CN113434010A

CN113434010A - Folding screen and portable electronic device

Info

Publication number: CN113434010A
Application number: CN202010209885.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 阙延洲; 陈俊贤; 何吉泰; 邹治恒; 温峻宏
Original assignee: Acer Inc
Current assignee: Acer Inc
Priority date: 2020-03-23
Filing date: 2020-03-23
Publication date: 2021-09-24
Anticipated expiration: 2040-03-23
Also published as: CN113434010B

Abstract

The invention provides a folding screen and a portable electronic device. The rotating shaft is connected with the first support and the second support, the third support is in threaded connection with the rotating shaft, and the fourth support is movably coupled with the second support and the third support, wherein the rotation of the rotating shaft drives the fourth support to move relative to the second support through the third support. The flexible screen is arranged on the first bracket and the fourth bracket. The flexible support is configured on the flexible screen and is flattened or bent along with the flexible screen, and the flexible support is filled in a space formed by the fourth bracket, the second bracket, the first bracket and the flexible screen.

Description

Folding screen and portable electronic device

Technical Field

The invention relates to a folding screen and a portable electronic device.

Background

With the advance of technology, flexible display technology has grown to maturity and is considered to have strong development potential. Generally, the flexible display technology includes electronic paper, flexible OLED, and the like. Furthermore, in response to the requirement of the portable electronic device for bending, folding, extending, etc., the flexible display technology is applied to the portable electronic device in many ways. Meanwhile, with the application of the flexible material in the field of electronic display, the electronic display equipment can display in a large area when being stretched and can be folded as required to be convenient to carry.

However, corresponding to the extension and folding of the device mechanism on the flexible display apparatus, the flexible display panel on the flexible display apparatus may also generate a change in shape and size due to its flexible characteristics, for example, because the flexible display panel may be bent (flattened) to different degrees and may be increased or decreased in length relative to the device mechanism. If the mechanism characteristics of the conventional electronic device are still used, not only the use is inconvenient, but also the display panel may be deviated from the original position, and the display panel may bulge, wrinkle or even fall off the mechanism. Moreover, the device mechanism further needs to consider the degree of adaptation with the flexible display panel, so that the flexible display panel in a bent or flattened state can be completely matched and supported by the device mechanism, and further the damage of the flexible display panel caused by improper design of the device mechanism during operation can be avoided.

Based on the above, there is a need to improve the related mechanisms of the existing flexible display device to meet the technical development trend and market demand.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention is directed to a foldable screen and an electronic device, which achieve better adaptation and support degree between a machine component and the foldable screen.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a foldable screen includes a first bracket, a second bracket, a rotating shaft, at least one third bracket, a fourth bracket, a flexible screen, and a flexible support. The rotating shaft is connected with the first support and the second support, the third support is in threaded connection with the rotating shaft, and the fourth support is movably coupled with the second support and the third support, wherein the rotation of the rotating shaft drives the fourth support to move relative to the second support through the third support. The flexible screen is arranged on the first bracket and the fourth bracket. The flexible support is configured on the flexible screen and is flattened or bent along with the flexible screen, and the flexible support is filled in a space formed by the fourth bracket, the second bracket, the first bracket and the flexible screen.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a foldable screen includes a first bracket, a second bracket, a rotating shaft, at least one third bracket, a fourth bracket, a flexible screen, and a supporting member. The rotating shaft is connected with the first support and the second support, and the first support and the second support are relatively rotated and opened and closed through the rotating shaft. The third support is in threaded connection with the rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft rotates to drive the third support to move along the rotating shaft. The fourth bracket is movably coupled to the second bracket and the third bracket. The flexible screen is arranged on the first bracket and the fourth bracket. The supporting member is movably disposed on the second bracket and coupled to the third bracket, wherein the rotation of the rotating shaft drives the fourth bracket and the supporting member to move relative to the second bracket through the third bracket.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the portable electronic device includes a host, a first hinge and a foldable screen. The first rotating shaft is connected between the host and the folding screen, the folding screen can be rotationally opened and closed relative to the host through the first rotating shaft, and the first rotating shaft is provided with a first gear. The foldable screen comprises a first support, at least one second support and at least one second rotating shaft. The second rotating shaft is connected with the first support and the second support, and the first support and the second support are relatively rotated and opened and closed through the second rotating shaft. The second rotating shaft is provided with a second gear meshed with the first gear. When the main frame and the foldable screen are relatively rotated and opened and closed through the first rotating shaft, the first rotating shaft drives the second rotating shaft through the first gear and the second gear, so that the second support is rotated and opened and closed relative to the first support.

