JP7614417B2 - Gaming Machines - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an amusement machine.

Conventionally, it is known that in gaming machines such as slot machines and pachinko machines, a specific substrate is stored in a substrate case. In addition, various stickers are attached to the substrate case, and an uneven shape is formed on the top surface. Such stickers and uneven shapes can be said to be essential components of a substrate case for a specific substrate (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2018-57658 A

However, such stickers and uneven shapes can reduce the visibility of electronic components placed on the board.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide an amusement machine that can prevent a decrease in the visibility of electronic components arranged on a board.

In order to achieve the above object, the gaming machine of the present invention comprises:
A substrate;
A gaming machine comprising: a board case for storing the board;
the board case has a sticker attachment area to which a sticker can be attached;
When an area of the substrate facing the sticker attachment area is defined as a specific area,
The area of the sticker attachment area is larger than the area of the sticker and is the same as the area of the specific area,
When viewed from a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface of the substrate, an electronic component that fits within the specific region without protruding from the specific region is defined as a specific electronic component.
The specific electronic component is characterized in that, when the sticker is attached to any position within the sticker attachment area without protruding from the area, at least a portion of the specific electronic component faces the sticker.

With this configuration, electronic components that do not have a problem if their visibility is reduced or electronic components for which reduced visibility is desired are grouped together within a specific area, making it possible to prevent reduced visibility for electronic components for which reduced visibility is desired to be avoided.

In order to achieve the above object, the gaming machine of the present invention comprises:
A substrate;
A gaming machine comprising: a board case for storing the board;
a region of the board in which electronic components to be mounted during mass production are mounted is defined as a first component placement region, and a region in which electronic components not to be mounted during mass production can be mounted is defined as a second component placement region;
In the board case, a region facing the first component arrangement region is defined as a first region, and a region facing the second component arrangement region is defined as a second region,
The second region includes a visibility reducing portion that reduces the visibility of at least a portion of the second component arrangement region.

With this configuration, the visibility reducing portion overlaps with the second component placement area in which no electronic components are mounted in mass-produced products. This makes it possible to reduce the extent to which the visibility reducing portion overlaps with the first component placement area. This makes it possible to prevent a decrease in visibility of the portion in which electronic components are mounted.

In the above configuration of the present invention, the visibility reducing portion may be formed by a seal.

In addition, in the above-mentioned configuration of the present invention, the visibility reducing portion may be formed by an uneven shape.

The gaming machine of the present invention can prevent a decrease in visibility of electronic components arranged on a board.

1 is a perspective view showing an example of a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating its external configuration. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the external configuration of the game board. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the external configuration of the status display unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the gaming machine. FIG. 11 is a state transition diagram of the game state. This is an oblique view of the dispensing control board unit from the front side. This is an oblique view of the dispensing control board unit from the front side. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a sticker attachment area according to the first embodiment. 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining a sticker attached to the board case. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a mounting portion of a mass-produced component that has not yet been mounted. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing the external appearance of a main IC of a gaming machine according to a second embodiment, in which (a) is a diagram seen from the top side, and (b) is a diagram seen from the short side direction. 1A is a view showing the socket, (a) being a view from the top surface side, (b) being a view from the short side direction, and (c) being a view from the bottom surface side. 13A is a diagram showing a socket terminal having an odd pin number, FIG. 13B is a diagram showing a socket terminal having an even pin number, and FIG. 13C is a diagram showing the positional relationship of the socket terminal Q shown in FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B when held in the socket body. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a through hole to which a terminal of a socket is joined. 11A is a diagram showing the relationship between the gap formed between the mounting surface and the bottom surface of the socket and the solder fillet. FIG. 1A and 1B are diagrams for explaining the gap formed between the socket and the main IC or the board, in which (a) is a diagram of the socket seen from the top side, and (b) is a diagram of the socket seen from the bottom side. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the gap formed between the socket and the main IC or the board, and the ground pattern, in which (a) is a diagram showing the socket, main IC, and board from the longitudinal direction, and (b) is a diagram showing the socket, main IC, and board from the top side. FIG. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing a socket according to a modified example of the first embodiment, in which FIG. 10A is a diagram seen from the bottom side, and FIG. A diagram showing the payout control board of a gaming machine according to a third embodiment, as viewed from the front side. This is a diagram of the dispensing control board for the modified example, viewed from the front side. The same is a view of the gaming machine from the rear side. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view showing a payout control board unit of a gaming machine according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a first surface of the substrate according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a first surface of the substrate according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the board case as viewed from the rear side. 1A is a schematic diagram showing the second surface of the substrate, in which (a) shows a state in which a screw is not inserted into the through hole, and (b) shows a state in which a screw is inserted into the through hole. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a portion where a recess is provided in the substrate case according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view showing the periphery of a predetermined through hole in the substrate according to the first embodiment; 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which the substrate is fixed to the substrate case. FIG. 13 shows components to be mounted on a circuit board of a game machine according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, where (a) shows the state before forming, (b) shows the state after forming, and (c) shows the state after bending of the tips of the leads after mounting on the circuit board. 1A is a schematic diagram of a portion of a substrate viewed from the side, in which (a) shows the state before the lead of the first component is bent, and (b) shows the state after the lead of the first component is bent. 1A is a schematic diagram of a portion of a substrate viewed from the normal direction of the substrate surface, in which (a) shows the state before the lead of the first component is bent, and (b) shows the state after the lead of the first component has been bent. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a portion of the substrate according to the first embodiment.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a pachinko game machine, which is one of the game machines, will be described, but other game machines may be used. In the following description, "front and rear" basically means that when a player is in front of the game machine, the player side is "front" and the game machine side is "rear", "up and down" means that the top side of the game machine is "up" and the bottom side is "down", and "left and right" means that the left hand side of the player playing the game machine is "left" and the right hand side is "right".

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of the gaming machine according to this embodiment. The gaming machine of this embodiment is used to play games using gaming balls (gaming media) loaned from an amusement facility, and includes an outer frame 2 that forms the outer surface of the gaming machine, a gaming board 6 that is provided inside the gaming machine and forms a gaming area 4 in which the gaming balls move, an inner frame 7 that holds the gaming board 6, a glass unit 8 that makes the gaming board 6 visible but inaccessible to the player, and a front frame 10 to which the glass unit 8 is attached. The inner frame 7 is attached to the outer frame 2 via a hinge mechanism so as to be able to open and close. The front frame 10 is also attached to the inner frame 7 via a hinge mechanism so as to be able to open and close. The inner frame 7 (and the front frame 10) can be opened and closed between a closed position (closed state) that blocks the opening of the outer frame 2 and an open position (open state) that opens the opening of the outer frame 2.

The portion of the front frame 10 surrounding the glass unit 8 is made of a translucent material that transmits light, and inside the portion made of the translucent material are provided a number of front frame lamps 12 that output special lights to liven up the game. In addition, speakers 14 (sound devices) that output special sounds to liven up the game are provided on the left and right sides of the upper part and the left and right sides of the lower part of the front frame 10.

At the center of the bottom of the front frame 10 is an upper tray 16 for storing game balls, and at the left part of the inner side of the upper tray 16 is a payout outlet 18 for paying out game balls from the gaming machine to the player. A grip unit 20 is provided at the bottom right of the front frame 10, and when the player rotates the grip unit 20 clockwise toward the gaming machine, a launching device (not shown) installed inside the gaming machine is activated to launch game balls into the game area 4. The launching device of this embodiment can launch 99 game balls per minute (1.65 balls per second).

A supply port 22 is provided on the right side of the inner side of the upper tray 16 to supply game balls from the upper tray 16 to the launching device. In addition, a lower tray 24 is provided below the upper tray 16 to store surplus game balls when the upper tray 16 cannot store all the game balls.

In addition, a performance button 26 (performance operation means) is provided on the front edge of the upper tray 16, and when the player operates the performance button 26, the performance performed by the gaming machine changes.

Figure 2 is a front view showing the external configuration of the game board 6 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 2, the game board 6 is provided with a circular outer rail 28, and the area surrounded by the outer rail 28 is the game area 4 in which the game balls move. In addition, an inner rail 30 is provided in an arc shape along the outer rail 28 at the left end of the game area 4, and the outer rail 28 and the inner rail 30 guide the game balls launched from a launching device (not shown) installed below the game board 6 to the game area 4.

At the center of the game board 6, there is a presentation unit 36 that includes a liquid crystal display 32 (presentation display device) that displays presentation images and the like to liven up the game, and a display frame 34 that is formed to surround the liquid crystal display 32. The display frame 34 is provided with a display frame lamp 38 above the center of the liquid crystal display 32 that outputs presentation lights and the like to liven up the game.

In this embodiment, the game ball cannot pass in front of the LCD display 32, and the game ball launched from the launching device falls in the game area 4a on the left side of the LCD display 32 or the game area 4b on the right side. In addition, numerous game nails (not shown) are nailed into the game area 4 so as to intersect with the surface of the game board 6, so that the movement direction of the game ball moving through the game area 4 changes randomly.

In addition, an opening 40 is formed on the left side of the display frame 34, through which game balls falling through the game area 4a on the left side of the LCD display 32 can pass, and game balls that pass through this opening 40 pass through a passage 42 provided in the display frame 34 and fall onto a stage 44 provided below the LCD display 32. The top surface of this stage 44 is smoothly curved, and a gap is formed between the stage 44 and the glass unit 8 that allows game balls to fall downward from the stage 44, and game balls that fall onto the stage 44 from the passage 42 move back and forth across the stage 44 before falling downward from near the center of the stage 44.

Below the center of the stage 44, a first start opening 46 is provided through which a game ball that has fallen downward from near the center of the stage 44 can enter. In addition, a first start opening switch 100 (see FIG. 4) that detects a game ball that has entered the first start opening 46 is arranged inside the first start opening 46. When the first start opening switch 100 detects a game ball (entry of a game ball into the first start opening 46), it outputs a detection signal to the main control board 200. In addition, the main control board 200 executes a first special pattern lottery as a special pattern lottery based on the input of the detection signal from the first start opening switch 100. In addition, the main control board 200 causes the payout device 130 to pay out prize balls based on the input of the detection signal from the first start opening switch 100. In addition, the game ball that has entered the first start opening 46 is collected inside the gaming machine.

To the left of the first starting hole 46 in the game area 4, multiple (three) general winning holes 47 (upper left general winning hole 47a, middle left general winning hole 47b, and lower left general winning hole 47c) are provided. In addition, a general winning hole switch 101 (see FIG. 4) is arranged on the game board 6 to detect a game ball that has entered the upper left general winning hole 47a, middle left general winning hole 47b, or lower left general winning hole 47c. When the general winning hole switch 101 detects a game ball (entry of a game ball into the upper left general winning hole 47a, middle left general winning hole 47b, or lower left general winning hole 47c), it outputs a detection signal to the main control board 200. In addition, the main control board 200 causes the payout device 130 to perform a payout operation of the prize ball based on the input of the detection signal from the general winning hole switch 101. In addition, one general prize opening switch 101 may be provided for each of the upper left general prize opening 47a, the center left general prize opening 47b, and the lower left general prize opening 47c, or one may be provided for multiple (e.g., three) general prize openings 47. In addition to the upper left general prize opening 47a, the center left general prize opening 47b, and the lower left general prize opening 47c, general prize opening switches corresponding to these general prize openings may also be provided.

In addition, a pass gate 48 is provided in the game area 4b on the right side of the liquid crystal display 32, through which game balls pass without being collected inside the game machine. A gate switch 102 (see FIG. 4) that detects the passage of a game ball is provided inside the pass gate 48. When the gate switch 102 detects a game ball (the game ball passing through the pass gate 48), it outputs a detection signal to the main control board 200. Based on the detection signal input from the gate switch 102, the main control board 200 executes a normal symbol lottery that determines whether or not a normal win has been won.

In addition, a second start port 49 is provided below the passing gate 48 in the game area 4b on the right side of the liquid crystal display 32. A second start port switch 103 (see FIG. 4) is provided in the second start port 49 to detect a game ball that has entered the second start port 49. When the second start port switch 103 detects a game ball (entry of a game ball into the second start port 49), it outputs a detection signal to the main control board 200. In addition, the main control board 200 executes a second special symbol lottery as a special symbol lottery based on the input of the detection signal from the second start port switch 103. In addition, the main control board 200 causes the payout device 130 to pay out prize balls based on the input of the detection signal from the second start port switch 103. In addition, the game ball that has entered the second start port 49 is collected inside the gaming machine.

The second starting hole 49 is provided with a normal role 54 (assistance means) that can operate between a reduced state (a state in which entry is not assisted, a non-assistance state) in which it is difficult for the game ball to enter the second starting hole 49, and an expanded state (a state in which entry is assisted, an assist state) in which it is easy for the game ball to enter. The normal role 54 has a built-in drive device such as a solenoid, and is controlled to enter the expanded state under specified conditions when a normal winning is won in the normal symbol lottery.

The large prize opening 50 is provided in the game area 4b on the right side of the liquid crystal display 32. A count switch 104 (see FIG. 4) is provided in the large prize opening 50 to detect game balls that have entered the large prize opening 50. When the count switch 104 detects a game ball (entry of a game ball into the large prize opening 50), it outputs a detection signal to the main control board 200. Based on the input of the detection signal from the count switch 104, the main control board 200 causes the payout device 130 to perform a payout operation of prize balls. Based on the input of the detection signal from the count switch 104, the main control board 200 counts the number of game balls that have entered the large prize opening 50. The game balls that have entered the large prize opening 50 are collected inside the gaming machine.

The big prize opening 50 is provided with a special device 56 that can be operated between a closed state (second state, no entry state) in which the game ball cannot enter the big prize opening 50, and an open state (first state, entry state) in which the game ball can enter. The special device 56 has a built-in drive device such as a solenoid, and is controlled to be in the open state under predetermined conditions in the special game state that starts when a big prize is won in the special symbol lottery (first special symbol lottery or second special symbol lottery).

At the bottom of the game area 4, an outlet 62 is provided to collect game balls that have fallen through the game area 4 without entering any of the winning holes 46, 47, 49, and 50 into the game machine. Here, inside the game machine, a discharge path (not shown) is provided through which game balls collected (discharged) from the game area 4 pass. In this game machine, all game balls shot into the game area 4 (all game balls collected from the game area 4) are configured to pass through the discharge path. That is, the game balls shot into the game area 4 are collected from the game area 4 and flow into the discharge path by entering any of the winning holes 46, 47, 49, and 50 or passing through the outlet 62. Specifically, the game balls that have entered each winning hole 46, 47, 49, and 50 are detected by switches 100, 101, 103, and 104 arranged in the winning holes, and then guided to the discharge path. The game balls collected from the outlet 62 are guided to the discharge path. An out switch 106 (see FIG. 4) is provided in the discharge path. When the out switch 106 detects a game ball passing through the discharge path (discharge of a game ball from the game area 4), it outputs a detection signal to the main control board 200. The main control board 200 counts the number of game balls discharged from the game area 4 based on the input of the detection signal from the out switch 106.

The game ball launching device is configured so that the launching force of the game ball changes by adjusting the amount of rotation of the grip unit 20 shown in FIG. 1. When the amount of rotation of the grip unit 20 is small, the game ball is launched so that it falls in the game area 4a on the left side of the liquid crystal display 32, and when the amount of rotation of the grip unit 20 is large, the game ball is launched so that it falls in the game area 4b on the right side of the liquid crystal display 32.

The player can therefore adjust the amount of rotation of the grip unit 20 depending on the game situation, and launch the game ball so that it falls through the left-hand game area 4a or passes through the opening 40, passage 42 and stage 44 to enter the first starting hole 46 (left hit), or so that it falls through the right-hand game area 4b and passes through the passing gate 48 or enters the second starting hole 49 or enters the big winning hole 50 (right hit).

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, when the gaming ball falls in the left gaming area 4a, the gaming ball does not pass through the passing gate 48, and the gaming ball does not enter (win) the second starting opening 49 or the large winning opening 50. In addition, when the gaming ball falls in the right gaming area 4b, the gaming ball does not win in the first starting opening 46, the upper left general winning opening 47a, the middle left general winning opening 47b, and the lower left general winning opening 47c.

At the bottom right of the game board 6, outside the game area 4, there is a status display unit 70 that indicates various states of the game machine by turning on and off lamps, etc.

Figure 3 is a front view showing the external configuration of the status display unit 70. As shown in Figure 3, the status display unit 70 is provided with a normal symbol display unit 72, a normal hold display unit 74, a first special symbol display unit 76, a first special hold display unit 78, a second special symbol display unit 80, a second special hold display unit 82, and a game status display unit 84.

The normal pattern display unit 72 is composed of two lamps, and when a normal pattern lottery is being held, the two lamps are made to flash to display the normal pattern in a variable manner, and the normal pattern is displayed stationary by turning on or off the two lamps to display the result of the normal pattern lottery.

The normal reserve display unit 74 is made up of two lamps, and when the normal symbol is already in a changing or stationary display when the game ball passes through the passage gate 48, and the random number value for the normal symbol lottery is reserved because the normal symbol lottery cannot be performed even if the random number value for the normal symbol lottery is obtained, the normal reserve number corresponding to the number of reserved random number values for the normal symbol lottery is displayed. A normal reserve number of 0 to 4 is displayed by a combination of turning on, turning off, or blinking the two lamps.

The first special pattern display unit 76 is composed of a seven-segment display, and when a first special pattern lottery is held by a game ball entering the first starting hole 46, the seven-segment display is caused to flash to display the first special pattern in a variable manner, and the seven-segment display is caused to light up in one of a number of different manners to display the first special pattern in a static manner, thereby displaying the result of the first special pattern lottery.

The first special reserve display unit 78 is composed of two lamps, and displays a first special reserve number corresponding to the number of reserved first special random number values when the random number value for special pattern selection is reserved as the first special random number value because it is not possible to perform a special pattern selection even if the random number value for special pattern selection (lottery information) is obtained, such as when the first special pattern or second special pattern is already being displayed in a variable or stopped state at the time the game ball enters the first starting hole 46, and displays a first special reserve number of 0 to 4 by combining the lighting, extinguishing, or blinking of the two lamps.

The second special pattern display unit 80 is composed of a seven-segment display, and when a second special pattern lottery is held by a game ball entering the second starting hole 49, the seven-segment display is caused to flash to display the second special pattern in a variable manner, and the seven-segment display is caused to light up in one of a number of different manners to display the second special pattern in a static manner, thereby displaying the result of the second special pattern lottery.

The second special reserve display unit 82 is composed of two lamps, and displays a second special reserve number corresponding to the number of reserved second special random number values when the random number value for special pattern selection is reserved as the second special random number value because a special pattern selection cannot be performed even if the random number value for special pattern selection is obtained, such as when the first special pattern or second special pattern is already being displayed in a changing or stopped state at the time the game ball enters the second starting hole 49, and displays a second special reserve number of 0 to 4 by combining the lighting, extinguishing, or blinking of the two lamps.

The game status display unit 84 is composed of six lamps, and displays the type of game status currently set by a combination of turning on, off, or blinking the six lamps. In this embodiment, four types of game status can be set: a normal status (low probability status), a high probability status (high probability status/special status) in which the probability of winning a jackpot is set higher than in the normal status, a special game status that starts when a jackpot is won in a special symbol lottery, and a time-saving status (special status) in which the time for the first special symbol or second special symbol to change is shortened to trigger the execution of the special symbol lottery more frequently. The six lamps are turned on, off, or blinking in a combination to display which game status is currently set.

Figure 4 is a functional block diagram of the gaming machine of this embodiment. The gaming machine of this embodiment is controlled by a control board including a main control board 200 (main control means) and a sub-control board 202 (sub-control means). The functions of each board, such as the main control board 200 and the sub-control board 202, are realized by hardware such as various processors (CPU, DSP, etc.), ASICs (gate arrays, etc.), ROMs (an example of information storage media), or RAMs, or by software consisting of a given program pre-stored in a ROM or the like.

The main control board 200 controls the progress of the game. The main control board 200 receives input signals from input means such as the first start port switch 100, the general winning port switch 101, the gate switch 102, the second start port switch 103, the count switch 104, or the out switch 106, and performs various calculations to execute the game. Based on the calculation results, the main control board 200 controls the operation of output means such as the status display unit 70, the normal role 54, the special role 56, or the payout device 130.

The sub-control board 202 controls the execution of effects based on information sent from the main control board 200. The sub-control board 202 receives signals sent from the main control board 200 and input signals from the effect button switch 150, which detects operation of the effect button 26, and performs various calculations to execute effects that match the progress of the game, and controls the operation of the effect devices, such as the LCD display 32, lighting device, speaker 14, and effect drive device, based on the calculation results.

The main control board 200 is configured to include a random number generating means 210, a normal symbol selection means 220, a normal display control means 222, a normal gimmick control means 224, a special symbol selection means 230, a special display control means 240, a game state transition control means 250, a special game execution means 260, a payout instruction means 270, a communication control means 280, and a main memory 290.

The random number generating means 210 is a means for generating random numbers for the lottery, and is realized by a random number generator that generates hardware random numbers, or a program that generates software random numbers. Software random numbers can be generated, for example, based on the count value of an increment counter (a counter that counts numbers so as to circulate through a specified count range). Note that in this embodiment, "random number values" include not only values that are generated randomly in the mathematical sense, but also values that, even if their generation is regular, can actually function as random numbers because the timing of their acquisition is irregular.

The normal symbol lottery means 220 acquires a normal symbol lottery random number value from the random number generation means 210 based on the input of a detection signal from the gate switch 102 that detects each game ball passing through the passage gate 48, stores the random number value for the normal symbol lottery in the normal random number storage means 2912 of the main memory 290, and performs a normal symbol lottery to determine whether or not a normal win has occurred for the normal symbol lottery random number value value read from the normal random number storage means 2912. Specifically, the normal symbol lottery means 220 performs a normal win determination process as a normal symbol lottery.

The normal win determination process is a process for determining whether or not a normal win has been won. In the normal win determination process, the normal symbol lottery means 220 selects which of the multiple types of normal symbol lottery tables stored in the lottery table storage means 2910 of the main memory 290 to refer to in order to perform the random number determination process, depending on the game state. Here, each normal symbol lottery table is one in which a normal win or a loss is associated with each of the 100 normal symbol lottery random number values from 0 to 99. Then, the normal symbol lottery means 220 refers to the selected normal symbol lottery table and determines whether or not one of the normal symbol lottery random number values read from the normal random number storage means 2912 is associated with a normal win, thereby determining whether or not a normal win has been won. Then, in the case where a normal win is won, the normal symbol selection means 220 sets the winning flag for the normal win to the ON state in the flag storage means 2916 of the main memory 290, and in the case where a loss is won, the winning flag for the normal win is set to the OFF state.

The normal symbol lottery table selected when the game state is in a special probability state or a time-saving state is set to have a higher probability of winning a normal hit than the normal symbol lottery table selected when the game state is neither in a special probability state nor a time-saving state. In other words, the normal symbol lottery performed when the game state is in a special probability state or a time-saving state has a higher probability of winning a normal hit than the normal symbol lottery performed when the game state is neither in a special probability state nor a time-saving state.

The normal display control means 222 is a means for controlling the display of the status display unit 70 based on the results of the normal pattern lottery, and performs normal pattern display control processing and normal hold display control processing.

In the normal symbol display control process, the normal display control means 222 changes the display of the normal symbol by flashing the two lamps of the normal symbol display unit 72 until a predetermined change time has elapsed, and displays the result of the normal symbol lottery on the normal symbol display unit 72 by turning on or off the two lamps of the normal symbol display unit 72 to stop displaying the normal symbol depending on whether or not a normal hit has been won in the normal hit determination process.

Specifically, in this embodiment, if the game state at the time the normal symbol lottery is performed is neither a high probability state nor a time-saving state, the normal symbol fluctuation time is set to 20 seconds, and if the game state at the time the normal symbol lottery is performed is a high probability state or a time-saving state, the normal symbol fluctuation time is set to 1 second, so that the opportunity to perform the normal symbol lottery occurs more frequently when the game state is a high probability state or a time-saving state.

In the normal hold display control process, the normal display control means 222 displays a normal hold number of 0 to 4 by combining turning on, off, or blinking the two lamps of the normal hold display unit 74 according to the number of random numbers for normal pattern selection stored in the normal random number storage means 2912.

The normal role control means 224 is a means for controlling the normal role 54 based on the result of the normal symbol lottery. When the game state is neither a high probability state nor a time-saving state, the normal role control means 224 controls the operation of the normal role 54 so that the normal role 54 becomes enlarged until 0.1 seconds have elapsed and then returns to a reduced state, triggered by the normal symbol being stopped and displayed in a manner indicating a normal win, until 20 seconds have elapsed, triggered by the normal symbol being stopped and displayed in a manner indicating a normal win, until 20 seconds have elapsed, triggered by the normal role control means 224.

Therefore, when a normal win occurs in the normal symbol lottery, if the game state is neither a sure-win state nor a time-saving state, the normal device 54 operates so that the ease with which the game ball can enter the second start hole 49 is hardly increased, but if the game state is a sure-win state or a time-saving state, the normal device 54 operates so that the ease with which the game ball can enter the second start hole 49 is increased.

The special symbol lottery means 230 acquires a random number value for special symbol lottery from the random number generating means 210 based on the input of a detection signal from the first start port switch 100, which detects each game ball entering the first start port 46, and stores it as a first special random number value in the special random number storage means 2914 of the main memory 290. The special symbol lottery means 230 also acquires a random number value for special symbol lottery from the random number generating means 210 based on the input of a detection signal from the second start port switch 103, which detects each game ball entering the second start port 49, and stores it as a second special random number value in the special random number storage means 2914. The special symbol lottery means 230 then uses the first special random number value or the second special random number value read from the special random number storage means 2914 to perform a special symbol lottery to determine whether or not a jackpot has been won. Specifically, the special symbol selection means 230 performs a jackpot determination process, a symbol selection process, etc., as a special symbol selection process.

The jackpot determination process is a process for determining whether or not a jackpot has occurred by reading out one jackpot determination random number value included in the first special random number value or the second special random number value stored in the special random number storage means 2914. Here, one jackpot determination random number value is obtained from 65,536 jackpot determination random number values from 0 to 65,535 based on the detection signal input from the first start port switch 100 or the second start port switch 103, and is stored in the special random number storage means 2914 as the first special random number value or the second special random number value.

In the jackpot determination process, the special symbol selection means 230 selects which of the multiple types of jackpot selection tables stored in the selection table storage means 2910 of the main memory 290 to refer to for random number determination processing according to the game state. Here, each jackpot selection table is a table in which a jackpot or a miss is associated with each of 65,536 jackpot determination random number values from 0 to 65,535. The special symbol selection means 230 then refers to the selected jackpot selection table to determine whether or not one of the jackpot determination random number values read out is associated with a jackpot, thereby determining whether or not a jackpot has been won. In addition, if a jackpot has been won, the special symbol selection means 230 sets the jackpot winning flag in the flag storage means 2916 to the ON state, and if a miss occurs, sets the jackpot winning flag to the OFF state.

The jackpot selection table selected when the game state is in a special probability state is set to have a higher probability of winning a jackpot than the jackpot selection table selected when the game state is in a normal state or time-saving state. In other words, the jackpot determination process (special symbol selection) performed when the game state is in a special probability state has a higher probability of winning a jackpot than the jackpot determination process (special symbol selection) performed when the game state is in a normal state or time-saving state.

The pattern determination process is a process that is performed when a jackpot is won in the jackpot determination process, and is a process that reads out one pattern determination random number value included in the first special random number value or the second special random number value stored in the special random number storage means 2914, and determines whether the jackpot pattern (type of jackpot) will be a 16-round probability variable pattern, a 4-round probability variable pattern, a 16-round normal pattern, or a 4-round normal pattern. Here, one pattern determination random number value is obtained from 100 pattern determination random number values from 0 to 99 based on the detection signal input from the first start port switch 100 or the second start port switch 103, and is stored in the special random number storage means 2914 as the first special random number value or the second special random number value.

In the pattern determination process, the special pattern selection means 230 selects which of the multiple types of pattern selection tables stored in the selection table storage means 2910 to refer to in the random number determination process, depending on whether the one pattern determination random number value read out was stored as the first special random number value or the second special random number value. Here, each pattern selection table is one in which one of the 16-round probability variable pattern, the 4-round probability variable pattern, the 16-round normal pattern, and the 4-round normal pattern is associated with each of the 100 pattern determination random numbers from 0 to 99. Then, the special pattern selection means 230 refers to the selected pattern selection table to determine which of the multiple types of jackpot patterns the one pattern determination random number value read out is associated with, thereby determining which of the multiple types of jackpot patterns has been won. In addition, the special pattern selection means 230 sets the winning flag corresponding to the winning jackpot pattern to the ON state in the flag storage means 2916.

The special display control means 240 is a means for controlling the display of the status display unit 70 based on the results of the special pattern lottery, and performs a first special pattern display control process, a second special pattern display control process, a first special hold display control process, and a second special hold display control process.

The first special pattern display control process is a process that is performed when the first special random number value is read from the special random number storage means 2914 and a special pattern lottery is performed, and the special display control means 240 causes the first special pattern to be displayed in a variable manner by flashing the 7-segment display of the first special pattern display unit 76 until a predetermined variation time has elapsed, and then causes the first special pattern to be displayed in a stationary manner by lighting the 7-segment display of the first special pattern display unit 76 in a predetermined manner.

In this embodiment, the display mode of the 7-segment display is determined in advance in correspondence with each of the four types of jackpot patterns and misses, and the special display control means 240 stops and displays the first special pattern by lighting up the 7-segment display of the first special pattern display unit 76 in a manner according to whether or not a jackpot has been won in the jackpot determination process, and in a manner according to the jackpot pattern determined in the pattern determination process if a jackpot has been won in the jackpot determination process, and causes the first special pattern display unit 76 to display the result of the special pattern lottery.

The second special pattern display control process is a process that is performed when a second special random number value is read from the special random number storage means 2914 and a special pattern lottery is performed, and the special display control means 240 causes the second special pattern to be displayed variably by flashing the seven-segment display of the second special pattern display unit 80 until a predetermined variation time has elapsed, and then causes the second special pattern to be displayed stationary by lighting the seven-segment display of the second special pattern display unit 80 in a predetermined manner.

Then, the special display control means 240 causes the second special pattern to be displayed in a stopped state by lighting up the seven-segment display of the second special pattern display unit 80 in a manner according to whether or not a jackpot has been won in the jackpot determination process, and in a manner according to the jackpot pattern determined in the pattern determination process if a jackpot has been won in the jackpot determination process, and causes the second special pattern display unit 80 to display the result of the special pattern lottery.

In the first special hold display control process, the special display control means 240 displays a first special hold number between 0 and 4 by combining turning on, off, or blinking the two lamps of the first special hold display unit 78 according to the number of the first special random number value stored in the special random number storage means 2914.

In the second special hold display control process, the special display control means 240 displays a second special hold number between 0 and 4 by combining turning on, off, or blinking the two lamps of the second special hold display unit 82 depending on the number of second special random numbers stored in the special random number storage means 2914.

As shown in FIG. 5, the game state transition control means 250 performs a game state transition control process that transitions the game state between the normal state, special game state, special probability state, and time-saving state based on the establishment of a predetermined transition condition. A single game state transition condition may be defined, or multiple game state transition conditions may be defined. When multiple conditions are defined, the game state can be transitioned to another game state based on the establishment of one of the multiple predetermined conditions, or the establishment of all of the multiple predetermined conditions.

The normal state is a game state that corresponds to the initial state among the multiple game states, and it is possible to transition from the normal state to the special game state. In the normal state, the normal symbol lottery is performed by referring to the normal symbol lottery table, where the probability of winning a normal jackpot is set to approximately 1/20, and the special symbol lottery is performed by referring to the jackpot lottery table, where the probability of winning a jackpot is set to 1/319.

In addition, in the normal state, the probability of winning a normal prize in the normal symbol lottery is low at approximately 1/20, and the normal symbol variation time is set long, and the period during which the normal device 54 is in an expanded state is short at 0.1 seconds, making it difficult for the game ball to enter the second starting hole 49.

The special game state begins when a jackpot is won in a special symbol lottery during the normal state, the special bonus state, or the time-saving state, and ends when a predetermined number of rounds (number of executions) of special games have been played depending on the type of jackpot symbol.

Specifically, when the special game state starts based on the winning flag for the 16-round probability variation pattern being set to the ON state in the special pattern lottery, the special game state ends on the condition that 16 rounds of special games from the 1st round to the 16th round have been played.

In addition, when the special game state is started based on the fact that the winning flag for the 4-round probability variation pattern is set to the ON state in the special pattern lottery, the special game state ends on the condition that 4 rounds of special games from the 1st round to the 4th round have been played.

In addition, when the special game state is started based on the winning flag for the 16-round regular pattern being set to the ON state in the special pattern lottery, the special game state ends on the condition that 16 rounds of special games from the 1st round to the 16th round have been played.

In addition, when the special game state is started based on the fact that the winning flag for the 4-round regular pattern is set to the ON state in the special pattern lottery, the special game state ends on the condition that 4 rounds of special games from the 1st round to the 4th round have been played.

The special game state is initiated when the special game state, which is initiated based on the winning flag of the 16-round special game pattern or the 4-round special game pattern (special game pattern) being set to the ON state, ends, and it is possible to transition from the special game state to the normal game state or the normal game state. In addition, the special game state is more advantageous to the player than the normal game state in that the normal game pattern is selected by referring to a normal game pattern selection table in which the winning probability of a normal win is set to approximately 19/20, and the special game pattern is selected by referring to a jackpot selection table in which the winning probability of a jackpot is set to 1/31. The special game state ends when the number of times the special game pattern has been selected in the special game state reaches 9999, and the game transitions to the normal game state.

Specifically, when the special game state ends, the game state transition control means 250 writes a value (e.g., 9999) equivalent to a predetermined number of games (e.g., 9999) to the probability change end judgment counter 2930 in the main memory 290, and performs a decrement update by subtracting a value (e.g., 1) equivalent to one number of games from the stored value of the probability change end judgment counter 2930 each time a special symbol lottery is performed in the probability change state. Then, when the stored value of the probability change end judgment counter 2930 reaches a threshold value (e.g., 0), the probability change state ends and the normal state begins. However, since the probability of winning the jackpot in the special symbol lottery is set to 1/31 in the probability change state, the special game state begins before the number of times the special symbol lottery has been performed in the probability change state reaches 9999, and it is designed so that the probability change state rarely transitions to the normal state.

In addition, in the special state, the probability of winning a normal hit in the normal symbol lottery is high at about 19/20, and the normal symbol fluctuation time is short at 1 second, and the period during which the normal device 54 is in an expanded state is long at 20 seconds, so it is easier for the player to get the game ball to enter the second starting hole 49 than in the normal state, which is advantageous for the player.

In addition, in the special bonus state, the time for the first or second special symbol to change is often set to a shorter time regardless of the number of reserved symbols, so the opportunity to draw the special symbols occurs more frequently than in the normal state.

The time-saving state is initiated when the special game state, which is initiated based on the winning flag for the 16-round normal symbol or 4-round normal symbol being set to the ON state, ends, and it is possible to transition from the time-saving state to the special game state or the normal state. In the time-saving state, the normal symbol lottery is performed by referring to a normal symbol lottery table in which the winning probability of a normal jackpot is set to approximately 19/20, just like in the probability-changing state, but the special symbol lottery is performed by referring to a jackpot lottery table in which the winning probability of a jackpot is set to approximately 1/319, just like in the normal state, making it more disadvantageous to the player than the probability-changing state. The time-saving state ends when the number of times the special symbol lottery has been performed in the time-saving state reaches 100, and the state transitions to the normal state.

Specifically, when the game state is transitioned to the time-saving state, the game state transition control means 250 writes a value (e.g., 100) equivalent to a predetermined number of games (e.g., 100 games) to the time-saving end determination counter 2932 in the main memory 290, and performs a decrement update by subtracting a value (e.g., 1) equivalent to one game from the stored value of the time-saving end determination counter 2932 each time a special pattern lottery is performed in the time-saving state. Then, when the stored value of the time-saving end determination counter 2932 reaches a threshold value (e.g., 0), the time-saving state is terminated.

In addition, in the time-saving state, just like in the special state, the probability of winning a normal hit in the normal symbol lottery is high at about 19/20, and the normal symbol fluctuation time is short at 1 second, and the period during which the normal device 54 is in an expanded state is long at 20 seconds, so it is easier for the player to get the game ball to enter the second starting hole 49 than in the normal state, which is advantageous for the player.

In addition, in the time-saving state, just like in the probability bonus state, the time for the first or second special symbol to change is often set to a shorter period regardless of the number of reserved symbols, so the opportunity to draw the special symbols occurs more frequently than in the normal state.

The special game execution means 260 is a means for executing a special game based on the results of the special symbol lottery, and performs special game execution process 1 to special game execution process 4, etc.

The special game execution process 1 is executed based on the fact that a 16-round probability variable pattern has been won in the special pattern lottery, and the special game execution means 260 sets a value (e.g., 16) equivalent to 16 times, which is a predetermined number of rounds for the 16-round probability variable pattern, as the upper limit value of the round counter 2933, and performs an incremental update by adding a value (e.g., 1) equivalent to one round to the stored value of the round counter 2933 each time the special role 56 completes its operation in a predetermined manner in each round. Then, when the stored value of the round counter 2933 reaches the upper limit value (e.g., 16), the special game state ends.

Specifically, in the special game execution process 1, in the special game of each of the first to sixteenth rounds, when the opening timer 2934 counts 29 seconds after the special device 56 is opened or when the count switch 104 detects the entry of one game ball and the value of the big prize counter 2936, which is incremented by a value equivalent to one game ball (e.g., 1), reaches an upper limit value (e.g., 10), the special device 56 is controlled to be in a closed state. Then, it is determined that the end condition for one round has been met, and "1" is incremented to the value of the round counter 2933.

The special game execution process 2 is executed based on the fact that a 4-round probability variable pattern has been won in the special pattern lottery, and the special game execution means 260 sets a value (e.g., 4) equivalent to the predetermined number of rounds for the 4-round probability variable pattern as the upper limit value of the round counter 2933, and performs an incremental update by adding a value (e.g., 1) equivalent to one round to the stored value of the round counter 2933 each time the special role 56 completes its operation in a predetermined manner in each round. Then, when the stored value of the round counter 2933 reaches the upper limit value (e.g., 4), the special game state ends.

Specifically, in the special game execution process 2, in the special game of each of the first to fourth rounds, when the opening timer 2934 counts 29 seconds after the special feature 56 is opened or when the value of the big win counter 2936 reaches an upper limit (e.g., 10), the drive control of the special feature 56 is performed so that the special feature 56 is closed. Then, the end condition for one round is considered to be met, and "1" is added to the value of the round counter 2933.

The special game execution process 3 is executed based on the fact that a 16-round normal pattern has been selected in the special pattern lottery, and the special game execution means 260 sets a value (e.g., 16) equivalent to 16 times, which is a predetermined number of rounds for the 16-round probability variation pattern, as the upper limit value of the round counter 2933, and performs an incremental update by adding a value (e.g., 1) equivalent to one round to the stored value of the round counter 2933 each time the special role 56 completes its operation in a predetermined manner in each round. Then, when the stored value of the round counter 2933 reaches the upper limit value (e.g., 16), the special game state ends.

Specifically, in the special game execution process 3, in the special game of each of the first to sixteenth rounds, when the opening timer 2934 counts 29 seconds after the special feature 56 is opened or when the value of the big win counter 2936 reaches an upper limit (e.g., 10), the special feature 56 is controlled to be closed. Then, the end condition for one round is considered to be met, and "1" is added to the value of the round counter 2933.

The special game execution process 4 is executed based on the fact that a 4-round normal pattern has been selected in the special pattern lottery, and the special game execution means 260 sets a value (e.g., 4) equivalent to the predetermined number of rounds for the 4-round normal pattern as the upper limit value of the round counter 2933, and performs an incremental update by adding a value (e.g., 1) equivalent to one round to the stored value of the round counter 2933 each time the special device 56 completes its operation in a predetermined manner in each round. Then, when the stored value of the round counter 2933 reaches the upper limit value (e.g., 4), the special game state ends.

Specifically, in the special game execution process 4, in the special game of each of the first to fourth rounds, when the opening timer 2934 counts 29 seconds after the special feature 56 is opened or when the value of the big win counter 2936 reaches an upper limit (e.g., 10), the drive control of the special feature 56 is performed so that the special feature 56 is closed. Then, the end condition for one round is considered to be met, and "1" is added to the value of the round counter 2933.

The payout instruction means 270 controls the payout device 130 to pay out a number of game balls equivalent to the number of prize balls predetermined for each detection signal based on the input of a detection signal from the first start port switch 100, a detection signal from the general winning port switch 101, a detection signal from the second start port switch 103, or a detection signal from the count switch 104. Specifically, the payout instruction means 270 transmits a payout command to the payout device 130 instructing it to pay out a number of game balls equivalent to the number of prize balls predetermined for each input detection signal. The number of prize balls may be any number greater than or equal to one, and the number of prize balls paid out may be different for each of the first start port switch 100, the general winning port switch 101, the second start port switch 103, or the count switch 104, or may be set to the same number of prize balls.

