a cardboard box) in the accommodating process, and the lid of the packaging box in which the game board is accommodated in the sealing process is removed. Sealing and encapsulating at least a part of the outer periphery of the packaging box in which the game board is accommodated and sealed in the encapsulation process with a thermoplastic sheet, and heat-treating the thermoplastic sheet encapsulating the packaging box in the heat treatment process The thermoplastic sheet is heat-shrinked and adheres to the packaging box. After the heat treatment is completed, the thermoplastic sheet is cooled and cured at room temperature, so that the state in which the thermoplastic sheet is firmly adhered to the packaging box is maintained.
And since the packing box which accommodates the game board packed by the method of the present invention is wrapped in close contact with the thermoplastic sheet, it is possible to detect unauthorized modification more reliably and to prevent unauthorized modification. be able to. That is, in order to tamper with the part that controls the game board such as the main board, it is necessary to first cut and open the thermoplastic sheet and then open the packaging box. For this reason, when unauthorized modification is performed, since the thermoplastic sheet that encloses the packaging box is opened, the unauthorized modification can be reliably detected. In addition, it is extremely difficult to enclose the packaging box in the original state by using the used thermoplastic sheet after cutting and opening the thermoplastic sheet once, and trying to tamper with it. It is also expected that the willingness of those who do it will be reduced and the effect of preventing unauthorized modification will be demonstrated.

Further, according to the gaming board packaging system of the present invention, the enveloping apparatus encapsulates at least a part of the outer periphery of the packaging box in which the gaming board is accommodated and the lid is sealed, and the heat treatment apparatus includes: Since the heat treatment is performed on the packaging box wrapped with the thermoplastic sheet, the thermoplastic sheet is thermally contracted and adheres closely to the packaging box. After the heat treatment is completed, the thermoplastic sheet is cooled and cured at room temperature, so that the state in which the thermoplastic sheet is firmly adhered to the packaging box is maintained.
And the packing box which accommodates the game board packed by the game board packing system of this invention has the same various effects as the packing box packed by the packing method mentioned above.

  Hereinafter, a game board packing line A which is an embodiment of the game board packing method and system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, an outline of the game board packing line A will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The game board P1 that is packed in the game board packing line A of the present embodiment is a game board for pachinko machines, and after a decorative board is pasted on the veneer board for the game board, nailing is performed to obtain a game area. The main board that contains various boards for controlling various types of game boards, sound, and a metal guide rail that rotates approximately one turn around the board A substrate box in which a substrate, a lamp substrate and the like are accommodated is attached.

  The game board packing line A is a packing line composed of a series of processes for packing the game board P1 stored or shipped as a product, and includes a housing process S1, a printing process S2, a sealing process S3, and an encapsulation process. It consists of S4, heat treatment step S5, and bundling step S6. The game board P1 packed in the packing box P2 through each process of the game board packing line A is stored in the warehouse or shipped to the game hall. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing process S2 is performed by the printing apparatus 3, the sealing process S3 is performed by the sealing apparatus 4, the encapsulation process S4 is performed by the packaging apparatus 6, the heat treatment process S5 is performed by the heat treatment apparatus 8, and the binding process S6. Are configured to be implemented by the bundling device 10, and roller conveyors 2, 5, 7, 9, 11 for conveying the packing box P <b> 2 are provided between the devices. Hereinafter, the contents of the housing step S1 to the bundling step S6 and the configuration and operation of each device will be described with reference to FIGS.

(1) Accommodation process S1
When the assembly of the game board P1 is completed on the game board assembly line (not shown) and the final inspection such as the operation check and the dirt check is finished, the operator does not seal the top cover placed on the roller conveyor 1 Three game boards P1 are accommodated in one packing box P2 (accommodating step S1). The packaging box P2 is specifically a cardboard box, and is assembled to a roller conveyor 1 after being assembled by a cardboard box making machine (not shown). The packaging box P2 in which the three game boards P1 are accommodated is conveyed downstream of the apparatus by the belt conveyor 2.

