JP2005278714A - Parts for gaming machine and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gaming machine part including a decoration part including a printing part formed by ink jet printing and a manufacturing method thereof.
[MEANS FOR SOLVING SOLUTION] A gaming machine component 1 of the present invention includes a plastic base 2 (for example, polycarbonate resin, ABS resin, etc.), a plating portion (for example, chromium plating, etc.) formed on the surface of the plastic base 2, A printing unit formed on the surface of the plating unit, and a decorating unit 3 including a topcoat layer formed on the surface of the printing unit. The method for manufacturing a gaming machine component according to the present invention includes a step of forming an ink receiving layer on the surface of a plastic substrate and a step of forming a printing portion by ink jet printing.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a component for a gaming machine and a method for manufacturing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a gaming machine component including a decoration portion including a printing portion formed by ink jet printing and a method for manufacturing the same.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, gaming machine parts made of a wide variety of plastic parts have been used for gaming machines such as pachinko machines and slot machines. And, in order to unify the whole table according to the type of the game table, various decorations are given to this plastic part. The plastic parts used in such game machines are often required to have translucency, and polycarbonate and ABS resin are often used. However, a large amount of pigment or the like is mixed in such a resin material. It is known that when colored, the physical properties deteriorate and a predetermined strength cannot be obtained, and decoration is applied directly on a plain plastic substrate (for example, colorless and transparent, white transparent, milky white transparent, etc.). . Examples of the decoration method include a method of directly printing on a plastic part by a screen printing method, a tampo printing method, a method of pasting a pre-printed film or a seal, and the like (for example, see Patent Document 1). .).

JP 2002-36706 A

However, in recent years, game machines such as pachinko machines, slot machines, etc., have often adopted liquid crystal screens, and their image quality and color tone have become very excellent. Therefore, in order to unify the entire board surface, there is a demand for a more sophisticated decoration technique capable of expressing a refined image and color, rather than simple decoration using a seal or the like.
For example, if the model has a certain character as a motif, the main character and other sub-characters will be drawn on structures other than the LCD screen. In particular, in the case of a dramatized manga, cartoon, etc., there are at least 5 to 6 characters, and more than 10 characters. And the to-be-decorated part of the plastic base in these structures often has an uneven surface. In such a case, in printing by a general method such as a screen printing method, the printing cost increases as the number of designs increases. Furthermore, when the decorated part of the substrate has a concavo-convex surface, printing by screen printing or the like may cause printing misalignment in the concavo-convex part or cannot be printed in one process, and is a manual process as a post process. In some cases, it is necessary to individually coat the film, which causes a problem in terms of cost and workability.

In addition, in the parts for gaming machines, plastic parts that are plated in order to give a high-class feeling or the like are often used. In general, the more complex the surface of the plated part, such as uneven, round, textured, striped, stepped, etc., the more light is scattered, and the sparkle and the three-dimensional effect jump. It is widely known that it can be improved. For this reason, naturally, the plastic part of the gaming machine part is also provided with such a plated portion.
However, when a printing part is provided on the surface of a plated part having a complicated shape, a general printing method such as screen printing forms a printed part on the entire surface of the plated part and decorates it. It is not easy to form a print part having a clear image, and a desired print part cannot often be obtained.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, and it aims at providing the components for game machines provided with the decorating part containing the printing part formed by the printing of an inkjet system, and its manufacturing method.

The present invention is as follows.
1. A gaming machine component comprising: a plastic substrate; and a decorating unit provided on at least a part of the surface of the plastic substrate and including a printing unit formed by ink jet printing.
2. 2. The gaming machine part according to 1 above, wherein the decorated part of the plastic substrate has an uneven surface.
3. The decorative part further includes a plated part, and the plated part is formed on at least a part of the surface of the plastic substrate, and at least a part of the printed part is formed on at least a part of the surface of the plated part. 3. A part for a gaming machine as described in 1 or 2 above.
4). 4. A method for manufacturing a gaming machine component according to any one of 1 to 3, comprising a step of forming an ink receiving layer on a surface of a plastic substrate and a step of forming a printing part by ink jet printing. A method for manufacturing a component for a gaming machine.
5). 5. The method for manufacturing a gaming machine part according to 4 above, further comprising a step of plating at least a part of the surface of the plastic substrate and forming a plated portion before the step of forming the ink receiving layer.

