CN219372459U - Folding device and electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of electronic equipment, in particular to a folding device and electronic equipment. The folding device comprises: the device comprises a main shaft, two rotating parts and at least two first elastic parts, wherein the two rotating parts rotate in opposite directions, the supporting plate can move towards the main shaft, so that the supporting plate and the rotating parts compress the first elastic parts, and the supporting plate can move away from the main shaft under the action of resilience force of the first elastic parts in the opposite directions. The folding device forms accommodation space that holds flexible screen after folding, and other parts hold first casing and second casing, and folding device switches to folding state's in-process from the expansion state, and under the resilience effect, the drive backup pad keeps away from the main shaft, increases accommodation space for folding device can provide sufficient space under folding state and hold the folding part of flexible screen, reduces the pulling and the extrusion of folding part in the folding device folding process, reduces the risk of flexible screen functional failure.

Description

Folding device and electronic equipment

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of electronic equipment, in particular to a folding device and electronic equipment.

Background

Along with the development of flexible screen technology for electronic equipment begins to innovate to folding direction, collapsible electronic equipment includes folding device, casing and flexible screen, and wherein, the casing is located between left casing and the right casing including left casing and the right casing that the components of a whole that can function independently set up, folding device, and simultaneously, flexible screen installs in left casing and right casing. When the left shell and the right shell are folded under the drive of the folding device, the flexible screen can be driven to fold, so that the electronic equipment is in a folded state, and in the folded state, the electronic equipment is small in size and convenient to store; when the left shell and the right shell are unfolded under the driving of the folding device, the flexible screen is driven to be unfolded, so that the electronic equipment is in an unfolding state, and in the unfolding state, the display screen of the electronic equipment is large, and the use experience of a user can be improved.

At present, the existing folding electronic equipment can squeeze and pull the flexible screen in the folding process, so that the reliability and the service life of the flexible screen are reduced.

Disclosure of Invention

A first aspect of the present application provides a folding device comprising: a main shaft; the two rotating parts are arranged at two sides of the main shaft along the width direction of the main shaft, and the two rotating parts can rotate relatively so as to enable the folding device to be in an unfolding state or a folding state; two support plates arranged on both sides of the main shaft in a width direction of the main shaft; the at least two first elastic pieces are arranged on two sides of the main shaft along the width direction of the main shaft, and the first elastic pieces are connected with the supporting plate and the rotating piece which are positioned on the same side; the two rotating parts rotate oppositely, the supporting plate can move towards the main shaft, so that the supporting plate and the rotating parts compress the first elastic part, and the supporting plate can move away from the main shaft under the action of resilience force of the first elastic part in the process of rotating the two rotating parts oppositely.

In this embodiment, form accommodation space after folding device folds, the folding part of flexible screen holds in this accommodation space, other parts hold in first casing and second casing, this folding device switches to folding state's in-process from the expansion state, the main shaft is kept away from to the drive backup pad under the resilience force effect of first elastic component, accommodation space after the increase folding device folds, thereby make folding device can provide sufficient space under folding state and hold the folding part of flexible screen, reduce folding device folding in-process folding part's pulling and extrusion, reduce the risk of flexible screen functional failure.

In one possible design, the first elastic member is a metal spring.

In this application embodiment, the first elastic component of metal material can have good ductility and elasticity for first elastic component is convenient for process, and is convenient for realize elastic deformation.

In one possible design, the first elastic element comprises at least one bending portion, which is elastically deformable.

In this embodiment, when two rotation pieces are rotating in opposite directions (from folding state switch expansion state), the backup pad can be towards the main shaft motion to make backup pad and rotation piece compress first elastic component, make the angle that the kink was buckled under the pressure effect reduce gradually, thereby make first elastic component take place elastic deformation. When two rotation pieces rotate in opposite directions (switch to the folding state from the unfolding state), the pressure applied by the support piece and the main shaft to the first elastic piece is gradually reduced, so that the bending angle of the bending part of the first elastic piece is gradually increased, the first elastic piece releases resilience force, under the action of the resilience force of the first elastic piece, the support plate can move away from the main shaft, so that under the folding state, the containing space between the two support plates and the main shaft is increased, the folding part of the flexible screen can be contained, and meanwhile, the first elastic piece can enable the support plate to drive the flexible screen to be away from the main shaft, so that friction damage between the folding part of the flexible screen and the main shaft is avoided, and the service life of the flexible screen is prolonged.

In one possible design, the cross section of the first elastic member is one or more of V-shaped, W-shaped, N-shaped and wave-shaped.

In this embodiment of the application, thereby through increasing the resilience force of the first elastic component of the number of kink improvement to ensure that folding device can drive the backup pad and keep away from the main shaft at folding in-process first elastic component, avoid flexible screen to be pulled or extrudeed at folding in-process.

In one possible design, the rotating member is provided with a first projection protruding in a length direction of the main shaft, the support plate is provided with a second projection protruding in a thickness direction of the main shaft, the first projection and the second projection have a gap in a width direction of the main shaft, and the first elastic member is mounted in the gap.