(2) Printing process S2
The packing box P2 in which the three game boards P2 are accommodated in the accommodating step S1 is transported downstream of the apparatus by the belt conveyor 2, and the shipping information is printed at a predetermined position on the side surface by the printing device 3 (printing step S2). . That is, a printing apparatus 3 connected to a computer (not shown) for managing shipping information is provided in the middle of the conveyance direction of the belt conveyor 2. The printing apparatus 3 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, control circuit, printer head 3a, communication I / O, and the like (not shown), and the CPU controls each unit according to a program written in the ROM. The printer head 3a is an ink jet printer head and has a piezo element. When the control circuit generates an applied voltage pattern and drives the piezo element, ink is ejected in dot units. The printing apparatus 3 stores information input from the computer via the communication I / O in the RAM, and prints the shipping information on the side surface of the cardboard P2. When the print data is held in the internal RAM, a signal indicating that the print data is being held is sent to the computer via the communication I / O. When the print data can be input, the communication I / O is sent. A signal indicating that print data can be input is transmitted. The shipping information printed on the side of the packaging box P2 is, for example, the delivery destination name, delivery destination address of the accommodated game board P1, the management number of the stamp affixed to each game board P1, the model name, the number of sheets, etc. is there. The printing device 3 may be any printing device that can print on cardboard, and a conventional printing device that has been used can be employed.

(3) Sealing step S3
After the shipping information is printed on the side of the packaging box P2 in the printing step S2, the packaging box P2 is further conveyed by the belt conveyor 2 and sealed in the sealing device 4 (sealing step S3). The sealing device 4 is a device that seals the lid on the upper surface of the packaging box P2 in which the game board P1 is accommodated with an adhesive tape 4a such as a gum tape while carrying the packaging box P2 by the roller conveyor 5. In addition, the sealing apparatus 4 can employ | adopt the general sealing apparatus currently used conventionally.

(4) Encapsulation process S4
The packaging box P <b> 2 whose top cover is sealed in the sealing step S <b> 3 is further conveyed downstream of the apparatus by the roller conveyor 5, and is encapsulated with the thermoplastic sheet SH in the encapsulating apparatus 6. Here, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the enveloping apparatus 6 includes a sheet supply mechanism 61, a first conveyor device 62, a heat welding and cutting mechanism 63, and a second conveyor device 64. Yes. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of each part of the encapsulation apparatus 6 will be described. The sheet supply mechanism 61 constitutes the sheet supply means of the present invention, the first conveyor device 62 and the second conveyor device 64 constitute the conveying means, and the thermal welding cutting mechanism 63 constitutes the thermal welding cutting means.

  The sheet supply mechanism 61 is an apparatus for feeding out the thermoplastic sheet SH for enclosing the packaging box P2 from the vertical direction. In the sheet supply mechanism 61, sheet rolls R and R around which the thermoplastic sheet SH is wound are respectively placed above and below the first conveyor device 62 so as to be rotatable on rollers.

  Here, the thermoplastic sheet SH is a thermoplastic material, preferably a long length made of a thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, ABS resin, vinyl chloride resin, methyl methacrylate resin, fluororesin, polyester, polycarbonate, and nylon. A scale-like film-like sheet, preferably a transparent or translucent sheet. Moreover, it is preferable that the width | variety of the thermoplastic sheet SH is wider than the packaging box P2.

  Further, the sheet supply mechanism 61 is provided with a plurality of feed rollers 65 between the sheet rolls R and R and the heat welding and cutting mechanism 63, and some of these rollers are driven to rotate by a motor control device (not shown). The thermoplastic sheet SH is configured to be fed out from the sheet rolls R and R in the vertical direction via a plurality of feed rollers.

  The 1st conveyor apparatus 62 is a well-known belt conveyor apparatus, and conveys the sealed packaging box P2 conveyed by the roller conveyor 5 to the heat welding cutting position H. FIG. The first conveyor device 62 is rotatably provided with a drive roller shaft that is driven by an electric motor (not shown), and is provided with one end portion of an elongated conveyance frame on the drive roller shaft so as to be relatively rotatable. Then, an endless conveyance belt 66 is stretched between the roller and the driving roller shaft at the downstream end of the conveyance frame, and the packaging box P2 placed on the conveyance belt 66 is conveyed downstream of the apparatus. The second conveyor device 64 is a known belt conveyor device having the same configuration as the first conveyor device 62, and the packing box P2 transported by the first conveyor device 62 from the heat welding cutting position H to the roller conveyor downstream of the device. Transport to 7.

