Patent ID: 8573555

Claim:
A support structure of an operation panel for a machine tool, wherein the operation panel is set to be capable of being vertically adjusted in position by attaching the operation panel to a housing side wall of the machine tool in a vertically movable manner, supporting a load of the operation panel by the housing side wall through a gas spring with a hydraulic lock, the gas spring being configured to support the load by an internal gas pressure and configured to be adjustable in a vertical direction, the gas spring including first and second hydraulic chambers and a compressed gas chamber, the compressed gas chamber being fluidly isolated from the hydraulic chambers by a first piston, the first hydraulic chamber physically separated from the second hydraulic chamber by a second piston, the hydraulic chambers being in selective fluid communication by a valve of the hydraulic lock, the valve being configured to lock the gas spring by blocking flow between the hydraulic chambers when engaged and to allow vertical adjustment of the gas spring by allowing flow between the hydraulic chambers when released, and placing a handling unit which releases the hydraulic lock of the gas spring at a vicinity of a lower side of the operation panel.