In this embodiment, this first lug and second lug are convenient for realize the first elastic component and backup pad and rotate the connection between the piece, and folding device is in the expansion process, and first lug and second lug extrusion first elastic component, in the folding process, the resilience force of first elastic component acts on first lug and second lug.

In one possible design, the spindle is provided with a door panel for connection with the flexible screen, the door panel being provided with a first chute, the support plate being provided with a first sliding portion, the first sliding portion being slidable along the first chute.

In this embodiment, along thickness direction Z of main shaft, the door plant sets up in the top of main shaft, and the door plant can be in the coplanar with first backup pad and second backup pad to install flexible screen, make flexible screen expand into the plane under the expansion state, and can expose the user operation of being convenient for completely, improve user experience and feel, and improve backup pad for the gliding reliability and the stability of main shaft.

In one possible design, the spindle has an arc-shaped groove, the rotating member includes a rotating portion and a connecting portion, the outer contour of the rotating portion is arc-shaped, the rotating portion is matched with the arc-shaped groove and can slide along the arc-shaped groove, and the connecting portion is used for being connected with a housing of the electronic device.

In this embodiment, along width direction Y of main shaft, the casing includes first casing and second casing, is located the connecting portion of first casing and first rotating member of homonymy and is connected, is located the connecting portion of second casing and second rotating member of homonymy for when first rotating member and second rotating member rotate in opposite directions or in opposite directions, can drive first casing and/or second casing and rotate in opposite directions. And the first rotating part and the second rotating part rotate in opposite directions or rotate in opposite directions, and the rotating parts of the first rotating part and the second rotating part can rotate along the corresponding arc grooves, so that the stability and the reliability of the rotation of the first rotating part and the second rotating part are improved, and further the stability and the reliability of the opposite or opposite rotation of the first shell and the second shell are improved.

In one possible design, the folding device further comprises a synchronous gear assembly and a damping assembly, wherein the synchronous gear assembly comprises at least a first gear and a second gear which are meshed with each other, and the first gear and the second gear are respectively connected with the two rotating pieces; the damping assembly comprises a second elastic piece and a cam which is in butt joint with the second elastic piece, and the cam is positioned between the gear and the second elastic piece along the length direction of the main shaft;

along the length direction of main shaft, the cam has first unsmooth face, the gear has towards the second unsmooth face of cam, two the in-process of rotating relatively of rotor, the gear can rotate for the cam, so that first unsmooth face can with the meshing of second unsmooth face.

In this embodiment, the synchromesh gear subassembly is used for transmitting the motion between first rotating member and the second driving medium for folding device is folding and the in-process of expanding, first driving medium and second driving medium, first backup pad and second backup pad, first casing and second casing synchronous motion, specifically, along width direction Y of main shaft, intermeshing's first gear and second gear are connected with the first rotating member and the second rotating member of homonymy respectively, when first rotating member and/or, the second rotating member rotates, can drive first gear and second gear rotation, thereby improve folding device and electronic equipment stability and reliability at folding and the in-process of expanding.

The damping assembly is capable of maintaining the folding device in an unfolded state or a folded state, the damping assembly being configured to provide a first damping force to the first and second rotational members.

When the folding device is in the unfolded state, the damping assembly provides resistance to the opposite rotation of the first rotating member and the second rotating member, so that the folding device can be maintained in the unfolded state, and when the folding device needs to be switched from the unfolded state to the folded state, a user needs to apply driving forces capable of overcoming the first damping force to the first rotating member and the second rotating member, so that the first damping force can be overcome by the first rotating member and the second rotating member, and the folding device is switched to the folded state.

When the folding device is in a folded state, the damping assembly can provide a second damping force, the second damping force can act on the first rotating member and the second rotating member, so that resistance to the opposite rotation of the first rotating member and the second rotating member is provided, the folding device can be maintained in the folded state, and when the folding device needs to be switched from the folded state to the unfolded state, a user needs to apply a driving force capable of overcoming the second damping force to the first rotating member and the second rotating member, so that the first rotating member and the second rotating member can overcome the second damping force, and the folding device is switched to the unfolded state.

Meanwhile, the first rotating piece and the second rotating piece (in the process of opposite rotation or opposite rotation) of the folding device are folded or unfolded, and the damping component can also provide a third damping force, so that torque is provided for the unfolding and folding processes of the electronic equipment, and user experience in the unfolding and folding processes is improved.

The damping assembly comprises a second elastic piece and a cam, the cam and the gear are distributed along the length direction X of the main shaft, the cam is provided with a first concave-convex surface along the length direction X of the main shaft towards the end part of the gear, correspondingly, the gear is provided with a second concave-convex surface along the width direction Y of the main shaft towards the end part of the cam, and the first concave-convex surface and the second concave-convex surface can be meshed. The elastic deformation direction of the second elastic piece is parallel to the length direction X of the main shaft, the second elastic piece is positioned on one side of the cam, far away from the gear, along the length direction X of the main shaft, one end of the second elastic piece is connected with the cam, and the other end of the second elastic piece is connected with the fixing frame of the main shaft, namely, when the second elastic piece is elastically deformed, the elastic force along the length direction X of the main shaft can be applied to the cam.