  The thermal welding and cutting mechanism 63 superimposes the thermoplastic sheets SH and SH supplied from the vertical direction by the sheet supply mechanism 61 on the front side and the rear side in the conveyance direction of the packaging box P2, respectively, and performs thermal welding in the horizontal direction. It is a device that cuts in the middle. The thermal welding cutting mechanism 63 is provided between the first conveyor device 62 and the second conveyor device 64 (thermal welding cutting position H), and has a pair of thermal welding bars 67 and 68. A thermal welding bar 67 having two rows of vertically long thermal welding portions is provided at a position above the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt 66, and the thermal welding bar 67 is configured to be driven up and down by a pneumatic cylinder (not shown). ing. Further, a fixed-side heat welding bar 68 having a cutting heater wire stretched on the inner surface is provided at a position below the conveying surface of the conveying belt 66. And when the heat welding bar 67 exists in the uppermost position, the packaging box P2 conveyed by the 1st conveyor apparatus 62 and the 2nd conveyor apparatus 64 can pass between the heat welding bars 67 and 68. FIG. On the other hand, by lowering the heat welding bar 67 and closing the heat welding bars 67 and 68, the thermoplastic sheet SH is thermally welded, and the middle of the welded portion is cut by a heater wire for cutting. .

  Here, the process in which the packaging box P2 is wrapped by the thermoplastic sheet SH in the enveloping apparatus 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6, the packaging box P2 of interest is represented by a solid line, and other packaging boxes preceding or following the packaging box P2 are represented by dotted lines.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4, the heat welding bar 67 descends in front of the packing box P2 in the conveying direction, the heat welding bars 67 and 68 are closed, and the overlapping portions of the upper and lower thermoplastic sheets SH and SH are heat welded. At the same time, the thermoplastic sheet SH enclosing the preceding packaging box is cut and separated from the sheet rolls R and R side. Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the thermal welding bar 67 is raised to the uppermost position, and the packaging box P2 is further conveyed by the first conveyor device 62. As shown in FIG. 6, the packaging box P2 is thermally welded. Pass between bars 67 and 68. At this time, the upper and lower thermoplastic sheets SH and SH joined by thermal welding are brought into contact with the front side surface in the transport direction of the packaging box P2, and the packaging box P2 is further transported, whereby the upper and lower surfaces of the packaging box P2. Cover. Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the heat welding bar 67 is lowered and the heat welding bars 67 and 68 are closed at the rear of the packaging box P2 in the conveying direction, and the overlapping portions of the upper and lower thermoplastic sheets SH and SH are heat welded. At the same time, the sheet rolls R and R are cut and separated. In this way, the packaging box P2 is wrapped with the thermoplastic sheet SH. At this time, since the thermoplastic sheet SH is about several cm to several tens of cm wider than the width of the packing box P2 (the length in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction), as shown in FIG. Both ends in the width direction protrude from the periphery of the packaging box P2.

(5) Heat treatment step S5
The packaging box P2 wrapped with the thermoplastic sheet SH in the encapsulation process S4 is conveyed downstream of the apparatus by the roller conveyor 7 and subjected to heat treatment in the heat treatment apparatus 8 (heat treatment process S5). And when the heat processing apparatus 8 heat-processes to the thermoplastic sheet SH, the thermoplastic sheet SH will heat-shrink and it will closely_contact | adhere to the outer periphery of the packaging box P2.
Here, as shown in FIG. 9, the heat treatment apparatus 8 is a box-shaped heating furnace having a heat treatment space 8 a inside, and is configured to perform heat treatment while conveying the packing box P <b> 2 by the belt conveyor 81. ing. The heat treatment apparatus 8 is provided with an inlet 82 through which the packing box P2 can pass on the side surface on the upstream side in the transport direction and an outlet 83 on the downstream side surface. A curtain 84 such as a vinyl sheet covering the opening is suspended from the entrance 82 and the exit 83, and a plurality of slits 84a are vertically formed in the curtain 84 so that the cardboard box P2 can be easily passed. .

  Heat panels 85 are provided on both inner walls facing each other across the heat treatment space 8a above the belt conveyor 81 of the heat treatment apparatus 8, and the heat panels 85 are provided with a plurality of hot air outlets 86 for blowing hot air at substantially equal intervals. ing. The temperature in the heat treatment apparatus 8 (heat treatment space 8a) is controlled to a constant temperature (for example, 100 ° C. to 200 ° C.) by the temperature control device 87, and the packaging box P2 is introduced into the heat treatment apparatus 8 from the inlet 82. The heat treatment is performed for a predetermined time until it is unloaded from the outlet 83. For example, as a condition that the thermoplastic sheet SH is sufficiently heat-shrinked and does not adversely affect the game board P1 accommodated in the packaging box P2, for example, the heat treatment temperature is about 130 ° C., the heat treatment time (in other words, the packaging box P2 Can be set at about 14 seconds. The temperature control device 87 controls the electric power supplied to the heat panel 85 so as to reach the set temperature using a known temperature sensor.

  In addition, a cooling fan 88 is provided above the outside of the outlet 83 of the heat treatment apparatus 8 so as to blow air from above toward the packaging box P2 immediately after the heat treatment carried out from the outlet 83 by the belt conveyor 81. Yes. Therefore, the packaging box P2 heated in the heat treatment apparatus 8 is forcibly cooled to room temperature in a short time by blowing air from the blowing fan 88, and the heat-shrinkable thermoplastic sheet SH is immediately cured. The blower fan 88 constitutes the cooling means of the present invention. As the heat treatment apparatus 8, a known heating furnace called a shrink tunnel or a heat tunnel can be used.

(6) Bundling step S6
Finally, the packaging box P2 in which the thermoplastic sheet SH that has been cooled by the heat treatment and the blowing is in close contact with the outer periphery is bound by the binding device 10 (binding step S6). The bundling device 10 is a device that binds a band BN made of a resin on which a logo of a gaming machine maker or the like is printed on the outer periphery of the packing box P2 in a cross shape, and a known bundling device can be adopted.
Then, the packaging box P2 in which the band BN is bound is conveyed from the binding device 10 onto the roller conveyor 11, and the worker receives the shipping information printed on one side surface of the packing box P2 that is not covered with the thermoplastic sheet SH. By visual inspection, temporary storage in a storage warehouse is performed, or loading on a shipping truck and shipment to a game hall is performed.

  As is clear from the above detailed description, according to the game board packing line A of the present embodiment, one or more (three in the present embodiment) game boards P1 are unsealed by the worker in the housing step S1. In the printing box S2, the printing device 3 prints the shipping information on the side surface of the packing box P2, and in the sealing step S3, the sealing device 4 seals the lid of the packing box P2 in which the game board P1 is stored. In the enveloping step S4, the enveloping device 6 encapsulates at least a part of the outer periphery of the packaging box P2 in which the game board P1 is accommodated and sealed with the thermoplastic sheet SH, and in the heat treatment step S5, the heat treatment device 8 is the packaging box. Since the thermoplastic sheet SH encapsulating P2 is subjected to heat treatment, the thermoplastic sheet SH is thermally contracted and adheres closely to the packaging box P2. After the heat treatment is completed, the thermoplastic sheet SH is cooled and cured at room temperature, so that the state in which the thermoplastic sheet SH is firmly attached to the packaging box P2 is maintained. Finally, in the binding step S6, the binding device 10 binds the packaging box P2 encapsulated with the thermoplastic sheet SH with the band BN.

