JPH11137807A - Board attaching box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To securely prevent the unfair exchange of ROMs of a game machine. SOLUTION: A shaft 30 of a board case 24 is inserted into a shaft stopper 28 after the movable side storage member 18 of a board attaching box 10 is opened and a rotary clamp 36 is rotated to the lock release position, and a protruding part 26 of the board case 24 is made to protrude from a window 22 of the movable side storage member 18. Then after the board case 24 is held at the movable side storage member 18 in that way, the movable side storage member 18 is closed and the rotary clamp 36 is rotated to the lock position by a key inserted into a keyhole, so that the movable side storage member 18 can be locked at it is closed. Once the board case 24 is stored in the board attaching box 10 and the movable side storage member 18 is locked, the board case 24, that is, a game control board, cannot be taken out unless a key suitable for a lock part 32 is used or the lock is broken to open the storage member 18. And even if the board attaching box 10 should be broken and the game control board should be taken out to unfairly exchange a ROM, such unfair exchange would be easily recognized by traces of breaking. In this way, unfair exchange of ROMs of a game machine can be securely prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of gaming machines, and more particularly, to mounting a game control board.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In ball-and-ball game machines such as pachinko machines,
For example, a game control board (sometimes called a game control device) for judging a jackpot or controlling opening and closing of a special winning device is provided. The essence of the game control board is a microcomputer, and its operation follows a program stored in a ROM.

[0003] In other words, by changing the program, it is possible to arbitrarily operate the occurrence of the jackpot and opening of the big prize winning device,
It was not unusual for such program modifications to gain undue advantage. In practice, the modification of this program has been carried out by replacing a ROM storing the modified program or a one-chip microcomputer including such a ROM with a regular one. It should be noted that such illegal ROM exchange is not limited to a ball-and-ball game machine, but has also been performed in a slot machine or the like.

In some cases, this illegal ROM replacement is performed during the delivery from a game machine manufacturer to a game store.
For this reason, game machine manufacturers transport only game control boards separately from the game machine itself, for example, by their own employees.
When a game machine is installed in a game arcade, a procedure for assembling the game control board to the game machine body has been adopted, and illegal ROM replacement during transportation has been substantially prevented.

[0005]

However, in some cases, illegal ROM replacement is performed after a gaming machine is installed in a game arcade. Amusement arcades strictly managed and supervised to prevent unauthorized ROM replacement, but failed to completely prevent unauthorized ROM replacement. In addition, by detecting the illegal opening and closing of the board case, that is, illegal ROM replacement by sealing the board case containing the game control board with a seal that has a trace of opening, preventing unauthorized ROM replacement. However, for example, there is a method of replacing a forged seal seal, and the seal seal is not very effective.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to reliably prevent unauthorized ROM exchange after a gaming machine is installed in a game arcade.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention A board mounting box according to claim 1 for solving the above-mentioned problem is a board mounting box for mounting a board case containing a game control board to a gaming machine. There is a fixed-side housing member fixed to the main body side of the gaming machine and a movable-side housing member that is opened and closed with respect to the fixed-side housing member, and becomes a box when the movable-side housing member is closed. A box body forming an accommodation area capable of accommodating the substrate case therein; holding means for holding the substrate case in the accommodation area; and locking means for locking the box body in a closed state. I do.

In a gaming machine equipped with the board mounting box, first, the movable housing member is opened to open the box, and the game case is housed in the game control board, and the board case sealed with, for example, a seal is held by the holding means. After that, if the box is closed and locked by locking means, the board case, that is, the game control board, cannot be taken out unless unlocked or broken. Even if the board mounting box is destroyed and the game control board is taken out and the ROM is exchanged illegally,
You can tell immediately from the signs of destruction.

