JP2006230652A - Board case - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the illegal exchange of a harness connected to a circuit board through a connector. <P>SOLUTION: The board case 40 which houses a sub control board 25 placed on a slot machine 1 as one example of game machine has a case body part 41 and a case lid part 50 and the sub control board 25 having a board side connector 70 mounted at its end part is housed into a case which is formed with the case lid part 50 mounted on the case body part 41. When the case lid part 50 is mounted on the case body part 41, a connector opening part 54 is formed with a notch part 53 made on a lid side surrounding wall part 52 of the case lid part 50 facing the board side connector 70. When a cable side connector 80 is connected to the board side connector 70, the end face 81b on the side of the cable of the cable side connector 80 is disposed inward from the lid side surrounding wall part 52. The connector opening part 54 is formed lower than the height of the cable side connector 80. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a board case, and more particularly to a board case in which a cable-side connector can be connected to a board-side connector mounted on a circuit board that is mounted in a gaming machine and accommodated inside the case.

  Conventionally, various boards are mounted on pachinko machines and slot machines. For example, there are a main control board that performs lottery while controlling the progress of games, a sub control board that controls effects such as sound output and lighting of lamps, a power control board that performs power supply control, etc. .

  In pachinko and slot machines, if a board other than a regular board or ROM is used, the game play rate will be different from the regular value, making it impossible to provide a fair game. And the use of ROM must be prohibited. Therefore, for example, the main control board is accommodated in a board case that cannot be opened once sealed. On the other hand, the main control board, the sub control board, and the power supply control board are electrically connected by a harness, and transmission / reception of electric signals and supply of power are possible.

  Electrical connection between the harness and the main control board is generally performed by a connector (see Patent Document 1). As shown in FIG. 5 (perspective view), the connector described in Patent Document 1 is provided on the board side connector 70 mounted on the board side and one end side of the harness 83 and can be connected to the board side connector 70. And a cable-side connector 80. The board-side connector 70 is formed on a board-side main body 71 having a space portion formed therein and having one end opened, a plurality of board-side electrodes 72 disposed in the space, and an outer surface of the board-side main body 71. And an engaging portion 73. On the other hand, the cable-side connector 80 includes a cable-side main body 81 that can be inserted into the space of the board-side connector 70, and a plurality of cable sides that are attached to the cable-side main body 81 and come into contact with the corresponding board-side electrodes 72. It has a terminal and a lock member 82 that is provided on the outer surface of the cable-side main body 81 and can be locked to the engaging portion 73.

  The board-side connector 70 is exposed through a connector opening opened at the end of the board case, and the cable-side connector 80 is connected to the board-side connector 70 through the connector opening.

JP 2003-325911 A (see FIGS. 10 to 12)

  In the board case described in Patent Document 1 described above, since the board-side connector is exposed through the connector opening, the insertion and removal operation of the cable-side connector with respect to the board-side connector is easy, while the cable-side connector is removed. There is a risk of replacement with a harness to which non-regular parts are connected. When such an illegal harness replacement is performed, a problem arises that the game play rate of the gaming machine becomes a value different from the normal value, and it becomes impossible to provide a fair game.

  Therefore, if the harness is directly connected to the circuit board by soldering or the like without going through the connector, unauthorized replacement of the harness can be prevented with high deterrence. However, the operation of soldering the harness directly to the circuit board is troublesome. Moreover, the workability of the manufacturing work is better when the harness is connected after the circuit board is installed in the board case. For this reason, when connecting between boards with a harness, it is preferable to connect it using a connector rather than fixing the front-end | tip part of a harness directly on a board | substrate, and to be able to remove only a board | substrate.

  There is a need for a board case that can prevent unauthorized replacement of a harness connected to a circuit board via a connector, and an object of the present invention is to provide a board case that meets such a demand.

  In order to solve such a problem, the present invention includes a case main body attached to a gaming machine (for example, the slot machine 1 in the embodiment), and a case lid attached to the case main body. A circuit board (for example, the sub-control board 25 in the embodiment) in which a board-side connector is mounted at the end is housed in a case formed by attaching a case lid to the part, and the case lid is attached to the case body The connector opening is formed by a notch formed in at least one of the peripheral wall of the case main body and the case lid on the side facing the board-side connector (for example, the lid-side peripheral wall 52 in the embodiment). When the cable side connector is connected to the board side connector, the cable side end face of the cable side connector is placed inside the peripheral wall portion. , The height of the connector opening is equal to or lower than the height of the cable connector.

  According to the present invention, when the cable-side connector is connected to the board-side connector, the cable-side end surface of the cable-side connector is disposed on the inner side of the peripheral wall portion, and the height of the connector opening is connected to the board-side connector. If the case lid is not removed from the case body by making it lower than the height of the cable side connector, the cable side connector connected to the board side connector cannot be removed, and the case lid In the state where is attached, the cable side connector cannot be connected to the board side connector from the outside of the board case. In other words, when the case lid is fixedly attached to the case main body, the connector cannot be inserted / extracted unless the fixed state is broken. For this reason, it is possible to prevent unauthorized replacement of the cable connected to the board-side connector with high deterrence.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the height dimension of the connector opening is at least larger than the thickness of the cable connected to the cable side connector.

  According to the present invention, by making the height of the connector opening at least larger than the thickness of the cable connected to the cable-side connector, the cable connected to the cable-side connector can be easily extended to the outside through the connector opening. . For this reason, when a case cover part is attached to the board case, a load acting on the cable can be suppressed, and a situation where the cable is damaged can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, the height of the connector opening formed when the case lid is attached to the case main body is made lower than the height of the cable-side connector connected to the board-side connector. It is possible to provide a board case capable of preventing unauthorized replacement of a harness connected to a circuit board.

  A preferred embodiment of a substrate case according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, a case where a board case is mounted in a slot machine which is an example of a gaming machine will be described. First, before describing the substrate case of the present invention, a slot machine equipped with the case will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (front view) and FIG. 2 (perspective view), the slot machine 1 includes a front door 10 facing a player, and a housing 30 attached to the front door 10 so that the front door 10 can be opened and closed. Composed. The front door 10 is configured by attaching a mechanically strong hard plastic panel portion 11 to a rectangular frame, and an upper lamp 11a for production is provided on the upper portion of the panel portion 11 and a sound emitting portion including a speaker. 11b, 11c, an effect display device 11d formed by a liquid crystal display or the like is provided. A substantially rectangular transmission window WD and effect lamps 11e and 11f formed of a transparent hard plastic plate are provided in an intermediate portion of the panel portion 11, and the reel R1 of the reel device 31 provided in the housing 30 is provided. , R2 and R3 can be viewed by the player through the transmission window WD.

  Below the middle part of the panel part 11, an operation panel part 16 is provided for the player to operate. The operation panel part 16 has various buttons and the like (medal insertion part MD, bet buttons B1, B2, B2). B3, start lever ST, stop buttons SP1, SP2, SP3, checkout button MR) are provided.

  A key hole KY for unlocking the front door 10 is provided at the right end of the operation panel portion 16, and the front door 10 can be opened from the housing 30 by performing a unlocking operation by inserting a regular key into the key hole KY. It is possible.

  A picture (not shown) for introducing the game contents of the slot machine 1 is drawn at the lower part of the panel unit 11, and a discharge port 11g for paying out game medals, a medal tray 11h, and a sound emitting unit 11i. Is provided.

  The speakers SR and SL of the sound emitting portions 11b and 11c described above are provided at the upper part on the back side of the front door 10, and the effect display device 11d described above is provided between the speakers SR and SL. A substantially rectangular frame 17 that forms a transmission window WD is attached to the lower side of the effect display device 11d. The selection mechanism G0 that determines whether or not the game medal is distributed, the guide member G1 that guides the game medal distributed by the selection mechanism G0 to the hopper device HP provided on the housing 30 side, and the selection mechanism G0. A guide member G2 for guiding the foreign matter to the discharge port 11g and a guide member G3 for guiding the payout medal output from the hopper device HP to the discharge port 11g are provided. In the vicinity of the discharge port 11g, the speaker SW that constitutes the above-described sound emitting unit 11i is attached.

  A central display board 19 formed of a long electric circuit board is attached between the frame 17 and the selection mechanism G0. The central display board 19 is provided on the operation panel unit 16 described above. The bet buttons B1, B2, and B3, the start lever ST, the stop buttons SP1, SP2, and SP3 are electrically connected. The output signals of these buttons B1, B2, B3, ST, SP1, SP2 and SP3 are transferred to a main control board 33 provided in the housing 30 via a harness.

  In addition to the main power supply device PWU and the auxiliary storage unit SHP for storing game medals overflowing from the hopper device HP, the reel device 31 described above is provided in the housing 30. A power supply substrate 34 is attached to the side surface of the main power supply device PWU, a spinning device substrate 35 is attached to the upper end of the reel device 31, and the main control substrate 33 described above is attached above the reel device 31. . The main control board 33 is equipped with a semiconductor memory (ROM), a microprocessor (MPU), and the like. The microprocessor (MPU) is used for a system program and a slot machine game stored in advance in the semiconductor memory (ROM). The entire slot machine 1 is centrally controlled by executing predetermined programs to the power supply device board 34, the spinning device board 35, and a sub-control board 25 described later to perform distributed control.

