CN113434010B

CN113434010B - Folding screen and portable electronic device

Info

Publication number: CN113434010B
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: 2023-05-30
Anticipated expiration: 2040-03-23
Also published as: CN113434010A

Abstract

The invention provides a folding screen and a portable electronic device. The rotating shaft is connected with the first bracket and the second bracket, the third bracket is in threaded connection with the rotating shaft, the fourth bracket is movably coupled with the second bracket and the third bracket, and the rotation of the rotating shaft drives the fourth bracket to move relative to the second bracket through the third bracket. The flexible screen is arranged on the first bracket and the fourth bracket. The flexible supporting piece is configured on the flexible screen and is flattened or bent along with the flexible screen, and the flexible supporting piece 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 progress of technology, flexible display technology is gradually developed and is considered to have great development potential. In general, flexible display technology includes electronic paper, flexible OLED, and the like. Furthermore, flexible display technology is widely used in portable electronic devices in response to the requirements of the portable electronic devices for functions such as bending, folding, stretching, etc. on the display devices. Meanwhile, with the application of flexible materials in the field of electronic display, the electronic display device can be displayed in a larger 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 correspondingly change in shape and size due to its flexible characteristics, for example, the flexible display panel may be increased or decreased by a length relative to the device mechanism due to different degrees of bending (flattening). If the design is still made by the mechanism characteristics of the existing electronic device, not only the use is inconvenient, but also the display panel may deviate from the original position, and the situation of bulge, fold or even falling off from the mechanism may be caused. Furthermore, the device mechanism needs to further consider the degree of adaptation with the flexible display panel, so that the flexible display panel in a bending or flattening state can be completely matched and supported by the device mechanism, and further damage to the flexible display panel during operation due to improper design of the device mechanism is avoided.

Based on the foregoing, there is a need in the art for improvements in the related mechanisms of existing flexible display devices to accommodate the technological trends and market demands.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to a folding screen and an electronic device that achieve a better fit and support between the machine member and the folding screen.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a folding 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 bracket and the second bracket, the third bracket is in threaded connection with the rotating shaft, the fourth bracket is movably coupled with the second bracket and the third bracket, and the rotation of the rotating shaft drives the fourth bracket to move relative to the second bracket through the third bracket. The flexible screen is arranged on the first bracket and the fourth bracket. The flexible supporting piece is configured on the flexible screen and is flattened or bent along with the flexible screen, and the flexible supporting piece 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 folding 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 bracket and the second bracket, and the first bracket and the second bracket are opened and closed in a relative rotation way 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 support piece is movably arranged on the second bracket and is coupled with the third bracket, wherein the rotation of the rotating shaft drives the fourth bracket and the support piece to move relative to the second bracket respectively through the third bracket.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a portable electronic device includes a host, a first rotating shaft and a folding screen. The first rotating shaft is connected between the host machine and the folding screen, the folding screen is rotated and opened and closed relative to the host machine through the first rotating shaft, and the first rotating shaft is provided with a first gear. The folding screen comprises a first bracket, at least one second bracket and at least one second rotating shaft. The second rotating shaft is connected with the first bracket and the second bracket, and the first bracket and the second bracket are relatively rotated to open and close through the second rotating shaft. The second rotating shaft is provided with a second gear which is meshed with the first gear. When the host and the folding screen are opened and closed relatively 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 bracket is opened and closed relatively to the first bracket.

Based on the above, the folding screen is connected to the first bracket and the second bracket through the rotating shaft, the third bracket is screwed to the rotating shaft and coupled to the fourth bracket, so that the third bracket is driven to move along the rotating shaft by the rotating action of the rotating shaft in the rotating and opening and closing process of the first bracket and the second bracket through the rotating shaft, and the third bracket is further driven to move on the second bracket by the fourth bracket. Therefore, when the flexible screen is arranged on the first bracket and the fourth bracket, the part of the flexible screen at the fourth bracket can move along with the fourth bracket, so that the flexible screen is derived from the size difference caused by the conversion of the bending/flattening state, and the size compensation can be obtained by the movement of the fourth bracket, thereby avoiding the occurrence of the situation that the flexible screen is wrinkled or even falls 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 far 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 the space generated by the fact that the fourth bracket is far away from the first bracket can be overcome when the foldable screen is converted from a folded state to a flattened state, and the back surface of the flexible screen is also supported between the first bracket and the fourth bracket by the supporting piece or the flexible supporting piece besides being fixed on the first bracket and the fourth bracket, so that the possibility that the flexible screen is easy to be damaged by pressing operation due to the fact that the flexible screen is not supported by a component is avoided.

The support member applied to the flexible screen may be a movable member provided on the second bracket, or may be a flexible support member disposed on the flexible screen and movable therewith.

On the other hand, the portable electronic device using the folding screen further utilizes the second rotating shaft of the folding screen to be orthogonal to the first rotating shaft between the folding screen and the host, so that when the folding screen is converted between the folding state and the unfolding state relative to the host, the first gear on the first rotating shaft is meshed with the second gear on the second rotating shaft, and the corresponding rotary opening and closing actions of the folding screen can be achieved.

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 place along with the telescopic movement of the body member, so that the possible crease and even falling of the flexible screen in the deformation process can be avoided. Furthermore, the body member can further fill the space left after being unfolded (flattened) by the support member, and the device member can be smoothly adapted to the deformation process of the flexible screen to facilitate operation, thereby providing sufficient supporting effect for the flexible screen.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a folding 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 folding 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 schematic view of a portion of the components of FIG. 5A;

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

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

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

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

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of the present 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 view of a folding screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is an exploded view of a part of the components of the folding screen of fig. 1. Rectangular coordinates X-Y-Z are provided herein for the description of the component. 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 are relatively rotated to open and close by the rotating shaft 150. The third support 130 is screwed to the rotating shaft 150, and the rotating shaft 150 rotates to drive the third support 130 to move along the rotating shaft 150. The fourth bracket 140 is movably coupled to the second bracket 120 and the third bracket 130, wherein the rotation of the rotation shaft 150 drives the fourth bracket 140 to move relative to the second bracket 120 through the third bracket 130. The flexible screen 160 is disposed between 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 partial component schematic view 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 folding screen of fig. 1 in another state. Referring to fig. 2, 3A and 4, in detail, the rotating shaft 150 has an external thread 151, the third bracket 130 is located in the groove 122 of the second bracket 120 and has an internal thread hole 131, which is adapted to the external thread 151, so that when the rotating shaft 150 rotates along the X axis, the third bracket 130 is driven to move along the X axis in the groove 122. Furthermore, the third bracket 130 has a guiding post 132, and the fourth bracket 140 has a guiding slot 141 in addition to being coupled to the guiding portion 121 of the second bracket 120 by a guiding portion 142 to facilitate moving on the second bracket 120 along the Y-axis, so that the guiding post 132 of the third bracket 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 bracket 130 (corresponding to being 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 bracket 140. In this way, the motion mode of the third support 130 moving along the X-axis can be converted into the motion mode of the fourth support 140 moving along the Y-axis by the adapting and guiding relationship between the guiding post 132 and the guiding slot 141, that is, the motion axial direction of the third support 130 and the motion axial direction of the fourth support 140 are orthogonal to each other, and the conversion of the motion axial direction is achieved by the guiding slot 141 and the guiding post 132.

Based on the above, when the rotation shaft 150 rotates about the X-axis, the fourth bracket 140 can be driven to move along the second bracket 120 by the third bracket 130, for example, the guide post 132 moves from the end E1 of the guide groove 141 shown in fig. 3A to the end E2 of the guide groove 141 shown in fig. 4. In other words, the relative rotation of the first and

second brackets

110 and 120 via the rotation shaft 150 can cause the fourth bracket 140 to move linearly (along the Y axis) with respect to the second bracket 120.

Accordingly, referring to fig. 1, fig. 3A and fig. 4, fig. 1 and fig. 3A show the folding screen 100 in a folded state, where the second support 120 is folded with the first support 110, and the fourth support 140 is also completely overlapped with the second support 120, and the flexible screen 160 is in a folded state. In contrast, when the first bracket 110 and the second bracket 120 are relatively rotated and unfolded by the rotation 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 out of the second bracket 120 as described above, so that the two brackets are in an incompletely overlapped state. Conversely, when the foldable screen 100 is converted from the flattened 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 support 130 and the fourth support 140 is to compensate for the dimensional difference between the flexible screen 160 and the second support 120 by relatively moving the fourth support 140 away from the rotating shaft 150 (corresponding to the first support 110) due to the dimensional difference between the flexible screen 160 and the flat state caused by the influence of the inner diameter and the outer diameter of the bending part, so as to avoid buckling and even falling off from the components when the flexible screen 160 is converted from the flat state to the flat state due to the conventional fixed structure. In other words, when the flexible screen 160 is disposed between the first bracket 110 and the second bracket 120, the flexible screen 160 will not generate relative displacement during the rotation and opening/closing process, so that a crease will be generated between the first bracket 110 and the second bracket 120 when the flexible screen 160 is converted from the folded state to the flattened state, and even the flexible screen 160 will be dropped.