The payout device 130 performs the operation of paying out the number of game balls instructed by the payout instruction means 270. The payout device 130 is equipped with a payout control board 400, a game ball tank for storing game balls, a payout motor for paying out the game balls stored in the game ball tank to the player as prize balls, a payout counting switch for detecting the passage of the paid-out game balls, etc.

The payout control board 400 controls the payout of prize balls. The payout control board 400 is equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., and is connected to the main control board 200 so that it can communicate in both directions. A payout motor is also connected to the payout control board 400. The payout control board 400 controls the payout motor based on the payout command sent from the main control board 200 and the detection signal from the payout counting switch, and pays out a predetermined number of prize balls to the player. Specifically, the payout control board 400 starts energizing the payout motor based on the payout command sent from the main control board 200. Then, while the payout motor is energized and rotating, game balls are paid out one by one. At this time, the payout counting switch detects the passage of the paid-out game balls and transmits a detection signal to the payout control board 400. The payout control board 400 determines the number of game balls that have been paid out based on the detection signal, and when the number of game balls that correspond to the instruction from the main control board 200 have been paid out, it stops the power supply to the payout motor and ends the payout of the game balls.

The communication control means 280 controls the transmission of various commands generated according to the results of various calculations in the main control board 200 to the sub-control board 202, the payout control board 400, etc. Note that in the gaming machine of this embodiment, only one-way communication from the main control board 200 to the sub-control board 202 is possible between the main control board 200 and the sub-control board 202, and the communication connection is such that information cannot be transmitted from the sub-control board 202 to the main control board 200.

Next, we will explain the sub-control board 202. The sub-control board 202 is configured to include a performance control means 300 and a sub-memory 310.

The performance control means 300 controls the performance devices to perform effects to liven up or assist the game, such as displaying performance images on the LCD display 32, turning on or blinking lighting devices such as the front frame lamp 12 and the display frame lamp 38, outputting performance sounds from the speaker 14, and driving the performance object drive device to operate the performance objects, based on various commands sent from the main control board 200, input signals from the performance button switch 150, and performance data stored in the performance data storage means 3110 of the sub-memory 310.

Figure 6 is an oblique view of the payout control board unit 401, which includes a payout control board 400 and a board case 402, viewed from the front side. In this embodiment, the payout control board 400 is positioned so that the front side faces the back side (rear) of the gaming machine and the back side faces the front side (front) of the gaming machine.

In this embodiment, all components mounted on the dispensing control board 400 are mounted on the front side of the dispensing control board 400. Below, the surface (front side) on which the components of the dispensing control board 400 are mounted may be referred to as the mounting surface. Note that there may also be components mounted on the back side of the dispensing control board 400.

The delivery control board 400 has an area where electronic components to be mounted during mass production (mass-produced mounted components) are arranged (mass-produced mounted components arrangement area (first component arrangement area) A: area outside the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6), and an area where electronic components not to be mounted during mass production (mass-produced unmounted components arrangement area (second component arrangement area) B: area inside the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6). Specifically, the mass-produced unmounted components arrangement area B can be said to be the range occupied by the mass-produced unmounted components when the mass-produced unmounted components are arranged at a predetermined position on the delivery control board 400 (the range occupied by the mounting section 405 (land, through hole, etc.) for attaching (soldering) the mass-produced unmounted components), and the range occupied by the silk 406 related to the mass-produced unmounted components. Note that mass production refers to the time when a large amount of products to be provided to the market are produced. In other words, in products (gaming machines) distributed on the market, basically no components (components not installed during mass production) are placed in the mass-produced component placement area B.
It should be noted that the mass-produced mounted component placement area A and the mass-produced non-mounted component placement area B may each be provided in a plurality of areas, or may be formed as a single, unified area.
The electronic components include, for example, ICs (including a main IC), LEDs, passive elements (resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc.), switches, connectors, etc.

The components that are not mounted during mass production include (1) development components (such as development connectors, development ICs, and development passive elements) that are used only during development and are not mounted during mass production, (2) function expansion components (such as function expansion connectors, function expansion ICs, and function expansion passive elements) that are electronic components that are mounted when it is decided to add functions (specifications) to a later model and are not mounted during mass production (in the current model), and (3) test components (such as test connectors, test ICs, and test passive elements) that are used in a specific test performed to provide the gaming machine to the market and are not mounted during mass production. In this embodiment, the mass-produced component placement area B is an area where development components as mass-produced components are placed. And, the mass-produced component placement area B is provided with mounting sections 405 (such as lands and through holes) for attaching (soldering) the development components.

The dispensing control board 400 is housed in a board case 402. The board case 402 has a front case 402a and a back case 402b. The front case 402a is a rectangular box with an opening at the front. The back case 402b is a rectangular box with an opening at the back. The front case 402a and the back case 402b are made of a transparent synthetic resin. The front case 402a and the back case 402b are combined to form the transparent box-shaped board case 402. The dispensing control board 400 is housed inside the board case 402 with the front case 402a facing the front side of the dispensing control board 400 and the back case 402b facing the back side of the dispensing control board 400.

In this embodiment, the surface of the board case 402 that faces the front surface of the dispensing control board 400 is called the top surface, and the surface that faces the back surface of the dispensing control board 400 is called the bottom surface. In other words, the top surface of the board case 402 is formed by the front case 402a, and the bottom surface of the board case 402 is formed by the back case 402b.

In addition, in this embodiment, the portion of the substrate case 402 (top surface of the substrate case 402) facing the mass-produced component placement area A (the area outside the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6) is the case-side first area A', and the portion facing the mass-produced component placement area B (the area inside the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6) is the case-side second area B'.

In this embodiment, the case side second region B' has a visibility reducing portion C (a region indicated by diagonal lines in FIG. 6) that reduces the visibility of the mass-produced component placement region B. The visibility reducing portion C is a portion that overlaps with the mass-produced component placement region B in a direction perpendicular to the plate surface (front surface) of the dispensing control board 400, and is a portion that inhibits the visibility of the mass-produced component placement region B when the dispensing control board 400 (the surface of the dispensing control board 400) is viewed from a direction perpendicular to the plate surface (front surface) of the dispensing control board 400. In other words, the visibility reducing portion C is a portion that reduces the visibility of at least a portion of the mounting portion 405 (such as a land or through hole) for mounting the mass-produced component placed in the mass-produced component placement region B or the silk 406 related to the mass-produced component when viewed from that direction. In addition, "reducing (hindering) visibility" may mean that the visibility reducing portion C makes the mass-produced component not mounted area B (the portion of the mass-produced component not mounted area B overlapping with the visibility reducing portion C) (the mounting portion 405 and silk 406 related to the mass-produced component) less visible when viewed from the direction, but here "becoming less visible" includes the case where it becomes completely invisible. In addition, the visibility reducing portion C may be one that reduces the visibility of at least a part of the mass-produced component not mounted area B (the mounting portion 405 and silk 406 related to the mass-produced component), but may also be one that reduces the visibility of the entire mass-produced component not mounted area B. In other words, all of the mounting portions 405 for mounting the mass-produced components provided on the dispensing control board 400 may be located at positions that overlap (at least a part of) the visibility reducing portion C. In addition, the portion whose visibility is reduced by the visibility reducing portion C can also be said to be a portion whose visibility is reduced compared to a specific mass-produced mounting component placement area A (a specific area of the mass-produced mounting component placement area A, such as the area where the main IC 500 described below is placed or the area where the LEDs are placed).

The visibility reducing portion C may be, for example, a portion (character portion) to which a predetermined character is attached. That is, the board case 402 may be provided with a predetermined character, and the character may reduce the visibility of the mass-produced component placement area B. Specifically, the visibility reducing portion C may be a portion to which a character relating to a predetermined operating means (button, etc.) provided on the dispensing control board 400 is attached. More specifically, the visibility reducing portion C may be a portion to which a character describing the type of the predetermined operating means (function of the operating means), such as the character "RAM clear button", is attached.
In addition, when the visibility-reducing portion C is a specified character portion, the character portion may be formed by printing characters on the substrate case 402, or by attaching a sticker or the like on which characters are printed, or may be formed by the uneven shape of the substrate case 402, etc.

Also, the visibility reducing portion C may be a portion to which a sticker of a predetermined size is attached. That is, a predetermined sticker may be attached to the board case 402, and the sticker may reduce the visibility of the area B where components are not mounted during mass production. The sticker may be a sticker that is partially transparent and partially colored, or may be a sticker that is entirely colored. In other words, for example, the sticker may be a sticker on which predetermined characters or figures (graphics) are printed on a transparent sheet (film), or a sticker on which predetermined characters or figures (graphics) are printed on a white sheet (film). In the case of a sticker on which a predetermined print is made on a transparent sheet, the visibility of the area B where components are not mounted during mass production is reduced by the portion on which the predetermined print is made and which is colored (printed portion: colored portion).

Also, the visibility reducing portion C may be, for example, a portion in which a predetermined uneven shape is formed (uneven shape portion). That is, the substrate case 402 may have a predetermined uneven shape formed therein, and the uneven shape may reduce the visibility of the area B in which components are not mounted during mass production. Also, the uneven shape may have predetermined information (a predetermined character string, a date mark, a predetermined symbol, etc.), or may not have predetermined information such as a step shape.

In this embodiment, the visibility reducing portion C is formed by a sticker 410 as shown in FIG. 7. The sticker 410 is attached to a sticker attachment area 412 of the substrate case 402 (top surface of the substrate case 402).

The sticker pasting area 412 is an area for pasting the sticker 410. In this embodiment, the sticker pasting area 412 is an area indicated by an uneven shape (predetermined shape) formed on the substrate case 402. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8(a), a convex portion protruding in a rectangular frame shape toward the inner surface side (substrate side) is provided on the top surface of the substrate case 402 as the predetermined shape portion 413. The rectangular area surrounded by the convex portion as the predetermined shape portion 413 is the sticker pasting area 412. That is, in this embodiment, the area partitioned by the predetermined shape portion 413 can be recognized as the sticker pasting area 412, and the worker (working device) who pastes the sticker can distinguish the sticker pasting area 412. Note that in this embodiment, the sticker 410 is pasted on the outer surface side of the substrate case 402, but may be pasted on the inner surface side.
8(a) and (b) are schematic cross-sectional views of the dispensing control board unit 401 cut along a plane (horizontal plane) that is perpendicular to the dispensing control board 400 and extends in the left-right direction (and the front-back direction), and the cross section is viewed from above. In addition to the cross section cut along the horizontal plane, the cross section cut along the vertical plane (plane extending in the up-down direction and the front-back direction) will also be as shown in FIG. 8(a) and (b).

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8(a), the concave and convex shape as the predetermined shape portion 413 is formed on the inner surface of the substrate case 402, and the portion of the outer surface of the substrate case 402 corresponding to the predetermined shape portion 413 is flat. However, as shown in FIG. 8(b), a concave portion (concave groove) recessed from the outer surface side toward the inner surface side in a rectangular frame shape (together with a convex portion protruding toward the inner surface side in a rectangular frame shape) may be formed as the predetermined shape portion 413. In addition, the sticker attachment area 412 may be an area recessed from the outer surface side toward the inner surface side (protruding toward the inner surface side) compared to the periphery of the sticker attachment area 412. In other words, the predetermined shape portion 413 does not have to be rectangular frame-shaped, and may be a portion recessed in a rectangular shape. In addition, the predetermined shape portion 413 may be a portion protruding toward the outer surface side in a rectangular frame shape or a rectangular shape. In addition, the predetermined shape portion 413 may be one or more L-shaped convex or concave portions, and the corners of the sticker pasting area 412 may be indicated by the L-shaped convex or concave portion. As shown in FIG. 10, when there is one L-shaped convex or concave portion and each of the two sides 413a, 413b of the L shape is longer than the corresponding sides 410a, 410b of the sticker 410, the sticker pasting area 412 is defined as a range in which the sticker 410 does not protrude from the two sides 413a, 413b of the L shape (a range in which both ends of the sticker 410 in the vertical direction (first direction) do not exceed the side (first straight portion) 413a extending in the vertical direction of the L shape in the vertical direction, and both ends of the sticker 410 in the horizontal direction (second direction) do not exceed the side (second straight portion) 413b extending in the horizontal direction of the L shape in the horizontal direction). In addition, when there is one L-shaped convex or concave portion, and each of the two sides 413a, 413b of the L-shape is shorter than the corresponding sides 410a, 410b of the sticker 410, the sticker attachment area 412 is the range in which at least a part of the sticker 410 exists within the range of an imaginary triangle formed by connecting the three vertices (both ends and corners) of the L-shape (and the range in which the sticker 410 does not straddle the L-shaped convex or concave portion).

The sticker 410 is a sticker of a predetermined size. The size (area) of the sticker affixing area 412 is larger than the size (area) of the sticker 410. That is, when the board case 402 is viewed from a direction perpendicular to the board surface (front surface) of the dispensing control board 400 (the top surface of the board case 402), the area of the sticker affixing area 412 is larger than the area of the sticker 410. This relaxes the required accuracy for the work of affixing the sticker 410. That is, the worker (working device) only needs to affix the sticker 410 to any position within the sticker affixing area 412, so there is no need to completely match the center of the sticker affixing area 412 with the center of the sticker 410, and it is permitted to place them in a slightly offset position.

In addition, the dispensing control board 400 (surface of the dispensing control board 400) has a sticker affixing area facing area 420 (area inside the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7) which faces the sticker affixing area 412 of the board case 402. The size (area) of the sticker affixing area facing area 420 is the same as the size (area) of the sticker affixing area 412. In other words, when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the board surface (surface) of the dispensing control board 400, the sticker affixing area facing area 420 completely overlaps with the sticker affixing area 412. In other words, when viewed from this direction, the sticker affixing area 412 does not protrude from the dispensing control board 400, and is located inside the outer edge of the dispensing control board 400.

Here, the electronic components mounted on the dispensing control board 400 and within the range of the sticker-attaching area facing area 420 without protruding from the range (electronic components whose entirety exists within the range) are called specific electronic components. In this embodiment, even if the sticker 410 is attached to any position within the range of the sticker-attaching area 412, at least a part of the specific electronic components faces the sticker 410. That is, in this embodiment, there are multiple electronic components as the specific electronic components, but even if the sticker 410 is attached to any position within the range of the sticker-attaching area 412, any of the multiple specific electronic components faces the sticker 410. Note that there may be one or multiple electronic components as the specific electronic components, and all of the specific electronic components (all electronic components that are within the range of the sticker-attaching area facing area 420 without protruding from the range) may be at least partially facing the sticker 410, and the visibility may be reduced by the sticker 410, even if the sticker 410 is attached to any position within the range of the sticker-attaching area 412. Note that "regardless of the position within the range of the sticker pasting area 412" means that the sticker 410 can be pasted at any position within the range of the sticker pasting area 412 without protruding from the range. Note that "within the range of the sticker pasting area 412" is a range that does not straddle (go beyond) the outer edge of the predetermined shape portion 413 (the range inside the dashed line f in Figs. 8(a) and (b)). However, "within the range of the sticker pasting area 412" may also be a range that does not straddle (go beyond) the inner edge of the predetermined shape portion 413 (the range inside the dashed line g in Figs. 8(a) and (b)). The same applies to "within the range of the sticker pasting area facing area 420".

That is, in this embodiment, sticker 410 as visibility reducing portion C reduces the visibility of region B where components not mounted during mass production are arranged, and faces the specific electronic component and reduces the visibility of the specific electronic component even if sticker 410 is affixed to any position (any position) within sticker affixing region 412. Sticker 410 as visibility reducing portion C reduces the visibility of at least a part of region B where components not mounted during mass production are arranged, even if sticker 410 is affixed to any position (any position) within sticker affixing region 412.
In addition, the configuration may be such that the mass-produced component not mounted placement area B (mounting portion 405, silk 406, etc. relating to components not mounted during mass production) does not exist within the range of the sticker attachment area facing area 420 (the position facing sticker 410).

Here, we will explain in more detail how the visibility of the electronic component (specific electronic component) is reduced by the sticker 410 as the visibility reducing portion C. In this embodiment, the sticker 410 is formed by forming a printed portion (colored portion) on which predetermined characters or figures (graphics) are printed on the sticker body (transparent portion) which is a transparent sheet.

In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 9, the seal 410 has, as the printed part, the characters "dispensing control board" printed in white characters, a blanking entry field filled (printed) in a white rectangular shape as a field for writing the name of the opener of the board case 402, the characters "opener" printed in white characters in the blanking entry field to indicate that it is a blanking entry field, a blanking date entry field filled (printed) in a white rectangular shape as a field for writing the date of opening of the board case 402, the characters "opening date" printed in white characters in the blanking date entry field to indicate that it is a blanking entry field, a character string of white characters as a description of information on the parts mounted on the dispensing control board 400, and a white frame line covering these various characters and fields. In a direction perpendicular to the board surface (front surface) of the dispensing control board 400, this printed part overlaps with the specific electronic components and the mass-produced non-mounted component placement area B, thereby reducing the visibility of the specific electronic components and the mass-produced non-mounted component placement area B. Note that the prints shown here as the printed portions (colored portions) are merely examples, and the sticker 410 may include some of the prints shown here or other prints.
In addition, "information regarding the parts implemented on the dispensing control board 400" may be, for example, an explanation of the information indicated by the lighting state of the LED of the part (for example, a character string explaining what is indicated when a particular LED is lit (for example, the type of error indicated by the lighting state of an LED)), an explanation of the type (function of the operating means) of the operating means (button, etc.) of the part, or information indicating the location of the part (operating means, etc.) (for example, an arrow symbol indicating the location), etc.

Note that there may be a plurality of stickers 410 and sticker attachment areas 412 for the board case 402. Also, when there are a plurality of stickers 410 and sticker attachment areas 412, a plurality (all) of the stickers 410 may have the respective features relating to the reduction in visibility of the specific electronic components and the mass-produced component placement area B. Also, a specific sticker 410 may have the respective features relating to the reduction in visibility of the specific electronic components, and other stickers 410 may have the respective features relating to the reduction in visibility of the mass-produced component placement area B. Also, for example, the specific sticker 410 may be a sticker containing information about the components mounted on the dispensing control board 400 (for example, a sticker on which the type of error indicated by the lit state of the LED is printed), and the other stickers 410 may be a sticker related to the opening of the board case 402 (a sticker on which the characters "opener", the characters "date of opening", a field for the opener and a field for the date of opening are printed, etc.). Furthermore, for multiple stickers 410 and sticker attachment areas 412, the sizes (areas) of the stickers 410 and the sizes (areas) of the sticker attachment areas 412 may be different. By making the sizes (areas) different, it is possible to prevent stickers 410 from being attached to the wrong areas.

Note that sticker 410 does not have to be a transparent sheet with a specific print, but may be, for example, a white sheet with a specific print. In other words, sticker 410 may be entirely colored, and the colored portion may reduce the visibility of specific electronic components and area B where components not mounted during mass production are placed.

(Modification)
In the gaming machine of this modified example, the payout control board 400 has a specific connector mounting section 430 as a mounting section for mounting (soldering) a specific connector (such as a development connector, a function expansion connector, or a test connector) as a component not mounted during mass production, as shown in Fig. 10. The specific connector mounting section 430 is composed of a plurality of (four) through holes 430a equipped with lands, and the specific connector is mounted by inserting the terminal of the specific connector into the through hole 430a and joining it with solder. Note that, during mass production, the specific connector is not mounted on the specific connector mounting section 430, but all the through holes of the specific connector mounting section 430 are filled with solder and are not penetrated.

The specific connector mounting section 430 is covered by the board case 402 (front case 402a). In addition, the portion of the board case 402 facing the specific connector mounting section 430 (specific connector mounting section facing area) does not have an opening for exposing the specific connector to the outside of the board case 402. In other words, when the specific connector is mounted, the board case 402 does not close, and the dispensing control board 400 cannot be stored in the board case 402. In addition, the specific connector mounting section facing area does not have a vent hole or the like. In other words, the specific connector mounting section facing area does not have any through hole. And, by not providing an opening or vent hole for exposing the specific connector in this way, it is possible to prevent fraud through the specific connector mounting section 430. In addition, by not providing an opening for exposing the specific connector, it is easy to understand that there is no problem even if a connector is not mounted on the specific connector mounting section 430.

In addition, the specific connector is arranged in approximately a row (here, "approximately a row" includes the case where the connectors are completely in a row) along a predetermined side (top side) of the payout control board 400. Specifically, in this embodiment, a plurality of connectors (four connectors) are prepared, which are arranged at approximately equal intervals (here, "approximately equal intervals" includes the case where the connectors are completely equal intervals) from the specific connector. The plurality of connectors are components mounted during mass production. Specifically, the plurality of connectors are mounted component connection connectors used to connect components mounted on the gaming machine (gaming machine mounted components), such as the control device (main control board 200) and other boards (including control boards such as the main control board 200).
In addition, connectors other than the specific connector and the four mounted component connecting connectors (e.g., other mounted component connecting connectors, etc.) may be provided along the specified side (at a distance greater than or equal to the distance between these connectors).

