JPH11347186A - Board case for game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a board case for game machine capable of smoothly performing the inspection or the like of a control substrate. SOLUTION: A box-shaped case body 3 is composed of upper and lower cases 1 and 2, and in the case body 3, a control board is housed. On the upper and lower cases 1 and 2, plural coupling parts 6a and 6b are formed for coupling both the cases at a position protruded to the side rather than the case body 3, both the cases are coupled so as not to be separated at the time of first coupling by one coupling part 6b among these coupling parts through a fastening member 16 and when opening the case body after coupling, a coupling part 13 of the upper case 1 or lower case 2 is cut from the case body 3 among one set of coupled parts. Then, at coupling parts 12 and 13 of one of the upper and lower cases 1 and 2, a housing part 17 is formed for housing a spare fastening member in a temporarily fixing state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a board case for accommodating a control board mounted on a game machine such as a pachinko machine or a slot machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a control board mounted on a game machine includes:
In order to prevent the unauthorized modification (for example, unauthorized replacement of ROM, etc.), it is stored in a box-shaped board case composed of an upper case and a lower case, and various measures are taken to prohibit opening of the board case. I have. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-276481 discloses that an upper case and a lower case of a board case are inseparably connected by using a special screw or by heat welding of a resin. According to this method,
In order to tampering with the control board, the joint must be destroyed, and if tampering has been performed, traces of destruction will be clearly left on the joint and its surroundings. In this case, the unauthorized modification can be detected at an early stage, and the effect of preventing unauthorized modification can be obtained.

In this type of board case, the joint is broken and opened for inspection or repair of the electronic components on the control board, and then the upper case and the lower case can be joined again. In some cases, a plurality of joints may be provided for the purpose.

[0004]

However, in this case,
It is necessary to prepare a fastening member such as a screw for reconnecting the upper case and the lower case. However, since this fastening member is special and not easily available, it hinders inspection of the control board and the like. There is a fear.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing, and an object of the present invention is to provide a structure in which a fastening member is provided in advance at each coupling portion so that inspection of a control board and the like can be performed smoothly. A board case for a gaming machine is provided.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a box-shaped case body is constituted by an upper case and a lower case as a board case of a gaming machine. The control board is housed in the main body, and a plurality of sets of connecting portions are formed in the upper case and the lower case at positions protruding laterally from the case main body, and at the time of a single connection, At least one set of the connecting portions is inseparably connected by the fastening member, and when opening after the connection, the connecting portion of the upper case or the lower case is cut from the case body out of the set of the connected connecting portions. It is assumed that it is configured. Then, a storage portion for storing a spare fastening member in a temporarily fixed state is formed in one of the coupling portions of the upper case and the lower case. In this configuration, one set of connecting parts for inspection and repair of electronic components on the control board is broken and opened, and then the upper case and lower case are connected again with another set of connecting parts. In this case, the two cases can be immediately re-coupled by the spare fastening member stored in advance in the storage portion of the pair of connecting portions.

The invention according to claim 2 provides a preferable embodiment of the above-mentioned fastening member. That is, a fastening pin including a head and a shaft having an annular groove on the distal end side is used as the fastening member. Then, the fastening pin is housed in the housing portion in a temporarily fixed state by engaging the annular groove of the shaft portion with the engaging portion formed in the housing portion. From this state, the head is pushed into the housing portion and the shaft portion is pushed. Is provided so as to engage with an engaging piece provided on the other connecting portion to inseparably connect a pair of connecting portions. With this configuration, a set of connecting portions can be easily connected inseparably simply by pushing the head of the fastening pin into the storage portion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a preferred embodiment in which a plurality of sets of connecting portions for connecting the upper case and the lower case at positions protruding laterally from the case body are formed. Conventionally, each connecting portion is provided so as to protrude laterally from the side wall of the case body of the upper case or the lower case. However, there is a possibility that the connecting portion may be damaged if the connecting portion hits another one during transportation of the board case or the like. There is. In particular, in the case where a fragile portion is formed at a connecting portion of the connecting portion with the case body side wall to facilitate opening at the time of inspection after the connecting, the possibility of such breakage increases. For this reason, the invention according to claim 3 is that at least one of the upper case and the lower case is formed such that a rectangular frame portion having a side wall of the case main body as one side protrudes laterally from the case main body. A plurality of connecting portions are formed in a line on the inner side of the outer long side of the frame and each of the connecting portions is continuous with the frame portion. In this configuration, each connecting portion is protected by the inside of the frame portion, and the frame portion is connected to the side wall of the case body at at least two places and has a high strength. In some cases, the frame and the joint are not damaged.

