Patent Abstract:
A security cage which is installed in a housing of a game machine so as to accommodate various types of electric components. The security cage includes: a cage main body having an opening provided at the front thereof; a partition wall for dividing the inside of the cage main body into an inaccessible region and an accessible region each communicating with the opening; a front wall which is provided so as to close the inaccessible region, and which has an openable-and-closable lid provided at least at a part thereof; screws which are hidden within the inaccessible region when the lid is closed, and which connects the front wall and the cage main body at positions where the screws can be operated from the outside of the cage main body when the lid is opened; and a lock for restricting the opening and closing of the lid. Disclosed also is a game machine using the security cage.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a security cage provided in a housing of a game machine, such as a slot machine, for accommodating various types of electric components such as a control board and so forth, and to a game machine using the same. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In game machines, such as slot machines, in order to prevent an electric component related to control of the progress of the game, such as a ROM storing a probability of and a score for success, from being unfairly changed, a container with a lock, called a security cage, is installed inside a housing, and substrates are accommodated in the security cage so as to be prevented from being attached and detached. 
     The security cage has been conventionally constructed to accommodate only predetermined electric components to be prevented from being attached and detached, and other electric components which are to be less strongly prevented from being attached and detached, such as components for converting the power-supply voltage, are accommodated in a box separately provided in the housing from the security cage. 
     According to the conventional structure as described above, it is necessary to prepare separate containers for the electric components to be prevented from being attached and detached and for other components, so that the limited space within the housing is not sufficiently used. Moreover, since both containers need to be connected by wiring, a number of wires are routed in confusion within the housing, and these wires obstruct maintenance and control of the inside of the housing, thus reducing operability. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a security cage capable of organizing the arrangement of electric components within a housing, and a game machine using the same. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a security cage for a game machine installed in a housing of the game machine so as to accommodate various types of electric components. The security cage includes: a cage main body having an opening provided at the front thereof; a partition wall for dividing the inside of the cage main body into an inaccessible region and an accessible region each communicating with the opening; a front wall which is provided so as to close the inaccessible region and which has an openable-and-closable lid provided at least at a part thereof; connecting means which is hidden within the inaccessible region when the lid is closed and which connects the front wall and the cage main body at positions where the connecting means can be operated from the outside of the cage main body when the lid is opened; and lock means for restricting the opening and closing of the lid. 
     By the above arrangement, the inaccessible region and the accessible region are formed in the security cage, so that even the components other than those to be prevented from being attached and detached can be accommodated in the single cage main body. Only the inaccessible region is restricted in opening by means of the lock, and the components to be accommodated in the accessible region are not excessively prevented from being attached and detached. Therefore, the electric components in the housing can be arranged collectively in one space, and the number of cables to be routed within the housing can be reduced to organize the inside of the housing, thereby increasing operability and appearance. 
     In the security cage, the front wall may be integrally formed with the partition wall so as to be attachable and detachable to and from the cage main body. 
     By the above arrangement, the inaccessible region and the accessible region become a continuous region when the front wall is removed, so that the accessible region can be used as a space for attaching and detaching components in the inaccessible region. 
     The security cage may further include partition means for partitioning the inaccessible region into a first region adjacent to the accessible region via the partition wall and a second region separated from the accessible region by the first region. In the security cage, the front wall may include a fixed wall portion integrally formed with the partition wall and fixed to the cage main body through the connecting means so as to close the first region, and the lid may be connected to the fixed wall portion so as to open and close the second region. 
     By the above arrangements, the second region is opened when the lock means is unlocked to open the lid, and the first region is opened when the fixed wall portion and the cage main body are disconnected. Therefore, the first region and the second region can be used properly in accordance with frequency of attaching and detaching the components, and maintenance and checking, and the inside of the security cage can be organized. 
     The security cage may further include a case capable of being inserted in and extracted from the cage main body. By this arrangement, the components can be easily attached and detached to and from the accessible region by insertion and extraction of the case. 
     In the security cage, mounting portions for a control board across the inaccessible region and the accessible region may be provided at the back of the cage main body. By this arrangement, the components of the inaccessible region and the accessible region can be mounted on a common control board, so that the number of steps of the wiring operation between the components can be reduced. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game machine including the security cage which includes: the cage main body having the opening provided at the front thereof; the partition wall for dividing the inside of the cage main body into the inaccessible region and the accessible region each communicating with the opening; the front wall which is provided so as to close the inaccessible region and which has the openable-and-closable lid provided at least at a part thereof; connecting means which is hidden within the inaccessible region when the lid is closed and which connects the front wall and the cage main body at positions where the connecting means can be operated from the outside of the cage main body when the lid is opened; and the lock means for restricting the opening and closing of the lid, wherein the mounting portions for a control board are provided at the back of the cage main body across the inaccessible region and the accessible region, wherein a control board extending across the inaccessible region and the accessible region is mounted at the back of the cage main body, wherein connecting means for first electric components to be prevented from being attached and detached are provided at a portion of the control board opposing the inaccessible region, and wherein connecting means for second electric components to be less strongly prevented from being attached and detached than the first electric components is provided at a portion of the control board opposing the accessible region. 
     By the above arrangements, the components to be differently prevented from being attached and detached are accommodated in the common security cage so as to be connected to the common control board, so that the components to be accommodated in the housing can be arranged collectively in one space, and the number of cables to be routed within the housing can be reduced to organize the inside of the housing, thereby increasing operability and appearance. 
     The components to be accommodated in each of the regions may be suitably selected as required. For example, in the game machine, the inaccessible region may be divided into the first region adjacent to the accessible region via the partition wall and a second region separated from the accessible region by the first region, and an electric substrate having mounted thereon a control board may be accommodated in the second region, and a flexible cable may be accommodated in the first region so as to be connected to the control board. In addition, in the game machine, a case capable of being inserted and extracted may be provided in the accessible region, and a component related to a power control is accommodated in the case. 
     Other features and objects of the present invention will be made clear together with variation thereof from the following description regarding the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a security cage according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the security cage shown in FIG. 1 in a longitudinal direction; 
     FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the security cage shown in FIG. 1 in a lateral direction; 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV—IV of FIG. 3; and 
     FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a construction of a slot machine to which the security cage according to an embodiment of the present invention is assembled, in which FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing a state where a door of a housing is closed; and FIG. 5B is a perspective view showing the internal structure by opening the door of the housing. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 5 shows a slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. A slot machine  1  is composed of a longitudinal housing  2  having various types of components fitted to the inside and the outside thereof. The housing  2  has a main body  3  and a top box  4  mounted on the main body  3 . A door  5  is mounted to the front of the main body  3  so as to be opened and closed through a hinge  6  fitted to the left of the door  5 . A monitor  7  is accommodated in the main body  3 , and a security cage  8 , an AC power-supply unit  9  and a mount base  10  for mounting a device (not shown) for checking a piece of paper inserted in a slip insert  5   a  are provided below the monitor  7 . The opening and closing of the door  5  is restricted by a lock  5   b  provided at the right thereof. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the security cage  8  includes a cage main body  11 , a back cover  12  provided at the back of the cage main body  11 , a partition wall  13  inserted into the cage main body  11 , a front wall  14  integrally formed with the partition wall  13 , and a box  15  mounted below the partition wall  13 . These components are schematically constructed by a plate work using thin plate, such as steel plate as a material. 
     As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cage main body  11  is formed into the shape of a frame such that it has openings  11   a  and  11   b  formed at the front and back thereof, and is surrounded by side walls  11   c  and  1   d,  an upper wall  11   e  and a lower wall  11   f.  Inside the cage main body  11 , there are provided a pair of guide rails  20  extending longitudinally along the side walls  11   c  and  11   d,  an intermediate wall (partition means)  21  placed between the side walls  11   c  and  11   d  at the upper portion of the guide rails  20  and a plurality of (two) supports  22  stretched between the upper wall  11   e  and the lower wall  11   f.  A mother board  50  serving as a control board is mounted to the supports  22  by means of screws (not shown) from the back of the cage main body  11 . The back cover  12  is mounted to the opening  11   b  formed at the back of the cage main body  11  so as to hide the mother board  50 . The supports  22  constitute a mounting portion of the substrate. 
     The partition wall  13  is inserted into the cage main body  11  along the upper surface of the guide rails  20 , whereby the inside of the cage main body  11  is divided into an upper inaccessible region A 1  and a lower accessible region A 2  by the partition wall  13 . Further, the inaccessible region A 1  is divided into an upper substrate region A 11  and a lower connector region A 12  by the intermediate wall  21 . Punched holes  25  and  26  are formed in the side walls  11   c  and  11   d  of the cage main body  11  so as to oppose the connector region A 12 , and covers  27  and  28  are fitted to the punched holes  25  and  26  from the inside of the cage main body  11 , whereby a plurality of cable threading holes  29  are formed. 