The board case 402 has openings 432 for exposing each of the four mounted component connection connectors to the outside in the portions facing the four mounted component connection connectors. That is, a corresponding opening 432 is provided for each of the four mounted component connection connectors. Note that the mounting component connection connectors are not shown in FIG. 10. Also, the board case 402 (front case 402a) has one recess 434 recessed from the outer surface side toward the inner surface side. Then, four openings 432 corresponding to each of the four mounted component connection connectors and a specific connector mounting part facing area are arranged in the recess (bottom surface of the recess 434). In other words, the four openings 432 and the specific connector mounting part facing area are contained within the range of the bottom surface of the recess 434 without protruding from the range when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the plate surface (front surface) of the dispensing control board 400. In this manner, in the present embodiment, by arranging the mounted component connection connector (the opening 432 that exposes the mounted component connection connector) and the specific connector mounting portion facing area in one recess 434, it becomes easier to notice if an unauthorized component is attached to the specific connector mounting portion 430.
In this embodiment, the dispensing control board 400 has another mounted component connection connector (not shown) in addition to the four mounted component connection connectors arranged in the recess 434. In addition to the recess 434, the board case 402 is formed with a recess 438 in which an opening 436 for exposing the other mounted component connection connectors is arranged.

In addition, the terminal of the specific connector (the through hole 430a through which the terminal is inserted) is arranged to be located on the inside (inside the surface direction of the dispensing control board 400, i.e., away from the top edge) of the terminals (through holes through which the terminal is inserted) of any of the four mounted component connection connectors arranged in the recess 434. This makes it easy to understand that there is no problem even if a connector is not mounted on the specific connector mounting section 430.

The specific connector (specific connector mounting section 430) does not have to be arranged in approximately the same row with other connectors along a specific side (top side) of the dispensing control board 400, and may be arranged, for example, at a position away from the periphery, such as the center of the dispensing control board 400. In addition, the specific connector may be a surface-mounted component, and the specific connector mounting section 430 may be configured by a land that does not have a through-hole (penetrating hole).

The gaming machine of this embodiment is a gaming machine including a board 400 and a board case 402 that houses the board 400. The area of the board 400 where electronic components to be mounted during mass production are mounted is the mass-produced component placement area (first component placement area) A, and the area where electronic components not to be mounted during mass production can be mounted is the mass-produced component placement area (second component placement area) B. The area of the board case 402 facing the mass-produced component placement area A is the first area A', and the area facing the mass-produced component placement area B is the second area B'. In the second area B', there is a visibility reduction section C that reduces the visibility of at least a part of the mass-produced component placement area B. According to this configuration, the visibility reduction section C overlaps the mass-produced component placement area B where electronic components are not mounted in the mass-produced product. This makes it possible to reduce the area of reduced visibility C that overlaps with the mass-produced component placement area A. This makes it possible to prevent a decrease in visibility of the area where electronic components are mounted.

The gaming machine of this embodiment is a gaming machine that includes a board 400 and a board case 402 that stores the board 400. The board case 402 has a sticker affixing area 412 to which a sticker 410 is affixed. If the area of the board 400 facing the sticker affixing area 412 is defined as the sticker affixing area facing area (specific area) 420, the area of the sticker affixing area 412 is larger than the area of the sticker 410 and is the same as the area of the sticker affixing area facing area (specific area) 420. If an electronic component that fits within the sticker affixing area facing area (specific area) 420 without protruding from the range when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the board surface (mounting surface) of the board 400 is defined as a specific electronic component, then when sticker 410 is affixed to any position within the range of sticker affixing area 412 without protruding from the range, at least a portion of the specific electronic component faces sticker 410. With this configuration, electronic components that do not have a problem if their visibility is reduced or electronic components whose visibility is desired to be reduced are grouped together within the area facing the sticker attachment area (specific area) 420, so that the visibility of electronic components whose visibility should be avoided can be prevented from being reduced.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The gaming machine of this embodiment has the same configuration as the gaming machine of the first embodiment. Therefore, the description of the same configuration as the first embodiment will be omitted or simplified.

In this embodiment, all components mounted on the dispensing control board 400 are mounted on the front side of the dispensing control board 400. Below, the surface on which the components of the dispensing control board 400 are mounted may be referred to as the mounting surface. Note that there may also be components mounted on the back side of the dispensing control board 400.

In the following explanation, the longitudinal direction (long side) of a component mounted on a board basically means the longitudinal direction (long side) when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface, the lateral direction (short side) means the lateral direction (short side) when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface, and the height direction means the direction perpendicular to the mounting surface. Also, for components mounted on a board, the bottom surface means the surface on the mounting surface side, and the top surface means the surface facing away from the mounting surface.

The dispensing control board 400 is equipped with a main IC 500 as shown in FIG. 11. The main IC 500 is an IC in which a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. are integrated (on a single chip). The main IC 500 also controls various processes performed by the dispensing control board 400.

The main IC 500 is mounted on the dispensing control board 400 via a socket 502 shown in FIG. 12. That is, the socket 502 is attached to the dispensing control board 400, and the main IC 500 is attached to the socket 502.

As shown in FIG. 11, the main IC 500 has an IC body 510 formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape incorporating a CPU, memory, etc., and a plurality of IC terminals P electrically connected to the circuits incorporated in the IC body 510. The plurality of IC terminals P are arranged in two rows along the longitudinal direction of the IC body 510, and extend from the IC body 510 toward the mounting surface side. In other words, the plurality of IC terminals P are arranged along the longitudinal direction on both short sides of the IC body 510. In further words, the plurality of IC terminals P are arranged along each of the two opposing sides (two long sides) of the IC body 510. The package of the main IC 500 is a so-called DIP (Dual In-line Package).

In this embodiment, the main IC 500 has 71 terminals, IC terminals P1 to P71. 35 terminals, IC terminals P1 to P35, are arranged in one of the two rows, and 36 terminals, IC terminals P36 to P71, are arranged in the other. Note that the IC terminals P1 to P71 can be referred to as the first pin (first terminal) to the 71st pin (71st terminal) of the main IC 500, respectively, and can also be referred to as the pins (terminals) with pin numbers (terminal numbers) 1 to 71.

The distance Px from the IC terminal P1 to the IC terminal P2 is 1 mm. The distance Py from the IC terminal P2 to the IC terminal P3 is 1 mm. The distance Pz from the IC terminal P1 to the IC terminal P3 is 2 mm. That is, the distance Px and the distance Py are equal. The distance Pz is twice the distance Px and the distance Py. The IC terminals P1 to P17 have equal intervals between adjacent IC terminals (1 mm), the IC terminals P18 to P35 have equal intervals between adjacent IC terminals (1 mm), the IC terminals P36 to P53 have equal intervals between adjacent IC terminals (1 mm), and the IC terminals P54 to P71 have equal intervals between adjacent IC terminals (1 mm). The intervals between the IC terminals P17 and P18 and between the IC terminals P53 and P54 are longer than 1 mm. That is, for a group of continuous IC terminals P (IC terminals P1 to P17, IC terminals P18 to P35, IC terminals P36 to P53, or IC terminals P54 to P71), the intervals between adjacent IC terminals P are equal. Also, for a group of continuous IC terminals P (IC terminals P1 to P17, IC terminals P18 to P35, IC terminals P36 to P53, or IC terminals P54 to P71), the intervals between every other IC terminal P (2 mm) are twice the intervals between adjacent IC terminals P (1 mm).
The distance between the IC terminal P17 and the IC terminal P18 and the distance between the IC terminal P53 and the IC terminal P54 may be 1 mm.

As shown in FIG. 12, the socket 502 has a number of socket terminals Q to which the IC terminals P of the main IC 500 are respectively connected, a socket body (housing) 515 that holds the number of socket terminals Q and on which the main IC 500 is placed, and a number of legs 517. The socket body 515 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape from an insulating resin material. The socket body 515 is also formed from a transparent or translucent resin material and has translucency. Here, "having translucency" includes the case of "transparency".

The top surface of the socket body 515 is the surface on which the main IC 500 is placed (mounted). The bottom surface of the main IC 500 does not need to be in contact with the top surface of the socket body 515, as long as the main IC 500 attached to the socket body 515 is located on the top surface side of the socket body 515. In addition, the top surface of the socket body 515 may be provided with one or more protruding parts that protrude toward the main IC 500 side, and the protruding parts may be in contact with the bottom surface of the main IC 500.

The socket body 515 is also provided with a plurality of legs 517. The legs 517 protrude from the bottom surface of the socket body 515 toward the mounting surface side. In this embodiment, there are a total of six legs 517, including four legs 517 provided at the four corners of the socket body 515 and two legs 517 provided at the center of the socket body 515 in the longitudinal direction and spaced apart in the lateral direction. The legs 517 are formed integrally with the socket body 515 from the same material (material having insulating properties) as the socket body 515, but may be formed from a different material.
It is preferable that legs 517 are provided at least at the four corners of socket 502, but the number of legs may be less than four or may be more than four. Furthermore, height h of legs 517 (protrusion amount from the bottom surface of socket body 515) is 1 mm.

In this embodiment, the socket 502 has 71 terminals, socket terminals Q1 to Q71. Note that the socket terminals Q1 to Q71 can also be referred to as the first pin (first terminal) to the 71st pin (71st terminal) of the socket 502, respectively, and can also be referred to as the pins (terminals) with pin numbers (terminal numbers) 1 to 71. Furthermore, when the main IC 500 is attached to the socket 502, each socket terminal Q1 to Q71 is electrically connected to the IC terminals P1 to P71 with the corresponding pin number (same pin number).

The socket terminal Q has an IC terminal contact portion 520 that contacts the IC terminal P on the side away from the mounting surface (top surface side), and a board joint portion 521 that is joined to the dispensing control board 400 on the mounting surface side (bottom surface side). The upper end of the IC terminal contact portion 520 (socket terminal Q) is located closer to the mounting surface side than the top surface of the socket body 515. The IC terminal contact portion 520 is shaped so that the IC terminal P can be inserted. In other words, the socket body 515 has a plurality of (71) holes 518 into which the socket terminals Q are embedded, and the IC terminals P are inserted into the holes 518, so that the main IC 500 is attached to the socket 502 with the IC terminals P and the IC terminal contact portion 520 in contact with each other. The board joint portion 521 protrudes toward the mounting surface side (board side) from the bottom surface of the socket body 515. In addition, the board joint 521 protrudes further toward the mounting surface side (board side) than the foot 517. The board joint 521 of each socket terminal Q is inserted into each through hole 504 of the dispensing control board 400 described below and joined by soldering, so that the socket 502 is attached to the dispensing control board 400. The IC terminal contact portion 520 and the board joint 521 are integrally formed from a conductive metal. The socket terminal Q electrically connects the IC terminal P (main IC 500) and the through hole 504 (dispensing control board 400).

Each IC terminal contact portion 520 may have any shape as long as each IC terminal P of the main IC 500 can be connected thereto. Each IC terminal contact portion 520 may have a shape capable of preventing the main IC 500 attached to the socket 502 from coming loose. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 13, the IC terminal contact portion 520 is formed by bending a metal into an elastic shape, and is adapted to hold the IC terminal P by means of elastic force. The IC terminal contact portion 520 may have a hole into which the IC terminal P can be inserted, and the IC terminal P may be fitted into the hole.
In addition, the board joint portion 521 extends in an approximately straight line (here, "approximately straight line" includes a completely straight line) in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface (height direction) so that it can be inserted into the through hole 504.

In the socket 502, as shown in FIG. 12, a plurality of socket terminals Q are arranged in two rows along the longitudinal direction of the socket body 515. In one row of the plurality of socket terminals Q arranged in two rows, 35 terminals Q1 to Q35 are arranged, and in the other row, 36 terminals Q36 to Q71 are arranged. In addition, the ends of the plurality of socket terminals Q on the main IC 500 side (top side of the socket body 515) are arranged in two rows along the longitudinal direction of the socket body 515, whereas the ends on the dispensing control board 400 side (bottom side of the socket body 515) are arranged in four rows along the longitudinal direction of the socket body 515. In other words, the IC terminal contacts 520 are arranged in two rows along the longitudinal direction of the socket body 515. In addition, the board joints 521 are arranged in four rows along the longitudinal direction of the socket body 515. In other words, the multiple socket terminals Q are arranged in two rows along the longitudinal direction of the socket body 515, and the ends of the socket terminals Q in each row on the main IC 500 side are arranged in a straight line, and the ends on the dispensing control board 400 side are arranged in a staggered pattern.

As is clear from the fact that the multiple socket terminals Q are arranged in two rows on the main IC 500 side and in four rows on the dispensing control board 400 side, at least some of the multiple socket terminals Q (for example, every other socket terminal Q among the socket terminals Q arranged in one row) have different positions of the IC terminal contact portion 520 and the board joint portion 521 in the short-out direction of the socket body 515. In other words, at least some of the socket terminals Q are
Between the IC terminal contact portion 520 and the substrate bonding portion 521, there is a bent portion 522 that is bent so that the positions of the IC terminal contact portion 520 and the substrate bonding portion 521 in the short extension direction are different.

The bent portion 522 in the socket terminal Q of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the shape of the socket terminal Q when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the short side and height directions (longitudinal direction) of the socket body 515, where (a) is a diagram showing a socket terminal Q with an odd pin number, (b) is a diagram showing a socket terminal Q with an even pin number, and (c) is a diagram showing the positional relationship of the socket terminal Q shown in (a) and (b) when held in the socket body 515. Note that, for the socket terminals Q arranged in two rows in the longitudinal direction, the socket terminals in one row are arranged in the orientation shown in FIG. 13, and the socket terminals in the other row are arranged in a symmetrical orientation to the orientation shown in FIG. 13.

The bent portion 522 has a first bent portion 523 located on the board joint portion 521 side, a second bent portion 524 located on the IC terminal contact portion 520 side, and an intermediate portion 525 that is substantially linear (here, "substantially linear" includes a completely linear state) that connects the first bent portion 523 and the second bent portion 524. The first bent portion 523 is a portion that is bent from the height direction to the short side direction of the socket body 515 (the surface direction of the dispensing control board 400) on the side (top surface side) away from the mounting surface of the board joint portion 521 that extends in the height direction. In addition, the bending angle α of the first bent portion 523 (the angle between the board joint portion 521 and the intermediate portion 525) is 120 degrees. The second bent portion 524 is a portion that is bent in the height direction from the short side of the socket body 515 (the surface direction of the dispensing control board 400) on the side of the intermediate portion 525 away from the board joint portion 521. The second bent portion 524 has a bending angle β (the angle between the intermediate portion 525 and the portion on the IC terminal contact portion 520 side) of 120 degrees. The intermediate portion 525 extends in the short direction of the socket body 515, specifically in the short direction and in a direction inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the surface direction of the dispensing control board 400. That is, the bent portion 522 is crank-shaped (here, "crank-shaped" includes approximately crank-shaped) when viewed from the longitudinal direction of the socket body 515.

The bent portions 522 cause the short-side positions (positions in the direction perpendicular to the alignment direction and height direction of the socket terminals Q) of the board joint portions 521 of adjacent socket terminals Q among the multiple socket terminals Q arranged in a row to differ (shift), thereby making the number of rows of the board joint portions 521 greater than that of the IC terminal contact portions 520.

In this embodiment, socket terminals Q of multiple (two) different shapes are provided, and adjacent socket terminals Q are arranged in a row, and the shapes of the adjacent socket terminals Q are different, but every other socket terminal Q has the same shape. However, all socket terminals Q may have the same shape.

In addition, in this embodiment, the socket terminal Q is integrally formed of an IC terminal contact portion 520, a substrate joint portion 521, and a bent portion 522 made of a conductive metal, but may be formed of multiple parts. In other words, each socket terminal Q only needs to have an IC terminal contact portion 520 and a substrate joint portion 521 electrically connected when the main IC 500 is attached to the socket 502.

The distance Qx from the board joint 521 (lower end) of socket terminal Q1 to the board joint 521 (lower end) of socket terminal Q2 is 2.5 mm (see FIG. 12). The distance Qy from the board joint 521 (lower end) of socket terminal Q2 to the board joint 521 (lower end) of socket terminal Q3 is 2.5 mm. The distance Qz from the board joint 521 (lower end) of socket terminal Q1 to the board joint 521 (lower end) of socket terminal Q3 is 2 mm. That is, the distance between the board joint 521 of socket terminal Q1 and the board joint 521 of socket terminal Q2 is longer than the distance between the board joint 521 of socket terminal Q1 and the board joint 521 of socket terminal Q3. In other words, for a group of consecutive socket terminals Q (socket terminals Q1 to Q17, socket terminals Q18 to Q35, socket terminals Q36 to Q53, or socket terminals Q54 to Q71), the spacing between the board joints 521 of adjacent socket terminals Q is equal (2.5 mm). Also, for a group of consecutive socket terminals Q (socket terminals Q1 to Q17, socket terminals Q18 to Q35, socket terminals Q36 to Q53, or socket terminals Q54 to Q71), the spacing between the board joints 521 of adjacent socket terminals Q (2.5 mm) is longer than the spacing between the board joints 521 of every other socket terminal Q (2 mm). In other words, the spacing between the board joints 521 of adjacent socket terminals Q (2.5 mm) is longer than 1/2 the spacing between the board joints 521 of every other socket terminal Q (2 mm).

In addition, for a group of consecutive socket terminals Q (socket terminals Q1 to Q17, socket terminals Q18 to Q35, socket terminals Q36 to Q53, or socket terminals Q54 to Q71), the intervals between adjacent socket terminals Q are the same (1 mm). In addition, for a group of consecutive socket terminals Q (socket terminals Q1 to Q17, socket terminals Q18 to Q35, socket terminals Q36 to Q53, or socket terminals Q54 to Q71), the intervals between the IC terminal contact portions 520 of adjacent socket terminals Q are the same (1 mm). In addition, for a group of consecutive socket terminals Q (socket terminals Q1 to Q17, socket terminals Q18 to Q35, socket terminals Q36 to Q53, or socket terminals Q54 to Q71), the interval between every other socket terminal Q (between the IC terminal contact portions 520) is twice (2 mm) the interval between adjacent socket terminals Q (between the IC terminal contact portions 520). Specifically, the distance from the IC terminal contact portion 520 (upper end) of the socket terminal Q1 to the IC terminal contact portion 520 (upper end) of the socket terminal Q2 is 1 mm, the distance from the IC terminal contact portion 520 (upper end) of the socket terminal Q2 to the IC terminal contact portion 520 (upper end) of the socket terminal Q3 is 1 mm, and the distance from the IC terminal contact portion 520 (upper end) of the socket terminal Q1 to the IC terminal contact portion 520 (upper end) of the socket terminal Q3 is 2 mm. That is, the socket terminals Q1 to Q71 (IC terminal contact portions 520) are spaced apart at the same intervals as the IC terminals P1 to P71.

And for a group of consecutive socket terminals Q (socket terminals Q1 to Q17, socket terminals Q18 to Q35, socket terminals Q36 to Q53, or socket terminals Q54 to Q71), the distance (2.5 mm) between the board joint portions 521 of adjacent socket terminals Q in each group is longer than the distance (1 mm) between adjacent socket terminals Q in each group. Also, the distance (2.5 mm) between the board joint portions 521 of adjacent socket terminals Q in each group is longer than the distance (1 mm) between the IC terminal contact portions 520 of adjacent socket terminals Q in each group. In other words, the distance between adjacent IC terminals P of the main IC 500 (for example, the distance Px between IC terminal P1 and IC terminal P2: 1 mm) is longer than the distance between the board joints 521 of the socket terminals Q to which the adjacent IC terminals P are connected (for example, the distance Qx between the board joint 521 of socket terminal Q1 and the board joint 521 of socket terminal Q2: 2.5 mm). In this way, by widening the distance (distance Qx, Qy) between adjacent board joints 521, it is possible to prevent adjacent socket terminals Q from shorting out.

The dispensing control board 400 is provided with a plurality of through holes 504 (the same number as the socket terminals Q) through which the socket terminals Q are inserted. The through holes 504 are arranged in four rows along the long side direction of the dispensing control board 400 so that the board joints 521 of each of the socket terminals Q can be inserted. The board joints 521 of each socket terminal Q are inserted into each through hole 504. The arrangement of the through holes 504 is the same as the arrangement of the board joints 521 of the socket terminals Q. In other words, the spacing between the through holes 504 is the same as the spacing between the board joints 521 of the corresponding socket terminals Q.