Based on the above, the foldable screen is connected to the first support and the second support through the rotating shaft, the third support is screwed to the rotating shaft and coupled to the fourth support, so that in the process of opening and closing the first support and the second support through rotation of the rotating shaft, the third support is driven to move along the rotating shaft by the rotation of the rotating shaft, and further the fourth support is driven to move on the second support by the third support. Therefore, when the flexible screen is arranged on the first bracket and the fourth bracket, the local part of the flexible screen at the fourth bracket can move along with the fourth bracket, so that the size difference of the flexible screen caused by the conversion of the bending/flattening state can be compensated by the movement of the fourth bracket, thereby avoiding the occurrence of the situation of generating wrinkles and even falling off in the conversion process of bending or flattening.

Furthermore, when the fourth bracket is driven by the third bracket to reciprocate on the second bracket, a space is left between the first bracket and the second bracket after the fourth bracket is away from the rotating shaft, and the foldable screen of the embodiment can be further filled and compensated by the supporting piece or the flexible supporting piece, so that when the foldable screen is converted from the folded state to the flattened state, the space generated when the fourth bracket is away from the first bracket can be overcome, and therefore, the back surface of the flexible screen is not fixed on the first bracket and the fourth bracket, but is supported between the first bracket and the fourth bracket by the supporting piece or the flexible supporting piece, so as to avoid the possibility that the flexible screen is easily damaged by pressing operation because the flexible screen is not supported by the component.

In addition, the support applied to the flexible screen may be completed by disposing a movable member on the second bracket, or may be completed by disposing the flexible support on the flexible screen and moving the flexible support along with the flexible screen.

On the other hand, the portable electronic device using the foldable screen further uses the second rotating shaft of the foldable screen to be orthogonal to the first rotating shaft between the foldable screen and the host, so that when the foldable screen is converted between the folded state and the unfolded state relative to the host, the first gear on the first rotating shaft can be meshed with the second gear on the second rotating shaft, and accordingly, the foldable screen can perform corresponding rotating opening and closing actions.

Based on the above, the foldable screen and the portable electronic device both use the fourth bracket to move away from or close to the rotating shaft (or the first bracket) to provide a size compensation effect when the flexible screen is converted from bending to flattening, that is, the flexible screen can not be fixed at one position along with the telescopic movement of the body member, so that the flexible screen can be prevented from being buckled or even falling off during the deformation process. Moreover, the above-mentioned telescopic moving body component further fills up the space left after being unfolded (flattened) by the supporting component, and no matter the movable supporting component or the flexible supporting component, it can make the device component adapt to the deformation process of the flexible screen smoothly to facilitate the operation, and further provide sufficient supporting effect for the flexible screen.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a foldable screen according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a portion of the components of the folding screen of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a schematic view of a portion of the components of the folding screen of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3B is a partial cross-sectional view of the folding screen of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the foldable screen of FIG. 1 in another state;

FIG. 5A is a schematic view of a folding screen according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5B is a partial component schematic view of FIG. 5A;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are partial cross-sectional views of a foldable screen according to another embodiment of the present invention in different states;

fig. 7A is a schematic view of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram of a portion of the components of the portable electronic device of FIG. 7A;

fig. 7C is a schematic view of the portable electronic device in fig. 7A in another state.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a foldable screen according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2 is an exploded view of a portion of the components of the folding screen of fig. 1. The orthogonal coordinates X-Y-Z are provided herein for the component description. Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 2, in the present embodiment, the foldable screen 100 includes a first support 110, a second support 120, a rotating shaft 150, a third support 130, a fourth support 140, a flexible screen 160, and a flexible support 170, wherein the rotating shaft 150 connects the first support 110 and the second support 120, so that the first support 110 and the second support 120 can be opened and closed relatively by the rotating shaft 150. The third bracket 130 is screwed to the rotating shaft 150, and the rotating shaft 150 rotates to drive the third bracket 130 to move along the rotating shaft 150. The fourth frame 140 is movably coupled to the second frame 120 and the third frame 130, wherein the rotation of the shaft 150 drives the fourth frame 140 to move relative to the second frame 120 through the third frame 130. The flexible screen 160 is disposed on the first bracket 110 and the fourth bracket 140. The flexible support 170 is disposed on the flexible screen 160 and is flattened or bent along with the flexible screen 160.

Fig. 3A is a schematic view of a portion of the components of the folding screen of fig. 1. Fig. 3B is a partial cross-sectional view of the folding screen of fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a schematic view of the foldable screen of fig. 1 in another state. Referring to fig. 2, fig. 3A and fig. 4, in detail, the rotating shaft 150 has an external thread 151, and the third bracket 130 is located in the groove 122 of the second bracket 120 and has an internal thread hole 131 adapted to the external thread 151, so that when the rotating shaft 150 rotates on the X axis, the third bracket 130 is driven to move along the X axis in the groove 122. Furthermore, the third frame 130 has a guiding column 132, and the fourth frame 140 is coupled to the guiding portion 121 of the second frame 120 through a guiding portion 142 to facilitate moving on the second frame 120 along the Y-axis, and the fourth frame 140 has a guiding slot 141, so that the guiding column 132 of the third frame 130 is movably coupled to the guiding slot 141.

Here, the guide groove 141 is inclined with respect to the moving axial direction (i.e., X axis) of the third holder 130 (i.e., also inclined with respect to the rotation shaft 150), and the guide groove 141 is also inclined with respect to the moving axial direction (i.e., Y axis) of the fourth holder 140. In this way, the movement pattern of the third frame 130 moving along the X axis can be converted into the movement pattern of the fourth frame 140 moving along the Y axis through the fitting and guiding relationship between the guiding columns 132 and the guiding slots 141, that is, the movement axis direction of the third frame 130 and the movement axis direction of the fourth frame 140 are orthogonal to each other, and the conversion of the movement axis direction is achieved by the guiding slots 141 and the guiding columns 132.

Based on the above, when the rotating shaft 150 rotates around the X-axis, the fourth bracket 140 can be driven by the third bracket 130 to move along the second bracket 120, such as the guiding post 132 moving from the end E1 at the guiding slot 141 shown in fig. 3A to the end E2 of the guiding slot 141 shown in fig. 4. In other words, the relative rotation of the first frame 110 and the second frame 120 through the rotation shaft 150 can cause the fourth frame 140 to move linearly relative to the second frame 120 (and along the Y-axis).

Accordingly, please refer to fig. 1, fig. 3A and fig. 4, wherein fig. 1 and fig. 3A show the foldable screen 100 in a folded state, the second bracket 120 and the first bracket 110 are folded together, the fourth bracket 140 is also completely overlapped on the second bracket 120, and the flexible screen 160 is in a folded state. In contrast, when the first bracket 110 and the second bracket 120 are rotated and unfolded relatively through the rotating shaft 150, the first bracket 110 does not overlap the second bracket 120 and flattens the flexible screen 160, and the fourth bracket 140 moves relative to the second bracket 120 and partially protrudes from the second bracket 120 to make the two not completely overlapped. On the contrary, when the foldable screen 100 is converted from the flat state to the folded state by the flexible screen 160, the fourth bracket 140 is restored from the state shown in fig. 4 to the state shown in fig. 3A.

The relative movement between the third bracket 130 and the fourth bracket 140 is due to the size difference when the flexible screen 160 is converted into the flat state due to the influence of the inner diameter and the outer diameter of the bent portion in the bent state, so that the fourth bracket 140 needs to be moved away from the rotating shaft 150 (which is equivalent to being moved away from the first bracket 110) relatively to protrude out of the second bracket 120 to compensate the size difference, thereby preventing the flexible screen 160 from being folded or even falling off from the component when converted from the bent state to the flat state due to the existing fixed structure. In other words, if the flexible screen 160 is disposed on the first support 110 and the second support 120, since the two supports do not generate relative displacement during the process of rotating, opening and closing, when the flexible screen 160 is converted from the bending state to the flattening state, a wrinkle will be generated between the first support 110 and the second support 120, and even the flexible screen 160 falls off.