A second aspect of the present application provides an electronic device comprising two housings, a flexible screen and a folding apparatus as described above; the two shells are positioned on two sides of the folding device, the shells are respectively connected with the rotating pieces positioned on the same side, and the flexible screen covers the folding device.

In this embodiment, electronic equipment is in the use, and folding device includes expansion state and folding state at least, and in this expansion state, first casing and second casing are located the coplanar roughly to make the flexible screen roughly be the plane, at this moment, the flexible screen exposes, and the user can operate the flexible screen, and the flexible screen can show information such as image or video, in order to realize big screen display, improve user's viewing experience. And when folding device is in the state of expanding, this first casing and second casing can rotate in opposite directions to drive this folding dress 1 and can follow the main shaft folding, in folding process, the one end that folding device was kept away from to first casing and second casing is close to each other, makes electronic equipment be in the state of folding, and electronic equipment is flexible screen infolding structure in this embodiment. At this folded condition, flexible screen is located the space that encloses after first casing and the folding of second casing, and at this moment, flexible screen is not naked, and the user can't operate flexible screen, and electronic equipment is convenient for accomodate and carry. When the folding device is in a folding state, the first shell and the second shell can rotate oppositely, so that the folding device is driven to be unfolded along the main shaft, and the electronic equipment is in an unfolding state. Therefore, in the present application, the folding device is used for folding and unfolding the electronic device.

In one possible design, the housing is provided with a second slide groove in the same side as the support plate, and the other is provided with a second slide part which is in sliding fit with the second slide part.

In this embodiment, the backup pad is installed behind the casing, and the second sliding part can pass the second spout and be connected with the casing, and when electronic equipment is folding or expanding the in-process, the second sliding part can slide along the second spout, and matched with second sliding part and second spout can play the guide effect, improves electronic equipment at folding and expanding in-process first casing and second casing pivoted reliability and stability.

In one possible design, the second sliding groove extends along the width direction of the main shaft, or the second sliding groove is arc-shaped.

In this application embodiment, the width direction distribution of main shaft is followed to two tip of this second spout, and the spout of connecting two tip is the arc, and first casing relative pivoted in-process, second sliding part can follow this curved second spout to slide. When this second spout is the arc, not only can improve electronic equipment in folding and expansion in-process first casing and second casing pivoted reliability and stability, can also reduce the risk that casing and backup pad card are dead.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the application.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an electronic device in one embodiment provided herein;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of the electronic device in FIG. 1, wherein the folding device is in a folded state;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the folding device of FIG. 1 in an electronic device;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of I in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the first elastic member in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the rotor of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the structure of the support plate and door panel of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the folding device of FIG. 1 mounted to a housing, with the folding device in an unfolded state;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of part of II in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2;

fig. 12 is an enlarged view of part of III in fig. 11.

Reference numerals:

1-a folding device;

11-a main shaft;

111-door panels;

112-a first chute;

113-an arc-shaped groove;

12-rotating member;

121-a first rotating member;

122-a second rotating member;

123-first bump;

124-a rotating part;

125-a connection;

13-a support plate;

131-a first support plate;

132-a second support plate;

133-second bump;

134-a first slide;

135-a second chute;

14-a first elastic member;

141-a bending part;

142-a connection;

2-an electronic device;

21-a housing;

211-a first housing;

212-a second housing;

213-a second slide;

214-a first groove;

215-a second groove;

22-flexible screen.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the application and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the application.

Detailed Description

For a better understanding of the technical solutions of the present application, embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In one embodiment, the present application is described in further detail below by way of specific embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The embodiment of the application provides a folding device, which is used for electronic equipment, wherein the electronic equipment comprises any equipment with a foldable screen function, such as a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer, a personal digital assistant (personal digital assistant, PDA), a notebook computer, a vehicle-mounted computer, a foldable display device, a foldable display screen, a wearable device and the like. The embodiment of the application does not limit the specific form of the electronic device, and for convenience of description, the electronic device is described by taking the electronic device as an example of a mobile phone, and the electronic device of the application is described by the specific embodiment.

As shown in fig. 1, the electronic apparatus 2 includes a folding device 1, a screen, a first housing 211, and a second housing 212, wherein the screen may be a flexible screen 22, and the flexible screen 22 is used for displaying images, videos, and the like. The specific type of the flexible screen 22 of the present application is not limited, and the flexible screen 22 may be an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display screen, which is an example, and a backlight module (back light module, BLM) is not required. Accordingly, when the substrate in the AMOLED display panel is made of a flexible resin material, such as polyethylene terephthalate (polyethylene terephthalate, PET), the AMOLED display panel can have a bendable property. By way of example, the flexible screen may also be an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display screen, a mini light-emitting diode (mini organic lightemitting diode) display screen, a mini light-emitting diode (micro organic light-emitting diode) display screen, a mini organic light-emitting diode (micro organic light-emitting diode) display screen, a quantum dot light-emitting diode (quantum dot light emitting diodes, QLED) display screen, or the like.

As shown in fig. 1, the first housing 211 and the second housing 212 are distributed at intervals, and the first housing 211 and the second housing 212 may also be a middle frame structure of the electronic device 2, where the first housing 211 and the second housing 212 are used for mounting components such as a battery, a circuit board, a camera, a headset, an earphone, a key, a battery, etc. of the electronic device 2, and the first housing 211 and the second housing 212 are also used for carrying the flexible screen 22, that is, the flexible screen 22 is fixedly connected (e.g. adhered) to the first housing 211 and the second housing 212, so that the flexible screen 22 is kept flat as much as possible during use, and a non-display surface of the flexible screen 22 is protected. The folding device 1 is located between the first housing 211 and the second housing 212 and is connected to the first housing 211 and the second housing 212, specifically, as shown in fig. 3, the first housing 211 is provided with a first groove 214, the second housing 212 is provided with a second groove 215, a part of the folding device 1 is mounted in the first groove 214, and another part is mounted in the second groove 215, and in some possible embodiments, the folding device 1 and the first groove 214 and the second groove 215 may be connected by a screw or the like.

In the use process of the electronic device 2, the folding apparatus 1 at least includes an unfolded state shown in fig. 1 and a folded state shown in fig. 2, in the unfolded state, the first housing 211 and the second housing 212 are located approximately on the same plane, so that the flexible screen 22 is approximately planar, at this time, the flexible screen 22 is exposed, a user can operate the flexible screen 22, and the flexible screen 22 can display information such as images or videos, so as to realize large-screen display, and improve the viewing experience of the user. When the folding device 1 is in the unfolded state, the first housing 211 and the second housing 212 can rotate in opposite directions, so as to drive the folding device 1 to fold along the main shaft 11, and in the folding process, one ends of the first housing 211 and the second housing 212, which are far away from the folding device 1, are close to each other, so that the electronic equipment 2 is in the folded state shown in fig. 2, and in this embodiment, the electronic equipment 2 is in an inward folded structure of the flexible screen 22. In this folded state, the flexible screen 22 is located in a space enclosed by the folded first housing 211 and the folded second housing 212, at this time, the flexible screen 22 is not exposed, the user cannot operate the flexible screen 22, and the electronic apparatus 2 is convenient to store and carry. When the folding device 1 is in the folded state, the first housing 211 and the second housing 212 can rotate oppositely, so as to drive the folding device 1 to unfold along the main shaft 11, and the electronic equipment 2 is in the unfolded state shown in fig. 1. Therefore, in the present application, the folding apparatus 1 is used to achieve folding and unfolding of the electronic device 2.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the structure illustrated in the embodiments of the present application does not constitute a specific limitation on the electronic device 2. In other possible embodiments of the present application, the electronic device 2 may include more components than illustrated, or certain components may be combined, or certain components may be split, or different arrangements of components.

In the folding or unfolding process of the folding device, in order to improve the service life and reliability of the flexible screen 2, the pulling and extrusion of the flexible screen 22 in the unfolding and folding processes needs to be reduced or eliminated, that is, the flexible screen 22 needs to be prevented from being pulled by external force in the unfolding process and from being extruded by external force in the folding process.

In order to solve this technical problem, as shown in fig. 3, the folding device 1 includes a main shaft 11, two rotating members 12, and two support plates 13, wherein the two rotating members 12 are disposed on both sides of the main shaft 11 in a width direction Y of the main shaft 11, and the two rotating members 12 are rotatable relative to each other to bring the folding device 1 into an unfolded state or a folded state, and the two support plates 13 are disposed on both sides of the main shaft 11 in the width direction Y of the main shaft 11.

In addition, the folding device 1 further includes at least two first elastic members 14, the at least two first elastic members 14 are disposed at both sides of the main shaft 11 in the width direction Y of the main shaft 11, and the first elastic members 14 are connected with the support plate 13 and the rotating member 12 at the same side; wherein, during the opposite rotation of the two rotating members 12, i.e. when the folding device 1 is switched from the folded state shown in fig. 2 to the unfolded state shown in fig. 1, the supporting plate 13 can move towards the main shaft 11, so that the supporting plate 13 and the rotating members 12 compress the first elastic member 14, and during the opposite rotation of the two rotating members 12, i.e. when the folding device 1 is switched from the unfolded state shown in fig. 1 to the folded state shown in fig. 2, the supporting plate 13 can move away from the main shaft 11 under the resilience force of the first elastic member 14.

In this embodiment, the folding device 1 forms an accommodating space after being folded, the folded portion of the flexible screen 22 is accommodated in the accommodating space, the rest is accommodated in the first housing 211 and the second housing 212, and in the process of switching the folding device 1 from the unfolded state shown in fig. 1 to the folded state shown in fig. 2, under the resilience force of the first elastic member 14, the supporting plate 13 is driven to be away from the main shaft 11, so that the accommodating space after the folding device 1 is increased, and therefore, enough space can be provided for accommodating the folded portion of the flexible screen 22 by the folding device 1 in the folded state, and the pulling and squeezing of the folded portion in the folding process of the folding device 1 are reduced, thereby reducing the risk of functional failure of the flexible screen 22.