Each through hole 504 has an annular land 526 on each of the front and back sides of the dispensing control board 400. The through hole 504 viewed from the front side of the dispensing control board 400 is shown in FIG. 14. The diameter (φ: outer diameter) of each land 526 is 1.5 mm. In other words, the radius of the land 526 (the length from the center (center axis) of the through hole 504 to the outer edge of the land 526) is 0.75 mm. In addition, the width of the land 526 (the length from the outer edge of the through hole 504 to the outer edge of the land 526 in the plate surface direction of the dispensing control board 400) is 0.35 mm. In addition, the diameter of the through hole 504 is 0.8 mm.
The diameter of the land 526 may be 1 mm or less, the radius of the land 526 may be 0.5 mm or less, and the width of the land 526 may be 0.5 mm or less.

When the socket 502 is attached to the dispensing control board 400, each socket terminal Q (substrate joint 521) is inserted into each through hole 504, and each through hole 504 and each socket terminal Q (substrate joint 521) are joined by solder. In addition, when the socket 502 is attached to the dispensing control board 400, the foot 517 hits the dispensing control board 400, restricting further pushing of the socket 502, so that the bottom surface of the socket body 515 is in a state of floating from the dispensing control board 400 as shown in FIG. 15. Therefore, when the socket 502 is attached to the dispensing control board 400, the foot 517 abuts (or is close to) the dispensing control board 400, and a gap Z is formed between the bottom surface of the socket body 515 and the dispensing control board 400. That is, the gap Z is formed by the foot 517. In this embodiment, the height of the foot 517 is 1 mm, and the gap Z is set to a length (height) of 1 mm.
The height (length) of the gap Z, in other words the height of the leg 517, may be, for example, 1 mm or more.

The gap Z is long enough that the solder fillet of the solder that joins each socket terminal Q and each through hole 504 does not contact the bottom surface of the socket body 515. Here, the solder fillet formed around the socket terminal Q will be described. In the soldering process for mounting the socket 502 on the dispensing control board 400, first, each socket terminal Q (substrate joint 521) is inserted into each through hole 504. Then, the molten solder is attached to the socket terminal Q (substrate joint 521) and the through hole 504 and solidifies. As a result, the socket 502 is fixed to the dispensing control board 400 with the socket terminal Q and the through hole 504 (the wiring pattern connected to the through hole 504) electrically connected. At this time, if the soldering is performed appropriately, a solder fillet of solidified solder is formed around the socket terminal Q (substrate joint 521).

The solder fillet formed on the surface side of the dispensing control board 400 is approximately conical, as shown in FIG. 15. The shape of the solder fillet is preferably such that the contact angle θ (the angle between the tangent to the solder surface at the point where the board surface and the solder surface intersect and the board surface) is between 15 degrees and 45 degrees. In this embodiment, the height of the foot 517 is 1 mm, so that a solder fillet with such a good shape (contact angle θ of 15 degrees to 45 degrees) does not come into contact with the socket body 515. Here, the diameter of the solder fillet is approximately equal to the diameter of the land 526. Therefore, when the height of the solder fillet (the length from the surface of the dispensing control board 400 to the apex of the solder fillet) is approximately equal to the radius of the land 526, the angle between the line segment connecting the apex of the solder fillet and the outer edge of the solder fillet (the outer edge of the contact portion between the solder fillet and the dispensing control board 400) and the line segment connecting the outer edge of the solder fillet and the center of the bottom surface of the solder fillet (the angle between the generatrix of the solder fillet and the dispensing control board 400) is approximately 45 degrees. Therefore, in order to prevent a solder fillet with a good shape (contact angle θ of 15 degrees to 45 degrees) from contacting the socket body 515, it is preferable that the height of the foot 517 is equal to or greater than the radius of the land 526, and is preferably equal to or greater than the width of the land 526. The height of the foot 517 may also be equal to or greater than the diameter of the land 526, in other words, it may be equal to or greater than twice the width of the land 526.

In this embodiment, soldering is performed from the back side of the dispensing control board 400. That is, in this embodiment, while soldering is performed from the back side, soldering is performed so that solder fillets are formed on the front side (and back side) of at least some of the socket terminals Q. Note that solder fillets may be formed on the front side of all socket terminals Q.

In this embodiment, the socket body 515 is provided with multiple legs 517, and a gap Z is formed, so that heat generated by the main IC 500 can be dissipated through the gap Z, improving heat dissipation performance. In addition, in this embodiment, the gap Z, which takes into account the shape of the solder fillet, can prevent a well-shaped solder fillet from coming into contact with the socket body 515.

In addition, if the height of the gap Z is made too high, it may become easier to attach an unauthorized component to the socket terminal Q, so the height of the foot 517 is preferably no more than twice the diameter of the land, and more preferably no more than 1.5 times the diameter of the land.

In addition, in this embodiment, at least a part of the bent portion 522 is located in the gap Z. Specifically, the socket terminal Q has a portion (first bent portion 523) that is bent in the short direction of the socket body 515 (the surface direction of the dispensing control board 400) on the side away from the mounting surface of the board joint portion 521, and this portion is located in the gap Z. In addition, the socket terminal Q has a portion 527 (see FIG. 13) that protrudes in the height direction from the bottom surface of the socket body 515, and the second bent portion 524 is located in the gap Z. In other words, in this embodiment, the entire bent portion 522 is located in the gap Z. In other words, when viewed from the longitudinal direction (the direction perpendicular to the short direction and the height direction) of the socket body 515, the socket 502 of this embodiment has a portion (point D portion shown in FIG. 13(c)) where adjacent socket terminals Q (for example, socket terminals Q1 and socket terminals Q2) are bifurcated, but this portion is located in the gap Z. In other words, when viewed from the long side direction of the socket body 515, it is possible to see the portion where adjacent socket terminals Q (e.g., socket terminals Q1 and Q2) are bifurcated (point D portion shown in FIG. 13(c)) and the portion where the adjacent socket terminals Q overlap each other and one socket terminal is hidden (portion 527 protruding in the height direction from the bottom surface of the socket body 515).
The distance from the mounting surface to the bottom surface of the socket body 515 (the height of gap Z) is 1.0 mm, but the distance from the mounting surface to the first curved portion 523 (the height of the first curved portion 523) may be, for example, 0.8 mm, and the distance from the mounting surface to the second curved portion 524 (point D) (the height of the second curved portion 524 (point D)) may be, for example, 0.8 mm.

In this embodiment, at least a part of the bent portion 522 is located further from the mounting surface than the apex of the solder fillet of the socket terminal Q (substrate joint portion 521). Specifically, the second bent portion 524 is located further from the mounting surface than the apex of the solder fillet of the socket terminal Q (substrate joint portion 521). In other words, when viewed from the longitudinal direction of the socket body 515, the portion where the adjacent socket terminals Q (for example, the socket terminals Q1 and Q2) are bifurcated is located further from the mounting surface than the apex of the solder fillet. That is, the second bent portion 524 is formed at a position where the solder (solder fillet) joining the socket terminal Q and the through hole 504 does not come into contact. In order to prevent the solder from coming into contact in this way, the height of the second bent portion 524 is preferably equal to or greater than the radius of the land 526, and is preferably at least equal to or greater than the width of the land 526. The height of the second bent portion 524 may be greater than or equal to the diameter of the land, in other words, greater than or equal to twice the width of the land 526. The first bent portion 523 may be disposed on the side farther from the mounting surface than the apex of the solder fillet of the socket terminal Q (substrate joint portion 521) (at a position where the solder does not contact). In other words, the height of the first bent portion 523 may be greater than or equal to the radius of the land 526, or greater than or equal to the width of the land 526. The height of the first bent portion 523 may be greater than or equal to the diameter of the land, in other words, greater than or equal to twice the width of the land 526. In other words, the entire bent portion 522 may be located on the side farther from the mounting surface than the apex of the solder fillet of the socket terminal Q (substrate joint portion 521).

As shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, the center of the short side of the socket 502 is lower in height along the long side than both ends of the short side (the portions where the socket terminals Q1 to Q35 or the socket terminals Q36 to Q71 are lined up). In other words, the center of the short side of the top surface of the socket body 515 is recessed toward the mounting surface along the long side. In other words, the first groove (first recess) 540 is formed in the center of the short side of the top surface of the socket body 515, which is recessed toward the mounting surface and extends along the long side. In addition, the center of the short side of the bottom surface of the socket 502 is recessed toward the top surface along the long side. In other words, the second groove (second recess) 542 is formed in the center of the short side of the bottom surface of the socket body 515, which is recessed toward the top surface and extends along the long side. That is, if the substantially rectangular parallelepiped portion of socket body 515 that holds socket terminals Q1 to Q35 is defined as first holding portion 544, the substantially rectangular parallelepiped portion that holds socket terminals Q36 to Q71 is defined as second holding portion 546, and the portion connecting first holding portion 544 and second holding portion 546 is defined as connecting portion 548, then connecting portion 548 is thinner than first holding portion 544 and second holding portion 546. In other words, connecting portion 548 is located above the bottom surfaces of first holding portion 544 and second holding portion 546 and below the top surfaces of first holding portion 544 and second holding portion 546. In this embodiment, multiple (four) connecting parts 548 are arranged side by side along the long side of the socket body 515, and multiple holes 549 are formed between adjacent connecting parts 548, penetrating in the height direction and connecting the first groove 540 and the second groove 542.

And, between the main IC 500 and the socket 502 (i.e., the top surface side of the socket body 515), a gap X is formed by the first groove 540. That is, between the main IC 500 and the socket 502, a gap X is formed that penetrates in the long side direction of the socket 502 (main IC 500). Also, between the surface (mounting surface) of the dispensing control board 400 and the socket 502 (i.e., the bottom surface side of the socket body 515), a gap Y is formed by the second groove 542. That is, between the surface (mounting surface) of the dispensing control board 400 and the socket 502, a gap Y is formed that penetrates in the long side direction of the socket 502 (main IC 500). In this embodiment, the gap Y exists integrally with the gap Z formed by the foot 517 of the socket 502, and the gap Y and the gap Z form one gap.

As shown in FIG. 17, the surface of the dispensing control board 400 is provided with a ground pattern (first ground pattern 560: solid ground) that passes between the IC terminals P1 to P35 (socket terminals Q1 to Q35) and the IC terminals P36 to P71 (socket terminals Q36 to Q71) of the main IC 500 in the direction perpendicular to the surface and penetrates the main IC 500 in the longitudinal direction. Also, the back surface of the dispensing control board 400 is provided with a ground pattern (second ground pattern 561: solid ground) that passes between the IC terminals P1 to P35 and the IC terminals P36 to P71 of the main IC 500 in the direction and penetrates the main IC 500 in the longitudinal direction. That is, the first ground pattern 560 and the second ground pattern 561 are provided in a position that overlaps with the main IC 500 in the direction. In addition, the dispensing control board 400 is provided with a plurality of through holes (main IC back through holes 562) that electrically connect the first ground pattern 560 and the second ground pattern 561. Furthermore, the plurality of main IC back through holes 562 are provided at positions that overlap with the main IC 500 when viewed in the direction, and are provided in a plurality of positions along the longitudinal direction of the main IC 500. By providing such a first ground pattern 560 and a second ground pattern 561, it is possible to increase the noise resistance of the main IC 500 and improve heat dissipation.

The first ground pattern 560, the second ground pattern 561, and the main IC back through hole 562 are formed at positions corresponding to the gap X formed between the main IC 500 and the socket 502 and the gap Y formed between the surface (mounting surface) of the dispensing control board 400 and the socket 502, respectively. In other words, at least a portion of the first ground pattern 560, the second ground pattern 561, and the main IC back through hole 562 overlaps with the gap X and the gap Y, respectively, when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the dispensing control board 400. By providing such gaps X and Y, heat dissipation can be improved.

At least one of the front and back surfaces of the dispensing control board 400 may have a ground pattern (for example, a ground pattern passing between IC terminals P17 and P18 of the main IC 500 and/or between IC terminals P53-P54) that communicates with the first ground pattern 560 or the second ground pattern 561 from the short-side outer side of the main IC 500 (socket 502) when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the front surface of the dispensing control board 400. That is, at least one of the front and back surfaces of the dispensing control board 400 may have a ground pattern that passes between the IC terminals P (socket terminals Q) that are lined up in a row in the longitudinal direction when viewed in that direction (intersecting the row of IC terminals P (socket terminals Q)) and connects to the first ground pattern 560 or the second ground pattern 561.

The dispensing control board 400 is provided with a connector 570 to which a harness used for connecting to other boards is connected. The connector 570 also has a housing 571 and a plurality of terminals 572. The housing 571 is formed in an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape from an insulating resin material. Each terminal 572 is formed from a conductive metal, and the dispensing control board 400 and other boards are electrically connected via the terminals 572. When attaching the connector 570 to the dispensing control board 400, each terminal 572 is inserted into each of a plurality of through holes provided in the dispensing control board 400, and each through hole and each terminal 572 are joined by solder. As a result, the connector 570 is fixed to the dispensing control board 400 with each terminal 572 and each through hole (wiring pattern connected to the through hole) electrically connected.

The housing 571 is provided with a positioning pin (positioning protrusion) 574 that protrudes from the bottom surface of the housing 571 toward the mounting surface, and the dispensing control board 400 is provided with a through hole (hole) 575 that corresponds to the positioning pin 574. When attaching the connector 570 to the dispensing control board 400, the positioning pin 574 is inserted into the corresponding through hole 575. In this embodiment, the connector 570 is attached by inserting the terminal 572 into the through hole and soldering it, so that the connector 570 can be stably attached to the dispensing control board 400 even without the positioning pin 574. However, by providing the positioning pin 574, it is possible to attach the connector 570 without making a mistake in the installation direction.

In addition, the length (height) of the positioning pin 574 is equal to or less than the thickness of the dispensing control board 400. In other words, when the connector 570 is attached to the dispensing control board 400, the positioning pin 574 does not protrude from the back surface of the dispensing control board 400.

The positioning pin 574 is formed integrally with the housing 571 using the same material as the housing 571 (a material having insulating properties), but may be formed using a different material. Also, in this embodiment, the connector 570 has only one positioning pin 574, but may have multiple positioning pins.

The rear case 402b is slidable relative to the front case 402a. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, one of the front case 402a and the rear case 402b is provided with an engagement protrusion, and the other is provided with a groove 580 extending in the left-right direction (parallel to the top and back surfaces of the board case 402) into which the engagement protrusion is inserted. When the front case 402a and the rear case 402b are joined, the engagement protrusion is inserted into the groove 580, and the rear case 402b is slid relative to the front case 402a, so that the movement of the rear case 402b in the front-rear direction (and the up-down direction and the insertion direction rearward) relative to the front case 402a is restricted. In this state, the front case 402a and the rear case 402b are crimped together to join the front case 402a and the rear case 402b.

In addition, the rear case 402b is provided with a plurality of ribs 581 protruding toward the inner surface side. The protruding tips of the plurality of ribs 581 are adapted to contact the back surface of the dispensing control board 400 stored between the rear case 402b and the front case 402a. In other words, the plurality of ribs 581 are adapted to form a predetermined space between the surface of the rear case 402b facing the dispensing control board 400 and the back surface of the dispensing control board 400. The plurality of ribs 581 are adapted to contact the solid ground portion (i.e., the resist covering the solid ground) formed on the back surface of the dispensing control board 400, and when the rear case 402b is slid relative to the front case 402a with the dispensing control board 400 disposed between the rear case 402b and the front case 402a, the ribs 581 can slide on the solid ground portion formed on the back surface of the dispensing control board 400. In addition, rib 581 is designed not to slide on through holes provided in dispensing control board 400, terminals (leads) of various electronic components protruding from the back surface of dispensing control board 400, and wiring pattern portions formed on the back surface of dispensing control board 400. In other words, rib 581 is designed not to come into contact with any of the through holes, terminals, and wiring patterns when rear case 402b is slid relative to front case 402a.
It should be noted that the "wiring pattern" here does not include a ground pattern. In other words, the "wiring pattern" here can be rephrased as a wiring pattern (signal line) through which a signal passes.

(Modification)
A modification of the second embodiment will now be described, in which the shape of the socket 502 is different from that described above.

In this modified version of the socket 502, the height h of the legs 517 (the amount of protrusion from the bottom surface of the socket body 515) is 0.5 mm. The legs 517 form a gap Z between the bottom surface of the socket body 515 and the dispensing control board 400.

19, the bottom surface of the socket body 515 has a recessed shape around the socket terminal Q. In other words, the bottom surface of the socket body 515 has recesses 550 recessed in a direction away from the mounting surface in a portion corresponding to the socket terminal Q. In this modification, two rows of recesses (recesses) 550 are formed corresponding to the socket terminals Q arranged in two rows along the longitudinal direction of the socket body 515. Each row of recesses 550 is divided by a foot 517 provided at the center of the socket body 515 in the longitudinal direction, and a total of four recesses 550 are formed on the bottom surface of the socket body 515.
The recesses (grooves) 550 may be formed in four rows corresponding to the four rows of board joint portions 521 arranged along the longitudinal direction of the socket body 515. Also, one recess 550 may be provided for each socket terminal Q.

In this modified example, the recess 550 increases the height of the portion of the gap Z that corresponds to the socket terminal Q. That is, in this modified example, the foot 517 makes the distance from the bottom surface of the socket body 515 to the dispensing control board 400 in the portion where the recess 550 does not exist 0.5 mm. Also, in the portion that corresponds to the recess 550, the distance from the dispensing control board 400 to the socket body 515 is longer, and this distance is now 1.0 mm.

In this modified example, since the height of the foot 517 is 0.5 mm and the diameter of the land 526 is 1.5 mm, if the recess 550 is not formed, there is a risk that a solder fillet with a good shape (contact angle θ is 45 degrees) will come into contact with the socket body 515. However, in this modified example, the recess 550 increases the height of the socket terminal Q periphery in the gap Z, so that the solder fillet can be prevented from coming into contact with the socket body 515. In other words, even if the distance from the bottom surface of the socket body 515 to the dispensing control board 400 is equal to or less than the radius of the land (less than), the provision of the recess 550 can prevent the solder fillet from coming into contact with the socket body 515.

In addition, in this modified example, the bending angle α of the first bending portion 523 of the socket terminal Q is 90 degrees, and the bending angle β of the second bending portion 524 is 90 degrees.

The bent portion 522 (the boundary between the bent portion 522 and the board joint portion 521) is located on the side farther from the dispensing control board 400 (mounting surface) than the gap Z. In other words, the socket terminal Q has a bent portion 522 that is bent so that the positions of the IC terminal contact portion 520 and the board joint portion 521 in the short-out direction of the socket body 515 differ, but the bent portion 522 is located on the side farther from the mounting surface side than the bottom surface of the socket body 515 (in other words, inside the socket body 515).

In this modification, the distance Qx from the board joint 521 (lower end) of the socket terminal Q1 to the board joint 521 (lower end) of the socket terminal Q2 is 2.0 mm. The distance Qy from the board joint 521 (lower end) of the socket terminal Q2 to the board joint 521 (lower end) of the socket terminal Q3 is 2.0 mm. The distance Qz from the board joint 521 (lower end) of the socket terminal Q1 to the board joint 521 (lower end) of the socket terminal Q3 is 2.0 mm. That is, the distance between the board joint 521 of the socket terminal Q1 and the board joint 521 of the socket terminal Q2 is equal to the distance between the board joint 521 of the socket terminal Q1 and the board joint 521 of the socket terminal Q3. In other words, for a group of continuous socket terminals Q (socket terminals Q1 to Q17, socket terminals Q18 to Q35, socket terminals Q36 to Q53, or socket terminals Q54 to Q71), the intervals (2.0 mm) between the board joints 521 of adjacent socket terminals Q are equal (2.0 mm). Also, for a group of continuous socket terminals Q (socket terminals Q1 to Q17, socket terminals Q18 to Q35, socket terminals Q36 to Q53, or socket terminals Q54 to Q71), the intervals (2.0 mm) between the board joints 521 of adjacent socket terminals Q are equal to the intervals (2.0 mm) between the board joints 521 of every other socket terminal Q. The arrangement of the through holes 504 is the same as the arrangement of the board joints 521 of the socket terminals Q. By arranging the board joint portion 521 (through hole 504) in this manner, the socket 502 is stably held in the through hole 504.
In this embodiment, the term "equal" for each interval means that the lengths are equal in design, and does not require manufacturing errors. In other words, the term "equal" in this embodiment includes the case where the lengths are approximately equal.

The gaming machine of this embodiment is a gaming machine including a board 400 and a board case 402 that houses the board 400. The board 400 has a plurality of through holes 504 used to attach a socket 502 to which an IC 500 is attached, and the through holes 504 have lands 526. The socket 502 has a plurality of socket terminals Q that electrically connect the IC terminal P and the through holes 504, a socket body 515 that holds the socket terminals Q, and a plurality of legs 517 that support the socket body 515. The plurality of legs 517 form a predetermined gap Z between the socket body 515 and the board surface (mounting surface) of the board 400. The distance from the socket body 515 to the board surface (mounting surface) of the gap Z is equal to or greater than the width of the lands 526, and the solder that joins the socket terminals Q and the through holes 504 does not contact the socket body 515. According to this configuration, the gap Z formed between the socket body 515 and the mounting surface can improve the heat dissipation of the IC 500. In addition, the height of the gap Z at least in the portion corresponding to the socket terminal Q is equal to or greater than the width of the land 526, and the solder does not come into contact with the socket body 515, which further improves heat dissipation and prevents damage to the socket 502. Also, by preventing the solder from coming into contact with the socket body 515 in this way, unexpected short circuits can be prevented.

In addition, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, the IC terminal P includes a first terminal (IC terminal P1), a second terminal (IC terminal P2), and a third terminal (IC terminal P3) that are arranged in succession in a predetermined direction, and the socket terminal Q includes a first socket terminal (socket terminal Q1) to which the first terminal is connected, a second socket terminal (socket terminal Q2) to which the second terminal is connected, and a third socket terminal (socket terminal Q3) to which the third terminal is connected, and the through hole 504 in each socket terminal Q If the portion to be soldered is the board joint 521, the distance from the first terminal P1 to the second terminal P2 and the distance from the second terminal P2 to the third terminal P3 are both equal to a first length, and the distance from the board joint 521 of the first socket terminal Q1 to the board joint 521 of the second socket terminal Q2 and the distance from the board joint 521 of the first socket terminal Q1 to the board joint 521 of the third socket terminal Q3 are both equal to a second length, the second length being longer than the first length. With this configuration, the interval between the board joints of adjacent socket terminals Q can be made wider than the interval between adjacent terminals P of the IC, and a sufficient distance can be secured between the portions to be soldered, preventing short circuits. In addition, the distance from the board joint 521 of the first socket terminal Q1 to the board joint 521 of the second socket terminal Q2 is equal to the distance from the board joint 521 of the first socket terminal Q1 to the board joint 521 of the third socket terminal Q3, so that the socket 502 is stably held in the through hole 504.

In addition, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, a connector 570 is mounted on the board 400, the connector 570 has a positioning pin 574, and the board 400 is formed with a hole 575 into which the positioning pin 574 is inserted, and the length of the positioning pin 574 is equal to or less than the thickness of the board 400.

Third Embodiment
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The gaming machine of this embodiment has the same configuration as the gaming machines of the first and second embodiments. Therefore, the description of the same configuration as the first and second embodiments will be omitted or simplified.

In this embodiment, the dispensing control board 400 is a rectangular plate that is long in the left-right direction. Also, in this embodiment, all components mounted on the dispensing control board 400 are mounted on the front side of the dispensing control board 400. Hereinafter, the surface (front side) on which the components of the dispensing control board 400 are mounted may be referred to as the mounting surface. Note that there may also be components mounted on the back side of the dispensing control board 400.

In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 20, when facing the dispensing control board 400 (the surface of the dispensing control board 400) directly (when viewing the dispensing control board 400 from a direction perpendicular to the board surface (surface)), when the dispensing control board 400 is divided by two straight lines that pass through the center of the dispensing control board 400 and are perpendicular to each other, the upper right region is called the first region R1, the upper left region is called the second region R2, the lower left region is called the third region R3, and the lower right region is called the fourth region R4. In other words, when facing the dispensing control board 400, the X-axis is a virtual line passing through the center of the dispensing control board 400 and extending in the longitudinal direction (left and right direction), and the Y-axis is a virtual line passing through the center of the dispensing control board 400 and extending in the short direction (up and down direction), in the XY plane, the first quadrant corresponds to the first region R1, the second quadrant corresponds to the second region R2, the third quadrant corresponds to the third region R3, and the fourth quadrant corresponds to the fourth region R4. Also, when facing the dispensing control board 400, when the dispensing control board 400 is divided into two by a line (plane) that passes through the center (center in the short direction) of the dispensing control board 400 and is parallel to a predetermined side (long side) of the dispensing control board 400, one of the regions is called the first specific region S1, and the other region is called the second specific region S2. In this embodiment, the first specific region S1 is composed of the first region R1 and the second region R2, and the second specific region S2 is composed of the third region R3 and the fourth region R4. Note that, for example, the first specific region S1 may be composed of the first region R1 and the fourth region R4, and the second specific region S2 may be composed of the second region R2 and the third region R3.
The dispensing control board 400 may be shaped like a rectangular plate with a portion missing. In the case of such a shape, the straight line (virtual line) that separates each area described here and that passes through the center of the dispensing control board 400 can be interpreted as a straight line (virtual line) that passes through the center of a virtual rectangle (a virtual rectangle when the portion is not missing) along the outer edge of the dispensing control board 400 (see FIG. 21).

In addition, in this embodiment, when facing the dispensing control board 400, the upper long side is called the first long side, the lower long side is called the second long side, the right short side is called the first short side, and the left short side is called the second short side. In other words, the first specific area (first area and second area) can be said to be the area on the first long side, and the second specific area (third area and fourth area) can be said to be the area on the second long side. In addition, the first area and fourth area can be said to be the area on the first short side, and the second area and third area can be said to be the area on the second short side.

As shown in FIG. 20, the payout control board 400 is equipped with a plurality of connectors (connectors for connecting mounted components) 600 used to connect components mounted on the gaming machine (gaming machine mounted components), such as the control device (main control board 200) and other boards (including control boards such as the main control board 200). The payout control board 400 is electrically connected to the gaming machine mounted components via each connector 600 and a harness connected to each connector 600. The gaming machine mounted components may be a board for connecting a device outside the gaming machine (such as a so-called hall computer or CR unit) to the gaming machine (payout control board 400). The gaming machine mounted components may be, for example, various switches, sensors, motors, solenoids, etc.

In this embodiment, the payout control board 400 is connected to a full tank switch that detects when the lower tray (receiving tray) is full, a front frame opening switch that detects when the front frame 10 is open, an inner frame opening switch that detects when the inner frame 7 is open, a payout counting switch, a payout motor, a launching device, an external terminal board, etc., via a first specified board, and a connector used for connecting to the first specified board is implemented on the payout control board 400 as a connector 600. The external terminal board is a board for connecting the gaming machine to an external electronic device (such as a data display device or hall computer), and various external information signals indicating the status of the gaming machine are output from this external terminal board to the external electronic device. In addition, the payout control board 400 is connected to a launch lever volume that detects the amount of rotation of the handle, a launch stop switch that detects a launch stop operation that stops the launch of game balls, etc., via a second specified board, and a connector used for connecting to the second specified board is implemented on the payout control board 400 as a connector 600. Additionally, the dispensing control board 400 is equipped with a connector 600, which is used to connect to the main control board 200.

A plurality of connectors 600 are arranged in the first specific region S1. Specifically, the connectors 600 are arranged near the edge of the first specific region S1 that faces the boundary with the second specific region S2. In other words, the connectors 600 are arranged in the portion of the first specific region S1 on the first long side. Specifically, a plurality of connectors 600 are arranged along the edge (near the edge). Note that all of the connectors 600 may be arranged along the edge (near the edge) (see FIG. 21). Also, all of the connectors 600 may be arranged in the first region R1.

The main IC 500 and the mass-produced component placement area B (the area inside the two-dot chain line in FIG. 20) are arranged in the second specific area S2. Specifically, the main IC 500 and the mass-produced component placement area B are arranged in the third area R3. Note that in this embodiment, the main IC 500 is mounted on the dispensing control board 400 via the socket 502, but it may also be mounted (soldered) directly on the dispensing control board 400 without using the socket 502.

In this embodiment, the mass-produced non-mounted components placement area B is an area in which test components (such as test connectors, test ICs, and test passive elements) are placed as non-mass-produced non-mounted components. The mass-produced non-mounted components placement area B is provided with mounting sections 405 (such as lands and through holes) for placing (soldering) the test components and silk 406 for the test components. That is, the test components can be mounted in the second specific area S2 (third area R3).
The test components may be components that are mounted during mass production (components mounted during mass production).

In addition, the connector 600 is not arranged in the third region R3. Specifically, the connector 600 is not arranged in the second specific region S2. That is, in this embodiment, the connector 600 is arranged in one region (upper region: first specific region S1) when the dispensing control board 400 is divided into two in a predetermined direction (upper and lower direction), and the main IC 500 and test components can be mounted on one side (left side when facing the dispensing control board 400: third region R3) of the other region (lower region: second specific region S2) when further divided into two in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction (left and right direction). In addition, the connector 600 is not arranged on that one side (third region R3), more specifically, in the other region (second specific region S2).

(Modification)
21, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, the main IC 500 and the verification terminal 602 may be arranged in the third region R3 (second specific region S2). In this case, the third region R3 (second specific region S2) may or may not be capable of mounting a test component.
Here, the verification terminal 602 is a connector (terminal) used for a specified inspection, capable of outputting specified information, and capable of being connected to an inspection terminal (inspection equipment). The verification terminal 602 is not normally connected to an inspection terminal, and is connected to the inspection terminal only during inspection. By connecting the inspection terminal to the verification terminal, it is possible to inspect the dispensing control board 400 for any unauthorized modifications, etc. Here, the specified information output from the verification terminal 602 includes the ID of the dispensing control board 400, etc.
In the mass-produced gaming machine of this embodiment, all of the connectors 600 are connected to wiring (harness), and there is no connector on the payout control board 400 that is not connected to wiring (harness) other than the verification terminal 602. However, for example, there may be a connector that is not connected to wiring (harness) other than the verification terminal 602, and for example, a test connector as a test component may be mounted in the mass-produced product, and the test connector may be a connector that is not connected to wiring (harness). Also, such a test connector may be disposed in the third region R3 (second specific region S2).

The main IC 500 and the matching terminal 602 are connected via electronic components and a wiring pattern. Specifically, the dispensing control board 400 has predetermined signal lines 604, 604 that connect the main IC 500 and the matching terminal 602 as a wiring pattern, and the signal lines 604, 604 are provided with resistors 606, 606 as predetermined electronic components. The resistor 606 is a lead-type resistor, and has a resistor body and two leads (terminals: legs) extending from the resistor body. The resistor 606 is attached to the dispensing control board 400 by soldering, with the two leads inserted into through holes provided in the dispensing control board 400.

The height of resistor 606 is lower than the height of main IC 500. Specifically, when mounted on dispensing control board 400, the height of resistor 606 is ½ or less the height of main IC 500. Also, the height of resistor 606 is lower than the height of verification terminal 602. Specifically, when mounted on dispensing control board 400, the height of resistor 606 is ½ or less the height of verification terminal 602.
Here, the "height" of each electronic component refers to the distance in the height direction from the mounting surface of the dispensing control board 400 to the protruding tip of each electronic component (the part farthest from the mounting surface).

In this embodiment, there are two signal lines 604 connecting main IC 500 and verification terminal 602, and a resistor 606 is provided on each of the two signal lines 604. Furthermore, other than resistor 606, there are no electronic components provided on signal line 604 connecting main IC 500 and verification terminal 602. In other words, in dispensing control board 400, all electronic components provided on signal line 604 connecting main IC 500 and verification terminal 602 are lower in height than main IC 500 and lower in height than verification terminal 602.
In this embodiment, the verification terminal 602 has four terminals, two of which are connected to signal lines 604, 604, and the remaining two terminals are connected to a ground pattern.

In this embodiment, the payout control board 400 is installed in the arrangement shown in FIG. 22. FIG. 22 is a view of the gaming machine from the rear side (rear side). As shown in FIG. 22, the payout control board 400 is arranged below the main control board 200. In addition, the connector 600a used to connect to the main control board 200 is arranged on the top of the payout control board 400, and the payout control board 400 and the main control board 200 are electrically connected via the connector 600a.

In addition, no other boards are arranged below the payout control board 400. In other words, the payout control board 400 is the board arranged at the lowest side among all the boards mounted on the gaming machine.
In this case, "no other boards are placed below (it is the board placed at the bottom)" means that the upper ends of all other boards are not located lower than the lower end of the dispensing control board 400, but it may also be that the lower ends of all other boards are located above the lower end of the dispensing control board 400 (at least above approximately the same position in the vertical direction as the lower end of the dispensing control board 400).

The payout control board 400 is arranged so as to overlap with other boards in the front-rear direction (the direction perpendicular to the surface (plate surface) of the payout control board 400). Specifically, the power supply board 610 is arranged in front of the payout control board 400 as the other board. The power supply board 610 is a board connected to each board, and power is supplied to each board from a commercial power source via the power supply board. The payout control board 400 is arranged at the rearmost of the multiple boards arranged to overlap in the front-rear direction. In other words, when the gaming machine is viewed from the rear side (when the inner frame 7 is in the open state and the payout control board 400 is directly facing the payout control board 400), the payout control board 400 is arranged to be located at the frontmost side (observer side) of the boards overlapping in the front-rear direction. In other words, when the mounting surface of the payout control board 400 is viewed from the rear side of the gaming machine (when the inner frame 7 is in the open state and the mounting surface of the payout control board 400 is viewed), the view is not blocked by other boards.

The gaming machine of this embodiment is a gaming machine equipped with a board 400 on which electronic components are mounted, and in one region (first specific region S1) of the board 400 when it is divided into two in a predetermined direction, a connector 600 used for electrical connection with the components mounted on the gaming machine is arranged, and in one side (third region R3) of the other region (second specific region S2) when it is further divided into two in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction, a control means (main IC 500) that controls processing in the board 400 and a mounting section 405 in which a predetermined electronic component can be mounted but in which the predetermined electronic component is not mounted are arranged, and the connector 600 is not arranged. According to this configuration, the control means 500 is arranged in one region (third region R3) when the board 400 is divided into four, and the connector 600 used for electrical connection with the components mounted on the gaming machine is not arranged in the region, so that it is possible to prevent the visibility of the control means 500 from being reduced by a harness connected to the connector 600. In addition, by placing the mounting section 405, which does not have any electronic components mounted, in this area, the visibility of the control means 500 can be improved. In addition, by placing the mounting section 405 in this area, the visibility of the control means 500 can be ensured while increasing the degree of freedom in the placement of the connector 600.

The gaming machine of this embodiment is a gaming machine equipped with a board 400 on which electronic components are mounted, and when the board 400 is divided into two in a predetermined direction, a connector 600 used for electrical connection with the components mounted on the gaming machine is arranged in one region (first specific region S1), and when the other region (second specific region S2) is further divided into two in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction, a control means (main IC 500) that controls processing in the board 400 and an inspection terminal (verification terminal 602) used for a predetermined inspection are arranged on one side (third region R3), and the connector 600 is not arranged. According to this configuration, when the board is divided into four, the control means 500 is arranged in one region (third region R3), and the connector 600 used for electrical connection with the components mounted on the gaming machine is not arranged in this region, so that the visibility of the control means 500 can be prevented from being reduced by a harness connected to the connector 600. In addition, by placing an inspection terminal 602 used for a specific inspection in this area, i.e., a connector to which a harness is not normally connected, the degree of freedom in placing the other connectors 600 can be increased while ensuring visibility of the control means.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
Since the gaming machine of this embodiment has a configuration basically similar to that of the gaming machine of the first embodiment, the description of the configuration similar to that of the gaming machine of the first embodiment will be omitted or simplified. In the following, the description will be given using a payout control board unit 700 equipped with a payout control board 400 (hereinafter, board 400), but the present invention can be applied to other predetermined board units equipped in the gaming machine.

Figure 23 is an exploded perspective view of the dispensing control board unit 700. The dispensing control board unit 700 is substantially square (rectangular). Specifically, it is longer in the left-right direction and shorter in the up-down direction. The dispensing control board unit 700 is mainly comprised of a board 400 (dispensing control board, dispensing control means), a board case 701 that houses (stores, encloses) the board 400 inside, screws (not shown), etc.

The board case 701 comprises a first case 710 that covers the front side (first surface side) of the board 400, and a second case 720 that covers the rear side (second surface side) of the board 400. The first case 710 and the second case 720 each have a top surface (bottom surface) and a predetermined side surface (side wall), and are generally box-shaped. By assembling the first case 710 and the second case 720, a space is formed inside, and the board 400 is stored in that space. The board case 701 is made of a transparent synthetic resin, and the board 400 arranged inside can be seen from the outside.

Here, the front side (front surface) of the substrate 400 is referred to as the first surface (surface), and the rear side (rear surface) is referred to as the second surface (rear surface). The first surface of the substrate 400 faces the top surface (first top surface) of the first case 710. The second surface of the substrate 400 faces the top surface (second top surface) of the second case 720. The top surface of the first case 710 may be referred to as the top surface of the substrate case 701, and the top surface of the second case 720 may be referred to as the bottom surface of the substrate case 701.

Figure 24 is a schematic diagram of the first surface of substrate 400 viewed from the front side (front side). Substrate 400 is a rectangular plate with long sides extending in the left-right direction and short sides extending in the up-down direction, and is arranged so that the normal direction of the substrate surface (plate thickness direction) is the front-to-rear direction. One of the long sides of substrate 400 is located on the upper side, the other long side is located on the lower side, one short side is located on the right side, and the other short side is located on the left side.

The substrate 400 has a plurality of through holes 450 penetrating the first surface and the second surface. In this embodiment, the through holes 450 are formed at each of the four corners of the substrate 400. Note that four or more through holes 450 may be provided. Also, the number of through holes 450 may be less than four, for example, two holes provided at each diagonal corner of the substrate 400. In this embodiment, some of the through holes 450 are used for fixing to the substrate case 701 (first case 710) and others are used for positioning the substrate 400 (described later).

Although the illustration is simplified (omitted), a plurality of components (various electronic components) are mounted (arranged) on the first surface of the board 400. The plurality of components include connectors, ICs, resistors, capacitors, diodes, and switches. Although the illustration is omitted, identification information (identification code) for identifying (specifying) each electronic component (enabling identification of each electronic component) is provided near the arrangement position of each electronic component on the board 400. The identification information is composed of a predetermined character or a predetermined character string (the character string may include numbers and symbols). For example, in the case of a connector assigned the number "1", the alphabet "CN" representing the connector and the number "1" are combined to form the character string "CN1". This identification information is formed (written) by silk printing, and is white in this embodiment. The identification information can also be called silk characters. In this embodiment, the board 400 is a green board. In other words, the color of the resist on the board 400 is green. Although not shown, the substrate 400 also has multiple through holes.

As shown in FIG. 23, the first case 710 has two mounting holes 711 (board mounting portions). The mounting holes 711 are provided at positions corresponding to (facing) the through holes 450 provided at diagonal corners of the board 400. The board 400 is fixed to the first case 710 by passing a screw (not shown) through the through hole 450 from the second surface side (rear surface side) of the board 400 and screwing (inserting) the screw into the mounting hole 711.

The first case 710 also has two positioning pins 712. The positioning pins 712 are provided at positions corresponding to (facing) the through holes 450 provided at the diagonal corners of the substrate 400. The positioning pins 712 protrude a predetermined length from the front side toward the rear side, are formed in a cylindrical shape, and are formed with a diameter that allows them to be inserted into the through holes 450. By inserting the positioning pins 712 into the through holes 450, the rotation of the substrate 400 is restricted.

Here, using Figures 25 to 27, we will show another example of a board and a board case (fixing the board to the board case). The board 400 shown in Figure 25 has five through holes 450. The through holes 450 are provided at the four corners and at approximately the center in the left-right direction on the lower side.

26 is a view of the first case 710 corresponding to the board 400 shown in FIG. 25, seen from the rear side. The first case 710 has five bosses 715 (board mounting parts). The bosses 715 are provided at positions corresponding to (facing) the through holes 450 of the board 400. The bosses 715 protrude a certain length from the front side to the rear side, and are formed in a columnar (cylindrical) shape. The bosses 715 are provided with screw holes for inserting screws (for tightening the screws). The diameter of the screw holes can also be called the inner diameter of the bosses 715. The board 400 is fixed (fastened) to the first case 710 by passing the screws through the five through holes 450 from the second surface side (back surface side) of the board 400, and then screwing (inserting) the screws into the screw holes of the bosses 715.

When the screw is screwed in and inserted into the screw hole a predetermined amount (predetermined length), the tip surface of the boss 715 comes into contact with the first surface of the substrate 400, and the head of the screw comes into contact with the second surface of the substrate 400. In other words, the substrate 400 is sandwiched between the tip surface of the boss 715 and the head of the screw and fixed (fixed state). At this time, the screw is in a state where it cannot rotate any further (the screw is tightened without loosening). This may be called the maximum insertion state of the screw. When the substrate 400 is in a fixed state, the head of the screw protrudes from the second surface of the substrate 400.

In this embodiment, a pattern made of copper foil is formed (copper foil is attached) on the first and second surfaces of the substrate 400. The patterns include a wiring pattern through which signals pass and a ground pattern (solid ground).

