1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control panel and an apparatus using the same.
2. Description of the Background Art
One type of conventional control panels for use in various apparatuses includes a mount for mounting a touch panel or similar inputting device and a base including a support portion for supporting the mount. This type of control panel is sometimes configured such that the angle of the mount and therefore the angle of, e.g., the top of the touch panel is variable, so that a person can easily see the touch panel without regard to the person's height or eye level or glare or similar environmental condition.
It is a common practice with the control panel of the type described to include exclusive parts and mechanisms for varying the angle of the mount and separate from the mount and base. The exclusive parts and mechanisms, however, not only increase the cost of the control panel, but also obstruct recycling keenly demanded today for environmental preservation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive control panel not needing the exclusive parts or mechanisms stated above and facilitating recycling of parts for environmental preservation and an apparatus using the same.
A control panel of the present invention includes a base and a mount mounted on the base and loaded with a display and devices to be operated by the operator of the apparatus. The base includes a support portion for supporting the mount. The support portion supports the front edge portion of the mount by causing it to slidably contact the front edge portion of the support portion in substantially the front-and-rear direction and supports the rear wall of the mount with its rear wall such that the rear wall of the mount is movable in the up-and-down direction and can be fixed in position in the same direction. The angle of the top of the mount is therefore variable without resorting to extra members for angular movement.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings in which:
While preferred embodiments of the control panel in accordance with the present invention to be described hereinafter are applied to a copier or similar image forming apparatus, the present invention is, of course, applicable to other various apparatuses as well.
Referring to
The base 2 and mount 3 may be implemented by moldings of, e.g., synthetic resin separate from each other. Such moldings, each having a particular configuration to be described later specifically, can be simply removed from a mold in the up-and-down direction although they may, of course, be produced by any other suitable molding method.
The base 2 includes a support portion 7 on which the mount 3 is positioned. The support portion 7 is constituted by a top-open cavity 8 formed in the top of the base 2, a rear wall 9 and a pair of side walls 10 rising from the bottom of the cavity 8, and a front edge portion 11 contiguous with the front edge 2a of the base 2. The side walls 10 each have a triangular shape rising from the front edge portion 11 toward the rear wall 9, as illustrated. The rear wall 9 is configured to connect the rearmost portions of the side walls 10. The rear surface or back of the rear wall 9 is configured to form part of an arc that has a center in the vicinity of the front edge portion 11 and extends in the up-and-down direction. It is to be noted that the arc mentioned above does not have to be a true arc, but should only be equivalent or approximate to a true arc.
As shown in
Three holes 20 are formed in the rear wall 17 of the mount 3 and correspond in position to the holes 13 formed in the rear wall 9 of the support portion 7 and the screw holes 16 of the sheet metal 15. A screw 21 is driven into any one of the screw holes 16 via corresponding one of the holes 13 to thereby fix the position of the rear wall 17 of the mount 3 on the base 2.
Further, as shown in
The angle or tilt of the display panels 5 and 6 and so forth arranged on the mount 3 is variable, as will be described hereinafter. First, the screws 21 are pulled out from the holes 20 and 13 of the mount 3 and base 2, respectively, and screw holes 16 of the sheet metal 15 aligning with each other. Subsequently, the mount 3 is angularly moved about the pins 22 to locate the rear wall 17 of the mount 3 at desired level or height and therefore to provide the top 19 with a desired angular position. Thereafter, the screws 21 are again driven into the screw holes 16 matching with such a new position of the mount 3 via corresponding ones of the holes 13 for thereby fixing the mount 3 in the new position.
In the illustrative embodiment, the rear walls 17 and 9 of the mount 3 and base 2, respectively, both are configured to form part of an arc. Therefore, when the mount 3 is angularly moved upward or downward, the inner surfaces of the side walls 18 included in the mount 3 can smoothly move upward or downward while being spaced from the outer surfaces of the side walls 9 included in the base 2 by a preselected distance. Of course, the rear wall 17 included in the mount 3 may be provided with a modified contour indicated by an imaginary line X in
An alternative embodiment of the control panel in accordance with the present invention will be described with reference to
More specifically, a downwardly open recess 18a is formed in the front edge portion of each side wall 18 of the mount 3. The underside of the front edge 3a of the mount 3 is so configured as to correspond to or not protrude downward from the recess 18a. On the other hand, part of the front edge of the support portion 7 corresponding to the above part of the side wall 18, more specifically extending between the front edge of the recess 18a and the front edge 2a of the base 2, is implemented as a projection 2b protruding upward over the entire length of the front edge of the base 2. It is to be noted that the above part of the support portion 7 corresponds to the front edge portion 11 of the support portion 7 included in the previous embodiment. Further, the surface of the support portion 7 between the recess 8 and the projection 2b is matched in configuration to the recess 18a and portions adjoining it. The requisite is that even when the mount 3 is angularly moved to the lowermost position represented by an angle of 30° in
In the above configuration, when the mount 3 is angularly moved upward or downward, it turns about the pin 22. When the mount 3 is moved upward, the pins 22 slide in the respective guides 8a toward the front edge 2a of the base 2. Consequently, the front edge 3a of the mount 3 slides toward the front edge 2a of the base 2, as indicated by consecutive angles of 370 and 440 in
As stated above, the illustrative embodiments of the present invention are constructed such that the mount or case 3, loaded with the display panels 5 and 6 and so forth and implemented by a single molding, is angularly movable without resorting to hinges, dampers or similar extra members for a rotation mechanism. This not only reduces the cost of the control panel, but also allows the whole mount 3 to be easily recycled for environmental preservation.
Further, the mount 3 is fixed in place at both of the front edge side and rear edge side and therefore provided with mechanical strength great enough to withstand manual operation. In addition, the angle of the control panel is variable in matching relation to the operator's height or eye level so as to obviate, e.g., glare ascribable to illumination, promoting the universal or global design of the entire control panel.
It should be noted that the present invention is applicable to any one of an image forming apparatus having at least one of various functions including a copier function, a facsimile function and a printer function, an ATM (Automatic-Teller Machine), a car, motorcycle or similar vehicle, a cash dispenser, a washing machine, a microwave oven or similar apparatus, an industrial apparatus for display, a signboard and so forth.
Various modifications will become possible for those skilled in the art after receiving the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the scope thereof.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2003-315422 (JP) | Sep 2003 | JP | national |