The gaming machine component of the present invention includes a printing part formed by inkjet printing, so that the decoration part has no irregularities even if the decorated part has an uneven surface. , Have a clear image.
Moreover, when the said decoration part contains the plating part, it becomes a part for game machines which has a higher-class feeling.
According to the method for manufacturing a gaming machine component of the present invention, the gaming machine component of the present invention can be easily manufactured.
In addition, when a step of forming a plated portion is provided before the step of forming the ink receiving layer, it is possible to easily manufacture a gaming machine part having a higher-class feeling. Furthermore, even if it has a plating part, the printed part can be formed in a sufficiently close contact with each other, so that a gaming machine part having a clearer image can be obtained.

The present invention will be described in detail below.
[1] Part for gaming machine The part for gaming machine of the present invention is a decoration including a plastic base and a printing part provided on at least a part of the surface of the plastic base and formed by ink jet printing. A section.

The plastic resin constituting the “plastic substrate” is not particularly limited, but is preferably made of a light-transmitting plastic resin. Examples of such plastic resins include polycarbonate resin, ABS resin, acrylic resin, polystyrene resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polypropylene resin, and polyamide resin. Of these, polycarbonate resins and ABS resins are often used. In addition, this plastic base | substrate may be comprised only from 1 type of plastic resins, and may be comprised combining 2 or more types of plastic resins. Moreover, as long as physical properties, such as predetermined intensity | strength, can be obtained, it may be colored with the application fee.
The shape of the decorated portion of the plastic substrate is not particularly limited, and may be a flat surface or an uneven surface (including a curved surface). Moreover, in this invention, the shape of the to-be-decorated part of this plastic base | substrate shall have an uneven surface. The plastic substrate may be formed by any method and is not particularly limited.

The “decorating portion” is provided on at least a part of the surface of the plastic substrate, and includes a printing portion formed by ink jet printing.
The “printing part” is formed by ink jet printing, and represents a pattern or characters. The printing unit may be composed of only a printing layer formed by ink jet printing, or ink supplied by ink jet printing is absorbed by an ink receiving layer previously formed in a predetermined portion. You may be comprised from the thing. The printing unit may be configured by combining these. Among these, it is preferable that the printing unit is composed of ink supplied by ink jet printing and absorbed by the ink receiving layer. In this case, the ink adhesion can be further improved, and a clearer image (pattern, character, etc.) can be obtained. In particular, when at least a part of the printed part is formed on the surface of the plated part described later, in order to further improve the adhesion to the ink, the surface of the plated part on which the printed part is formed receives ink. It is preferable to form a layer.

In the above “inkjet printing”, an ink containing an acrylic resin, a vinyl chloride resin or the like as a binder and a colorant such as a pigment or a dye can be used. Examples of the ink include water-based (water-based), solvent-based (oil-based) and reactive types (for example, a photo-curing type including a photo-curing resin that reacts to light such as UV, or an EB curing including an EB-curing resin that reacts to an electron beam. Type ink).
The ink receiving layer is not particularly limited. For example, when water-based ink is used in ink jet printing, it contains a cross-linked resin such as a trade name “Pateracol” (manufactured by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals). It can be formed using an ink for forming an ink receiving layer. Furthermore, it can be formed with an ink receiving layer forming ink containing an oily colorant. In addition, when using oil-based ink in ink jet printing, at least one of urethane-based resins such as thermoplastic polyurethane resin (uncrosslinked), vinyl-modified resins such as vinyl-modified urethane resins, and acrylic resins is used. It can be formed using the ink-receiving layer forming ink contained. Furthermore, it can also be formed by a trade name “water-based acrylic HA”, “water-based acrylic DM” (manufactured by Mikuni Paint Co., Ltd.), and emulsion paint such as water-based urethane.
The color tone of the ink receiving layer is not particularly limited, but is preferably a light color system or a white color system, and more preferably a white color system. In this case, a clearer image (pattern, character, etc.) can be obtained.

  Moreover, the said decoration part may contain the other printing part formed by methods, such as screen printing, spray painting, tampo printing, and gravure printing, besides this printing part.

Furthermore, the decoration part may include the “plating part”. In this case, the gaming machine part has a higher-class feeling. When the decorative part includes a plated part, the plated part is formed on at least a part of the surface of the plastic substrate, and at least a part of the printing part is formed on at least a part of the surface of the plated part. .
The type of plating constituting the plating portion is not particularly limited as long as it can be formed on the surface of the plastic substrate, and examples thereof include chrome plating, gold plating, and vapor deposition plating. Among these, in the part which receives the impact and friction by the fall of the steel ball, it is preferable that it is chrome plating or gold plating, and it is more preferable to have the thickness of a micron unit. On the other hand, vapor deposition plating, hot stamping of vapor deposition plating, and the like are preferable from the viewpoint of being relatively inexpensive at a site that is not affected by the impact or friction. As the thickness at that time, an angstrom unit (usually 200 to 600 angstrom) is sufficient.
Moreover, if the thickness of these plating parts is 300 angstroms or less, sufficient translucency can be provided and the design property can be improved more.
The method for forming these plated parts is not particularly limited. For example, the plated part can be formed by a method described later, and an optimum method is selected according to the portion where the plated part is formed.

