Patent Abstract:
A control panel adapted to be attached to a main body of an image forming device is disclosed. The control panel has a plurality of positions with respect to the image forming device main body and comprises: a panel main body; a fixed member adapted to be fixed relative to the main body of the image forming device; a movable member movable between a first position wherein the movable member engages the fixed member to maintain the panel main body in a selected one of the plurality of positions and a second position, spaced from the first position in a first direction, wherein the movable member disengages the fixed member to allow movement of the panel main body; a control member operatively connected to the movable member and movable substantially in the first direction to move the movable member between the first position and the second position.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a control panel, for an image forming device, whose position can be adjusted. 
     Such a control panel facilitates the use of the panel, for example, by a user in a standing position, and a user in a wheel chair. 
     A known and conventional position adjusting mechanism for a control panel has a position holding mechanism having a fixed member in the form of a bracket with a number of holes for a pin. The mechanism also has a movable member in the form of an engaging pin that can be inserted into one of the holes. As an operating member of the position holding mechanism is operated in an operating direction, the pin (movable member) is moved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction the operating member is operated, until the pin is inserted into one of the holes provided to the main body, whereby fixing the control panel in one position (See, for example, Publication 2003-246114 of Japanese Patent Application). Since the direction in which the pin (the movable member) moves is substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the operating member is moved in the conventional device disclosed in the patent document described above, there is room for improvement in that the conventional device required a mechanism to convert the direction of the operation into the perpendicular direction in which the pin needs to be moved. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention was made to address this issue. The object of the invention is to provide a control panel improved over the conventional one. 
     To achieve this object, the control panel, in accordance with the present invention, which is adapted to be attached to a main body of an image forming device, and which has a plurality of positions with respect to the image forming device main body, comprises: a panel main body; a fixed member adapted to be fixed relative to the main body of the image forming device; a movable member movable between a first position wherein the movable member engages the fixed member to maintain the panel main body in a selected one of the plurality of positions and a second position, spaced from the first position in a first direction, wherein the movable member disengages the fixed member to allow movement of the panel main body; a control member operatively connected to the movable member and movable substantially in the first direction to move the movable member between the first position and the second position. 
     It is thus possible to provide a control panel without a direction converting mechanism that was necessary in the conventional device. This has additional advantage of alleviating the loss of operating force that occurred when changing the operating direction. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a copier as an example of an image forming device in accordance with the present invention, 
         FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of; a part of the control panel in accordance with the present invention, 
         FIG. 3  shows a plan view of the part of the control panel shown in  FIG. 2 , 
         FIG. 4  shows a side view of the control panel, 
         FIG. 5  shows a side view of the control panel, 
         FIG. 6  shows a side view of the control panel, 
         FIG. 7  shows a side view of an engaging area of the control panel in accordance with a different embodiment of the present invention, 
         FIG. 8  shows a side view of an engaging area of the control panel in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, 
         FIG. 9  shows a side view of an engaging area of the control panel in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, 
         FIG. 10  shows a side view of an engaging area of the control panel in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiments of the control panel of an image forming device with a position adjusting mechanism is described next with reference to the accompanying drawings. The word “pin” used throughout the present specification means a member that is able to engage with another object. A “pin” does not have to have a circular cross section and may have, for example, a polygonal, elliptic, or an irregularly shaped cross section if appropriate. In addition, a “pin” does not have to have a small diameter. 
     Examples of an image forming device includes, but not limited to, a photo copier, a printer, and a facsimile machine. While a photo copier is used in the present specification as an example of an image forming device, the present invention is applicable to any image forming devices. In the present specification, “front”, “forward”, or other similar word is associated with the direction indicated by the arrow F in  FIG. 1  and “back”, “rear” or other similar word is associated with the direction opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow F. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the a control panel  2  is positioned at a front and upper position of the main body  1  of the photo copier (sometimes referred simply to as a copier). As shown in  FIGS. 2 to 4 , the control panel  2  includes a panel main body  2   a  and a panel cover  2   b  attached to the upper surface of the panel main body  2   a . Various control keys  3 , such as a numeric pad, are provided on the panel cover  2   b , i.e. the top surface of the control panel  2 . In addition to the control keys  3 , a liquid crystal display  4  is provided on the panel cover  2   b  in the present embodiment as shown in  FIG. 1  to display various information. Various parts of the control panel  2  including the panel main body  2   a  and the panel cover  2   b  may be made of resin, with the exception of the urging springs described below. However, a part or the whole of each of these members may be made of metal. 