It should be noted that the coupling form of the third bracket 130 and the fourth bracket 140 is not limited herein, and in another embodiment not shown, the third bracket may be provided with a guide slot instead, and the fourth bracket may be provided with a guide post instead.

In addition, it should be noted that, in order to structurally respond to the relative movement between the third bracket 130 and the fourth bracket 140 when the flexible screen 160 is in the flat state, a space is left between the first bracket 110 and the fourth bracket 140 away from the rotating shaft, so that the present embodiment provides the flexible support 170 as a compensation structure.

Further, referring to fig. 3B and fig. 4, the flexible support 170 is disposed on the back surface of the flexible screen 160 and moves therewith, so that the foldable screen 100 is in the folded state shown in fig. 3B, when the fourth bracket 140 moves close to the rotating shaft 150, the flexible support 170 bends with the flexible screen 160 to partially surround the rotating shaft 150, and the flexible support 170 is substantially filled in the U-shaped space SP1 formed by the fourth bracket 140, the second bracket 120, the first bracket 110 and the flexible screen 160, so that the surface S1 of the first bracket 110, the surface S2 of the fourth bracket 140 and the surface S3 of the flexible support 170 form the same surface, and in this state, the flexible support 170 is a U-shaped surface.

In contrast, when the foldable screen 100 is converted to the unfolded state shown in fig. 4, the flexible support 170 is flattened as the flexible screen 160 is unfolded, and since the fourth support 140 is relatively moved away from the rotating shaft 150 and the first support 110, therefore, the flexible support 170 is also pulled along the positive Y-axis direction (as shown in fig. 4) by the fourth frame 140 along with the flexible screen 160, and the pulled position is located between the first support 110 and the fourth support 140, which is equivalent to filling the space SP2 left by the fourth support 140 moving away from the rotating shaft 150, therefore, the flexible screen 160 can be considered to be filled in the space formed by the fourth frame 140, the second frame 120, the first frame 110 and the flexible screen at this time, and surface S1 of first leg 110, surface S2 of fourth leg 140 and surface S3 of flexible support 170 form a plane, which is parallel to the X-Y plane in the state shown in fig. 4.

In this embodiment, the flexible supporting member 170 may be made of elastic and flexible materials, such as foam, teflon, silica gel, rubber, etc., or may be made of a flexible magnet, so as to facilitate the flexible screen 160 to be easily stored in the space SP1 as the flexible screen 160 is converted between the bending state and the flattening state, and to be easily filled in the space SP2 during flattening to serve as a supporting structure of the flexible screen 160. In addition, the flexible support 170 of the present embodiment may also be an integral structure with the flexible screen 160, that is, the flexible support 170 may be attached to the flexible screen 160 in a thin film structure, or share the flexible substrate with the flexible screen 160, or be manufactured together with the flexible substrate.

Fig. 5A is a schematic diagram of a foldable screen according to another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 5B is a partial component schematic view of fig. 5A. Referring to fig. 5A and 5B, in the present embodiment, the foldable screen 200 includes a first bracket 210, a second bracket 220,

third brackets

230A and 230B, a fourth bracket 240, a rotating shaft 250, a flexible screen 160 and a flexible support 170, where the flexible screen 160 and the flexible support 170 are completely the same as those of the previous embodiment, and the first bracket 210 and the second bracket 220 are similar to the first bracket 110 and the second bracket 120 and are not repeated. Different from the previous embodiments, the present embodiment uses a pair of

third brackets

230A and 230B to cooperate with the rotating shaft 250 and the fourth bracket 240 to complete the same operation mode as the previous embodiments.

Further, the rotating shaft 250 of the present embodiment has

external threads

251A, 251B with opposite spiral directions to correspond to the internal thread hole 231A of the third bracket 230A and the internal thread hole 231B of the third bracket 230B, respectively. Meanwhile, the fourth bracket 240 has guiding

slots

241A, 241B with opposite inclination directions, wherein the guiding pin of the third bracket 230A is coupled to the guiding slot 241A, and the guiding pin of the third bracket 230B is coupled to the guiding slot 241B. Accordingly, as shown in fig. 5B, when the rotating shaft 250 rotates around the X-axis, the

third brackets

230A and 230B can be driven to move relatively to each other to move closer to or away from each other, and the fourth bracket 240 can also achieve the same moving mode as the previous embodiment by matching with the guiding

grooves

241A and 241B in different directions. In the above embodiments, the number and the moving mode of the third brackets can be appropriately adjusted according to the requirement, and therefore, the inclined state of the guiding slot is correspondingly adjusted, so that the fourth brackets can achieve the same moving mode.