Moreover, the said decoration part may further contain the anchor layer. The anchor layer is formed on a portion where the printing portion is formed, that is, on the surface of the plastic substrate and / or the surface of the plating portion formed by plating the surface of the substrate. In particular, when the surface of the plastic substrate is plated, it is more preferable to include this anchor layer.
Generally, metal and plastic have a slightly different bonding mechanism, and ink developed for decorating general plastic (ink used for inkjet printing) is directly attached to the surface of the metal plating. In some cases, it may not be possible to adhere firmly. This is also true when the ink receiving layer is deposited directly on the metal surface. Therefore, in the present invention, it is preferable to provide the anchor layer. By providing the anchor layer, the ink supplied by the ink jet printing and / or the ink and the metal plating for forming the ink receiving layer are provided. Adhesion with the surface can be further improved and more firmly attached, and as a result, a clearer image (pattern, character, etc.) can be formed.
The anchor layer preferably has translucency. Such an anchor layer can be formed of a composition for forming an anchor layer such as polyisocyanate, epoxy resin, urethane resin, and the like. In addition, when this anchor layer is formed on the plated portion, the type of the anchor layer forming composition is appropriately selected depending on the type of plating. For example, when the type of plating is chrome plating or gold plating, polyisocyanate is preferable.
The thickness of the anchor layer is not particularly limited, and can be, for example, 0.5 to 10 μm, particularly 1 to 5 μm, and further 2 to 4 μm.

Furthermore, this decoration part may further contain the topcoat layer. This topcoat layer is formed on the outermost surface side of the decorative portion, can improve the strength of the entire decorative portion, and can sufficiently protect the printed portion. Furthermore, the decorative portion can be given a gloss to form a clearer image (pattern, character, etc.).
The topcoat layer is preferably colorless and transparent, and such a topcoat layer may be formed of, for example, acrylic paint, urethane paint such as acrylic modified urethane, silicone paint such as acrylic modified silicone, or the like. it can.
The thickness of the top coat layer is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 5 to 50 μm, particularly 10 to 40 μm, and further 20 to 30 μm.

[2] Manufacturing method of gaming machine component The manufacturing method of the gaming machine component of the present invention is not particularly limited. For example, a step of forming an ink receiving layer on the surface of a plastic substrate, and a printing unit by inkjet printing Can be obtained by a method for manufacturing a part for a gaming machine.

In the step of forming the ink receiving layer, the ink receiving layer is formed on at least a part of the surface of the plastic substrate. The above explanations can be applied as they are to the plastic substrate and the ink receiving layer.
The ink receiving layer can be formed by applying the ink receiving layer forming ink or the paint by a method such as spray coating, tampo printing, silk printing, or ink jet printing.
The thickness of the ink receiving layer is not particularly limited, and is preferably, for example, 5 to 30 μm, more preferably 10 to 25 μm, and still more preferably 10 to 20 μm.

  In the step of forming the printing part, the printing part is formed by ink jet printing. That is, ink supplied by ink jet printing is absorbed by the ink receiving layer and integrated to form a printing portion. The above description can be applied as it is to the ink jet printing.

Ink jet printing is particularly useful when printing on a three-dimensional surface, and a desired printing portion can be clearly formed on a predetermined portion of a plastic substrate. This printing can be performed by a flatbed ink jet printer or the like, and since the printable range converted into a spherical surface is 160 to 170 °, usually, a desired printing portion can be formed with a small number of printings. Even if the number of times of printing increases due to the shape and pattern of the substrate, the deviation of the boundary surface of each printing section is small, and operations for adjusting this can be performed by other conventional printing methods, etc. It is much easier than that. Furthermore, inkjet printing is advantageous in terms of cost of materials such as plate making, time required for printing, and labor.
In ink jet printing, a pattern is formed by ejecting ink from pores provided in a nozzle head and attaching the ink as a large number of dots having a diameter of about 50 to 70 μm on the surface to be printed. The number of dots is as large as 360 to 720 dots / inch, and further 1200 dots / inch, and the fineness of each dot is almost the same as the number of dots in normal offset printing and gravure printing.