     A pair of forwardly projecting brackets  5  are fixed to the front surface of the main body  1  of the copier at locations that face the back of the control panel  2 . Each of the brackets  5  has a pair of plate members  5   a  and  5   b . A horizontally oriented lateral shaft  6  extends through the plate members  5   a  and  5   b . Each lateral shaft  6  has a projecting portion that projects inwardly through the plate member  5   b  which is located more inwardly than the other plate member  5   a . The panel main body  2   a  of the control panel  2  is mounted to the projecting portion through a vertical member  2   c  of the main body  2   a . The lateral shaft  6  may be fixed to the panel main body  2   a.    
     More specifically, the control panel  2  is mounted to the main body  1  of the copier such that it is rotatable about the lateral axis L 1  of the lateral shaft  6  with respect to the main body  1 , so that the angular position of the control panel  2  may be adjusted about the lateral axis L 1 . The control panel  2  is also urged by the coil springs  7  wound around the two lateral shafts  6  such that the front part of the control panel  2  is urged upwardly about the lateral axis L 1 . 
     A control member  8   a  is located on the upper surface of the panel main body  2   a . The control member  8   a  is adapted to be movable in the operating direction shown at the arrow A in  FIGS. 2 and 3  by means of the slide mechanism  13  that includes a pair of right and left slide pins  13   a  that project upwardly from the panel main body  2   a  and corresponding elongate slots  13   b  formed in the control member  8   a . The operating direction is substantially horizontal in the present embodiment and is oriented toward the lateral axis L 1 . However, the operating direction of the present invention is not limited to this direction. A control lever  8   b  is mounted to the front part of the control member  8   a  so that the lever  8   b  can be rotated through a predetermined angle about the axis L 2  which is substantially parallel to the lateral axis L 1 . The control member  8   a  is urged toward the copier main body  1  by means of a pair of the right and left coil springs  9  disposed between the control member  8   a  and the panel main body  2   a.    
     Each of the right and left plate members  5   b  that project forwardly from the copier main body  1  has two pins  10   a  and  10   b  that project inwardly and extend substantially parallel to the lateral axis L 1 . The pins  10   a  and  10   b  function as a fixed member. A movable member  11  is integral with the control member  8   a  near right and left end positions of the control member  8   a . The movable member  11  extends generally vertically and also in the forward-rearward direction. The movable member  11  has a pair of fingers  11   b ,  11   c  that generally extend in the forward-rearward direction and a recess  11   a  formed therebetween and facing one of the pins  10   a  and  10   b . The movable member  11  with the fingers  11   b ,  11   c  and the recess  11   a  together with the pins  10   a  and  10   b  form the position holding mechanism  12 . The recess  11   a  extends substantially horizontally and opens toward the lateral axis L 1 . The recess  11   a  has an upper edge that extends substantially horizontally and a lower edge that extends parallel to the upper edge. Each of the fingers  11   b ,  11   c  has a guide surface  11   d  or  11   e  for guiding the pin  10   a  or  10   b  to the recess  11   a . The vertical height of each of the fingers  11   b ,  11   c  is slightly less than the distance between the two pins  10   a  and  10   b . The vertical height of the recess  11   a , that is, the spacing between the fingers  11   b  and  11   c , is slightly greater than but substantially equal to the diameter of the pin  10   a  or  10   b.    
     The control member  8   a  and the control lever  8   b  forms the control portion  8  of the position holding mechanism. More particularly, the movable member  11  with the recess  11   a  is adapted to move closer to or away from the copier main body  1  along the operating direction A. As the movable member  11  is moved toward the main body  1  by operating the operating member  8 , the recess  11   a  engages either one of the two pins  10   a  and  10   b  in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction the axis of either of the pins  10   a  and  10   b  extends. The angular position of the control panel  2  is thus maintained by the engagement of the pin  10   a  or  10   b  and the movable member  11 . 
     To reverse the process, the movable member  11  is moved away from the copier main body  1  so that the pin  10   a  or  10   b  is no longer held in the recess  11   a . Thus the recess  11   a  disengages the pin  10   a  or  10   b , resulting in the release of the control panel  2  from the angular position. 
     A slot  2   d  is formed in each of the vertical members  2   c  of the panel main body  2   a . The slot  2   d  generally forms an arc about the axis of the lateral shaft  6  and extends generally vertically. A horizontally extending projection  5   c  is formed in the plate member  5   b  at the position corresponding to the slot  2   d  for engaging the slot  2   d . The projection  5   c  abuts against the lower end of the slot  2   d  when the control panel  2  is in the first angular position as shown in  FIG. 4 , whereas the projection  5   c  abuts against the upper end of the slot  2   d  when the control panel  2  is in the second angular position as shown in  FIG. 6 . Thus, the first and second angular positions are set by the abutment of the projection  5   c  against the lower end and the upper end of the slot  2   d  respectively. 