     The front wall  14  includes a fixed wall portion  31  for closing the connector region A 12 , and a lid  32  for closing the substrate region A 11 . The fixed wall portion  31  is integrally formed with the partition wall  13 . For example, the partition wall  13  is bent perpendicularly upward at the front end thereof to form the fixed wall portion  31 . The lid  32  is rotatably connected to the fixed wall portion  31  through hinges  33 . A pair of left and right attachment plates  31   a  are provided on the upper end of the fixed wall portion  31  such that they project at the side of the lid  32  rather than the center of rotation of the hinges  33 . On the front end of the intermediate wall  21 , backing plates  21   a  are provided correspondingly to the attachment plates  31   a.    
     The partition wall  13  is inserted into the cage main body  11  to bring the attachment plates  31   a  of the front wall  14  into intimate contact with the backing plates  21   a  of the cage main body  11 , respectively, and then, screws  35  are fitted to the attachment plates  31   a  and screwed into female screw holes  21   b  (see FIG. 1) of the backing plates  21   a,  whereby the partition wall  13  and the front wall  14  are fixed to the cage main body  11 . At this time, the rear end portion of the partition wall  13  is inserted into a space formed between partition wall holders  24  provided on the guide rails  20 , thereby preventing a lifting thereof. 
     When the partition wall  13  and the front wall  14  are mounted to the cage main body  11  to close the lid  32 , the screws  35  are hidden within the inaccessible region A 1 . A lock  36  is attached to the lid  32 . When a rotation shaft (not shown) of the lock  36  is rotationally operated using a predetermined key with the lid  32  closed, a lock plate  37  connected to the rotation shaft comes into engagement with a retaining plate  38  fixed on the side of the inner surface of the cage main body  11 , so that the lid  32  is prevented from being opened. The front wall  14  and the partition wall  13  cannot be dismounted from the cage main body  11  by operating the screws  35  as long as the lid  32  is opened by inserting the key into the lock  36  to disengage the lock plate  37  from the retaining plate  38 . The hinges  33  are fixed to the inner surface of the fixed wall portion  31  (the surface opposing the inaccessible region A 1 ) by welding and so forth, and are secured to screws  31   b  projected on the inner surface of the fixed wall portion  31  by the use of nuts  39  (see FIG.  2 ). Therefore, the lid  32  cannot be opened by removing the hinges  33  from the outside of the cage main body  11 . 
     A single or a plurality of sockets  51 ,  52  and  53  are provided on the mother board  50  so as to oppose each of the regions A 11 , A 12  and A 2 , respectively. Various types of electric substrates  55 , such as a main control board mounting thereon a CPU, an interface substrate, and so forth, are fitted to the socket  51  of the substrate region A 11 , and a cable  56  for linking the mother board  50  and the inside and outside components of the security cage  8  is connected to a substrate of the connector region A 12 . 
     On the other hand, an electric component, such as a power-supply voltage conversion unit  57 , accommodated in the box  15  is connected to the socket  53  of the accessible region A 2 . The box  15  is fixed to the cage main body  11  by screws (not shown) attached to the mounting holes  15   a  formed in the left and right ends of the front surface thereof into female screw holes  16  of the cage main body  11 . The box  15  can be inserted in and extracted from the accessible region A 2  only by unscrewing the screws. A power introduction section  58  is provided under the mother board  50 . A cable is drawn out of the back of the power introduction section  58 , and the cable is drawn out below the cage  8  through a threading hole (not shown) formed in the lower wall  11   f  of the cage main body  11  so as to be connected to the AC power-supply unit  9  shown in FIG.  5 . 
     A pair of mount rails  40  are formed on the left and right ends of the upper wall  11   e  of the cage main body  11 . In addition, a mount flange  41  is formed at the rear end of the right side wall  11   d.  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, an intermediate wall  2   a  is formed below the monitor  7 , and a cage support member  60  is integrally fixed to the lower surface of the intermediate wall  2   a.  The cage support member  60  has a pair of suspending plates  60   a  formed at the left and right ends thereof. 
     When the cage main body  11  is mounted to the housing  2 , the mother board  50  and the back cover  12  are first mounted to the cage main body  11 , and a cable is attached to the power introduction section  58  of the mother board  50  and the cable is drawn out of the cage. Thereafter, the cage main body  11  is pushed into the housing  2  in such a manner that the suspending plates  60   a  of the cage support member  60  are inserted into clearances between the mount rails  40  and the upper wall  11   e  of the cage main body  11 , whereby the cage main body  11  is suspended from the intermediate wall  2   a.  The screw  42  is attached to a slot  41   a  so as to be screwed into a screw hole (not shown) of the housing  2 . Thereafter, the key  43  is fitted into the cage main body  11 , so that removal of the cage  8  from the housing  2  is restricted. 
