JP2005118448A - Switch device of game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a push button switch retaining an original strength of the push button switch even if repeatedly used for operating a game machine, preventing the lowering of the performance of the switch due to breakage or the like, and having a structure withstanding the fraudulent action from the outside. <P>SOLUTION: This switch device 10 or 11 of the game machine is characterized in having a guide counterpart 42, whose relative operation in the circumferential direction to a switch case 20 is restricted, relative operation in the axial direction is permitted and where the operation member 21 is guided, in a portion in the outer circumferential part of the operating member 21 excluding an engagement claw 41; a guide part 32 guiding the guide counterpart 42 with its contacting thereto in a portion corresponding to the guide counterpart 42 in the internal circumferential part of the switch case 20; and operating member detachment preventing members 44 and 68 preventing the fraudulent detachment of the operating member 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a push button switch for operating a gaming machine.

As shown in FIG. 11 of the prior art 1 (see Patent Document 1), the conventional push button switch has an engaging claw so that the operation member does not come out of the switch case. Since the engaging claw needs to bend at the time of assembling the switch, it has an elongated shape. When the operation member is operated, the switch case and the engaging claw slide, the surface of the engaging claw is worn, the strength is lowered, and it may be broken. In addition, when the switch shape is circular or elliptical, the operation member rotates, and the side surface of the engaging claw may collide with the inside of the switch case, resulting in a failure to break.
Further, when the engaging claw is bent, the operation member can be removed, and therefore, the operation member may be pry open using a tool such as a flat-blade screwdriver, resulting in an illegal act. However, conventionally, there has been no countermeasure against an illegal act of removing the operation member of the push button switch.

JP-A-8-298042 (see FIG. 11)

  Therefore, in the present invention, even if it is repeatedly used to operate a gaming machine, the push button switch maintains its original strength, prevents deterioration of the switch performance due to damage, etc., and has a structure that can withstand illegal acts from the outside. It is intended to be a push button switch.

  The present invention provides a switch case that is attached to a gaming machine so that an operation member that is movable during an on / off operation is not pulled out from the switch case in an axial direction by using an engaging claw provided on the operation member. An apparatus integrally configured by being attached to a case, wherein relative operation in the circumferential direction is restrained with respect to the switch case at a portion of the outer peripheral portion of the operation member excluding the engaging claws, and an axial direction Is provided with a guided portion for guiding the operation member, and guides to a portion corresponding to the guided portion in the inner peripheral portion of the switch case while being in contact with the guided portion. It is a switch device of a gaming machine provided with a guide part.

  The engagement claw is formed so as to be bent easily, for example, because priority is given to the ease of engagement with the switch case. Therefore, it is easily damaged when worn.

  For this reason, if the guided convex portions are formed on both sides of the portion where the engaging claws are located, they will not slide and wear in the circumferential direction. In particular, if a gap is formed in advance so that the switch case and the engaging claw do not come into direct contact with each other, wear against axial sliding is completely prevented even when an on / off operation is performed. be able to.

  In addition, when the engagement of the engagement claw is released, the switch device of the present invention inhibits the release of the engagement at a portion that contacts the engagement claw, and the operation member is removed. It is good also as a structure which arrange | positions the operation member removal prevention member which prevents this.

  As the operation member removal preventing member, a separate member may be provided at a portion that contacts the engaging claw. For example, a back cover for closing the back surface of the switch device is used for the operation member removal preventing member, or The operation member removal preventing member may be set on a control board that performs control to detect that the operation member removal prevention member is operated during the on / off operation.

  According to the present invention, the guided convex portion of the operation member and the guide concave portion of the switch case are fitted and integrally attached, thereby solving the problem that the engaging claw wears down and the strength decreases and eventually breaks. be able to.

  In addition, by disposing the operation member removal preventing member that suppresses the deflection to the inside of the engagement claw, it is possible to prevent the operation member from being illegally removed.

  Further, if the operation member removal preventing member is set on the substrate or the back cover of the switch device, it is not necessary to newly provide the operation member removal preventing member, so that the cost can be reduced.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The switch device 10 of the present invention has an external configuration as shown in FIG. 1 and is operated when a game is betted in a slot machine typical of a gaming machine, for example, when a game is bet. Installed (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the configuration of the switch device 10 is roughly divided into a switch case 20 that is fixed to a gaming machine, an operation member 21 that is movable during an on / off operation, and a control board that detects the on / off operation. 22, and a spring 25 and a back cover 26.

  First, the control board 22 will be described. The control substrate 22 includes a substrate 44 having a rectangular shape in plan view, and includes a corner cutout portion 44a in which four corners of the substrate 44 are cut out, and an intermediate portion in which an intermediate portion on one opposite side of the substrate 44 is cut out. A notch 44b is formed.