Fig. 6A and 6B are partial cross-sectional views of a foldable screen according to another embodiment of the present invention in different states. Please refer to fig. 6A and fig. 6B, it should be noted that in this embodiment, similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 5A and fig. 5B, a pair of guiding slots 341 with different inclination angles are provided for the pair of

third brackets

330A and 330B corresponding to the fourth bracket 340 (a pair of guiding posts 332 are correspondingly coupled to the guiding slots 341), so that the motion relationship between the first bracket 310, the second bracket 320, the

third brackets

330A and 330B and the fourth bracket 340 can be known from the embodiments shown in fig. 5A and fig. 5B and fig. 1 to fig. 4, and will not be repeated herein.

Unlike the previous embodiments, in the present embodiment, the support 350 replaces the flexible support 170, and herein, the support 350 is movably disposed on the second bracket 320 and coupled to the

third brackets

330A and 330B, where the rotation of the rotation shaft drives the fourth bracket 340 through the

third brackets

330A and 330B, as can be seen from the embodiments shown in fig. 5A and 5B, and the

third brackets

330A and 330B of the present embodiment can further drive the support 350 to move relative to the second bracket 320.

Further, the supporting member 350 has a guiding groove RL, a part of the guiding groove RL is inclined with respect to the moving axial direction of the

third brackets

330A, 330B, and the

third brackets

330A, 330B have a guiding column 331 movably coupled to the guiding groove RL. In this embodiment, the supporting member 350 has a plurality of guiding grooves RL, and each of the guiding grooves RL has a first section 351 and a second section 352, wherein the first section 351 is parallel to the moving axial direction of the

third brackets

330A, 330B, and the second section 352 is inclined relative to the moving axial direction of the

third brackets

330A, 330B, so that when the guiding column 331 moves along the second section 352, the

third brackets

330A, 330B can drive the supporting member 350 to move relative to the second bracket 320. In the folded state shown in fig. 6A, guide post 331 is located at first segment 351, and in the unfolded state shown in fig. 6B, guide post 331 has moved to second segment 352. Furthermore, the motion path of the supporting member 350 on the second frame 320 is different from but intersects with the motion path of the fourth frame 340 on the second frame 320.

When the folded state shown in fig. 6A is compared with the unfolded (flattened) state shown in fig. 6B, the

third brackets

330A and 330B are moved away from each other due to the rotation of the rotating shaft in the process of converting from fig. 6A to fig. 6B, and further the fourth bracket 340 is driven to move away from the rotating shaft, which is shown in fig. 5A and fig. 5B and will not be described again. The second guide post 331 is thus moved from the first section 351 to the second section 352 at the same time as the

third supports

330A, 330B are moved and cause the fourth support 340 to move away. Accordingly, during the relative rotation and unfolding of the first bracket 310 and the second bracket 320, the fourth bracket 340 moves away from the rotation shaft to create a space and thus expose the supporting member 350. Then, the guiding column 331 moves from the first section 351 to the second section 352, so that the

third supports

330A and 330B drive the supporting member 350 to ascend and move to the space left by the fourth support 340 moving away. In contrast, during the process of closing the first support 310 and the second support 320 by rotating relatively (from fig. 6B to fig. 6A), the guiding column 331 moves from the second section 352 to the first section 351, so that the

third supports

330A and 330B drive the support 350 to descend and move away from the space, and then the fourth support 340 can move close to the rotating shaft and cover (shield) the support 350.

Based on the above, the present embodiment is changed to a movable supporting member, which is movably disposed on the second frame 320, and by the sectional design (the first section 351 and the second section 352) that the guiding groove RL has different slopes, the effect that the

third frames

330A and 330B can simultaneously drive the fourth frame 340 and the supporting member 350 is successfully achieved, so that the moving paths of the fourth frame 340 and the supporting member 350 on the second frame 320 are different, orthogonal, but intersect with each other, and the intersection is the space left after the fourth frame 340 moves away from the rotating shaft, so that the supporting member 350 filled in the space can form the same plane with the fourth frame 340 and the first frame 310, thereby achieving the requirement of supporting the flexible screen.

In view of the above, the flexible supports and the supporting members shown in fig. 1 to 6B are used to fill the spaces between the fourth frame, the second frame, the first frame and the flexible screen, so as to correspond to the space left after the fourth frame is removed and serve as a support for the flexible screen.

Fig. 7A is a schematic view of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 7B is a schematic diagram of a portion of the components of the portable electronic device of fig. 7A. Fig. 7C is a schematic view of the portable electronic device in fig. 7A in another state. Referring to fig. 7A to 7C, in the present embodiment, the portable electronic device 400 includes a host 410, a foldable screen 430 and a first rotating shaft 420, wherein the first rotating shaft 420 is connected between the host 410 and the foldable screen 430, the foldable screen 430 is opened and closed by rotating relative to the host 410 through the first rotating shaft 420, and the first rotating shaft 420 has a first gear 421. The foldable screen 430 is similar to the

foldable screen

100 or 200, and includes a first support 431, a second support 432, a third support 433, a fourth support 434, a second rotating shaft 435, and a flexible screen 436, wherein the second rotating shaft 435 connects the first support 431 and the second support 432, the first support 431 and the second support 432 are relatively rotated and opened and closed through the second rotating shaft 435, the second rotating shaft 435 has a second gear 435a engaged with the first gear 421, and the first gear 421 is orthogonal to the second gear 435a, i.e., the first gear 421 is coaxially disposed with the first rotating shaft 420 (with the shaft L1 as its rotation center), and the second gear 435a is coaxially disposed with the second rotating shaft 435 (with the shaft L2 as its rotation center).

Accordingly, the main frame 410 and the foldable screen 430 can be relatively rotated to open and close through the first rotating shaft 420, and the first rotating shaft 420 drives the second rotating shaft 435 through the first gear 421 and the second gear 435a, so that the second support 432 is rotated to open and close relative to the first support 431, and the opening and closing of the foldable screen 430 can be linked with the opening and closing relative to the main frame 410. Here, a pair of second brackets 432, a pair of third brackets 433, a pair of fourth brackets 434 and a pair of second rotating shafts 435 are disposed at opposite sides of the first bracket 431, and the flexible screen 436 is disposed on the first bracket 431 and the two fourth brackets 434, so that when the foldable screen 436 is folded as shown in fig. 7A, a pair of parts of the flexible screen 436 is accommodated in the two opposite recesses 431a at the back side of the first bracket 431 along with the folding of the second brackets 432, the third brackets 433 and the fourth brackets 434, so that a user applies a force to the first bracket 431, and the foldable screen 430 rotates and unfolds relative to the main frame 410 through the first rotating shaft 420, as shown in fig. 7C, the pair of fourth brackets 434 and the first bracket 431 are coplanar and unfolds the flexible screen 436. Of course, in another embodiment not shown, only the first support 431 and one of the second support 432, the third support 433 and the fourth support 434 may be present, so that the flexible screen is disposed on the first support 431 and the one of the fourth support 434.

It should be noted that the support 350 or the flexible support 170 of the foregoing embodiments are not described in detail in this embodiment, because the operation mode of the foldable screen 430 of this embodiment, as in the foregoing embodiments, also provides a size compensation effect for the flexible screen 436 by moving the fourth support 434 away from the second rotating shaft 435 in the process of converting from the folded state to the unfolded state, so that the flexible support 170 shown in fig. 1 to 5B or the support 350 shown in fig. 6A and 6B can be practically applied according to the requirement, which can fill the space left after the fourth support 434 is moved away, so as to achieve the effect that the flexible screen 436 can be completely supported by the structural members (the first support 431, the fourth support 434 and the support).

In summary, in the above embodiments of the invention, the foldable screen and the portable electronic device both use the fourth support to move away from or close to the rotating shaft (or the first support) to provide a size compensation effect when the flexible screen is converted from bending to flattening, that is, the flexible screen can move along with the extension and contraction of the body member and is not fixed at one position, so that the flexible screen can be prevented from being buckled or even falling off during the deformation process. Moreover, the above-mentioned telescopic moving body component further fills up the space left after being unfolded (flattened) by the supporting component, and no matter the movable supporting component or the flexible supporting component, it can make the device component adapt to the deformation process of the flexible screen smoothly to facilitate the operation, and further provide sufficient supporting effect for the flexible screen.