Wherein the spindle 11 is fixed relative to the first housing 211 and the second housing 212 of the electronic device 2, and the folding apparatus 1 is folded or unfolded around the spindle 11, the extension direction of the spindle 11 is defined as the length direction X of the spindle 11, and in the electronic device 2 in the unfolded state (refer to fig. 1), the arrangement direction of the first housing 211 and the second housing 212 is defined as the width direction Y of the spindle 11, and the direction perpendicular to both the length direction X and the width direction Y of the spindle 11 is defined as the thickness direction Z of the spindle 11.

In a specific embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the first elastic member 14 is a metal elastic sheet, and the first elastic member 14 made of metal can have good ductility and elasticity, so that the first elastic member 14 is convenient to process and is convenient to realize elastic deformation.

The first elastic member 14 may be an integrally formed metal elastic sheet, so that the first elastic member 14 has good integrity, and structural stability of the first elastic member 14 is improved.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 5, the first elastic member 14 includes at least one bending portion 141, and the bending portion 141 is elastically deformable.

In this embodiment, when the two rotating members 12 rotate in opposite directions (from the folded state shown in fig. 2 to the unfolded state shown in fig. 1), the supporting plate 13 can move towards the main shaft 11, so that the supporting plate 13 and the rotating members 12 compress the first elastic member 14, and the bending angle of the bending portion 141 is gradually reduced under the action of pressure, that is, the first elastic member 14 is elastically deformed. When the two rotating members 12 rotate in opposite directions (from the unfolded state shown in fig. 1 to the folded state shown in fig. 2), the pressure applied by the supporting member 13 and the main shaft 11 to the first elastic member 14 is gradually reduced, so that the bending angle of the bending portion 141 of the first elastic member 14 is gradually increased, the first elastic member 14 releases the resilience force, and under the action of the resilience force of the first elastic member 14, the supporting plate 13 can move away from the main shaft 11, so that in the folded state, the accommodating space between the two supporting plates 13 and the main shaft 11 is increased, the folded portion of the flexible screen 22 can be accommodated, and meanwhile, the first elastic member 14 can also enable the supporting plate 13 to drive the flexible screen 22 away from the main shaft 11, so that friction damage between the folded portion of the flexible screen 22 and the main shaft 11 is avoided, and the service life of the flexible screen 22 is prolonged.

In addition, as shown in fig. 5, the first elastic member 14 may further include a connection portion 142, where the first elastic member 14 is fixedly connected to the rotating member 12 through the connection portion 142, and a manner of the fixed connection may be a manner of welding or the like, so as to improve stability of the first elastic member 14 in the folding device 1, and thus improve stability of the first elastic member 14 applying a resilience force to the support plate 13.

In one possible design, as shown in fig. 5, the cross section of the first elastic member 14 is one or more of V-shaped, W-shaped, N-shaped, and wave-shaped, that is, the number of the bending portions 141 in the first elastic member 14 may be one or more.

In this embodiment, the number of the bending portions 141 is increased to improve the resilience force of the first elastic member 14, so that the first elastic member 14 can drive the support plate 13 to be away from the main shaft 11 in the folding process of the folding device 1, and the flexible screen 22 is prevented from being pulled or extruded in the folding process.

In the above embodiments, the folding device 1 may include a plurality of first elastic members 14 along the length direction X of the main shaft 11, so that the resilience force of the first elastic members 14 received by each position of the support plate 13 along the length direction X of the main shaft 11 is relatively uniform, thereby improving the reliability and stability of the movement of the support plate 13. In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the folding device 1 may include four first elastic members 14, and two sets of the first elastic members are disposed on both sides of the main shaft 11 in the width direction Y.

In other embodiments, the first resilient member 14 may also be a spring.

In the above embodiments, as shown in fig. 6 and 7, the rotating member 12 is provided with the first projection 123 projecting in the length direction X of the main shaft 11, the support plate 13 is provided with the second projection 133 projecting in the thickness direction Z of the main shaft 11, and as shown in fig. 10, the first projection 123 and the second projection 133 have a gap in the width direction Y of the main shaft 11, and the first elastic member 14 is fitted in the gap.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 6 and 7, the first bump 123 and the second bump 133 facilitate connection between the first elastic member 14 and the support plate 13 and the rotating member 12, and the first bump 123 and the second bump 133 press the first elastic member 14 during the unfolding process of the folding device 1, and the resilience of the first elastic member 14 acts on the first bump 123 and the second bump 133 during the folding process.

In one possible design, as shown in fig. 7, the spindle 11 is provided with a door panel 111 for connection with the flexible screen 22, the door panel 111 is provided with a first slide groove 112, the support plate 13 is provided with a first slide 134, and the first slide 134 is slidable along the first slide groove 112.

In this embodiment, along the thickness direction Z of the main shaft 11, the door panel 111 is disposed above the main shaft 11, and the door panel 111 can be in the same plane with the first support plate 131 and the second support plate 132, so as to install the flexible screen 22, so that the flexible screen 22 is unfolded into a plane in the unfolded state, and can be completely exposed for convenient operation by a user.