  Further, a housing member 45 made of a synthetic resin member is attached to the substrate 44, and is attached to the substrate 44 in a state where the projector, the light receiver, the light emitter 53, and the resistor are respectively housed.

  The control board 22 includes a socket member 46 on the back side opposite to the side where the housing member 45 is attached, in the middle part of the board 44.

  Next, the configuration of the switch case 20 includes a body portion 23 and a flange portion 24. The flange portion 24 appears on the surface of the slot machine when attached to the slot machine at the upper end portion of the body portion 23. As shown in FIG. Further, the body portion 23 has a cylindrical outer shape, and when viewed from the bottom (when the bottom surface is viewed from the bottom upward), the arc shape is opposed to each other and the ends thereof are connected by a straight line. It is formed with.

  Further, a threaded male portion 20b for attaching to the slot machine is formed from the upper end portion to the intermediate portion at a portion corresponding to the arc-shaped portion of the flange portion 24 in the trunk portion 23.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, guide recesses 32 that protrude in an outwardly projecting manner are provided at the upper end portion of the body portion 23 at each part of the inner peripheral portion of the body portion 23 with respect to both ends of the long axis of the flange portion 24. A total of four are formed from the bottom to the bottom. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a substantially intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the switch device 10 when the operation member 21 is attached to the switch case 20. The operation member 21 will be described in detail later.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a mounting portion 27 for mounting the spring 25 in an upright state is formed at the inner central portion of the middle equivalent portion in the vertical direction of the body portion 23. In the central portion of the mounting portion 27, a circular shape into which a light emitter 53 (light emitting diode) to be described later can be inserted is formed, and the circular shape is cut toward one side in the short axis direction of the flange portion 24. The insertion hole 27a in the shape of a missing key hole in plan view is configured.

  Further, when the control board 22 is attached from the back surface, the board upper surface positioning portion 61 for fixing the vertical position of the control board 22 is cut out at the corner of the board 44 on the inner wall surface 20 c of the switch case 20. A total of four parts are formed in the part corresponding to the edge of the part 44a.

  Further, in each of the substrate upper surface positioning portions 61, two protruding projections 62 for impact reduction in the upward and downward direction are formed by about 0.5 mm downward, and a total of eight switch cases 20 are formed in total.

  The vertical impact mitigating protrusions 62 are formed one by one at the center of the four substrate upper surface positioning portions 61, for example, and support the corners of the substrate 44 at at least three points to buffer the impact. What is necessary is just to form.

  In addition, also in the vicinity of the central portion of each substrate upper surface positioning portion 61 on the inner surface 20c of the switch case, a planar vibration preventing projection 63 protruding in the planar direction by about 0.5 mm in the central axis direction is formed. A total of four switch cases 20 are formed.

  Next, the operation member 21 will be described. The operation member 21 includes an inner cylinder member 33, a lens 36, and a diffusion sheet 37. On the upper portion of the inner cylinder member 33, a lens 36 having a red transparent color from above is formed into an elliptical shape with a light emitter 53. Is formed so as to be fitted through a diffusion sheet 37 that diffuses the emitted light (see FIG. 2).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the inner cylinder member 33 includes a cylindrical body portion 34 and an elliptical flange portion 35 located at the upper end portion of the body portion 34. Furthermore, in the inner cylinder member 33, a mortar-shaped surface 38 projecting from the central axis from the upper end of the flange portion 35 to the middle portion of the trunk portion 23 is configured, and the lower end of the mortar-shaped surface 38 is A through hole 38a having a circular shape in plan view is formed.

  Further, a light shielding piece 39 protruding downward is formed in a portion corresponding to one side in the short axis direction of the flange portion 35 on the rear surface of the edge portion of the through hole 38a (see FIGS. 3 and 8).

  In addition, a stopper 41 for attaching the operation member 21 to the switch case 20 is formed in a portion corresponding to both ends of the long axis of the flange portion 35 at the lower end portion of the trunk portion 34 in a state of facing each other. Yes. The stopper 41 is composed of a plate-like arm part 41a protruding downward and a hook part 41b protruding outward located at the tip of the arm part 41a. Further, slits 41c for making the stopper 41 more flexible are formed in the vertical direction on both sides of the stopper portion 41 in the circumferential direction.

Further, on both sides of the stopper 41 in the circumferential direction, when the operation member 21 is fitted into the switch case 20, a portion corresponding to the guide recessed portion 32 of the switch case 20 is provided on the body 34. A guided convex portion 42 protruding outward is formed in the vertical direction (see FIG. 3).
The guided convex portion 42 is formed so that the angle formed by the tip portion is larger than the angle formed by the tip portion of the guide concave portion 32.