  In ink jet printing, ink is sequentially ejected from the nozzle heads for the three primary colors and complementary colors that move while being controlled by a computer to form a fine pattern. In addition, brightness, shading, etc. can be freely controlled by a computer. Further, since printing can be performed in a non-contact manner, high-precision printing is possible as long as the surface of the substrate is not so deformed.

  Also, inkjet printing is advantageous in terms of cost compared with other conventional printing methods. In the conventional printing method, a printing plate is prepared, and a color tone is printed using the printing plate. Then, a different printing plate is produced, and printing of another color tone is performed using the printing plate. It is usual to gradually produce a final product while repeating the printing of the color tone, which necessitates complicated operations and processes, which inevitably increases the cost.

  Furthermore, an automatic printing machine capable of simultaneously printing a large number of colors of about 4 to 5 other than ink jet printing is also provided and used. If it is a small number, it cannot be handled. In addition, in order to obtain a desired color tone, many prototypes are required, and costs for drawing, plate making, ink preparation, etc. with design change, plate change, and color tone change are added and integrated.

  In addition, according to ink jet printing, not only drawing but also shading, color tone, and the like can be set in the print mode, and the initial cost generated can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, since printing of all colors is completed by one-step printing, a large operating cost is not required. In addition, all can be processed by computer control, and a characteristic color tone and pattern can be formed easily. Moreover, since the printing film formed by inkjet printing is very thin, even if the boundary surfaces overlap each other when printing is repeated a plurality of times, it is not noticeable.

Moreover, in the manufacturing method of this invention, before the process of forming the said ink receiving layer, the process of plating at least one part of the surface of the said plastic substrate may be provided, and the plating part may be formed.
In the step of forming the plated portion, a plating process is performed on at least a part of the surface of the plastic substrate to form a plated portion. The above description can be applied to the plated portion as it is.
Examples of the plating can include those described above, and a plating portion can be formed on the surface of the plastic substrate by a method such as dipping, vapor deposition, sputtering, ion plating, or hot stamping. .
Further, the thickness of the plated portion is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately adjusted according to the site to be formed.

Furthermore, the manufacturing method of the present invention may include a step of forming an anchor layer before forming the ink receiving layer on the surface of the plastic substrate. The above description can be applied to the anchor layer as it is. In particular, when an ink receiving layer is formed on a portion where the surface of the plastic substrate is plated, an anchor layer is preferably provided.
In the case of forming this anchor layer, it is possible to further improve the adhesion to the ink and paint for forming the ink receiving layer, and to form a clearer image (pattern, character, etc.). .
This anchor layer can be formed by applying the anchor layer forming composition by a method such as spray coating, tampo printing, silk printing, or ink jet printing.
The thickness of the anchor layer is not particularly limited, and can be, for example, 0.5 to 10 μm, particularly 1 to 5 μm, and further 2 to 4 μm.

Moreover, in the manufacturing method of this invention, you may provide the process of forming a topcoat layer in the outermost surface side. The above description can be applied as it is to the top coat layer. In the case of forming this topcoat layer, the strength of the entire decoration part including the printing part and the like can be improved, and the printing part can be sufficiently protected. Furthermore, the decorative portion can be given a gloss to form a clearer image (pattern, character, etc.).
This topcoat layer can be formed by applying the paint by a method such as spray coating, tampo printing, silk printing, or ink jet printing.
The thickness of the top coat layer is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately adjusted according to the site to be formed. The thickness can be, for example, 5 to 50 μm, particularly 10 to 40 μm, and further 20 to 30 μm.

  Furthermore, in the manufacturing method of this invention, you may provide the process of forming the other printing part by methods, such as screen printing, spray painting, and tampo printing, before the process of forming the said topcoat layer.

  In addition, the parts for gaming machines of the present invention are manufactured by forming a printing portion by ink-jet printing without forming an ink receiving layer on the surface of the plastic substrate or the surface of the plastic substrate that has been plated. You can also

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to examples and drawings.
[1] Parts for gaming machines FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an example of parts for gaming machines according to the present invention. This gaming machine component 1 (a prize opening component) includes a plastic base 2 and a decoration portion 3 provided on the surface of the plastic base 2.