When the electronic device 2 is changed from the folded state to the unfolded state, the first support plate 131 and the second support plate 132 are rotated in opposite directions, and in this process, the first support plate 131 and the second support plate 132 are moved close to the main shaft 11, that is, the first support plate 131 and the second support plate 132 are slid with respect to the main shaft 11, and the first sliding portion 134 of the support plate 13 is slid along the first sliding groove 112 of the main shaft 11, thereby improving the stability and reliability of the sliding of the support plate 13.

When the electronic device 2 is changed from the unfolded state to the folded state, the first support plate 131 and the second support plate 132 are rotated toward each other, and in this process, the first support plate 131 and the second support plate 132 are moved away from the main shaft 11, i.e., the first support plate 131 and the second support plate 132 slide with respect to the main shaft 11, and the first sliding portion 134 of the support plate 13 slides along the first sliding groove 112 of the main shaft 11, thereby improving the stability and reliability of the sliding of the support plate 13.

Therefore, in the present application, the first sliding groove 112 and the first sliding portion 134 facilitate the electronic device 2 to be more smooth in the process of transforming the form between the unfolding and folding, so that the user operation is smoother, the user experience is improved, and the reliability and stability of the sliding of the supporting plate 13 relative to the main shaft 11 are improved.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 4, the spindle 11 has an arc-shaped groove 113, the rotating member 12 includes a rotating portion 124 and a connecting portion 125, the outer contour of the rotating portion 124 is arc-shaped, the rotating portion 124 is engaged with the arc-shaped groove 113 and is capable of sliding along the arc-shaped groove 113, and the connecting portion 125 is used for connection with the housing 21 of the electronic apparatus 2.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 3 and 6, along the width direction Y of the spindle 11, the housing 21 includes a first housing 211 and a second housing 212, the first housing 211 located on the same side is connected with the connecting portion 125 of the first rotating member 121, and the second housing 212 located on the same side is connected with the connecting portion 125 of the second rotating member 122, so that when the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122 rotate in opposite directions or in opposite directions, the first housing 211 and/or the second housing 212 can be driven to rotate in opposite directions or in opposite directions. And in the process that the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122 rotate oppositely or rotate oppositely, the rotating parts of the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122 can rotate along the corresponding arc-shaped grooves 113, so that the stability and reliability of the rotation of the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122 are improved, and further the stability and reliability of the opposite or opposite rotation of the first shell 211 and the second shell 212 are improved.

In addition, the connection portion 125 may have a flat plate shape, so that connection with the support plate 13 and the housing 21 can be facilitated, and a contact area with the support plate and the housing 21 is large, thereby improving connection reliability between the rotation member 12 and the support plate 13 and the housing 21.

Wherein the central angle of the arc-shaped groove can be 90 degrees to 180 degrees.

In one possible design, the folding device 1 may further comprise a synchronizing gear assembly and a damping assembly (not shown in the figures), the synchronizing gear assembly comprising at least a first gear and a second gear, which are mutually meshed, the first gear and the second gear being connected to the two rotating members 12, respectively.

In this embodiment, the synchronizing gear assembly is used for transmitting the motion between the first rotating member 121 and the second transmitting member 122, so that the first transmitting member 121 and the second transmitting member 122, the first supporting plate 131 and the second supporting plate 132, the first housing 211 and the second housing 212 move synchronously in the folding and unfolding process of the folding device 1, specifically, the first gear and the second gear meshed with each other are respectively connected with the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122 on the same side along the width direction Y of the main shaft 11, and when the first rotating member 121 and/or the second rotating member 122 rotates, the first gear and the second gear can be driven to rotate, so that the stability and the reliability of the folding device 1 and the electronic device 2 in the folding and unfolding process are improved.

The damping assembly comprises a second elastic piece and a cam which is in butt joint with the second elastic piece, and the cam is positioned between the gear and the second elastic piece along the length direction X of the main shaft 11; along the length direction X of the spindle 11, the cam has a first concave-convex surface, and the gear has a second concave-convex surface facing the cam; during the relative rotation of the two rotating members 12, the gear can rotate relative to the cam so that the first concave-convex surface can be meshed with the second concave-convex surface.

In the present embodiment, the folding device 1 can be maintained in the unfolded state or the folded state by a damping assembly for providing the first damping force to the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122.

When the folding apparatus 1 is in the unfolded state, the damping assembly provides a resistance to the opposite rotation of the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122 so that the folding apparatus 1 can be maintained in the unfolded state, and when the folding apparatus 1 needs to be switched from the unfolded state to the folded state, a user needs to apply a driving force to the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122 that can overcome the first damping force so that the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122 can overcome the first damping force, thereby switching the folding apparatus 1 to the folded state.

When the folding device 1 is in the folded state, the damping assembly is capable of providing a second damping force, which is capable of acting on the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122, thereby providing a resistance to the opposite rotation of the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122, so that the folding device 1 can be maintained in the folded state, and when the folding device 1 needs to be switched from the folded state to the unfolded state, a user needs to apply a driving force to the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122, which is capable of overcoming the second damping force, so that the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122 are capable of overcoming the second damping force, thereby enabling the folding device 1 to be switched to the unfolded state.

Meanwhile, the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122 (in the process of rotating in opposite directions or rotating in opposite directions) of the folding device 1 in the folding or unfolding process can also provide a third damping force, so that torque is provided for the unfolding and folding processes of the electronic equipment 2, and user experience in the unfolding and folding processes is improved.

The damping assembly comprises a second elastic piece and a cam, the cam and the gear are distributed along the length direction X of the main shaft 11, the cam is provided with a first concave-convex surface along the length direction X of the main shaft 11 towards the end of the gear, correspondingly, the gear is provided with a second concave-convex surface along the width direction Y of the main shaft 11 towards the end of the cam, and the first concave-convex surface and the second concave-convex surface can be meshed.

The elastic deformation direction of the second elastic piece is parallel to the length direction X of the main shaft 11, and the second elastic piece is located on one side of the cam away from the gear, along the length direction X of the main shaft 11, one end of the second elastic piece is connected with the cam, and the other end of the second elastic piece is connected with the fixing frame of the main shaft 11, namely, when the second elastic piece is elastically deformed, elastic force along the length direction X of the main shaft 11 can be applied to the cam.

Specifically, in the process of meshing the first concave-convex surface of the cam with the second concave-convex surface of the gear, at least three conditions are included:

First, the convex surface of first concave-convex surface cooperates with the convex surface of second concave-convex surface, and at this moment, this cam moves towards the direction of corresponding second elastic component to compress second elastic component, make second elastic component have first deflection, and at this moment, second elastic component in compression state can exert first elastic force to the gear through the cam.

The second elastic member in a compressed state can apply a second elastic force to the gear through the cam, wherein the second elastic member has a second deformation amount, the second deformation amount is smaller than the first deformation amount, and the second elastic force is smaller than the first elastic force.

The third, the concave surface of first concave-convex surface cooperates with the concave surface of second concave-convex surface, and at this time, the second elastic member in compression state can exert the third elastic force to the gear through the cam, wherein, the second elastic member has the third deformation, and the third deformation is less than the first deformation, and is less than the second deformation, and the third elastic force is less than the first elastic force, and is less than the second elastic force.

In this embodiment, the magnitude of the damping force applied by the damping assembly is determined by the magnitude of the elastic force of the elastic member, and the gear can rotate along with the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122 in the process of rotating, so that the matching positions of the first concave-convex surface and the second concave-convex surface are changed, and the matching positions of the first concave-convex surface and the second concave-convex surface are switched in the above three cases.

In the first embodiment, the first case may be the case when the folding device 1 is in the folded state or the unfolded state, at this time, when the folding device 1 needs to be switched between the folded state and the unfolded state, the applied external force needs to overcome the first elastic force of the second elastic member, and the folding device 1 may be the second case or the third case in the process of being switched between the folded state and the unfolded state, that is, the damping assembly may provide the same damping force as the second elastic force or the third elastic force in the folding or unfolding process.

In the second embodiment, the second case may be the case when the folding device 1 is in the folded state or the unfolded state, and at this time, when the folding device needs to be switched between the folded state and the unfolded state, the applied external force needs to overcome the second elastic force of the second elastic member, and the third case may be the case when the folding device 1 is switched between the folded state and the unfolded state, that is, the damping assembly may provide the same magnitude of damping force as the third elastic force during the folding or the unfolding.

In addition, in the process of meshing the first concave-convex surface and the second concave-convex surface, the two inclined surfaces are matched, that is, the interaction force between the first concave-convex surface and the second concave-convex surface is along the inclined surface (concave surface or convex surface) perpendicular to the two inclined surfaces, and the interaction force acting on the inclined surface (concave surface or convex surface) can generate a component force for driving the gear to rotate, so that a driving force for driving the first rotating member 121 and the second rotating member 122 to rotate oppositely or reversely is generated, and the folding device 1 can be folded or unfolded automatically.

In other embodiments, the damping assembly may further comprise a friction plate (not shown) directly or indirectly coupled to the rotating member 12, the rotating member 12 rotating relative to the friction plate during rotation of the rotating member 12 relative to the main shaft 11 such that there is a friction force therebetween that acts to inhibit continued rotation of the rotating member 12, thereby maintaining the folding device 1 in an intermediate state between the unfolded state shown in fig. 1 and the folded state shown in fig. 2.

In one possible design, as shown in fig. 9-12, the housing 21 and the support plate 13 on the same side are provided with a second slide groove 135 on one side and a second slide portion 213 on the other side, the second slide groove 135 being in sliding engagement with the second slide portion 213; in a specific embodiment, the second sliding groove 135 extends along the width direction Y of the spindle 11, that is, the second sliding groove 135 in this embodiment is a linear structure extending along the width direction Y of the spindle.