The invention according to claim 4 provides a more preferable form of the connecting portion. That is, a projecting portion projecting toward the other case is formed on the mating surface between the joining portions of the upper case and the lower case so as to surround the hole through which the fastening member passes. With this configuration, even when the upper case and the lower case are pulled in opposite directions to create a gap in the mating surface of the joints, the fastening member of the joint is guarded by the protruding portion and the thread saw or the like does not reach. .

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a board case A of a gaming machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the board case A, an upper case 1 and a lower case 2 form a square box-shaped case body 3, and a control board (not shown) is housed in the case body 3.

The upper case 1 and the lower case 2 are both made of a synthetic resin such as a transparent ABS resin. The upper case 1 and the lower case 2 are provided along the left and right side walls 3a, 3a of the case body 3, respectively. Four sets of connecting portions 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d are formed at right and left two sets at a position protruding more laterally. Of the four sets of connecting portions 6a to 6d, those having a symmetrical positional relationship (that is, 6a and 6c, 6b and 6d) are formed in the same structure and shape. Only the connecting portions 6a and 6b on the left side of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. Also, a pair of connecting portions refers to a connecting portion of the upper case 1 and a connecting portion of the lower case 2, and when these are individually described below, the upper case 1
Is called an upper joint, and the joint of the lower case 2 is called a lower joint.

That is, as shown in FIGS.
In the upper case 1, a rectangular frame portion 11 whose one side is the side wall 3 a of the case body 3 is formed so as to protrude laterally from the case body 3, and two upper frames 11 are provided inside the outer long side 11 a of the frame portion 3. The coupling parts 12 and 13 are provided in a line in front and back. The front upper coupling portion 12 is located on the front short side of the frame portion 11 and has an upper surface formed to be flush with the upper surface of the upper case 1 on the case body 3 side, while the rear upper coupling portion 12 is formed. 13 is the frame 11
Is formed continuously with only the outer long side 11a of the case body 3, and the upper coupling portion 13 and the side wall 3a of the case body 3 are separated from each other by a space. The outer long side 11a of the frame portion 11 has constricted portions 11b, 11b at two positions before and after the upper joint portion 13, and is easily cut by the constricted portion 11b as shown in FIG.

Each of the upper coupling portions 12 and 13 has a storage portion 17 for temporarily storing a fastening pin 16 as a fastening member. The fastening pin 16 includes a disk-shaped head 16a and a shaft portion 16d having two annular grooves 16b and 16c on the distal end side.
6c, the annular groove 16b near the head 16a has a small groove width, and the annular groove 16c near the tip of the shaft 16d has a large groove width. The storage section 17 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in detail 0, a large-diameter hole 17a into which the head 16a of the fastening pin 16 can be inserted, a through-hole 17b through which a shaft portion 16d of the fastening pin 16 can pass through from the bottom surface of the large-diameter hole 17a,
An engaging portion 17c is formed in the middle of the through hole 17b. The engaging portion 17c has one rectangular hole and two circular holes, as shown in detail in FIG. 9, and the front end of the shaft portion 16d of the fastening pin 16 breaks through these holes to make the fastening pin 17c. When the housing 16 is stored in the housing 17, the head 16 a of the fastening pin 16 is substantially flush with the upper surface of the upper coupling portion 12 or 13, and the annular groove 16 b of the fastening pin 16 is
c and is held in a temporarily fixed state (see FIG. 11C).

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the lower case 2 is formed with two front and rear lower coupling portions 21, 22 which are individually protruded from the case body 3 to the side. The lower coupling portion 21 and the upper coupling portion 12 form a pair of coupling portions 6a, and the rear lower coupling portion 22 and the upper coupling portion 13 form a pair of coupling portions 6b. As shown in FIG. 11 (a), the distal ends of the shaft portions 16d of the fastening pins 16 housed in the housings 17 of the upper joints 12, 13 can be inserted into the lower joints 21, 22, respectively. Insertion hole 2
3 and a storage chamber 25 for storing the engagement piece 24 in the middle of the insertion hole 23. The engaging piece 24 is a spring plate made of stainless steel and has an engaging hole 26 at the center.
Then, the engagement piece 24 is inserted and arranged in advance so as not to fall out into the storage chamber 25, and a pair of the coupling portions 6a or 6
b (that is, the upper coupling portion 12 or 13 and the lower coupling portion 2
1 or 22), the head 16a of the fastening pin 16 housed in the storage portion 17 of the upper connection portion 12 or 13 in a temporarily fixed state is pushed into the storage portion 17, and the shaft portion of the fastening pin 16 The leading end 16d enlarges the diameter of the engagement hole 26 of the engagement piece 24, and the annular groove 16c of the fastening pin 16 engages with the engagement hole 26 so that the pair of coupling portions 6a or 6b is inseparably coupled. (See FIG. 11D).

