JP4362932B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a gaming machine including a control board on which electronic elements are mounted, and more particularly to a technique for determining whether or not an electronic element mounted on a board is a regular electronic element.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, a gaming machine is provided with a control board for controlling a gaming operation. A large number of electronic elements such as a CPU, ROM, and RAM constituting the microcomputer are mounted on the control board, and the gaming operation of the gaming machine is controlled by these electronic elements. Therefore, by exchanging these electronic elements mounted on the control board, it becomes possible to make the game operation different from the normal game operation, and to be in a state advantageous to the player (person who acts illegally).
For this reason, in order to prevent the electronic element mounted on the control board from being exchanged, an illegal act such as replacement of the electronic element has been prevented by sealing the board box that houses the control board.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, there are cases where it is difficult to find fraud with the conventional method described above. For example, in the case where the sealed state (sealing seal) is released, a board box of a modified board is prepared in advance, and the board box is replaced with a regular board box, it is difficult to find an illegal act. That is, since the sealing state is not released / restored on the spot, fraud is performed skillfully.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and its purpose is to detect fraud even when it is difficult to find by a conventional method (such as when the entire board box is replaced). Is to provide a unique gaming machine.
[0005]
[Means and effects for solving the problems]
A gaming machine according to one aspect of the present invention includes an electronic element, a control board on which the electronic element is mounted, and a board box that houses the control board . The electronic element is marked to determine whether it is a legitimate electronic element . Marking, (1) In the normal state without being visually recognized, it has a characteristic which is visually recognized by performing special processing has been applied across the both (2) electronic devices and control board (3) It can be confirmed from the outside of the board box. The gaming machine further includes a restricting means for restricting a confirmation direction when confirming the marking from the outside of the board box. The confirmation direction of the marking by the restricting means is inclined with respect to the surfaces of the control board and the electronic element, and in this inclined state, the marking on the electronic element and the marking on the control board coincide .
In the gaming machine, the electronic element itself is marked, and the marking is not visually recognized unless special processing is performed. Therefore, unless the cheating person knows the special processing method, the applied marking is not recognized, and since the marking cannot be performed, the cheating can be detected.
In addition, since marking is applied to both the electronic element and the control board and functions as an index, even if the modified electronic element can be marked in some way, the marking is misaligned with the marking on the control board, and fraud is discovered can do.
[0006]
The gaming machine may be realized by applying the marking using a substance having a property of reflecting the irradiated light as light in the visible light region when irradiated with light of a predetermined wavelength.
According to such a configuration, when the marking is irradiated with light of a predetermined wavelength, the irradiated light is reflected as light in the visible light region by the marking, and the marking can be confirmed with the naked eye.
Here, the substance having the property of reflecting the irradiated light as light having a wavelength in the visible light region corresponds to, for example, ink that can be seen when irradiated with ultraviolet rays.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment in which the above-described invention is applied to a control board provided in a pachinko machine will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 1 is a view of the control board provided in the pachinko machine as viewed from the front, and FIG. 2 is a view of the control board shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the side.
As shown in FIG. 1, a control board 10 according to the present embodiment has a CPU 12 (electronic element) soldered or mounted on an IC socket in the approximate center. In FIG. 1, only the CPU 12 with the marking is illustrated, but actually, many other electronic elements are mounted on the control board 10.
[0010]
As shown in FIG. 2, the control board 10 is attached to a board case (bottom plate) 24 provided on the back surface of a game board (not shown). Specifically, the boss 16 provided on the substrate case (bottom plate) 24 is fixed by screwing a screw through the control substrate 10.
The control board 10 is connected to various sensors (such as a start port sensor) and various electrical devices (for example, a symbol display device, a prize ball device, etc.) provided in the pachinko machine, and based on signals output from the various sensors. Control various electrical equipment.
[0011]
The CPU 12 plays a central role in controlling various electrical devices using the control board 10 described above. The CPU 12 includes a ROM that stores a control program for controlling game operations (operations of various electrical devices) of the pachinko machine, and commands for controlling various electrical devices based on the control program stored in the ROM. Create etc. Then, the created command is transmitted to various electrical devices, and operations of the various electrical devices are controlled. Therefore, by replacing the CPU 12 (ROM), the game content provided to the player (game operation of the pachinko machine) becomes different.
[0012]
Next, the marking applied to the control board 10 and the CPU 12 described above will be described. FIG. 1A is a diagram showing the control board 10 and the CPU 12 in a normal state, and FIG. 1B shows the control board 10 and the CPU 12 when the control board 10 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays (when special processing is performed). FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the marking 14 is not recognized in a normal state, but is recognized by irradiating ultraviolet rays. That is, the marking 14 is marked using ink that is visually recognized by irradiating ultraviolet rays. For example, such an ink is a letter stamped by pressing a stamp on the back of the hand when a visitor temporarily goes out of the park at an amusement park or the like and holding a black light (ultraviolet light) when re-entering. And is used to identify whether or not re-entry is possible.
The marking 14 is applied across both the control board 10 and the CPU 12 as shown in FIG. This is because the marking 14 has a function as an index, and even if the marking 14a can be applied to the CPU 12, the marking 14a applied to the CPU 12 and the marking 14b applied to the control board 10 This is to cause misalignment and to detect fraud.
Further, the marking 14 applied in the present embodiment is provided as a barcode (a plurality of lines having different widths) by encoding a management number such as a production number. As a result, it is difficult to improperly carry out marking, and furthermore, manufacturing management or the like is performed by marking.
In addition, as a method of giving the marking 14, it applies using the inkjet apparatus of an inkjet printer. That is, marking is performed by spraying the above-described ink on the control board 10 on which the CPU 12 is mounted by an inkjet apparatus and fixing the ink onto the CPU 12 and the control board 10.
[0013]
Next, a method for confirming the marking 14 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, in order to check the marking (check whether the CPU 12 is genuine), first, the control board 10 and the CPU 12 are irradiated with ultraviolet rays from the outside of the board box 18 (transparent resin). . Next, the confirmation mirror 22 (special jig for confirmation) is brought into contact with the rib 20 provided on the substrate box 18 while the ultraviolet ray is irradiated, and the control substrate 10 and the CPU 12 are looked into from the confirmation mirror 22. Check the marking with. Specifically, when there is no marking or when there is a deviation in the marking, it is determined that the CPU 12 is not a regular one. In other words, there is no deviation between the marking 14a applied to the CPU 12 and the marking 14b applied to the control board 10 in the case of the regular CPU 12, and the marking 14a of the CPU 12 and the control board are checked if there is an unauthorized CPU 12 or not. This is because the 10 markings 14b are displaced.
Here, in the present embodiment, the marking 14 is always confirmed from the same direction (the direction of the arrow A in the figure) by looking through the confirmation mirror 22 in contact with the rib 20. In other words, the rib 20 and the confirmation mirror 22 constitute the restricting means described in the claims.
[0014]
As described above in detail, in the pachinko machine according to the present embodiment, the marking 14 applied to the CPU 12 is not visible unless it is irradiated with ultraviolet rays. Can be effectively prevented.
In addition, since the marking 14 is applied over both the CPU 12 and the control board 10 and functions as an index, illegal acts can be effectively prevented.
Furthermore, since the direction for confirming the marking is regulated and the confirmation is always performed from the same direction, it is possible to prevent a determination error at the time of marking confirmation.
[0015]
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made as described below.
[0016]
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the direction of the line of sight of the confirmer is regulated by bringing the confirmation mirror 22 into contact with the rib 20 provided on the substrate box 18, but the method for positioning the confirmation mirror is described above. Various methods can be adopted without being limited to the method.
For example, a heat radiating hole 19 provided in the substrate box 18 can be used. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, a fitting piece 23 that fits into the heat radiation hole 19 of the substrate box 18 is formed on the confirmation mirror 22, and the fitting piece 23 is inserted into the heat radiation hole 19 to thereby position the confirmation mirror 22. To regulate. With such a configuration, it is not necessary to provide ribs or the like by using the heat radiating holes 19 provided in the substrate box, so that the conventional substrate box 18 can be used as it is.
Further, when positioning the confirmation mirror 22 using the heat radiating holes 19, it is common that a plurality of heat radiating holes are provided in the board box. By changing the position of the heat radiation hole 19 into which the piece 23 is inserted, the position of the confirmation mirror 22 can be easily changed. Thereby, the position of the confirmation mirror (marking confirmation direction) is changed for each lot, each model, or a combination of these, and it becomes possible to more reliably prevent and detect fraud.
In the case where the confirmation mirror 22 is positioned by the above-described heat radiation hole 19 of the substrate box 18 or the rib 20 provided in the substrate box 18, the shape (excluding direction) of the confirmation mirror 22 itself is changed for each lot. The marking confirmation direction can be changed for each model. That is, even when the confirmation mirror 22 is positioned using the same rib 20 or heat radiation hole 19, if the confirmation mirror 22 is changed for each lot or each model, the same effect as described above can be obtained. Can do.
[0017]
(2) In the above-described embodiment, marking is performed using ink that is visually recognized by irradiating ultraviolet rays, but the marking is not limited to such a method, and can be performed by various methods. it can. For example, a pattern (insignificant) or the like that is visible in a normal state may be recognized as a marking by making a part of the pattern invisible through a polarizing plate. In other words, the phrase “not visually recognized in a normal state” in the claims includes a case where even if it can be seen in a normal state, it is not recognized as a meaningful marking by itself.
Needless to say, the marking applied to the electronic element does not necessarily have to be the barcode-like one shown in the above-described embodiment, and may be any type.
[0018]
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the control board and the CPU are marked in a split manner. However, the control board and the CPU are not necessarily used in a split manner, and the control board and the CPU may be separately marked. . In this case, the marking on the control board and the marking on the CPU may be somehow related to each other so that the CPU marking and the control board marking are collated.
[0019]
(4) Although the embodiment described above is an example in which the technology of the present invention is applied to a pachinko machine, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, a slot machine, an arrange hall machine, a sparrow ball game machine, The present invention can also be applied to various game machines such as a video game machine.
[0020]
Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, this is merely an example, and the present invention can be implemented in various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a control board installed in a pachinko machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a method for confirming marking. FIG. 3 is another method for confirming marking. Drawing for explaining [Explanation of symbols]
10. ・ Pachinko machine 12. ・ CPU
14. Marking

Claims (2)

In a gaming machine comprising an electronic element, a control board for mounting the electronic element, and a board box for housing the control board ,
The electronic element has been marked to determine whether it is a legitimate electronic element,
The markings, (1) In the normal state without being visually recognized, have a characteristic which is visually recognized by performing special processing, it is subjected across both (2) electronic devices and control board (3) It can be confirmed from the outside of the board box,
It further comprises a regulation means for regulating the confirmation direction when confirming the marking from the outside of the board box,
The gaming machine characterized in that the direction of confirmation of the marking by the regulating means is inclined with respect to the surface of the control board and the electronic element, and the marking on the electronic element and the marking on the control board coincide in this inclined state .   2. The game according to claim 1, wherein the marking is made of a substance having a property of reflecting the irradiated light as light in a visible light region when irradiated with light having a predetermined wavelength. Machine.

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