In this embodiment, after the supporting plate 13 is mounted on the housing 21, as shown in fig. 9 and 11, the second sliding portion 213 can pass through the second sliding groove 135 to be connected with the housing 21, when the electronic device 2 is folded or unfolded, the second sliding portion 213 can slide along the second sliding groove 135, and the second sliding portion 213 and the second sliding groove 135 that are matched can play a guiding role, so as to improve the reliability and stability of rotation of the first housing 211 and the second housing 212 in the folding and unfolding process of the electronic device.

As shown in fig. 10, in the unfolded state, the second sliding portion 213 is located at an end of the second sliding groove 135 away from the main shaft 11, and during the folding process, the second sliding portion 213 slides relatively to the second sliding groove 135, and the support plate 13 moves away from the main shaft 11 along the width direction Y of the main shaft 11 under the guide of the second sliding portion 213, as shown in fig. 12, in the folded state, the second sliding portion 213 is located at a middle position of the second sliding groove 135, or the second sliding portion 213 is located at an end of the second sliding groove 135 away from the main shaft 11. At the same time, the second sliding portion 213 can restrict the movement of the support plate 13 in the thickness direction Z of the spindle 11, thereby improving the connection reliability of the support plate 13 and the housing 21.

In another embodiment, the second sliding groove 135 may be arc-shaped, and two ends of the second sliding groove 135 are distributed along the width direction Y of the main shaft 11, the sliding groove connecting the two ends is arc-shaped, and the second sliding portion 213 can slide along the arc-shaped second sliding groove 135 during the relative rotation of the first housing 211. When the second sliding groove 135 is arc-shaped, not only the reliability and stability of the rotation of the first housing 211 and the second housing 212 in the folding and unfolding process of the electronic device can be improved, but also the risk of the housing 21 and the supporting plate 13 being blocked can be reduced.

In the above embodiments, the electronic device 2 may include a plurality of second sliding portions 213 along the length direction X and the width direction Y of the spindle 11, so that the support plate 13 is guided by the second sliding portions 213 at each position along the length direction X and the width direction Y of the spindle 11, thereby improving the reliability and stability of the movement of the support plate 13. In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the electronic apparatus 2 may include eight second sliding portions 213, and four are arranged on both sides of the spindle 11 in the width direction Y.

The foregoing is merely a specific implementation of the embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the embodiments of the present application is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the embodiments of the present application should be covered by the scope of the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (11)

1. A folding device, the folding device comprising:

a main shaft;

the two rotating parts are arranged at two sides of the main shaft along the width direction of the main shaft, and the two rotating parts can rotate relatively so as to enable the folding device to be in an unfolding state or a folding state;

Two support plates arranged on both sides of the main shaft in a width direction of the main shaft;

the at least two first elastic pieces are arranged on two sides of the main shaft along the width direction of the main shaft, and the first elastic pieces are connected with the supporting plate and the rotating piece which are positioned on the same side;

the two rotating parts rotate oppositely, the supporting plate can move towards the main shaft, so that the supporting plate and the rotating parts compress the first elastic part, and the supporting plate can move away from the main shaft under the action of resilience force of the first elastic part in the process of rotating the two rotating parts oppositely.

2. The folding device of claim 1, wherein the first elastic member is a metal spring.

3. The folding device of claim 2, wherein the first elastic member includes at least one bend, the bend being elastically deformable.

4. A folding device according to claim 3, wherein the first elastic member has a cross section of one or more of V-shape, W-shape, N-shape, wave shape.

5. The folding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the rotating member is provided with a first projection projecting in a length direction of the main shaft, the support plate is provided with a second projection projecting in a thickness direction of the main shaft, the first projection and the second projection have a gap in a width direction of the main shaft, and the first elastic member is mounted in the gap.

6. Folding device according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that the spindle is provided with a door panel for connection with a flexible screen, the door panel being provided with a first chute, the support plate being provided with a first slide, the first slide being slidable along the first chute.

7. The folding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the main shaft has an arc-shaped groove, the rotating member includes a rotating portion having an outer contour of an arc shape, and a connecting portion for connecting with a housing of the electronic device, the rotating portion being engaged with and slidable along the arc-shaped groove.

8. The folding device of any one of claims 1-4, further comprising a synchronizing gear assembly and a damping assembly, the synchronizing gear assembly comprising at least a first gear and a second gear intermeshed, the first gear and the second gear being respectively connected to two of the rotating members; the damping assembly comprises a second elastic piece and a cam which is in butt joint with the second elastic piece, and the cam is positioned between the gear and the second elastic piece along the length direction of the main shaft;

Along the length direction of main shaft, the cam has first unsmooth face, the gear has towards the second unsmooth face of cam, two the in-process of rotating relatively of rotor, the gear can rotate for the cam, so that first unsmooth face can with the meshing of second unsmooth face.

9. An electronic device comprising two housings, a flexible screen and a folding apparatus according to any one of claims 1-8;

the two shells are positioned on two sides of the folding device, the shells are respectively connected with the rotating pieces positioned on the same side, and the flexible screen covers the folding device.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein one of the housing and the support plate on the same side is provided with a second slide groove, and the other is provided with a second slide portion, and the second slide groove is in sliding fit with the second slide portion.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the second chute extends in a width direction of the spindle or the second chute is arc-shaped.