1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, it has been about to pay attention to physically handicapped operators in the field of business equipments such as copiers and facsimile apparatuses. One of objects of attention is an input operation unit installed in business equipments. This input operation unit generally has an angle set to a substantially horizontal one for physically normal people who operate while standing. In the case where the input operation unit is provided with a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, the LCD panel installed in this type of input operation unit has a narrow view angle and illumination light reflects at the outer surface of the panel. Thus, particularly for an operator who operates while being seated in a wheel chair, the visibility of the input operation unit is poor.
In view of the above problems, a technology for the construction of a control panel provided in an image forming apparatus to rotatably mount the control panel on the front surface of the image forming apparatus via a rotary shaft to make an angle of inclination of the control panel changeable has been proposed with a view to improving the operability of the input operation unit for physically handicapped operators, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 2004-287453, H11-119498 and H11-160938.
However, the image forming apparatuses disclosed in the above publications are constructed to merely change the angle of inclination of the control panel, and there has been room for further improvement in operability for physically handicapped people.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds