CN112640396A

CN112640396A - Foldable device

Info

Publication number: CN112640396A
Application number: CN201880094137.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘文俊; 陈松亚; 凡小飞
Original assignee: Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-08-09
Filing date: 2018-08-09
Publication date: 2021-04-09
Also published as: WO2020029212A1

Abstract

The invention provides a foldable device, which comprises a first shell, a second shell, a rotating shaft assembly and a flexible protection piece. The flexible protection piece covers the rotating shaft assembly, so that the rotating shaft assembly is prevented from being exposed outside, and the rotating shaft assembly is prevented from rusting, being damaged and the like due to external influence. And the rotating shaft assembly is covered with the flexible protection piece, so that the exposed rotating shaft assembly is prevented from clamping the palm of a user holding the equipment, and the user is protected.

Description

Foldable device

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of display, in particular to foldable equipment.

Background

The foldable devices of the prior art are generally connected by a rotating shaft assembly to connect structures on two sides of the device, so as to realize the folding of the device. The rotating shaft assembly generally has a larger difference in structural appearance from both sides thereof. The exposed rotating shaft component is easy to clamp the palm of a user holding the equipment, so that the human body is injured. In addition, the exposed rotating shaft assembly is not protected, and is easily rusted and damaged by the influence of the outside.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides a foldable device for protecting a rotating shaft assembly and a user. .

The foldable device comprises a first shell, a second shell, a rotating shaft assembly and a flexible protection piece, wherein the rotating shaft assembly is connected between the first shell and the second shell, the flexible protection piece comprises a flexible cover plate, and the flexible cover plate covers the rotating shaft assembly.

According to the foldable equipment provided by the invention, the rotating shaft assembly is coated with the flexible protection piece, so that the rotating shaft assembly is prevented from being exposed outside through the flexible protection piece, and the rotating shaft assembly is prevented from rusting, damaging and the like due to external influence. And the rotating shaft assembly is covered with the flexible protection piece, so that the exposed rotating shaft assembly is prevented from clamping the palm of a user holding the equipment, and the user is protected.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the structure of the foldable device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the assembled structure of the various structures of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side schematic view of the assembled structure of the various structures of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a flexible protector after bending according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic front view of a support member according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a support member according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, the present invention provides a foldable device 100, and the foldable device 100 may be a foldable display device, such as various display devices, for example, a mobile phone, a tablet, an e-reader, a computer, an electronic display screen, and the like. It will be appreciated that the foldable device 100 may also be a foldable non-display device.

The foldable device 100 includes a first housing 10, a second housing 20, a rotation shaft assembly 30, and a flexible protector 40. The rotating shaft assembly 30 is located between the first housing 10 and the second housing 20 and connected to the first housing 10 and the second housing 20, so that the rotating shaft assembly 30 realizes the relative rotation of the first housing 10 and the second housing 20, and further realizes the folding of the foldable device 100.

The rotation shaft assembly 30 includes at least one bending shaft, and the rotation shaft assembly 30 is folded by the bending shaft. It should be understood that the bending axis of the present invention is not limited to a physical axis, but may be a virtual axis, i.e. the bending axis can be considered as long as the rotating shaft assembly 30 bends around one axis. In this embodiment, the rotating shaft assembly 30 includes at least two rotating portions 31, and two adjacent rotating portions 31 are connected by a bending shaft or a rotating shaft, so that the rotating shaft assembly 30 can rotate with the bending shaft at the connecting position of two adjacent rotating portions 31. It is understood that, in other embodiments of the present invention, the rotating shaft assembly 30 includes at least two levers, adjacent levers may be rotatably connected by a damping piece, and the damping piece is rotatably connected to the levers connected thereto, so that the rotating shaft assembly 30 rotates with the levers as bending axes. The flexible protector 40 is made of a flexible material and can be elastically deformed when the rotation shaft assembly 30 is bent, so that the flexible protector 40 can be prevented from affecting the foldable device 100. In this embodiment, the flexible protection member 40 is made of a silicone material. The flexible protection member 40 includes a flexible cover 41, and side plates 42 and 43 located on both sides of the flexible cover 41 and connected to the flexible cover 41. In this embodiment, after the foldable display device 100 is unfolded, the flexible cover 41 is coplanar with the surfaces of the first housing 10 and the second housing 20, so that the foldable display device 100 has a better appearance. In the present embodiment, the side plates 42 and 43 are located at two opposite ends of the flexible cover 41 and are both connected to the flexible cover 41 perpendicularly. When the rotating shaft assembly 30 is bent, the opposite sides of the flexible cover plate 41 are close to each other and are arranged opposite to each other. The side plates 42 and 43 cover opposite sides of the rotating shaft assembly 30 and are detachably fixed to both sides of the rotating shaft assembly 30, so that the flexible protection member 40 covers the rotating shaft assembly 30, the rotating shaft assembly 30 is protected by the flexible protection member 40, and the foldable device 100 is more attractive in appearance. The flexible protector 40 covers the rotary shaft assembly 30, and protects the palm of the user and the rotary shaft assembly 30 itself.

The flexible cover 41 includes a first surface facing away from the rotary shaft assembly 30 and a second surface facing toward the rotary shaft assembly. The first surface of the flexible cover plate 41 is provided with at least one buffer slot 411, and the buffer slot 441 is formed by the first surface of the flexible cover plate 41 sinking towards the direction of the second surface and is a non-through slot, so as to avoid influencing the overall strength of the flexible cover plate 41. And, the extending direction of the buffer slot 411 is the same as the extending direction of the bending shaft, so that when the rotating shaft assembly 30 is folded, the buffer slot 411 is easy to deform, and then when the flexible cover plate 41 deforms elastically, a deformation space is provided, that is, when the flexible cover plate 41 deforms, the buffer slot 411 serves as a deformation accommodating space to accommodate the extruded part during deformation, or serves as a stretching space to provide more stretching amount. In this embodiment, each buffer slot 411 is spaced apart from the adjacent buffer slot 411, and the spacing between the two buffer slots is the same as the width of each buffer slot 411. By providing the buffer slot 411 on the flexible cover 41 of the flexible protection member 40, the flexible protection member 40 can be easily folded when the foldable device 100 is folded, so that the influence of the flexible protection member 40 on the folding of the foldable device 100 can be avoided, and the generation of wrinkles due to excessive bending stress when the flexible protection member 40 is folded can also be avoided.

In this embodiment, the number of the buffer slots 411 is plural, and the buffer slots are arranged along a direction perpendicular to the bending axis. The width of each buffer slot 411 increases from opposite ends toward the middle such that opposite ends of each buffer slot 411 form sharp corners. Each buffer slot 411 extends from a position near the side plate 42 to a position near the side plate 43. The rotating shaft assembly 30 has an inner bending side and an outer bending side opposite to the inner bending side when bent, the inner bending side is the side opposite to the two ends after bent, and the outer bending side is the other side opposite to the two ends after bent. The inner side of the bend is surrounded by the outer side of the bend. In this embodiment, since the flexible cover 41 is located at the inner side of the bending, when the rotating shaft assembly 30 is bent, the whole flexible cover 41 is compressed, and the extruded part generated by the compression can be accommodated in the buffer slot 411, thereby avoiding or reducing the phenomenon of arching or wrinkling of the flexible cover 41.

Further, in this embodiment, a rib 46 is formed on the second surface of the flexible cover 41 at a position corresponding to the buffer slot 41, and the extending direction of the rib 46 is the same as the extending direction of the buffer slot 411. The rib 46 can further enhance the overall strength of the flexible cover 41, and avoid the opening of the buffer slot 411 from significantly affecting the overall strength of the flexible cover 41.

Further, at least one opening 421 is also provided on the side plate 42 and the side plate 43, the opening 421 may be a groove or an opening, and each opening 421 is located on an extension line of the buffer slot 411 on the side plate 42 or the side plate 43, that is, the opening 421 on the side plate 42 or the side plate 43 is aligned with the buffer slot on the flexible cover plate 41. In this embodiment, the opening 421 formed on the side plate 42 and/or the side plate 43 is an opening. The diameter of the opening 421 is larger than the width of the buffer slot 411. When the rotating shaft assembly is folded, the whole body of the side plate 42 and the side plate 43 is pressed, so that the opening 421 is deformed and the size is reduced, and the phenomenon that the side plate 42 and/or the side plate 43 is arched or folded is reduced.

Referring to fig. 4, by providing the buffer slot 411 on the flexible cover 41 and providing at least one opening 421 on the side plate 42 and the side plate 43, the flexible protection member 40 can be easily folded when the foldable display device 100 is folded, so as to prevent parts (including the flexible cover 41, the side plate 42, and the side plate 43) of the flexible protection member 40 from being easily folded to obstruct the folding of the foldable display device 100, and prevent the flexible protection member 40 from being folded due to an excessive bending stress.

In the above embodiment, the buffer slot 411 is recessed towards the second surface on the first surface of the flexible cover 41, and it can be understood that the buffer slot 411 may also be recessed towards the first surface on the second surface of the flexible cover, and the similar effect can be achieved. And because the buffer slot is located on the second surface of the flexible cover 411 facing the rotating shaft assembly 30, the surface of the flexible cover 411 facing away from the rotating shaft assembly 30 can be kept smooth, so that the overall appearance is uniform, and the holding feeling is better.

Further, referring to fig. 1, 5 and 6, the foldable apparatus 100 further includes a support member 50, and the support member 50 is interposed between the flexible protection member 40 and the rotating shaft assembly 30. The support member 50 covers the rotating shaft assembly 30 and is fixedly connected with the rotating shaft assembly 30, and the strength of the support member 50 is greater than that of the flexible protection member 40, so that the rotating shaft assembly 30 is protected by the support member 50. And, the flexible protector 40 covers the supporter 50 and is fixed with the supporter 50. The flexible protector 40 may be fixed to the support member 50 by means of adhesion, or may be formed directly on the support member 50 by means of in-mold molding. The supporting member 50 includes a first portion 51, and a second portion 52 and a third portion 53 located at two sides of the first portion 51 and connected to the first portion 51 at an included angle. In this embodiment, the second portion 52 and the third portion 53 are vertically connected to both sides of the first portion 51. The first part 51 abuts the flexible cover 41, the second part 52 abuts the side plate 42, and the third part 53 abuts the side plate 43, i.e. the flexible cover 41 covers the first part, the side plate covers the second part, and the side plate covers the third part. The second portion 52, the third portion 53 and the first portion 51 form a receiving cavity, and the rotating shaft assembly 30 is received in the receiving cavity. In the present invention, the strength of the support member 50 is greater than that of the flexible protection member 40, so that the support member 50 increases the strength of the flexible protection member 40, thereby providing the foldable device 100 with a better appearance effect, reducing the damage of the flexible protection member 40, and achieving a better water and oxygen insulation effect. In this embodiment, the supporting member 50 is formed by a metal sheet. The first portion 51 is provided with a plurality of bar-shaped holes 511 corresponding to the buffer slots 411 of the flexible cover 41. And, a plurality of openings 521 are formed in each of the second portion 52 and the third portion, and the openings 521 are communicated with the bar-shaped hole 511 and correspond to the buffer slots 411 of the flexible protection member 40, so that when the foldable equipment 100 is folded, the support member 50 can be easily folded at the position where the bar-shaped hole 511 is formed, thereby preventing the support member 50 from affecting the folding effect of the foldable equipment 100.

The supporting member 50 may be an integral structure, or a plurality of sub-supporting members may be combined together. The support 50 may be made of a metal material or other hard material to provide sufficient supporting force. The hardness of the support 50 is greater than that of the flexible protector 40. In this embodiment, a groove for accommodating the supporting element 50 is formed on the surface of the rotating shaft assembly 30 facing the flexible protecting member 30, and the supporting element 50 is accommodated in the groove, that is, the supporting element 50 can be partially or completely embedded in the surface of the rotating shaft assembly 30 facing the flexible protecting member 30, so as to reduce the overall thickness and stabilize the connection between the supporting element 50 and the rotating shaft assembly 30.

The supporting member 50 may be integrally formed, or a plurality of sub-supporting members may be combined together. In this embodiment, the supporting member 50 is formed by combining a plurality of sub-supporting members, each sub-supporting member is provided with a notch, and the notches of the adjacent sub-supporting members are spliced to form the strip-shaped hole 511 and the opening 521. That is, the sub-supporters are not directly connected, but are fixed at corresponding positions of the rotation shaft assembly 30 by screws, respectively, to avoid affecting bending of the rotation shaft assembly 30.

In this embodiment, the supporting member 50 and the rotating shaft assembly 30 can be detachably connected by a screw connection, a snap connection, or the like. In this embodiment, the supporting member 50 and the rotating shaft assembly 30 are fixedly connected by a screw 54. Specifically, there are a plurality of screws 54 for fixing the support member 50 and the rotating shaft assembly 30, and the screws 54 are fixed on the end surface of the rotating shaft assembly through the second portion 52 and the third portion 53 of the support member 50, so that the support member 50 and the rotating shaft assembly 30 are fixed without affecting the rotation of the rotating shaft assembly 30. The flexible protection member 40 is fixed to the support member 50 by dispensing, and the screw 54 can be covered by the flexible protection member 40, so that the foldable device has better appearance. Further, the flexible protection member 40 of the present embodiment is fixed to the first housing 10 and the second housing 20 by an adhesive. Specifically, the first housing 10 includes an end surface 11 facing the rotating shaft assembly 30, and the second housing 20 includes an end surface 21 facing the rotating shaft assembly 30. The flexible protection member 40 and the support member 50 are located between the end surface 11 of the first housing 10 and the end surface 21 of the second housing 20, and the edge of the flexible protection member 40 is fixed to the first end surface 11 and the second end surface 21 by dispensing, so that the flexible protection member 40 and the first housing 10 and the second housing 20 are sealed, and further, while the flexible protection member 40 is fixed, impurities such as water and oxygen are prevented from entering the foldable device 100 through a gap between the flexible protection member 40 and the first housing 10 and the second housing 20. In this embodiment, carry out some glue operations through waterproof glue to realize better water-proof effects. It is understood that the flexible protection member 40 and the supporting member 50 can be fixed by other means such as magnetic attraction, snap fit, or hook and loop fastener.

Referring back to fig. 1, in the present embodiment, the foldable device 100 is a foldable display device, and the foldable display device further includes a flexible display screen 60 for displaying images. The flexible display screen 60 is stacked on the first housing 10, the second housing 20 and the rotating shaft assembly 30, fixed to the first housing 10 and the second housing 20, and located on a surface of the rotating shaft assembly 30 opposite to the flexible protector 40. In other words, the first housing 10, the second housing 20 and the rotating shaft assembly 30 are used for supporting the flexible display screen 60, and the rotating shaft assembly 30 is unfolded or folded to drive the flexible display screen 60 to be unfolded or folded, so as to realize the unfolding or folding of the foldable device 100.

Further, the foldable device 100 further comprises a support member 70 disposed between the flexible display screen 60 and the hinge assembly 30. In this embodiment, the supporting member 70 is a metal sheet, fixed on the first casing 10 and the second casing 20, and covers the rotating shaft assembly 30, so that each position of the flexible display screen 60 can be stably supported, and can be kept flat at any position of the foldable device 100 when being folded or unfolded.