Therefore, if a manager such as a store owner or a manager of a game store strictly manages the keys, it is possible to reliably prevent an act of illegally replacing a ROM of a game machine installed in the game store. The means for locking is as described in claim 4,
In other words, if the shape of the key used for the first time is stored and a locking means having a lock structure that can be locked and unlocked only with a key matching the stored shape from the next time is adopted, for example, one lock is used. The board mounting boxes of all the gaming machines in the game arcade can be opened and closed with one key. In this case, only one key is required for each store, and the key may be managed by a manager such as a shopkeeper or manager of the game store, so that key management becomes easy and reliable. Further, for example, there is no need to prepare a variety of lock structures and keys on the gaming machine maker side, so that the burden on manufacturing can be reduced. Such a lock structure is called an OMRON tablet in the pachinko machine manufacturing industry and the game industry, and is widely used.

The movable-side housing member is preferably connected to the fixed-side housing member so as to be openable and closable by a connecting means such as a hinge. By doing so, the opening and closing operation of the box body is simplified, and there is no risk of the movable-side housing member being lost, for example, during maintenance.

However, the connecting means must not have a structure that can be easily disassembled and repaired. For example, when a hinge is employed, it is preferable to adopt a structure in which the shaft pin cannot be removed.
Alternatively, the fixed-side and movable-side housing members and the connecting portion connecting them may be integrally formed of plastic, and the connecting portion may be bent to function as a hinge. In addition, other structures may be used, but in any case, a structure in which connection cannot be released without breaking or a structure in which a trace of destruction is clearly left is preferable.

Normally, the board case is made of transparent plastic so that the state of the game control board housed therein can be visually checked. Therefore, if the movable-side housing member of the board mounting box is also made of a transparent plastic, the state of the game control board becomes visible. Further, for example, a window for exposing one surface side of the board case may be provided in the movable-side housing member so that the state of the game control board can be visually checked through this window.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention embodied in a pachinko machine will now be described with reference to the drawings to specifically describe embodiments of the present invention.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a board mounting box 10 according to the present embodiment is installed on the back side of a front frame 12 of a pachinko machine (all not shown). More specifically, a part of a plastic game board holding frame 14 fixed to the rear side of the front frame 12 and holding a game board (not shown) and the like is a fixed side housing member 16 of the board mounting box 10, The movable-side housing member 18 is connected to the fixed-side housing member 16 via a hinge 20 serving as connection means. Further, the fixed housing member 16 and the movable housing member 18 together form a box of the present invention, and when the movable housing member 18 is closed as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a window 22 is provided in the movable housing member 18, and the size of the window 22 is the size of a board case 24 that houses a game control board (not shown). The outer diameter of one of the protrusions 26 is matched. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a pair of shaft holding portions 28 serving as holding means are provided inside the movable-side housing member 18. A pair of shaft portions 30 projecting up and down of the board case 24 (only the upper shaft portion 30 is shown) are provided on these shaft holding portions 28.
Can be inserted.

After the shaft portion 30 is inserted through the shaft holding portion 28 and the substrate case 24 is swung about the shaft portion 30, the convex portion 26 is fitted into the window 22, and FIG. As shown in (2), the substrate case 24 can be held by the movable-side housing member 18 in a state where almost the entire convex portion 26 is exposed outside the movable-side housing member 18. Therefore, the window 22
Will also function as holding means.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, on the side of the movable-side housing member 18 facing the hinge 20, a lock portion 32 serving as locking means is arranged. Although not shown in detail, in the lock unit 32, a lock structure in which the shape of the key used for the first time is stored and locked and unlocked from the next time only by a key matching the stored shape ( Omron tablets) are built-in. As shown in FIG. 2, a keyhole 34 is provided on the outer surface side of the lock unit 32, and as shown in FIG. 1, the inner surface side of the lock unit 32 is rotated by a key inserted through the keyhole 34. A rotation fitting 36 is provided.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
A notch 42 is provided at a position where the bar portion 40 of the rotating metal member 36 passes when the movable metal housing 36 is closed with the rotating metal member 36 in the unlocked position. And
With the rotating metal member 36 in the unlocked position, the movable-side housing member 18 is closed, the bar portion 40 of the rotating metal member 36 is passed through the notch 42, and then the rotating metal member 36 is inserted by the key inserted into the keyhole 34.
Is rotated about 90 degrees to the locked position,
Since the fan portion 44 enters behind the locking fitting 38 and is locked, it is possible to lock the movable housing member 18 in a closed state.