  A sub-control board 25 formed of an electric circuit board is provided on the back side of the effect display device 11d. The sub-control board 25 includes a microprocessor that controls the effect image displayed by the effect display device 11d, a read-only memory (ROM) that stores a computer program and effect data executed by the microprocessor, and effect processing. An electric circuit equipped with a random access memory (RAM) for temporarily storing various data generated during the execution of is mounted. The sub-control board 25 drives the upper lamp 11a, the production lamps 11e and 11f, and the speakers SR, SL, and SW according to the control signal from the main control board 33 to produce an effect appealing to the player's vision and hearing. At the same time, the effect display device 11d is controlled to display effects according to the game content.

  The sub-control board 25 is housed in a board case 40 for preventing fraud and is fixed with screws, and the board case 40 is detachably attached to the back side of the effect display device 11d as a whole. Yes. In the figure, description of a connector mounted on the sub-control board 25 and a harness connected to the connector is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (perspective view), the substrate case 40 includes a case main body 41 attached to the back side of the effect display device 11d described above and a case lid 50 attached to the case main body 41. . The case main body 41 is formed by forming a main body side peripheral wall 43 erected so as to surround the outer periphery of the base 42 on the rectangular base 42 on which the sub-control board 25 is mounted and fixed. The side is open and formed in a substantially rectangular box shape. On the other hand, the case lid part 50 forms a lid side peripheral wall part 52 erected so as to surround the outer periphery of the top plate part 51 arranged so as to cover the front side of the case main body part 41 that opens. It is formed in a substantially rectangular box shape. When the case cover 50 is attached to the case body 41, the substrate case 40 forms a space 40a that can accommodate the sub-control board 25 therein.

  Insertion holes 51a are formed in the corners of the top plate part 51 of the case lid part 50. When a caulking member (not shown) is inserted into these insertion holes 51a and rotated, the case is moved by the caulking member. The lid 50 and the case main body 41 cannot be separated. That is, when the case lid 50 is fixed to the case main body 41 by the caulking member, the case lid 50 cannot be separated from the case main body 41 unless the caulking member is broken.

  A rectangular cutout 53 is formed in the lid-side peripheral wall 52 on one side of the case lid 50. When the case lid 50 is attached to the case main body 41, the notch 53 forms a connector opening 54 together with the tip of the main body side peripheral wall 43. As shown in FIGS. 4A (plan view), (b) (cross-sectional view), and (c) (side view), the connector opening 54 has a rectangular shape extending in the lateral direction. An opening is formed so as to face the board-side connector 70 mounted at the end of the sub-control board 25 accommodated therein. The sub-control board 25 is detachably fixed to the case main body 41 with a fastening jig such as a screw.

  The board-side connector 70 mounted on the sub-control board 25 is the same as the connector shown in FIG. 5 described above. As shown in FIG. 5, the board-side main body is formed with a space 71a inside and opened at the front end side. Part 71, a plurality of substrate-side electrodes 72 disposed in the space 71 a, and an engagement part 73 formed on the outer surface of the substrate-side main body 71. The opening is mounted on the sub-control board 25 so as to face the connector opening 54 of the board case 40 shown in FIG. And the board | substrate side connector 70 is arrange | positioned inside the cover side surrounding wall part 52 of the case cover part 50 in the state accommodated in the board | substrate case 40, as shown in FIG.4 (c).

  On the other hand, the cable-side connector 80 connected to the board-side connector 70 is also the same as the connector shown in FIG. 5 described above, and as shown in FIG. 5, a cable that can be inserted into the space 71a of the board-side main body 71. Side body 81, a plurality of cable side terminals (not shown) that are attached to the cable side body 81 and come into contact with the corresponding substrate side electrode 72, and are provided on the outer surface of the cable side body 81 to engage with each other A lock member 82 that can be locked to the portion 73 and a harness 83 that is electrically connected to the plurality of cable side terminals and extends from the base end side are provided.

  A pair of projecting portions 81 a projecting in the height direction is formed at the end of the cable side main body portion 81 on the cable side. When the cable-side connector 80 is inserted into the board-side connector 70, these protrusions 81a abut so as to cover the end surface of the peripheral wall 71b of the board-side connector 70. In addition, a pair of projecting portions 84 that are movable along guide grooves 74 provided in the board-side connector 70 are provided on the peripheral wall portion of the cable-side connector 80 on the side where the lock member 82 is provided. For this reason, the height Hc of the cable-side connector 80 is the distance from the end on one side of the protrusion 81a to the tip of the protrusion 84. When the cable-side connector 80 is connected to the board-side connector 70, the cable-side end surface 81b of the cable-side connector 80 is disposed on the inner side of the inner surface of the peripheral wall portion 52 of the cable lid portion 50 shown in FIG. . For this reason, the situation where the harness 83 connected to the cable-side connector 80 is pressed against the peripheral wall portion 52 can be prevented.

  Now, as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, the connector opening 54 formed in the board case 40 has a height Hk lower than the height Hc of the cable-side connector 80, and the cable-side connector 80. It is formed larger than the thickness of the harness 83 connected to. The height Hk of the connector opening 54 is smaller than the length Lc in the width direction of the cable side connector 80 shown in FIG. For this reason, although the connector opening part 54 can let the harness 83 pass, it cannot let the cable side main-body part 81 of the cable side connector 80 pass. The length W in the width direction of the connector opening 54 is larger than the length Lc in the width direction of the cable-side connector 80 shown in FIG.

  As described above, when the cable-side connector 80 is connected to the board-side connector 70, the cable-side end surface 81b of the cable connector 80 is disposed on the inner side of the lid-side peripheral wall portion 52, and the height of the connector opening 54 is the cable side. When the cable-side connector 80 is connected to the board-side connector 70 by making it lower than the height of the connector 80, the cable-side connector 80 is connected to the board-side connector 70 with the case lid 50 not attached to the case body 41. The case lid 50 is attached to the case main body 41 with the harness 83 passed through the notch 53. And the case cover part 50 is fixed to the case main-body part 41 with the crimping member. As a result, the sub-control board 25 and other circuit boards can be electrically connected via the connector and harness 83.

  Further, when the case lid 50 is fixed to the case body 41, the cable-side connector 80 cannot be passed through the connector opening 54 even if the cable-side connector 80 connected to the board-side connector 70 is pulled out. That is, the cable-side connector 80 connected to the board-side connector 70 cannot be removed without removing the case lid 50 from the case body 41. Further, the cable-side connector 80 cannot be connected to the board-side connector 70 from the outside of the board case 40 in a state where the case lid part 50 is attached to the case main body 41. For this reason, when the case lid 50 is fixed to the case main body 41, the connector cannot be inserted and removed unless this fixed state is broken. For this reason, unauthorized replacement of the cable connected to the board-side connector 70 with high deterrence can be prevented.

  In the above-described embodiment, the substrate case 40 that accommodates the sub control board 25 has been described as an example. However, the sub control board 25 is also accommodated for the substrate case that accommodates the main control board 33, the rotating device board 35, and the like. By adopting the same configuration as the substrate case 40, unauthorized replacement of harnesses connected to these substrates can be prevented with high deterrence.

  The case lid 50 and the case body 41 are preferably formed of a transparent material from the viewpoint of preventing unauthorized modification, but may be a so-called colored transparent color. By forming the case lid 50 and the case main body 41 with a transparent material in this manner, it can be easily confirmed that the cable-side connector 80 is larger than the connector opening 54, so that the insertion and removal of the cable-side connector 81 is difficult. It can be seen that there is a high deterrence against unauthorized replacement of the harness 83.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the connector opening 54 is rectangular has been described as an example. However, as long as it restricts the passage of the cable-side connector 80 and allows the harness 83 to pass, a circular, triangular shape may be used. It may be oval or the like.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the slot machine 1 is taken as an example, but a game machine or the like used in a pachinko or game center may be targeted.

The front view of the slot machine carrying the board | substrate case concerning one embodiment of this invention is shown. The internal structure figure of the front door and the housing | casing in the state which opened the front door of this slot machine is shown. The perspective view of a substrate case is shown. The substrate case is shown, in which (a) is a plan view of the substrate case, (b) is a side view of the substrate case, and (c) is a view taken along arrows IV-IV in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the board | substrate case of the part corresponded to. The perspective view of the board | substrate side connector and the cable side connector connected to this is shown.

Explanation of symbols

1 slot machine (game machine)
25 Sub-control board (circuit board)
40 Substrate Case 41 Case Body 50 Case Cover 52 Cover Side Perimeter Wall (Surround Wall)
53 Notch 54 Connector opening 70 Board side connector 80 Cable side connector 81b End face 83 Harness (cable)

Claims (2)

A case main body portion attached to a gaming machine and a case lid portion attached to the case main body portion, and an end portion of the board-side connector inside the case formed by attaching the case lid portion to the case main body portion Is formed on at least one of the peripheral wall portion of the case body portion and the case lid portion on the side facing the board-side connector when the case lid portion is mounted on the case body portion. In the board case in which the connector opening is formed by the cutout made,
When the cable side connector is connected to the board side connector, the cable side end surface of the cable side connector is arranged inside the peripheral wall portion,
A board case, wherein a height of the connector opening is lower than a height of the cable side connector. The board case according to claim 1, wherein a height dimension of the connector opening is at least larger than a thickness of a cable connected to the cable-side connector.

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