In addition, the rotating shaft of the foldable screen is matched with the other rotating shaft corresponding to the host machine, namely, the two rotating shafts are mutually meshed through the gears which are orthogonal to each other, so that the foldable screen can also correspondingly rotate to open and close in the process of opening and closing relative to the host machine, a display surface with a larger range is further provided for the portable electronic device, and the development of the screen view field of the portable electronic device is facilitated.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used for illustrating the technical solutions of the present invention, and not for limiting the same; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention; and the modifications or the substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A foldable screen, comprising:

a first bracket;

a second bracket;

the rotating shaft is connected with the first support and the second support, and the first support and the second support are relatively rotated and opened and closed through the rotating shaft;

the rotating shaft rotates to drive the third support to move along the rotating shaft;

a fourth bracket movably coupled to the second bracket and the third bracket, wherein rotation of the shaft drives the fourth bracket to move relative to the second bracket via the third bracket;

a flexible screen disposed on the first support and the fourth support; and

a flexible support disposed on the flexible screen and flattened or bent along with the flexible screen, wherein the flexible support is filled in a space formed by the fourth bracket, the second bracket, the first bracket and the flexible screen.

2. A foldable screen according to claim 1, wherein the axis of movement of the third support is orthogonal to the axis of movement of the fourth support, the third support having a guide slot or post and the fourth support having at least one guide post or slot, the post being movably coupled to the slot, the slot being inclined with respect to the axis of movement of the third support and the slot being inclined with respect to the axis of movement of the fourth support.

3. The foldable screen of claim 1, wherein when the first and second supports are rotated relative to each other to unfold, the fourth support is moved away from the rotating shaft, the flexible support is flattened along with the flexible screen, when the first and second supports are rotated relative to each other to close, the fourth support is moved close to the rotating shaft, and the flexible support is bent along with the flexible screen and surrounds a part of the rotating shaft.

4. The foldable screen of claim 1, wherein the fourth frame moves closer to the rotation shaft to completely overlap the second frame when the first frame and the second frame are rotated relatively to close, and moves away from the rotation shaft to partially overlap the second frame when the first frame and the second frame are rotated relatively to expand, and the flexible support fills a space left by the fourth frame moving away from the rotation shaft.

5. The foldable screen of claim 1, wherein the first frame, the flexible support and the fourth frame form a same surface, the surface is planar when the first frame and the second frame are relatively rotated to unfold the screen, and the surface is a U-shaped surface surrounding the rotation axis when the first frame and the second frame are relatively rotated to close the screen.

6. The foldable screen of claim 1, wherein the flexible support is a unitary structure with the flexible screen.

7. A folding screen, comprising:

a first bracket;

a second bracket;

a fourth bracket movably coupled to the second bracket and the third bracket;

a flexible screen disposed on the first support and the fourth support; and

and a support movably disposed on the second bracket and coupled to the third bracket, wherein rotation of the shaft drives the fourth bracket and the support to move relative to the second bracket through the third bracket, respectively.

8. A foldable screen according to claim 7, wherein the axis of movement of the third bracket is orthogonal to the axis of movement of the fourth bracket, the third bracket having a first guide slot or a first guide post, and the fourth bracket having at least a first guide post or a first guide slot, the first guide post being movably coupled to the first guide slot, the first guide slot being inclined with respect to the axis of movement of the third bracket and the first guide slot being inclined with respect to the axis of movement of the fourth bracket.

9. The foldable screen of claim 7, wherein the support has a second guide slot, a portion of the second guide slot being inclined with respect to a moving axis of the third bracket, the third bracket having a second guide post movably coupled to the second guide slot.

10. A foldable screen according to claim 9, wherein said second guide channel has a first section parallel to the axis of movement of said third support and a second section inclined with respect to the axis of movement of said third support, said second guide post being movable along said second section to cause said third support to drive said support member to move with respect to said second support.