  Here, FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the packaging box P2 after the binding step S6 is completed. The packaging box P2 is wrapped with the thermoplastic sheet SH, and the thermally contracted thermoplastic sheet SH is firmly attached to the outer periphery of the packaging box P2. Further, in the thermoplastic sheet SH, the portion (see FIG. 8) that protrudes from the peripheral edge of the packaging box P2 before the heat treatment is contracted by the heat treatment and firmly adhered to the side surface of the packaging box P2. For this reason, it is impossible to shift the thermoplastic sheet SH from the packaging box P2, and it is necessary to always break the thermoplastic sheet SH in order to unpack the packaging box P2. Further, since the packaging box P2 is tightly bound in a cross shape by the band BN, it is necessary to first cut the band BN in order to open the lid of the packaging box P2 when performing unauthorized modification. Therefore, by visually observing the state of the lid of the band BN, the thermoplastic sheet SH, or the packaging box P2, it is possible to reliably discover that the packaging box P2 has been unpacked and the game board has been tampered with. . Furthermore, by strictly packing the game board P1 in this way, it is possible to reduce the willingness of those who try to make unauthorized modifications to the game board and to prevent unauthorized modification. it can.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the first conveyor device 62 and the second conveyor device 64 convey the packing box P2 in which the game board P1 is accommodated and sealed, and the sheet supply mechanisms 61 and 61 are connected to the packing box P2. The thermoplastic sheet SH is supplied so as to cover at least a part of the outer periphery of the sheet. Thereby, the thermoplastic sheet SH is wound around the outer periphery of the packaging box P2 as the packaging box P2 is conveyed by the first conveyor device 62 and the second conveyor device 64. On the other hand, the thermal welding and cutting mechanism 63 is formed in a tubular shape as a whole thermoplastic sheet SH enclosing the packaging box P2 by performing thermal welding and cutting on the thermoplastic sheet SH before and after the conveyance direction. Separated from the thermoplastic sheet for encapsulating other leading or subsequent packaging boxes.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in the above embodiment, the surface on which the shipping information of the packaging box P2 is printed is not covered with the thermoplastic sheet SH. However, as shown in FIG. 11, the surface on which the shipping information on the packaging box P2 is printed. You may make it cover with the thermoplastic sheet SH. According to this modification, the shipping information printing surface of the packaging box P2 is protected by being covered with the thermoplastic sheet SH, and printing of the shipping information can be prevented from being thinned or disappeared.
In addition, the shipping information printed on the packing box P2 is not limited to the above-mentioned information. The delivery name of the gaming board accommodated in the packaging box, the delivery address, the management number of the stamp attached to the gaming board, the model name Any one of the numbers, other information, or a combination thereof may be printed.

  The present invention can be applied to a packing method and system for packing not only pachinko machines but also gaming machines such as slot machines and gaming machines in which pachinko machines and slot machines are integrated.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the game board packing line which employ | adopted the game board packing system of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of a game board packing line. It is a perspective view of an enveloping apparatus. It is a side view which shows the effect | action of an enveloping apparatus typically, and has shown a mode that heat welding and a cutting | disconnection are performed to the thermoplastic sheet ahead of the conveyance direction of a packaging box. It is a side view which shows typically the effect | action of an enveloping apparatus, and has shown a mode that the heat welding bar of a movable side raises. It is a side view which shows the effect | action of an enveloping apparatus typically, and has shown a mode that the front surface, upper surface, and lower surface of a packaging box are wrapped with a thermoplastic sheet. It is a side view which shows the effect | action of an enveloping apparatus typically, and has shown a mode that heat welding and a cutting | disconnection are performed to the thermoplastic sheet in the conveyance direction back of a packaging box. It is a perspective view which shows the packaging box after the completion of an encapsulation process. It is a perspective view which fractures | ruptures and shows a part of heat processing apparatus. It is a perspective view of the packing box in the embodiment in which packing is completed. It is a perspective view of the packing box in the modification in which packing was completed.

Explanation of symbols

S1 accommodation process S2 printing process S3 sealing process S4 encapsulation process S5 heat treatment process S6 binding process A game board packing line (game board packing system)
SH Thermoplastic sheet BN Band R Sheet roll P1 Game board P2 Packing box 3 Printing device 4 Sealing device 6 Encapsulating device 8 Heat treatment device 10 Bundling device 61 Sheet supply mechanism (sheet supply means)
62 First conveyor device (conveying means)
63 Thermal welding cutting mechanism (thermal welding cutting means)
64 Second conveyor device (conveying means)
67, 68 Thermal welding bar 88 Blower fan (cooling means)

Claims (2)

A method of packing a game board,
A housing step of housing one or more game boards in an unsealed packaging box;
A sealing step of sealing a lid of a packaging box containing the game board;
An encapsulating step of encapsulating at least a part of the outer periphery of the packaging box in which the game board is housed and sealed with a thermoplastic sheet;
A game board packing method comprising: a heat treatment step of heat-treating the thermoplastic sheet enclosing the packing box. A system for packing game boards,
An enveloping device for encapsulating at least a part of the outer periphery of a packaging box containing the game board and sealed with a lid with a thermoplastic sheet;
A game board packing system comprising: a heat treatment device for heat-treating the thermoplastic sheet enclosing the packing box.

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