Figure 27 (a) is a diagram showing the second surface of the substrate 400 shown in Figure 25. In this embodiment, a predetermined area (predetermined range) including at least the periphery of the through holes 450 is an area where no pattern is formed (pattern non-forming area N: hatched area in the figure). In this embodiment, the periphery of each through hole 450 (five locations) and the peripheral portion (edge of each side) of the substrate 400 are pattern non-forming areas N (insulating areas), but it is sufficient that at least the periphery of each through hole 450 is pattern non-forming area N. Each through hole 450 is provided in a pattern non-forming area N.

27(b) shows the state in FIG. 27(a) where the screws are inserted through the through holes 450 and the heads of the screws are in contact with the substrate 400. The pattern non-forming region N has a size such that at least the heads of the screws do not protrude from the pattern non-forming region N (the heads of the screws do not enter the pattern forming region). In other words, the size of the heads of the screws is such that they fit inside the pattern non-forming region N. Specifically, the distance (shortest distance) between the end (outer periphery) of the heads of the screws and the copper foil is, for example, about 1 mm to 2 mm. Therefore, when the screws are tightened, the heads of the screws come into contact with the pattern non-forming region N, and the heads of the screws do not come into contact with the pattern (copper foil). This prevents electrical conduction between the screws and the pattern (solid ground, etc.) causing a short circuit and thus damage to the components (causing defects). It also prevents damage to the pattern caused by the heads of the screws coming into contact.

Although not shown, in FIG. 27(a), for example, a through hole 450 may be provided in the center of the substrate 400, and a predetermined range around the through hole 450 may be the pattern non-forming region N. In other words, a predetermined pattern non-forming region N may be provided so as not to be continuous with other pattern non-forming regions N (isolated). The pattern non-forming region N is a region where no pattern is provided, but where resist is provided.

As for the screws, in addition to pan head screws, flat head screws can also be used. Since the bearing surface of the head of a flat head screw is conical, the distance (shortest distance) to the copper foil can be made greater when flat head screws are used than when pan head screws are used. In other words, they are less likely to come into contact with the copper foil.

Next, the first surface side will be described. The tip surface of the boss 715 (FIG. 26) is adapted to come into contact with the first surface of the substrate 400, but the boss 715 (substrate mounting portion) also functions as a substrate support portion (abutment surface, receiving surface) that supports the substrate. As this substrate support portion, a predetermined shape other than the boss 715 may be provided in the first case 710. Examples of the predetermined shape include a protrusion (convex portion) erected at a corner portion (a position facing the corner portion of the substrate) and a rib (convex portion) formed to extend a predetermined length from the case side surface (inner surface of the side wall) toward the inside. For example, when a substrate support portion (convex portion) is provided at a position corresponding to the approximately center portion of the substrate in the left-right direction in addition to the positions corresponding to the four corners of the substrate, the approximately center portion of the substrate in the left-right direction is supported from the first surface side in addition to the four corners of the substrate. Therefore, when a force is applied to the substrate from the second surface side, the substrate is less likely to bend (the substrate can be prevented from being bent).

25, in this embodiment, a pattern non-forming region N (shaded area) is also provided on the first surface of the substrate 400. The substrate support portion (boss 715) is adapted to come into contact with (abut) the pattern non-forming region N. In other words, at least the portion of the first surface of the substrate 400 that comes into contact with the substrate support portion is the pattern non-forming region N. In other words, a predetermined range on the first surface of the substrate 400, including the range that comes into contact with the substrate support portion, is the pattern non-forming region N. In this embodiment, the pattern non-forming region N around a predetermined through hole 450 has a larger area on the first surface compared to the second surface. This is because, in this embodiment, the diameter of the boss 715 is larger than the diameter of the head of the screw. The shortest distance between the outer periphery of the boss 715 on the first surface and the copper foil may be smaller than the shortest distance between the outer periphery of the head of the screw on the second surface and the copper foil. The pattern non-forming regions may be formed similarly (in the same range) on the first and second surfaces. In addition, predetermined information (such as the control number of the substrate) may be displayed in the pattern non-forming regions N on the first and second surfaces.

The bosses, ribs, and other components that serve as the board support are made of resin and are not electrically conductive when they come into contact with the pattern (copper foil). However, when they come into contact with the pattern (copper foil) and press against it, there is a risk that the pattern may be damaged or broken. In this embodiment, the board support comes into contact with the non-pattern forming area N, so that the pattern is not damaged or broken by pressure, and defects (damage to components) can be suppressed.

Although not shown, non-pattern forming areas N are also provided on the first and second surfaces of the substrate 400 shown in FIG. 24, to prevent contact between the screws and the pattern, and to prevent contact between the substrate support part (resin part) and the pattern.

At least one connector is disposed on the first surface of the substrate 400, and as shown in FIG. 28, the portion of the first case 710 that corresponds to a specific connector (and its surroundings) is a recess 718 (concave shape) that is recessed (concave) on the inside of the case (substrate 400 side). An opening is provided in this recess 718, and the connector is exposed to the outside through the opening.

In this embodiment, the bottom (bottom surface) of the recess 718 and the first surface (the portion surrounding the connector) of the substrate 400 are in surface contact, but the substrate 400 in this surface contact area may be a pattern formation area (area where copper foil is attached). In other words, a place where a surface contact with a mating component may occur (a place where the contact area is relatively large), such as the bottom of the recess 718 in the substrate case 701 (first case 710), may be a pattern formation area rather than a pattern non-formation area N. The contact area is large, and the load (stress) is dispersed and is less likely to concentrate in one place. On the other hand, a place where a point contact with a mating component may occur (a place where the contact area is relatively small), such as the tip of the boss 715 (Figure 26) in the substrate case 701, is a pattern non-formation area N (area where copper foil is not attached). This is because the contact area is small and the load (stress) is likely to concentrate.

FIG. 29 is a partially enlarged view showing a predetermined through hole 450 and its surroundings on a predetermined surface of the substrate 400. In this embodiment, at the boundary (boundary) between the pattern forming region (region where copper foil is attached) and the pattern non-forming region N (region where copper foil is not attached), a plurality of ground through holes H are provided at (along) the edge portion of the pattern forming region. This strengthens the ground, improves the noise resistance of the substrate, and realizes stable operation of the substrate. In the pattern forming region, a wiring pattern through which a signal passes is formed, and a ground through hole H is provided further outside than the wiring pattern located on the outermost side (outer periphery) of the wiring pattern. This reduces the influence of noise on the outermost wiring pattern. In addition, since a plurality of ground through holes H are provided at the outer edge portion of the pattern forming region (a plurality of paths through which current flows are provided) and the ground is strengthened, for example, even if electricity (static electricity) flows in through a screw used to fix the substrate, the electricity can be more reliably released.
The ground through holes H provided in this boundary portion are either in a state where solder has penetrated to the inside (a state where they are filled with solder) or in a state where solder has not penetrated to the inside (a state where they are not filled with solder).

In this embodiment, the board unit (payout control board unit 700) is arranged in the gaming machine so that the normal direction of the board surface is the front-to-back direction, but it may also be arranged in the gaming machine so that the normal direction of the board surface is the up-to-down direction (for example, so that the first surface faces upward).

Figure 30 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the state in which the board 400 is fixed to the first case 710 (boss 715). Note that some of the hatching indicating that it is a cross section has been omitted from Figure 30. Figure 30 shows a state in which the screw α is tightly fastened and the board 400 is properly (appropriately) fixed to the first case 710 (boss 715) (specific state, first state).

The first surface (front surface) of the board 400 and the top surface of the first case 710 (upper case) face each other. The first surface of the board 400 can be seen through the top surface of the first case 710. Specifically, various electronic components arranged on the first surface can be seen. In FIG. 30, the lead component β and the connector γ can be seen through the top surface of the first case 710. The connector γ is a connector (non-exposed connector) that is covered by the top surface of the first case 710 without being exposed from the opening provided in the first case 710. Examples of non-exposed connectors include development connectors that are used only during development and are not used during mass production, functional expansion connectors that are used when it is decided to add functions (specifications) to a later model and are not used during mass production of the current model, and test connectors that are used in a specified test performed to provide the gaming machine to the market but are not used during mass production.

The second surface (rear surface) of the substrate 400 faces the top surface of the second case 720 (lower case). The second surface of the substrate 400 can be seen through the top surface of the second case 720. In FIG. 30, the terminal of the lead component β and the head of the screw α can be seen through the top surface of the second case 720.

The electronic components arranged on the first surface of the substrate 400 include those (lead components β) that have a main body and a lead terminal portion (lead) (terminal) extending from the main body. Examples of lead components β (discrete components β) include diodes, ICs, capacitors, resistors, etc. The lead components β are soldered with the lead terminal portion inserted into a through hole (hole) formed in the substrate 400, and are fixed (mounted) to the substrate 400. The lead terminal portion protrudes a predetermined length from the second surface of the substrate 400. In addition, if the portion of the lead terminal portion opposite the main body connection side is the tip side of the lead terminal portion, in this embodiment, the tip side of the lead terminal portion is bent. For example, in the case of a resistor having two leads, the tip of each terminal is bent so that it faces inward. In addition to the lead components, the electronic components arranged on the substrate 400 may also include chip components (chip-type components).

As shown in FIG. 30, the height dimension of the boss 715 (board mounting portion) is dimension L. Dimension L is the dimension from the top surface (inner surface) of the first case 710 to the tip of the boss 715 (the first surface of the board 400). In addition, in the state shown in FIG. 30, the height dimension of the connector γ (non-exposed connector) from the first surface of the board 400 is dimension M. Note that, if multiple non-exposed connectors such as the connector γ are arranged on the board 400, the height dimension of the one that is the highest (largest) from the first surface among them is dimension M. In addition, in the state shown in FIG. 30, the dimension from the first surface of the board 400 to the tip of the screw α inserted into the boss 715 is dimension N. The tip of the screw α is the end opposite the head of the screw α.

In this embodiment, the dimension L (sixth dimension) is greater than the dimension M (seventh dimension). When the screw α is tightened to attach the board 400 to the first case 710 (boss 715), the connector γ does not come into contact with the top surface of the first case 710. This makes it possible to prevent the connector γ from being damaged.
Furthermore, the dimension N (eighth dimension) is smaller than the dimension M (seventh dimension). If the dimension N were larger than the dimension M, the screw α would be inserted deeper into the boss 715, increasing the risk that the connector γ would come into contact with the top surface of the first case 710. However, in this embodiment, the dimension N is set smaller than the dimension M, so that such a risk can be reduced.

30, the dimension from the second surface (back surface) of the substrate 400 to the tip (top) of the head of the screw α is dimension B (second dimension). In the state shown in FIG. 30, the dimension (protrusion amount) from the second surface (back surface) of the substrate 400 to the tip of the lead terminal portion of the lead component β is dimension A (first dimension). When multiple lead components β (diodes, ICs, capacitors, resistors, etc.) are arranged on the substrate 400, the dimension A is the protrusion amount of the lead terminal portion with the largest height from the second surface. Note that the dimension A may be configured so that all of the multiple lead components β are the same. In the state shown in FIG. 30, the dimension (distance) from the second surface (back surface) of the substrate 400 to the top surface (inner surface) of the second case 720 is dimension C (third dimension).

In this embodiment, dimension B is larger than dimension A. In this embodiment, dimension C is larger than dimension B. When the substrate 400 is attached to the first case 710, the head of the screw α and the tip of the lead terminal portion of the lead component β do not come into contact with the top surface of the second case 720. This makes it possible to prevent damage to the second case 720, the lead components, etc.

Here, in the state shown in FIG. 30, the amount of screw α inserted into boss 715 (amount of screw engagement) is dimension E (fifth dimension). In other words, the length (dimension) that screw α is inserted into the screw hole of boss 715 is dimension E. Also, in the state shown in FIG. 30, the distance (dimension) from the tip (top) of the head of screw α to the top surface (inner surface) of second case 720 is dimension D (fourth dimension). Note that dimension D can also be said to be the difference between dimension C and dimension B. In this embodiment, dimension E is greater than dimension D.

Now consider a case where the screw α loosens due to the influence of vibration or the like, and the board 400 moves toward the second case 720 together with the screw α. If dimension E is smaller than dimension D (if dimension D is larger than dimension E), dimension E becomes 0 before the head of the screw α contacts the top surface of the second case 720, and the screw α falls off the boss 715. In this case, without the screw α, the terminal of the lead component β contacts the top surface of the second case 720, and the lead component β may come off (fall out) from the board 400 or be damaged.

In this embodiment, the dimension E is greater than the dimension D. Therefore, when the head of the screw α contacts the top surface of the second case 720 (i.e., when the dimension D = 0), the dimension E > 0 (the insertion amount of the screw α is secured), and the screw α does not fall off the boss 715. Therefore, even if the head of the screw α contacts the top surface of the second case 720, the presence of the screw α prevents the terminal of the lead component β from contacting the top surface of the second case 720 (a gap is secured between the terminal of the lead component β and the top surface of the second case 720). Therefore, if the screw α is loosened, the terminal of the lead component β will contact the top surface of the second case 720, and the lead component β will not come off the board 400 or be damaged.

The gaming machine of this embodiment is
The device includes a substrate 400, a substrate case 701, and a screw.
The substrate case includes a first case 710 that covers a first surface side of the substrate, and a second case 720 that covers a second surface side of the substrate,
the board is fixed to the first case by inserting the screw from the second surface side and screwing it into the board mounting portion of the first case,
a terminal of the electronic component inserted from the first surface side of the board protrudes from the second surface by a predetermined length;
the electronic component is visible through a top surface of the first case that faces the first surface of the board,
terminals of the electronic components and heads of the screws are visible through a top surface of the second case that faces the second surface of the board;
In a state in which the screws are tightly fastened and the board is fixed to the first case,
a dimension from the second surface of the substrate to a tip of a terminal of the electronic component is defined as a first dimension;
a dimension from the second surface of the substrate to the tip of the head of the screw is a second dimension;
If the dimension from the second surface of the substrate to the top surface of the second case is defined as a third dimension,
the third dimension is greater than the second dimension;
The second dimension is greater than the first dimension.

When the screw is tightly fastened and the board is fixed to the first case, the third dimension is larger than the second dimension, and the second dimension is larger than the first dimension. Therefore, the tip of the head of the screw and the tip of the terminal of the lead component do not come into contact with the top surface of the second case. This makes it possible to prevent damage to the second case, the lead component, etc.

In addition, the gaming machine of this embodiment has
The device includes a substrate 400, a substrate case 701, and a screw.
The substrate case includes a first case 710 that covers a first surface side of the substrate, and a second case 720 that covers a second surface side of the substrate,
The board is fixed to the first case by inserting the screw from the second surface side and screwing it into the board mounting portion (711, 715) of the first case,
a terminal of the electronic component inserted from the first surface side of the board protrudes from the second surface by a predetermined length;
the electronic component is visible through a top surface of the first case that faces the first surface of the board,
terminals of the electronic components and heads of the screws are visible through a top surface of the second case that faces the second surface of the board;
In a state in which the screws are tightly fastened and the board is fixed to the first case,
A dimension from the second surface of the substrate to the tip of the terminal of the lead component is defined as a first dimension (dimension A);
A dimension from the second surface of the substrate to the tip of the head of the screw is defined as a second dimension (dimension B);
A dimension from the second surface of the substrate to the top surface of the second case is a third dimension (dimension C),
A dimension from the tip of the head of the screw to the top surface of the second case is defined as a fourth dimension (dimension D),
If the length of the screw inserted into the board mounting portion is defined as a fifth dimension (dimension E),
the third dimension is greater than the second dimension;
The second dimension is greater than the first dimension,
The fifth dimension is greater than the fourth dimension.

When the screw is fastened without loosening and the board is fixed to the first case, the third dimension is larger than the second dimension, and the second dimension is larger than the first dimension. Therefore, the tip of the head of the screw and the tip of the terminal of the lead component do not come into contact with the top surface of the second case. This prevents damage to the second case, the lead component, etc. In addition, since the fifth dimension is larger than the fourth dimension, even if the fastening of the screw loosens and the screw moves toward the top surface of the second case, and the head of the screw comes into contact with the top surface of the second case and the fourth dimension = 0, the fifth dimension > 0. Therefore, even if the head of the screw comes into contact with the top surface of the second case, the screw is inserted into the board mounting portion by a predetermined amount, and the screw does not fall off from the board mounting portion. Therefore, the screw does not fall off (due to the absence of the screw) and the terminal of the lead component does not come into contact with the top surface of the second case. This prevents the lead components from coming into contact with the top surface of the second case and becoming detached from the board or being damaged if the screws become loose.

In addition, in the gaming machine of this embodiment,
A dimension from the first surface of the substrate to the top surface of the first case is a sixth dimension (dimension L);
a height from the first surface of the connector that is disposed on the first surface of the board and is covered by the top surface of the first case is defined as a seventh dimension (dimension M);
If the dimension from the first surface of the board to the tip of the screw inserted into the board attachment portion is defined as an eighth dimension (dimension N),
the sixth dimension is greater than the seventh dimension;
The eighth dimension is smaller than the seventh dimension.

Because the sixth dimension is larger than the seventh dimension, when the screw is tightly fastened and the board is fixed to the first case, the connector does not come into contact with the top surface of the first case. This prevents the connector from being damaged. Also, if the eighth dimension were larger than the seventh dimension, the screw would be inserted deeper into the board mounting portion, increasing the risk of the connector coming into contact with the top surface of the first case. However, in this embodiment, the eighth dimension is set smaller than the seventh dimension, reducing this risk.

Fifth embodiment
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Hereinafter, the description of the same configuration as the gaming machine of the fourth embodiment will be omitted or simplified. In addition, the description will be given using the board 400 of the payout control board unit 700, but the present invention can also be applied to other predetermined boards provided in the gaming machine.

Figure 31 (a) shows an electrolytic capacitor 810 (first component), which is one of the lead components arranged on the substrate 400. The electrolytic capacitor 810 has a cylindrical main body 811 and a lead terminal 812 extending from the bottom of the main body 811. The lead terminal 812 consists of two leads (a pair of leads). The two leads are arranged in a predetermined direction (along the direction) with a predetermined distance α between them (the distance between the leads is α).

Although not shown, the substrate 400 is provided with through holes (holes) through which the lead terminal portions 812 of the electrolytic capacitor 810 can be inserted. If the spacing (pitch) of the through holes is β, in this embodiment, the spacing β is larger than the spacing α. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 31(b), the lead terminal portions 812 of the electrolytic capacitor 810 are bent (formed) so that the spacing on the tip side is β.

The electrolytic capacitor 810 is soldered and fixed to the substrate 400 with the lead terminals 812 inserted through the through holes of the substrate 400. Figure 31 (c) shows the second surface side of the substrate 400, and when the electrolytic capacitor 810 is attached to the substrate 400, the tip side of the lead terminals 812 is bent. In this embodiment, the tip of each lead faces outward (diagonally outward).

32A, a predetermined distance γ is ensured (a predetermined gap γ is formed) between (the bottom of) main body 811 and the surface (first surface, mounting surface) of substrate 400. In other words, electrolytic capacitor 810 (main body 811) is in a state of being floated by the predetermined distance γ from the surface (first surface) of substrate 400. Since lead terminal portions 812 of electrolytic capacitor 810 are formed in accordance with the hole pitch (spacing β), main body 811 does not contact (abut) substrate 400, and is placed on substrate 400 in a state of being floated by the predetermined distance γ.
Although not shown in the figure, when the substrate 400 is stored in the substrate case 701 (see the fourth embodiment), a predetermined gap is provided between the tip of the electrolytic capacitor 810 and the top surface of the first case 710, so that the electrolytic capacitor 810 does not come into contact with the top surface of the first case 710.

33(a) is a view of the first surface of the substrate 400 viewed from the substrate surface normal direction. The substrate 400 has a plurality of holes (through holes) into which the leads of the electrolytic capacitor 810 are inserted, spaced apart (at predetermined intervals) in a predetermined direction (along the substrate). Here, the direction parallel to the substrate surface and along the predetermined direction is defined as the second direction. In FIG. 33(a), the second direction coincides with the up-down direction in the figure. Also, the direction parallel to the substrate surface and perpendicular to the second direction (perpendicular to the second direction) is defined as the first direction. Note that the perpendicular is not limited to 90° and includes approximately perpendicular, and for example, the angle between the first direction and the second direction may be about 75° to about 105°. The electrolytic capacitor 810 is a relatively tall component compared to other electronic components (e.g., resistors, etc.) arranged on the substrate 400, and is more susceptible to force (external force) during assembly, etc., compared to other electronic components.

Here, consider the cases where force is applied to electrolytic capacitor 810 (main body 811) in the first direction and in the second direction. When force is applied in the first direction (force in the first direction), electrolytic capacitor 810 (main body 811) is more likely to fall over (lead terminals 812 are more likely to bend) than when force is applied in the second direction (force in the second direction). In other words, electrolytic capacitor 810 is weak against external forces in the first direction, and lead terminals 812 are more likely to bend. On the other hand, electrolytic capacitor 810 is strong against external forces in the second direction, and lead terminals 812 are less likely to bend than when subjected to external forces in the first direction.

As shown in FIG. 32(a), the distance (height) from the surface (first surface) of the substrate 400 to the tip of the electrolytic capacitor 810 is defined as distance δ (specific distance). Distance δ can be said to be the distance equivalent to the height (from the first surface) of the electrolytic capacitor 810. Also, as shown in FIG. 33(a), the range inside a circle (virtual circle) having the placement position of the electrolytic capacitor 810 as its center and the distance δ as its radius is defined as specific range ε. In this embodiment, a ceramic capacitor 820 (second component) is placed within specific range ε and at a position in the first direction of the electrolytic capacitor 810 (a position adjacent to the electrolytic capacitor 810 in the first direction).

As shown in FIG. 32(b), when the electrolytic capacitor 810 falls toward the ceramic capacitor 820 due to an external force in the first direction (when the lead is bent), the electrolytic capacitor 810 and the ceramic capacitor 820 come into contact (abut). In other words, the electrolytic capacitor 810 stops falling (it will not fall any further) when it comes into contact with the ceramic capacitor 820. In other words, the ceramic capacitor 820 is positioned in a position where it abuts (within a contactable range) with the electrolytic capacitor 810 whose lead has been bent due to the application of an external force in the first direction.

The ceramic capacitor 820 has two leads (a pair of leads) extending from the main body, and the two leads are soldered and fixed to the substrate 400 while being inserted through the through holes (holes) of the substrate 400. The distance between the main body of the ceramic capacitor 820 and the substrate 400 is smaller than the above-mentioned predetermined distance γ, and the ceramic capacitor 820 is less likely to fall over (the leads are less likely to bend) than the electrolytic capacitor 810. In addition, the direction in which the holes into which the leads are inserted are provided in the ceramic capacitor 820 (the direction in which the holes are spaced apart) is perpendicular to the direction in which the holes into which the leads of the electrolytic capacitor 810 are inserted (the above-mentioned second direction). Therefore, the ceramic capacitor 820 is prone to falling in the above-mentioned second direction, but is difficult to fall over in the above-mentioned first direction. Therefore, even if the electrolytic capacitor 810 falls and receives a force (a force acting in the first direction), the ceramic capacitor 820 can support the electrolytic capacitor 810 without falling over together with the electrolytic capacitor 810.

33A, near the ceramic capacitor 820, identification information (silk characters) "C32" corresponding to the ceramic capacitor 820 is marked on the substrate 400. In this embodiment, the identification information "C32" is marked within the specific range ε and at a position that is in the first direction of the electrolytic capacitor 810. Specifically, the identification information "C32" is marked at a position that is approximately opposite the electrolytic capacitor 810 across the ceramic capacitor 820 in the first direction.
The identification information "C32" is a character string that combines the alphabet "C" representing a capacitor with the number "32" assigned to the capacitor. For example, if the capacitor is assigned the number "3", the identification information becomes "C3", and if the capacitor is assigned the number "108", the identification information becomes "C108".

As shown in FIG. 33(b), in this embodiment, when the electrolytic capacitor 810 falls over (leads are bent) and abuts against the ceramic capacitor 820, even if the ceramic capacitor 820 is covered (hidden) and cannot be seen when viewed from the normal direction of the substrate surface, the identification information "C32" of the ceramic capacitor 820 (contacted component) is not hidden (obscured) and can be seen (i.e., the visibility of the identification information "C32" is ensured). Note that "visible" does not necessarily mean that the entire information is completely visible, but rather that the identification information is visible even if the visibility of a part (e.g., part of the number) is impaired (hidden) as long as the worker can identify that it is the identification information "C32".

The identification information "C32" is written in a position that is not covered by the electrolytic capacitor 810 that is in contact with the ceramic capacitor 820. In this embodiment, the electrolytic capacitor 810 that is placed on the substrate 400 with a predetermined floating distance γ has leads that bend when a force is applied in the first direction, but the amount of bending is within a range that does not cover the identification information "C32" of the ceramic capacitor 820.

The identification information "C62" corresponding to the electrolytic capacitor 810 is provided in the second direction (on one side of the second direction) in which the main body 811 is less likely to fall over. Therefore, the identification information "C62" is visible even if the electrolytic capacitor 810 falls over in the first direction and comes into contact with the ceramic capacitor 820.

In addition, in FIG. 33(a), the ceramic capacitor 820 is arranged on one side (left side) adjacent to the electrolytic capacitor 810 in the first direction, but the ceramic capacitors 820 may be arranged on both sides adjacent to the electrolytic capacitor 810 in the first direction. In other words, the electrolytic capacitor 810 may be configured to abut against the ceramic capacitor 820 and stop falling no matter which side it falls to in the first direction. In that case, no matter which side the electrolytic capacitor 810 falls to in the first direction and abuts against the ceramic capacitor 820, the identification information of each ceramic capacitor 820 can be seen when viewed from the normal direction of the substrate surface.

In this embodiment, the electrolytic capacitor 810 has been described as the first component, but the first component is not limited to the electrolytic capacitor 810 and may be another lead component. Specifically, it is sufficient that the first component has a main body and leads (lead terminal portions) extending from the main body, is placed on the substrate 400 with the main body floating a predetermined distance, and the leads may be bent, causing the main body to fall over. The number of leads may be two or more, and for example, three leads may be provided. In the case of three leads, three holes into which the leads of the first component are inserted are provided in the substrate 400 at predetermined intervals in a predetermined direction (at predetermined intervals).

In addition, in this embodiment, the component that is within the specific range ε and is arranged in the first direction of the electrolytic capacitor 810 is the ceramic capacitor 820 (second component), but the second component is not limited to the ceramic capacitor 820 and may be another electronic component. However, the second component has a predetermined height from the board surface (first surface) and is capable of abutting the first component with its leads bent.

The electrolytic capacitor arranged on the substrate 400 may include an electrolytic capacitor 840 (second electrolytic capacitor) (fourth component) in addition to the electrolytic capacitor 810 (first electrolytic capacitor) described above. FIG. 34 is a diagram showing the electrolytic capacitor 810 and the electrolytic capacitor 840. The electrolytic capacitor 840 has a cylindrical body portion 841 and a lead terminal portion 842 extending from the bottom of the body portion 841. The diameter of the body portion 841 of the electrolytic capacitor 840 is larger (has a large diameter) than the diameter of the body portion 811 of the electrolytic capacitor 810. In other words, the size of the body portion 841 of the electrolytic capacitor 840 is larger than the size of the body portion 811 of the electrolytic capacitor 810.

As described above, the electrolytic capacitor 810 is disposed on the substrate 400 with the lead terminals 812 formed and a gap of a predetermined distance γ between the main body 811 and the substrate 400. On the other hand, the electrolytic capacitor 840 has a distance (gap) between the main body 841 and the substrate 400 (the surface thereof) smaller than the predetermined distance γ (the distance between the main body 811 and the substrate 400 in the electrolytic capacitor 810). The term "smaller than the predetermined distance γ" (state smaller than the predetermined distance γ) includes a state in which there is no gap (the gap is 0). In this embodiment, the electrolytic capacitor 840 is disposed on the substrate 400 with no gap between the main body 841 and the surface of the substrate 400 (i.e., the main body 841 is in contact with the substrate 400). Although not shown, a minute gap (a gap smaller than the predetermined distance γ) may be provided between the main body 841 and the surface of the substrate 400. The smaller the gap between the main body portion 811 (main body portion 840 ) and the surface of the substrate 400 , the greater the stability of the electrolytic capacitor when placed on the substrate 400 .
When placed on the substrate 400 , the electrolytic capacitor 810 is a component that is taller than the electrolytic capacitor 840 .

The spacing (pitch) of the holes in the substrate 400 into which the lead terminals 812 of the electrolytic capacitor 810 are inserted is β, and in this embodiment, the spacing β is 5.5 mm. The spacing (pitch) of the holes into which the lead terminals 842 of the electrolytic capacitor 840 are inserted is also β (5.5 mm). In other words, the spacing of the lead terminals 842 is β. The lead terminals 842 are not formed. The electrolytic capacitors 810 and 840 have the same mounting hole pitch (the spacing of the leads of the electrolytic capacitor 810 is the same as the spacing of the leads of the electrolytic capacitor 840). By aligning the hole pitch (by aligning the spacing of the leads), it is possible to enjoy the effect of facilitating pattern design.

The electrolytic capacitor 810 arranged on the substrate 400 with a gap of a predetermined distance γ has leads that are more likely to bend than the electrolytic capacitor 840 arranged on the substrate 400 with a gap smaller than the predetermined distance γ (including 0). In this embodiment, for the electrolytic capacitor 810 (first electrolytic capacitor) whose leads are more likely to bend, even if the leads are bent and come into contact with a predetermined component (adjacent component), the identification information of the predetermined component is made visible.

As shown in FIG. 33(a), the ceramic capacitor 820 (second component) is disposed within the specific range ε and in a position in the first direction of the electrolytic capacitor 810. This ceramic capacitor 820 is a component that is more heat resistant (highly heat resistant) than the IC 830. Furthermore, the ceramic capacitor 820 is a component that generates less (smaller) heat than the IC 830.

The IC 830 (third component) includes a rectangular plate-shaped main body 831 and a lead terminal 832 extending from the main body 831. A plurality of leads constituting the lead terminal 832 are provided at a predetermined interval along each side (each of a pair of long sides) in the longitudinal direction of the main body 831. The IC 830 is soldered in a state in which the lead terminal 832 is inserted into a through hole (hole) of the substrate 400, and is fixed to the substrate 400. At least a part of the IC 830 is disposed within the specific range ε and in a position that is in the second direction of the electrolytic capacitor 810. The IC 830 is a component that is weak to heat (has low heat resistance) compared to the ceramic capacitor 820. Also, the IC 830 is a component that generates a large amount of heat compared to the ceramic capacitor 820. In this embodiment, the IC 830 is a plastic packaged IC.
IC 830 is a motor driver, and depending on the frequency of use and the circumstances, is a component that generates more heat (has a higher surface temperature) than ceramic capacitor 820 when play on the gaming machine is being performed normally and operation (activation) continues for a predetermined period of time.

When the electrolytic capacitor 810 is used in a high-temperature environment, it deteriorates more quickly (deteriorates faster) than when it is used in a low-temperature environment. In other words, the electrolytic capacitor 810 deteriorates more quickly in a high-temperature environment.

In this embodiment, the IC 830, which has low heat resistance, is arranged in the second direction of the electrolytic capacitor 810, but the leads of the electrolytic capacitor 810 are unlikely to bend in the second direction. In other words, the component (IC 830) that is vulnerable to heat is arranged in a position where the electrolytic capacitor 810 is unlikely to come into contact with it. In other words, the electrolytic capacitor 810 is unlikely to come into contact with the IC 830 (component that is vulnerable to heat). This makes it possible to prevent the electrolytic capacitor 810 from coming into contact with the IC 830 and damaging the IC 830 due to heat.
In addition, the component (ceramic capacitor 820) has leads that are easily bent and is located in a position where electrolytic capacitor 810 is likely to come into contact with it, and is therefore resistant to heat, so is unlikely to be damaged even if electrolytic capacitor 810 comes into contact with it.

Furthermore, although IC 830, which generates a large amount of heat, is disposed in the second direction of electrolytic capacitor 810, the leads of electrolytic capacitor 810 are unlikely to bend in the second direction. In other words, the component (IC 830) that generates a large amount of heat is disposed in a position where electrolytic capacitor 810 is unlikely to come into contact with it. In other words, electrolytic capacitor 810 is unlikely to come into contact with IC 830. This makes it possible to suppress the electrolytic capacitor 810 coming into contact with IC 830, causing electrolytic capacitor 810 to become hot, and accelerating deterioration of electrolytic capacitor 810.
Furthermore, since the component (ceramic capacitor 820) has leads that are easily bent and is located in a position where electrolytic capacitor 810 is likely to come into contact with it, and generates a small amount of heat, deterioration of electrolytic capacitor 810 is unlikely to be accelerated even when electrolytic capacitor 810 comes into contact with ceramic capacitor 820.

The gaming machine of this embodiment is
A substrate 400;
a component disposed on the substrate;
The components include a first component (electrolytic capacitor 810) and a second component (ceramic capacitor 820),
The first component includes a main body portion 811 and a lead terminal portion 812 having a plurality of leads extending from the main body portion,
the substrate has a plurality of holes arranged at predetermined intervals in a predetermined direction;
the first component is disposed on the substrate in a state in which the leads are inserted into the holes and a predetermined gap is formed between the body and the substrate;
A direction parallel to the substrate surface and along the predetermined direction is defined as a second direction;
A first direction is a direction parallel to a substrate surface and perpendicular to the second direction,
If the distance from the substrate to the tip of the main body is a specific distance,
the second component is disposed on the board within a range of a circle having a center at the position of the first component and a radius of the specific distance, and identification information corresponding to the second component is written on the board;
the second component and the identification information are provided in the first direction of the first component,
When a force acting in the first direction is applied to the main body portion, the lead terminal portion is bent, and the main body portion abuts against the second component, the identification information is visible when viewed from the normal direction of the substrate surface.

When a force acting in the first direction is applied to the main body, the lead terminal portion is bent, and the main body portion is in contact with the second component, the identification information is visible when viewed from the normal direction of the substrate surface. Therefore, even if at least a portion of the second component is covered by the contact of the main body portion, making it difficult to visually identify the second component, the second component can be identified (identified) via the identification information corresponding to the second component. As a result, when the lead terminal portion of the first component is bent, it becomes difficult to identify the component (the second component) covered by the first component, and this can prevent a decrease in efficiency of work (inspection work, etc.).

In addition, in the gaming machine of this embodiment,
When a force acting in the second direction is applied to the main body portion, the lead terminal portion of the first component is less likely to bend than when a force acting in the first direction is applied to the main body portion,
The identification information corresponding to the first part is provided in the second direction of the first part.

Identification information corresponding to the first component is provided in the second direction in which the lead terminal portion is less likely to bend. Therefore, when the lead terminal portion is bent, it is possible to prevent the visibility of the identification information corresponding to the first component from being impaired.

In addition, in the gaming machine of this embodiment,
The components include a third component (IC 830) that is disposed on the substrate such that at least a portion of the third component is included within the range of the circle and is positioned in the second direction of the first component;
the third component generates a larger amount of heat than the second component that is disposed in the first direction of the first component,
The first component deteriorates more rapidly in a high temperature environment,
When a force acting in the second direction is applied to the main body portion of the first component, the lead terminal portion is less likely to bend than when a force acting in the first direction is applied to the main body portion.

The first component is a component whose deterioration is accelerated in a high temperature environment, and the third component which generates a large amount of heat is disposed in the second direction of the first component, but the lead terminal portion of the first component is difficult to bend in the second direction. By disposing the third component which generates a large amount of heat on the side where the lead terminal portion is difficult to bend, the first component abuts against the third component, and the first component can be prevented from becoming hot and accelerating deterioration of the first component.
In addition, the second component disposed on the side where the lead terminal portion is easily bent (the side where the first component is easily brought into contact) generates less heat than the third component, so that even when the first component comes into contact with the second component, the first component does not become hot due to the influence of the surrounding temperature, and deterioration of the first component is prevented from being accelerated.

In addition, in the gaming machine of this embodiment,
The components include a third component (IC 830) that is disposed on the substrate such that at least a portion of the third component is included within the range of the circle and is positioned in the second direction of the first component;
the third component has a lower heat resistance than the second component that is disposed in the first direction of the first component,
When a force acting in the second direction is applied to the main body portion of the first component, the lead terminal portion is less likely to bend than when a force acting in the first direction is applied to the main body portion.

The third component having low heat resistance is disposed in the second direction of the first component, but the lead terminal portion of the first component is difficult to bend in the second direction. By disposing the third component on the side where the lead terminal portion is difficult to bend (the side where the first component is difficult to abut), it is possible to prevent the first component from abutting against the third component and causing the third component having low heat resistance to break down (deteriorate).
In addition, by arranging the second component, which has higher heat resistance than the third component, on the side of the lead terminal portion that is more likely to bend (the side that is more likely to come into contact with the first component), it is possible to prevent the second component from breaking down when the first component comes into contact with it.

In addition, in the gaming machine of this embodiment,
The components include a fourth component (electrolytic capacitor 840) that is the same type as the first component and has a body portion larger in size than the first component,
the first component and the fourth component have the same intervals between the holes into which the lead terminal portions are inserted,
The fourth component is disposed on the board with a gap between the main body and the board being smaller than the predetermined gap in the first component.

The lead terminal portions of the first component are bent to match the spacing of holes in the substrate into which the lead terminal portions are inserted (the same as the spacing of holes into which the lead terminal portions of the fourth component, whose main body portion is larger than that of the first component, are inserted). The first component is placed on the substrate with a predetermined gap formed between the main body portion (main body portion of the first component) and the substrate. Meanwhile, the fourth component is placed on the substrate with a gap between the main body portion (main body portion of the fourth component) and the substrate that is smaller than the predetermined gap. The lead terminal portions of the first component are more easily bent than those of the fourth component.
In this embodiment, even if a force acting in the first direction is applied to the main body (main body of the first component) of the first component different from the fourth component, causing the lead terminal (lead terminal of the first component) to bend and the main body (main body of the first component) to abut against the second component, the identification information (identification information of the second component) is visible when viewed from the normal direction to the substrate surface. This makes it difficult to identify the component (the second component) covered by the first component when the lead terminal of the first component is bent, and thus makes it possible to prevent a decrease in efficiency of the work (inspection work).

In FIG. 31(c), in the case of electrolytic capacitor 810, the tips of the terminals of a pair of leads each face outward (diagonally outward). On the other hand, in FIG. 30 relating to the fourth embodiment, in the case of lead component β, the tips of the terminals of a pair of leads each face inward. Here, lead component β is a resistor. In this way, by bending the lead tips of lead components differently depending on the type of component (by establishing rules for the way the leads are bent), it is possible to identify (narrow down) the type of component by looking only at the second surface side of board 400. This can improve the efficiency of work such as inspection.

(Application to other substrates)
In the above embodiments, the present invention is applied to a dispensing control board, but it may be applied to a board other than the dispensing control board. In other words, each configuration related to the dispensing control board described above may be included in a specific board other than the dispensing control board (e.g., a main control board, a sub-control board, etc.) and a component related to the specific board.

(Application to slot machines)
In the above embodiments, the present invention is applied to a pachinko game machine that uses game balls as game value, but the present invention may be applied to a slot machine (including a medal-less game machine) in which the number of bets is set using medals or electronic information as game value, the reels are rotated by operating the start lever to start the game, the rotating reels are stopped by operating the stop button to stop the reels, and a prize can be awarded depending on the type of symbols or combination of symbols when the reels stop. For example, a predetermined board (e.g., a main control board, a sub-control board, etc.) in a slot machine and components related to the predetermined board may have each configuration related to the payout control board described above.

In addition, within the scope of the present invention, the components of each embodiment can be freely combined, or the components can be arbitrarily modified or omitted. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to pachinko gaming machines, and can also be applied to other gaming machines such as slot machines.

400: Dispensing control board 402: Board case 410: Seal 412: Seal attachment area 420: Area facing the seal attachment area (specific area)
A: Mass-produced component placement area (first component placement area)
B: Area where components are not mounted during mass production (second component placement area)
A': Case side first region B': Case side second region C: Visibility reduction portion

Claims (1)

A substrate;
A gaming machine comprising: a board case for storing the board;
the board case has a sticker attachment area to which a sticker can be attached;
When an area of the substrate facing the sticker attachment area is defined as a specific area,
The area of the sticker attachment area is larger than the area of the sticker and is the same as the area of the specific area,
When viewed from a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface of the substrate, an electronic component that fits within the specific region without protruding from the specific region is defined as a specific electronic component.
all of the specific electronic components are configured such that at least a portion of the specific electronic components faces the sticker even when the sticker is attached to any position within the sticker attachment area when the sticker is attached without protruding from the sticker attachment area;
the substrate has a plurality of through holes used for mounting sockets to which ICs are attached;
The through hole has a land,
The socket is
a plurality of socket terminals electrically connecting terminals of the IC and the through holes;
a socket body formed of an insulating resin material and holding the socket terminal;
a plurality of legs supporting the socket body;
The plurality of legs form a predetermined gap between the socket body and a board surface of the board,
a distance from the socket body to the board surface is equal to or greater than a distance from an outer edge of the through hole to an outer edge of the land, and is equal to or less than a diameter of the land;
A gaming machine, characterized in that the solder joining the socket terminal and the through hole is not in contact with the socket body.

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