The mating surfaces of the pair of coupling portions 6a and 6b are formed so as to surround three sides of the periphery of the through hole 17b of the upper coupling portions 12 and 13 and the insertion hole 23 of the lower coupling portions 21 and 22, respectively. Three protruding portions 31 protruding to the other connecting portion side,
32, 32 are formed. That is, when the pair of connecting portions 6a and 6b are viewed from the front, a protruding portion 31 that protrudes relatively long downward is formed on the near side of the mating surface (lower surface) of the upper connecting portions 12 and 13. The protruding portion 31 is provided with a pair of connecting portions 6
When the mating surfaces of a and 6b are overlapped with each other, the lower joint 2
The insertion holes 23 come into contact with the front side surfaces (tip surfaces) of
Is closed. Projections 32, 32 projecting upward relatively shortly are formed on both left and right sides of the mating surface of the lower joints 21, 22, respectively. Each of the projecting parts 32 is a pair of joints 6a, 6b. When the surfaces are overlapped with each other, they are fitted into the notches 33 formed in the upper joint portions 12 and 13.

Next, how to use the board case A will be described with reference to FIG. In the assembling process of the board case A, as shown in FIGS. 11A to 11C, after the engagement pieces 24 are inserted and arranged in the storage chambers 25 of the lower coupling portions 21 and 22 of the lower case 2, respectively. , While lower case 2 and upper case 1 are overlapped in a closed state,
A fastening pin 16 is provided in the storage portion 17 of each of the upper coupling portions 12 and 13 of the upper case 1, and the head 16 a of the fastening pin 16 has
13 until it is substantially flush with the top surface. At this time, the annular groove 16b of the fastening pin 16
And is housed in a temporarily fixed state by engaging with the engaging portion 17c.
For this reason, the fastening pin 16 does not fall out of the storage section 17 during transportation or the like after the board case A is assembled. Also,
The engagement piece 24 is locked by a leaf spring by itself so as not to come out of the storage chamber 25, and the opening side of the storage chamber 25 is closed by the protruding portions 31 of the upper coupling portions 12 and 13. When the A is transported, the engagement piece 24 is
There is no escape from inside.

In addition, in the case of the above embodiment, the upper case 1
The upper joint portions 12 and 13 of the side wall 3a of the case body 3
Are protected by the inside of a rectangular frame portion 11 having one side as a side.
Because it is connected to a at two places and is high in strength,
Even when the frame portion 11 hits another one during transportation of the board case A, the frame portion 11 and the upper coupling portions 12 and 13 are not damaged.

When the control board is housed in the board case A and the board case A is sealed, the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 of the board case A are opened and the control board is housed in the case body 3. After that, of the four sets of connecting parts 6a to 6d of the board case A, the two sets of connecting parts 6b and 6d located on the left and right sides on the rear side respectively are shown in FIG.
As shown in (c) and (d), the upper connecting portion 13 of the fastening pin 16 stored in the storage portion 17 of the upper connecting portion 13 is used.
The head 16a located substantially flush with the upper surface of the storage unit 17 is pushed into the interior of the storage unit 17 with a stick or the like. Then, the tip of the shaft portion 16d of the fastening pin 16 expands the diameter of the engagement hole 26 of the engagement piece 24 disposed in the storage chamber 25 of the lower coupling portion 22, and the annular groove 16c of the fastening pin 16 26, a pair of coupling portions 6b composed of the upper coupling portion 13 and the lower coupling portion 22
Alternatively, 6d is inseparably connected, and the connection can be easily performed. In addition, the front connecting portions 6a, 6
In (c), the fastening pins 16 stored in advance in the storage portions 17 of the upper coupling portion 12 remain in a temporarily fixed state as spare fastening pins.

After this connection, when opening the board case A for inspection or repair of the electronic components on the control board,
Each of the left and right frame portions 11 of the upper case 1 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), the substrate case A can be opened by cutting the two constricted portions 11b before and after the rear upper coupling portion 13 therebetween. Thereafter, when the substrate case A is sealed again, the spare fastening pins 16 previously stored in the storage portion 17 of the upper connection portion 12 in the front two sets of the connection portions 6a and 6c are inserted into the storage portion 17 respectively. By pushing it inward, the annular groove 16c of the fastening pin 16 engages with the engagement piece 24 of the lower coupling portion 21, and the coupling portions 6a and 6c are irremovably coupled to each other. As a result, a series of operations such as inspection can be performed smoothly.