     The operation of the position adjusting mechanism of the control panel is described next. 
     To move the control panel  2  from its first angular position shown in  FIG. 4  to its second angular position shown in  FIG. 6 , for example, the operator rotates the control lever  8   b  through a predetermined angle as shown in  FIG. 5  and continues to pull it forward against the urging force of the coil springs  9 . The control member  8   a  and the movable member  11  are then also moved away from the copier main body  1  with the control lever  8   b  along the operating direction A so that the upper pin  10   a  is no longer held in the recess  11   a , thus releasing the control panel  2  from the angular position. 
     The control panel  2  is then rotated downwardly about the lateral axis L 1 . Subsequently, the operator releases the control lever  8   a . This allows the control member  8   a  and the movable member  11  to be moved toward the copier main body  1  along the operating direction A by the urging force of the coil springs  9 . The lower pin  10   b  then comes to be held in the recess  11   a  of the movable member  11 , thus holding the control panel  2  in its second angular position as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     Moving the control panel  2  from the second angular position shown in  FIG. 6  to the first angular position shown in  FIG. 4  is accomplished in a similar manner. The control lever  8   b  is pulled forwardly. However, because of the urging force of the springs  7  that urges the front part of the control panel  2  upwardly, the panel  2  is moved upwardly automatically and is stopped at the appropriate position. Thus, the control panel  2  does not have to be pushed up. Thus all the operator has to do is to release the control lever  8   b . The movable member  11  is then moved toward the copier main body  1  by the urging force of the coil springs  9  until the upper pin  10   a  comes to be held in the recess  11   a  of the movable member  11 , thus holding the control panel  2  in the angular position shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     The mechanism described above allows the control panel  2  to be held or maintained in two angular positions. However, it is, of course, possible to hold the control panel  2  at three or more positions by increasing the number of the pins correspondingly. 
     Since the pin  10   a  or  10   b  is firmly held in the recess  11   a  of the movable member  11  by the abutment of the upper and lower edges of the pin  10   a  or  10   b  against the recess  11   a  in any of the angular positions, the control member  2  is securely maintained at a desired angular position. 
     OTHER EMBODIMENTS 
     (1) As shown in  FIG. 7 , it is possible to define a plurality of angular positions of the control panel  2  by providing a corresponding number of recesses  21   a  and  21   b  and a single pin  20 . While the movable member  21  of this embodiment has two recesses, it is possible to provide three or more recesses as necessary. The fingers  21   c ,  21   e ,  21   h  have guide surfaces  21   d ,  21   f ,  21   g ,  21   i.    
     (2) In the first embodiment, the position maintaining mechanism includes the pins  10   a  and  10   b  as well as the movable member  11  having a recess  11   a , with the pins  10   a  and  10   b  provided to the member on the copier main body  1  side and the recess  11   a  formed in the control member  8  of the position maintaining mechanism. However, as shown in  FIG. 8 , a plurality of recesses  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c  may be formed in the bracket (main body  1  side) while the single engaging pin  30  may be provided to the movable member  31 . It is also possible to form one recess in the bracket and to provide a plurality of pins in the movable member. 
     The position maintaining mechanism does not have to be a pin and recess arrangement. Various other arrangement may be used in such a mechanism utilizing mutually engaging members. 
     For example,  FIG. 9  shows a movable member  41  having an engaging portion with sloped surfaces and a fixed member  5   b  having correspondingly shaped engaged portions having sloped surfaces.  FIG. 10  shows a movable member  51  having an engaging portion with a round surface and a fixed member  5   b  having correspondingly shaped engaged portions. It is possible to provide the fixed member with the engaging portion while providing the movable member with the engaged portions. A movable member and fixed members may have engaging surfaces that are shaped differently than the ones shown above. 
     (3) While the operating portion  8  of the position maintaining mechanism is provided on the control panel  2  in the previous embodiments, the operating portion  8  may be mounted to the copier main body  1 . In addition, while the movable member  11  is provided integrally with the control portion  8  in the embodiments described above, another member or members may be placed between the control portion  8  and the movable member  11 . 
     (4) On bracket and one lateral shaft may be used to rotatably support the control panel  2  instead of a pair of brackets  5  and a pair of lateral shafts  6 .

Technology Classification (CPC): 6