In the foldable device 100 of the present invention, the flexible protector 40 is coated on the rotating shaft assembly 30, so that the flexible protector 40 prevents external impurities such as water, oxygen, dust, etc. from easily entering the rotating shaft assembly 30, thereby ensuring the quality of the foldable device 100. Further, a buffer slot 411 is provided on the flexible cover plate 41 of the flexible protection member 40 opposite to the rotating shaft assembly 30, so that when the foldable device 100 is folded by the rotating shaft assembly 30, the flexible protection member 40 can be easily folded at the position of the buffer slot 411, thereby preventing the flexible protection member 40 from influencing the folding of the foldable device 100.

It is understood that, in some embodiments, the support member 50 may not be used, and the flexible protection member 40 may be directly fixed to the corresponding position of the rotating shaft assembly 30, which may also achieve a better protection effect.

While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

A foldable device, comprising a first housing, a second housing, a rotary shaft assembly connected between the first housing and the second housing, and a flexible protector comprising a flexible cover plate covering the rotary shaft assembly.
The foldable device of claim 1, wherein the flexible cover is elastically deformed when the spindle assembly is bent.
The foldable device of claim 2, wherein the flexible cover is located inside the bending of the spindle assembly, the flexible cover being compressed when the spindle assembly is bent.
The foldable device of claim 2, wherein the flexible cover includes a first surface facing away from the spindle assembly and a second surface facing toward the spindle assembly, the first surface being formed with a buffer groove.
The foldable device of claim 4, wherein the buffer slot is configured to provide a deformation space when the flexible cover is elastically deformed.
The foldable device of claim 4, wherein the buffer slot is concavely formed from the first surface toward the second surface.
The foldable device of claim 6, wherein the second surface of the flexible cover is formed with ribs at locations corresponding to the relief grooves.
The foldable device of claim 4, wherein the buffer groove extends in a bending axis direction when the rotation axis member is bent.
The foldable device of claim 4, wherein the flexible protector further comprises two side plates extending from opposite ends of the flexible cover plate, respectively, the two side plates covering opposite ends of the rotating shaft assembly, respectively.
The foldable device of claim 9, wherein each side panel defines at least one opening that provides a space for the side panel to deform when elastically deformed.
The foldable device of claim 10, wherein the opening is located on a line of extension of the buffer slot on the side panel.
The foldable device of claim 9 wherein said buffer slot extends from a position adjacent one of said side panels to a position adjacent the opposite of the other of said side panels.
The foldable device of claim 9, further comprising a support member interposed between the flexible protector and the spindle assembly.
The foldable device of claim 13, wherein the support member has a strength greater than a strength of the flexible protection member.
A foldable device according to claim 13 or 14, wherein said support member is of a metal material and the flexible protection member is of a silicone material.
The foldable device of claim 13, wherein the support member comprises a first portion, a second portion and a third portion, the second portion and the third portion are respectively connected to opposite sides of the first portion and define a receiving cavity, the first portion, the second portion and the third portion are respectively fixed to inner surfaces of the flexible cover plate and the two side plates of the flexible protection member, and the rotating shaft assembly is received in the receiving cavity.
The foldable device of claim 16, wherein the support member is removably secured to the spindle assembly.
The foldable device of claim 17, wherein the second and third portions of the support member are each secured to the pivot assembly by screws.
The foldable device of claim 16, wherein the first portion has a plurality of slots corresponding to the buffer slots in the flexible cover; and the second part and the third part are both provided with a plurality of holes, and the holes are communicated with the strip-shaped holes.
The foldable device of claim 19, wherein the support member comprises a plurality of independent sub-support members, the support member is assembled by a plurality of sub-support members, the sub-support members are provided with notches, and the notches of the adjacent sub-support members are assembled to form the strip-shaped hole and the opening.
The foldable device of claim 16, wherein the first portion is embedded in a surface of the rotation shaft assembly facing the flexible protector.
The foldable device of claim 1, wherein the foldable device comprises a flexible display screen stacked on the first housing, the second housing and the rotating shaft assembly, and the flexible display screen is located on a side of the rotating shaft assembly facing away from the flexible protection member, and the rotating shaft assembly is flattened or folded to bring the flexible display screen into flattening or folding.