     That is, as shown in FIGS. 1,  3  and  4 , a rectangular punched hole  11   g  is formed in the upper wall  11   e  of the cage main body  11 , and a key-mounting portion  11   h  extending towards the inner surface of the cage main body  11  is disposed at the front edge of the punched hole  11   g.  A through hole  60   b  is formed in the cage support member  60  correspondingly to the key-mounting portion  11   h.  After the cage main body  11  has been mounted to a predetermined position in the housing  2 , the key  43  is inserted into the cage main body  11 , and the upper end thereof is inserted into the through hole  60   b  through the punched hole  11   g.  Then, the key  43  is secured to the key-mounting portion  11   h  by the screw  44  attached inside the cage main body  11 . Therefore, the screw  44  becomes inoperable when the lid  32  is closed, and the cage main body  11  cannot be removed from the housing  2  as long as the lock  36  is unlocked to open the lid  32 . 
     As shown in FIG. 1, a microswitch  46  for detecting the opening and closing of the lid  32 , and a fan  47  for cooling are also accommodated in the inaccessible region A 1  of the cage main body  11 . 
     According to the arrangements as described above, the substrate region A 11  in the inaccessible region A 1  of the cage main body  11  cannot be opened to the outside as long as the lock  36  of the lid  32  is unlocked to open the lid  32 , as shown by the imaginary line in FIG.  2 . In addition, it is impossible to remove the front wall  14  and the partition wall  13  from the cage main body  11  by unscrewing the screws  35 , and to remove the whole security cage  8  from the housing  2  by removing the key  43 . Therefore, only a person who has the key for the lock  36  can access the electric substrate  55  and the cable  56  accommodated in the inaccessible region A 1 , thus realizing extremely high safety. 
     The power-supply voltage conversion unit  57  can be easily taken out of the box  15  in comparison with the components accommodated in the inaccessible region A 1 , so that maintenance and checking does not become troublesome. Moreover, by removing the box  15  from the cage main body  11  when the front wall  14  and the partition wall  13  are pulled out of the cage main body  11  to attach and detach the cable  56 , a sufficient operating space is secured below the cable  56 , thereby facilitating the operation. 
     The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes and modifications may be made. For example, the partition wall  13  formed separately from the front wall  14  may be detachably or undetachably provided on the cage main body  11 . The intermediate wall  21  may be removed so as to open and close the whole inaccessible region A 1  with the lid  32 . The electric components to be accommodated in the regions A 11 , A 12  and A 2  may be suitably changed in accordance with the degree of prevention from being attached and detached, and the frequency of attachment and detachment. That is, all the components to be prevented from being attached and detached may be accommodated in the inaccessible region A 1 . Of such components, one which is frequently attached and detached may be accommodated in the substrate region A 11  that can be opened and closed by the lid  32 , and one which is not so frequently attached and detached may be accommodated in the connector region A 12 . The component which is not particularly prevented from being attached and detached may be accommodated in the accessible region A 2 . 
     As described above, according to the present invention, the inside of the security cage is divided into the inaccessible region and the accessible region, and only the inaccessible region is restricted in opening by means of the lock. Thus, even the components other than those to be prevented from being attached and detached can be accommodated in the single cage, and the components to be accommodated in the accessible region are not excessively prevented from being attached and detached. Therefore, the electric components in the housing can be arranged collectively in one space, and the number of cables to be routed within the housing can be reduced to organize the inside of the housing, thereby increasing operability and appearance. 
     Particularly, when the partition wall is formed integrally with the front wall so as to be inserted in and extracted from the cage main body, the accessible region can be used as various types of operation space for the components accommodated in the inaccessible region, thereby further facilitating the operation. In addition, the inaccessible region is further divided into a plurality of regions, and a part thereof is opened and closed by a lid, whereby the positions of the accommodated components can be changed in accordance with the frequency of attachment and detachment of the components, and maintenance and checking so as to organize the inside of the cage. Further, by providing a case which can be inserted in and extracted from the accessible region, the components in the accessible region can be attached and detached more easily. Still further, by mounting the control board across the inaccessible region and the accessible region, the number of cables connecting the components accommodated in each region can be decreased to reduce the number of steps of the wiring operation, thereby further organizing the inside of the housing.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6