In this board mounting box 10, as shown in FIG.
Is in the unlocked position, the shaft portion 30 of the board case 24 is inserted into the shaft holding portion 28, and the board case 24 is held by the movable-side housing member 18 so that the projection 26 projects from the window 22. Therefore, if the movable-side housing member 18 is closed and the turning fitting 36 is turned to the locked position by a key inserted through the keyhole 34, the movable-side housing member 18 can be locked in the closed state (see FIG. 2). .

As described above, after the board case 24 is stored and locked, the board case 24, that is, the game control board, cannot be taken out unless the board case 24 is unlocked or broken using a key suitable for the lock unit 32. Even if the board mounting box 10 is destroyed, the game control board is taken out, and the ROM is illegally exchanged, it is immediately apparent from the trace of the destruction. Therefore, if a manager such as a store owner or a manager of the game store strictly manages the keys, it is possible to reliably prevent an act of illegally replacing the ROM of the game machine installed in the game store.

In addition, an OMRON lock (a lock structure in which the shape of a key used for the first time is stored and can be locked and unlocked only by a key matching the stored shape from the next time) is stored in the lock unit 32. Since it is adopted, for example, the board mounting boxes 10 of all the gaming machines in one amusement store can be opened and closed with one key. In this case, only one key is required for each store, and the key may be managed by a manager such as a shopkeeper or manager of the game store, so that key management becomes easy and reliable. Further, for example, there is no need to prepare a variety of lock structures and keys on the gaming machine maker side, so that the burden on manufacturing can be reduced.

The movable-side housing member 18 includes a hinge 20
Since the movable housing member 18 is connected to the fixed housing member 16 so as to be openable and closable, the opening and closing operation is simplified, and the movable housing member 18 is not likely to be lost, for example, during maintenance.
Further, a window 22 is formed in the movable-side housing member 18 of the substrate mounting box 10.
Is provided, and the convex portion 26 of the board case 24 is projected from the window 22 to the outside, so that the state of the game control board can be visually checked from the convex portion 26 side. For this reason, the game control board can be observed without opening the board mounting box 10, and if there is a visible abnormality such as a scratch or a change in color, it can be easily found.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Needless to say. For example, in the embodiment, the fixed-side housing member is integrated with the game board holding frame. However, the fixed-side housing member may be integrated with, for example, the front frame, or may be separate from such a frame body. In the embodiments, the present invention is applied to a pachinko machine, but it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to other types of gaming machines such as a slot machine.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the structure of a board mounting box according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a substrate case is accommodated in a substrate mounting box of the embodiment and closed.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Board mounting box 12 ... Front frame 14 ... Game board holding frame 16 ... Fixed-side accommodation member (box) 18 ... Movable-side accommodation member (box) 20 ... Hinge (connection means) 22 ... Window (holding means)
24 ... substrate case 26 ... convex part 28 ... shaft holding part (holding means) 30 ...
Shaft 32: Lock (locking means) 34: Keyhole 36: Rotating bracket (Locking) 38: Locking bracket (Locking) 40: Bar 42
… Notch 44… Ogibe

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A board mounting box for mounting a board case accommodating a game control board to a gaming machine, comprising: a fixed housing member fixed to a main body of the gaming machine; A movable-side housing member that is formed into a box when the movable-side housing member is closed to form a storage area in which the substrate case can be stored, and a substrate case in the storage area. And a locking means for locking the box in a closed state. 2. The board mounting box according to claim 1, further comprising a connecting means for connecting the movable-side housing member to the fixed-side housing member so that the movable-side housing member can be opened and closed. 3. The board mounting box according to claim 1, wherein the movable housing member is provided with a window for exposing one side of the board case. 4. The board mounting box according to claim 1, wherein the locking means stores the shape of the key used for the first time and uses a key matching the stored shape from the next time. A board mounting box having a lock structure that can be locked and unlocked only.