  Further, a back cover 26 is attached to close the back surface of the switch device 10. As shown in FIG. 6, the back cover 26 forms a rectangular opening 26a at an intermediate portion. Further, when the back cover 26 is attached to the switch device 10, a fitting projection 26 c protrudes upward from the outer peripheral portion of the upper surface 26 b located on the upper side (back side) of the back cover 26.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the switch device 10 can be configured by integrating the above-described members. 7 represents a vertical cross-sectional view of a portion corresponding to the long axis of the switch device 10, and FIG. 8 represents a cross-sectional view of the portion corresponding to the long axis of the switch device 10 in a vertical direction of a portion where the light shielding piece is located. .
An assembly procedure for assembling the switch device 10 using each member having the above configuration will be described.

  First, the spring 25 is mounted on the mounting portion 27 of the switch case 20. Then, the operating member 21 is inserted from above so as to coincide with the circumferential direction of the switch case 20. Here, the arm portion 41a of the stopper 41 in the operation member 21 is inserted in a state where the hook portion 41b is bent and deformed inwardly by contacting the inner peripheral surface 20c of the switch case 20 when the hook portion 41b is fitted into the switch case 20. Then, when the hook portion 41b of the operation member 21 reaches the engagement step portion 20d of the switch case 20, as shown in FIG. 7, the flexed and deformed arm portion 41a is restored and engaged. If the operation member 21 is inserted into the switch case 20 as described above, the spring 25 mounted on the mounting portion 27 can be inserted into the body portion 34 of the inner cylinder member 33 in a state of being included. .

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, the light emitter 53 in the control board 22 is included in the spring 25 in a state of being inserted into the insertion hole 27 a of the mounting portion 27, and upward from the through hole 38 a of the mortar-shaped surface 38. It will be in a state of protruding.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 8, when the operation member 21 moves the operation member 21 downward with respect to the switch case 20, the light shielding piece 39 in the operation member 21 is located inside the spring 25 and the center of the mounting portion 27. It is inserted in a positional relationship such that it is inserted into the insertion hole 27a located in the section.

  By fitting the guided convex portion 42 to the guide concave portion 32 in this way, the guide concave portion 32 is restricted from relative movement in the circumferential direction with respect to the switch case 20 and is also in the vertical direction. Since the guided convex portion 42 is guided so as to allow only relative movement, the operation member 21 can move only in the vertical direction (see FIG. 3).

  Further, the control board 22 has the housing member 45 positioned above the board 44 and the socket member 46 positioned below, and the notch in the insertion hole 27a of the mounting portion 27 is a housing. The member 45 is inserted upward from the back surface of the switch case 20 while being positioned so as to correspond to the groove space 47.

  When the control board 22 is inserted upward as described above, the upper end of the corner of the control board 22 is the projection for reducing the vertical impact of the board upper surface positioning part 61 formed on the inner wall surface 20c of the switch case 20. 62 (see FIG. 8).

  And the switch apparatus 10 can be fitted in the state which the socket member 46 protruded from the opening part 26a, if the lower end part of the switch case 20 is closed with the back cover 26. FIG. In addition, the upper surface 26 b of the back cover 26 can be positioned in contact with the lower end of the corner of the control board 22.

  As described above, the optical axis in the substantially concave groove space 47 is shielded by using the light shielding piece 39 formed on the operation member 21 that is relatively movable during the on / off operation with respect to the switch case 20 fixed to the gaming machine. Thus, the on / off operation can be detected, and the light emitting device 53 that emits light based on the detected signal can be turned off.

  The switch device 10 adopting the above configuration is configured as described above. In particular, for example, even when the user presses the lens 36 violently, the guided convex portion 42 is guided by the guide concave portion 32, so that the operation member does not rotate relative to the switch case 20 in the circumferential direction.

  That is, even if the stopper 41 of the operation member 21 is formed in a plate shape that is easy to bend, the stopper 41 does not slide with respect to the switch case inner wall surface 20c in the circumferential direction. Can be prevented.

Further, when the operating member 21 is fitted into the switch case 20, the stopper 41 is covered so that the guided convex portion 42 is fitted into the guide concave portion 32 so that a gap 64 is formed with respect to the switch case inner wall surface 20c. Since the guide convex portion 42 and the guide concave portion 32 are configured (see FIG. 3), even when the operation member 21 moves in the vertical direction with respect to the switch case 20, the stopper 41 contacts the switch case inner wall surface 20c. It is possible to prevent the stopper 41 from being damaged as described above.
As described above, the operation member 21 is not damaged even if the user of the switch device 10 violently presses the lens 36.