In both the case where sealing is performed first and the case where sealing is performed again, two sets of connecting portions 6b, 6d or 6 on the rear side or the front side are required to open the substrate case A.
a and 6c must be destroyed, and if the control board is illegally remodeled by opening it without permission, traces of the destruction will be clearly left. It can be discovered, and thus prevent unauthorized modification.

In addition, the upper coupling portion 1 through which the fastening pin 16 penetrates the mating surface of each of the coupling portions 6a to 6d.
Since the projecting portions 31 and 32 are formed so as to surround the through holes 17b of the first and second connecting portions 13 and the insertion holes 23 of the lower connecting portions 21 and 22, the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 are pulled in opposite directions to each set. Even if a gap is temporarily created in the mating surface of the connecting portions 6a to 6d, the fastening pin 16 cannot be cut with a thread saw or the like, and unauthorized modification can be more reliably prevented.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes various other forms.
For example, in the above embodiment, the left and right side walls 3 of the case body 3
a, 3a, two sets each, a total of four sets of connecting parts 6a, 6
b, 6c, 6d are formed, and at the time of one connection, two sets of right and left sets, two sets of connecting parts 6b, 6d or 6a, 6c, are respectively inseparably connected by the fastening pins 16, respectively. When three or more sets of joints are formed on each of the left and right side walls of the case body, or when only one set of joints is inseparably connected at one time, fastening members such as ordinary screws are used at other places. The present invention can also be applied to a case where the connection is made to be separable using, for example.

Further, the fastening member which is inseparably connected at each connection portion is not limited to the fastening pin 16 as in the embodiment,
Other fastening pins and screws may be used. In short, it is only necessary to form a storage portion for storing the spare fastening member in a temporarily fixed state in the connection portion of the upper case or the lower case forming a set of connection portions.

[0024]

As described above, according to the board case of the gaming machine of the present invention, one set of joints is broken and opened for inspection or the like, and then the upper case is joined with another set of joints. When reconnecting the lower case and the lower case, the two cases can be easily reconnected by the spare fastening member previously stored in the storage portion of the pair of connecting portions, so that work such as inspection can be performed smoothly. Can be achieved.

In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, a set of connecting portions can be inseparably connected by a simple operation of merely pushing the head of the fastening pin into the storage portion, thereby improving workability. Can be planned.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the joint portion and the like can be prevented from being damaged by hitting the other portion during transportation of the board case. In the invention according to claim 4, even when the upper case and the lower case are pulled in the opposite directions to create a gap in the mating surface of the joints, the fastening member of the joint is guarded by the protruding portion, and the thread saw or the like can be removed. Since it does not reach, it also has an effect that it can contribute to prevention of unauthorized modification of the control board.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a board case of a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a disassembled state of the board case.

FIG. 3 is a left side view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a left side portion of the board case of FIG. 2;

5 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4, showing a state in which the connecting portion of the upper case is cut off from the case body and the substrate case is opened.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line KK of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line LL of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line MM in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line NN in FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a connecting procedure in a pair of connecting portions of the board case.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Board case 1 Upper case 2 Lower case 3 Case main body 3a Side wall 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d One set of connecting part 11 Frame part 12, 13 Upper connecting part 16 Fastening pin (fastening member) 16a Head 16b Annular groove 16c Shaft Part 17 Storage part 17c Engagement part 21, 22 Lower joint part 24 Engagement piece 31, 32 Projection part

Claims (4)

[Claims] An upper case and a lower case constitute a box-shaped case main body, and a control board is housed in the case main body. A plurality of sets of joints for joining the two are formed at positions protruding into the joint, and at the time of a single joint, at least one set of the joints is inseparably joined by a fastening member, and when unsealing after the joint, In the board case of the gaming machine, which is configured to cut the connecting portion of the upper case or the lower case from the case body out of the set of connecting portions, one of the upper case and the lower case has a spare portion. A storage portion for storing the fastening member in a temporarily fixed state. 2. The fastening member according to claim 1, wherein the fastening member is a fastening pin having a head portion and a shaft portion having an annular groove on a distal end side. The head is pushed into the storage portion from this state, and the annular groove of the shaft is engaged with the engagement piece provided on the other coupling portion to form a set. 2. The board case for a gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein said board portion is provided so as to be connected inseparably. 3. A rectangular frame portion having at least one of the upper case and the lower case and having a side wall of the case main body as one side is formed so as to protrude laterally from the case main body. 3. The board case for a gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of connecting portions are formed in a row and continuously with the frame portion. 4. A projection projecting toward another case so as to surround a hole through which a fastening member penetrates, on a mating surface between the joining portions of the upper case and the lower case.
4. The board case of the gaming machine according to any one of items 3 to 3.