11. The foldable screen of claim 10, wherein the first and second brackets are closed relative to each other to bend the flexible screen, the second guiding post is located at the first segment, the fourth bracket completely overlaps the second bracket and shields the supporting member, the first and second brackets are unfolded relative to each other to flatten the flexible screen, the second guiding post is located at the second segment, the fourth bracket partially overlaps the second bracket and exposes the supporting member, and the fourth bracket, the supporting member and the first bracket are coplanar to support the flexible screen.

12. The foldable screen of claim 10, wherein during the relative rotation and unfolding of the first frame and the second frame, the fourth frame moves away from the rotation shaft to form a space, the second guiding pillar moves from the first section to the second section, such that the third frame drives the supporting member to move to the space, and during the relative rotation and closing of the first frame and the second frame, the second guiding pillar moves from the second section to the first section, such that after the third frame drives the supporting member to move away from the space, the fourth frame moves closer to the rotation shaft and covers the supporting member.

13. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a host;

a first rotating shaft;

a foldable screen connected between the main frame and the foldable screen, the foldable screen being rotatably opened and closed with respect to the main frame by the first hinge, the first hinge having a first gear, the foldable screen comprising:

a first bracket;

at least one second support; and

at least one second rotating shaft connected to the first and second supports, the first and second supports being relatively rotated and opened and closed by the second rotating shaft, the second rotating shaft having a second gear engaged with the first gear,

when the host and the foldable screen are relatively rotated and opened and closed through the first rotating shaft, the first rotating shaft drives the second rotating shaft through the first gear and the second gear, so that the second support is rotated and opened and closed relative to the first support.

14. The portable electronic device of claim 13, wherein the first gear is orthogonal to the second gear.

15. The portable electronic device of claim 13, wherein the foldable screen further comprises:

at least one third bracket in threaded connection with the second rotating shaft, wherein the second rotating shaft rotates to drive the third bracket to move along the second rotating shaft;

a fourth bracket movably coupled to the second bracket and the third bracket, wherein rotation of the second shaft drives the fourth bracket to move relative to the second bracket to move closer to or away from the second shaft via the third bracket; and

a flexible screen disposed on the first support and the fourth support, wherein the relative rotation of the first support and the second support opens and closes to flatten or bend the flexible screen.

16. The portable electronic device of claim 15, wherein a moving axis of the third bracket is orthogonal to a moving axis of the fourth bracket, the third bracket has a first guiding slot or a first guiding column, and the fourth bracket has at least one first guiding column or a first guiding slot, the first guiding column is movably coupled to the first guiding slot, the first guiding slot is inclined with respect to the moving axis of the third bracket, and the first guiding slot is inclined with respect to the moving axis of the fourth bracket.

17. The portable electronic device of claim 15, further comprising:

a flexible support disposed on the flexible screen and spreading or bending along with the flexible screen, wherein the flexible support is filled in a space formed by the fourth support, the second support, the first support and the flexible screen, the first support, the flexible support and the fourth support form a same surface, the surface is a plane when the first support and the second support are relatively rotated and unfolded, and the surface is a U-shaped surface surrounding the rotating shaft when the first support and the second support are relatively rotated and closed.

18. The portable electronic device of claim 15, further comprising:

the support is movably arranged on the second bracket and coupled to the third bracket, wherein the rotation of the second rotating shaft drives the support to move relative to the second bracket through the third bracket, the support is provided with a second guide groove, a part of the second guide groove is inclined relative to the moving axial direction of the third bracket, and the third bracket is provided with a second guide column movably coupled to the second guide groove.

19. The portable electronic device of claim 18, wherein the second guiding slot has a first section and a second section, the first section is parallel to a moving axis of the third frame, the second section is inclined with respect to the moving axis of the third frame, the second guiding post moves along the second section to enable the third frame to drive the support to move with respect to the second frame, when the first frame and the second frame are closed relatively to bend the flexible screen, the second guiding post is located at the first section, the fourth frame completely overlaps the second frame and shields the support, when the first frame and the second frame are unfolded relatively to flatten the flexible screen, the second guiding post is located at the second section, the fourth frame partially overlaps the second frame and exposes the support, and the fourth bracket, the support and the first bracket are coplanar to support the flexible screen.

20. The portable electronic device of claim 18, wherein the path of movement of the support member on the second stand and the path of movement of the fourth stand on the second stand are distinct from but intersect each other.