  In addition, the switch device 10 in which the substrate 44 is attached to each of the above-described portions of the switch case inner wall surface 20c by forming the above-described vertical impact mitigating protrusion 62 can be used even when the user presses the lens 36 violently. With respect to the upper end surface of the substrate 44, any of the eight vertical impact mitigating protrusions 62 in the substrate upper surface positioning portion 61 abuts the substrate 44, and the back cover 26 is fitted into the lower end portion of the substrate 44. By positioning the substrate 44 in the vertical direction by the contact of the projections 26c, it is possible to mitigate the transmission of impact and prevent damage to the elements on the substrate (see FIG. 8).

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the planar direction can be positioned in the horizontal direction by the planar direction vibration preventing projection 63 coming into contact with the corner notch 44 a of the substrate 44. Thereby, the vibration of the substrate 44 in the horizontal direction can be prevented, and the elements on the substrate can be prevented from being damaged.
In addition, when the switch device 10 is assembled by integrating the above-described parts, the control device 22 is mounted between the hook portions 41b facing each other with the central axis of the switch device 10 (FIG. 7). For example, even if an attempt is made to bend the arm portion 41a in a direction to release the engagement of the hook portion 41b with the engagement step portion 20d of the switch case using a minus driver, the hook portion 41b Can contact the substrate 44 to prevent the operation member 21 from being removed from the switch case 20.

  Further, as another embodiment, a portion where the guided concave portion 42 is formed on the inside of the operation member 21 and the guide concave portion 32 is formed on the switch case 20. Alternatively, a guide convex portion that protrudes inward (in the central axis direction) and guides the guided concave portion may be formed.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10 as another embodiment, when the board 65 in the control board 22 is formed small, when the arm part 41a is bent improperly as described above, the hook part 41b is brought into contact with the board 65. I can't touch you. However, in such a case, for example, when the switch device 11 is assembled, the fitting protrusion 26d (see FIG. 6) formed on the outer peripheral portion of the back cover 68 is long enough to be positioned on the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 44. It is good to form it.

If the switch device 11 adopts the above-described configuration, even if the arm portion 41a is to be bent flexibly, the hook portion 41b abuts on the long fitting protrusion 68a. It is possible to inhibit the engagement from being released.
In the correspondence between the above-described embodiment and the configuration of the present invention, the stopper 41 of this embodiment corresponds to the engaging claw of the present invention,
The guided convex portion 42 corresponds to the guided portion,
The guide recess 32 corresponds to the guide part,
Although the substrate 44 or the back cover 68 corresponds to an operation member removal preventing member, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and many embodiments can be obtained.

The external view showing the switch apparatus of this invention. The external view showing each component of the switch apparatus of this invention. Sectional drawing showing the state which attached the operation member to the switch case. The bottom view of a switch case. The external view showing an inner cylinder member. The external view showing the back cover of a switch apparatus. Sectional drawing showing a switch apparatus. The other sectional view showing a switch device. The bottom view which expanded and showed the principal part the state which attached the board | substrate to the switch case. Sectional drawing showing another switch apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 11 ... Switch apparatus 20 ... Switch case 21 ... Operation member 45 ... Housing member 32 ... Guide recessed part 41 ... Stopper 42 ... Guided convex part 44 ... Board | substrate 26, 68 ... Back cover

Claims (3)

In the switch case attached to the gaming machine, an operating member that is movable during on / off operation is engaged with the switch case by using an engaging claw provided on the operating member so as not to come out from the switch case in the axial direction. Is a switch device for a gaming machine that is configured integrally,
Relative motion in the circumferential direction is restricted with respect to the switch case at a portion of the outer peripheral portion of the operation member excluding the engaging claws, and relative motion in the axial direction is allowed, and the operation member is guided. To be guided,
A switch device for a gaming machine, characterized in that a guide portion for guiding the guided portion in contact with the guided portion is provided at a portion corresponding to the guided portion in the inner peripheral portion of the switch case. In the switch case attached to the gaming machine, an operating member that is movable during on / off operation is engaged with the switch case by using an engaging claw provided on the operating member so as not to come out from the switch case in the axial direction. Is a switch device for a gaming machine that is configured integrally,
When the engagement of the engagement claw is released, an operation member removal preventing member that prevents the operation member from being removed by preventing the engagement from being released at a portion that contacts the engagement claw. A switch device for a gaming machine, characterized in that is arranged. 3. The switch device for a gaming machine according to claim 2, wherein the operation member removal preventing member is set on a control board that performs control to detect that the operation member is removed during the on / off operation.

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