The plastic substrate 2 is made of, for example, polycarbonate resin, ABS resin, or the like.
Moreover, the said decoration part 3 is formed by printing of (1) inkjet system, as shown, for example in FIGS. 2-4 (each explanatory drawing which shows the cross section of AA 'of FIG. 1 typically). It may be configured only by the printing part 31 (see FIG. 2), or (2) a plating part 32 (plating; chrome, etc.) formed on the surface of the plastic substrate 2 and formed on the surface of the plating part 32 And a printing part 31 formed by inkjet printing (see FIG. 3), or (3) a plating part 32 (plating; chrome, etc.) formed on the surface of the plastic substrate 2 And a printing part 31 formed on the surface of the plating part 32 and formed by ink jet printing, and a topcoat layer 33 formed on the surface of the printing part 31 (see FIG. 4 participation See).
The printing unit 31 may be composed only of a printing layer formed by ink jet printing, or ink supplied by ink jet printing to an ink receiving layer previously formed at a predetermined site. May be composed of a material absorbed. Further, an anchor layer (not shown) for improving adhesion may be formed between the plastic substrate 2 and the printing unit 31 or between the plating unit 32 and the printing unit 31.

[2] Method for Manufacturing Part for Game Machine A method for manufacturing an example of the part for game machine of the present invention described in [1] above will be described below.
(1) Image processing Using an illustration image created in advance on a computer and a plastic substrate image captured by a scanner, adjustments such as alignment and color tone during ink-jet printing are performed. A design file to be printed on the decoration part was formed. When the decorated part of the plastic substrate has a concavo-convex surface, an image file on the front side and the lateral side of the concavo-convex surface was taken in, and a pattern file was formed by predicting a shift during printing.

(2) Formation of ink receiving layer A non-yellowing type poly is applied to a decorated part of a plastic substrate (made of ABS resin) having a plating part (plating; chromium, thickness; 2 μm) which has been plated by an immersion plating method in advance. Isocyanate resin was applied by spray coating to form an anchor layer (thickness: 2 to 4 μm). Thereafter, an ink receiving layer forming ink for oil-based ink (main component: vinyl-modified urethane resin, product name “MS Catcher III”) manufactured by Foeisha Co., Ltd. was applied onto the obtained anchor layer by spray coating. Thus, a white ink receiving layer (thickness: 10 to 20 μm) was formed. Then, it was dried at 70 ° C. for 10 minutes.

(3) Formation of printing portion In order to accurately determine the position where the plastic substrate is placed, printing was performed on the printing paper placed on the table of the flatbed ink jet printer based on the image file created in (1) above. Thereafter, a prototype substrate was placed on the printed image, the bed height was adjusted, and printing was performed directly. Next, the printed prototype was observed, it was determined whether a predetermined printing part was formed, and adjustment was repeated based on that to create a final image file. After that, based on the data of the final image file, oil-based ink is applied to the decorated part of the plastic substrate that has been plated (the part where the ink receiving layer is formed) by ink jet printing, and then printed. Part was formed.

(4) Formation of topcoat layer An acrylic / urethane paint (trade name “NY Clear”, manufactured by Mikuni Paint Co., Ltd.) is applied to the surface of the printing portion by spray coating, and the topcoat layer (thickness: 20 to 20) 25 μm) was formed.
In this way, the plastic substrate 2, the plating portion 32 formed on the surface of the plastic substrate 2, the printing portion 31 formed on the surface of the plating portion 32, and the top formed on the surface of the printing portion 31. The gaming machine component 1 of the present invention including the decorative portion 3 including the coat layer 33 was obtained [Fig. 1 (schematic diagram explaining the gaming machine component) and Fig. 4 (AA 'cross-section schematically). Refer to the explanatory diagram)]].

  In the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention depending on the purpose and application. For example, when a work that requires a pattern other than the registered pattern appears during mass production of parts for a gaming machine, since it is computer controlled, it can be dealt with by adding a pattern each time.

It is a schematic diagram explaining the components for game machines of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically an example of the A-A 'cross section of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically another example of the A-A 'cross section of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically another example of the A-A 'cross section of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1; Parts for gaming machines, 2; Plastic base | substrate, 3; Decorating part, 31; Printing part, 32; Plating part, 33;

Claims (5)

  A gaming machine component comprising: a plastic substrate; and a decorating unit provided on at least a part of the surface of the plastic substrate and including a printing unit formed by ink jet printing.   The gaming machine component according to claim 1, wherein the decorated portion of the plastic substrate has an uneven surface.   The decorative part further includes a plated part, and the plated part is formed on at least a part of the surface of the plastic substrate, and at least a part of the printed part is formed on at least a part of the surface of the plated part. The part for gaming machines according to claim 1 or 2. A method for manufacturing a gaming machine part according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A method for manufacturing a part for a gaming machine, comprising: a step of forming an ink receiving layer on a surface of a plastic substrate; and a step of forming a printing part by ink jet printing.   5. The method for manufacturing a gaming machine component according to claim 4, further comprising a step of plating at least a part of the surface of the plastic substrate to form a plated portion before the step of forming the ink receiving layer.

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