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 guiding slot instead, and the fourth bracket may be provided with a guiding post instead.

In addition, it should be noted that, in order to structurally respond to the above-mentioned relative movement between the third stand 130 and the fourth stand 140, when the flexible screen 160 is in a flattened state, a space is left between the fourth stand 140 and the first stand 110 due to the distance between the fourth stand 140 and the rotating shaft, so 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 of the flexible screen 160 and moves along with the flexible screen, so that the foldable screen 100 is in the folded state shown in fig. 3B, at this time, the fourth support 140 moves closer to the rotating shaft 150, the flexible support 170 bends along 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 support 140, the second support 120, the first support 110 and the flexible screen 160, so that the surface S1 of the first support 110, the surface S2 of the fourth support 140 and the surface S3 of the flexible support 170 form the same surface, and is in this state, a U-shaped surface.

In contrast, when the foldable screen 100 is converted to the unfolded state shown in fig. 4, the flexible supporting member 170 is flattened as the flexible screen 160 is unfolded, and because the fourth supporting member 140 is relatively moved away from the rotating shaft 150 and the first supporting member 110, the flexible supporting member 170 is also pulled and moved in the positive Y-axis direction (as shown in fig. 4) by the fourth supporting member 140 as the flexible screen 160 is pulled and moved, and the pulled and moved position is between the first supporting member 110 and the fourth supporting member 140, that is, corresponds to the space SP2 left after the fourth supporting member 140 is moved away from the rotating shaft 150, and is thus considered to be filled in the space formed by the fourth supporting member 140, the second supporting member 120, the first supporting member 110 and the flexible screen 160, and the surface S1 of the first supporting member 110, the surface S2 of the fourth supporting member 140 and the surface S3 of the flexible supporting member 170 form the same plane, which is parallel to the X-Y plane as shown in fig. 4.

In the present embodiment, the flexible support member 170 may be made of elastic and flexible materials, such as foam, teflon, silica gel, rubber, etc., and may also be made of soft magnets, so as to facilitate being easily accommodated in the space SP1 as the flexible screen 160 is converted between the folded state and the flattened state, and also to be easily filled in the space SP2 during flattening as a support structure of the flexible screen 160. In addition, the flexible support member 170 of the present embodiment may be integrally formed with the flexible screen 160, that is, the flexible support member 170 may be attached to the flexible screen 160 in a film structure, or may share a flexible substrate with the flexible screen 160, or may be fabricated together with the flexible substrate.

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

third brackets

230A, 230B, a fourth bracket 240, a rotating shaft 250, a flexible screen 160 and a flexible support 170, wherein the flexible screen 160 and the flexible support 170 are identical to the previous embodiments, 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. Unlike the previous embodiments, the present embodiment is configured by a pair of

third brackets

230A and 230B, and the rotating shaft 250 and the fourth bracket 240 to achieve the same operation mode as the previous embodiments.

Further, the rotating shaft 250 of the present embodiment has

external threads

251A, 251B with opposite screw directions to each other, so as to respectively correspond to the internal threaded hole 231A of the third bracket 230A and the internal threaded hole 231B of the third bracket 230B. Meanwhile, the fourth bracket 240 has

guide grooves

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

third brackets

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

grooves

241A and 241B with different directions. The number and movement pattern of the third brackets can be appropriately adjusted according to the requirement, and the inclination of the guiding grooves can be correspondingly adjusted accordingly, so that the fourth brackets can achieve the same movement pattern.

Fig. 6A and 6B are partial cross-sectional views of a folding screen according to another embodiment of the present invention in different states. Referring to fig. 6A and fig. 6B, it should be noted that the present embodiment is similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 5A and fig. 5B, and the pair of guide grooves 341 with different inclination angles of the pair of

third brackets

330A and 330B corresponding to the fourth bracket 340 (the pair of guide posts 332 are correspondingly coupled to the guide grooves 341), so that the movement 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, fig. 5B and fig. 1 to fig. 4, and will not be repeated here.

The difference between the present embodiment and the previous embodiment is that the support member 350 is used to replace the flexible support member 170, where the support member 350 is movably disposed on the second support 320 and coupled to the

third support

330A, 330B, and the portion of the rotating shaft that drives the fourth support 340 through the

third support

330A, 330B can be known from the embodiment shown in fig. 5A, 5B, and the difference between the present embodiment and the previous embodiment is that the

third support

330A, 330B can further drive the support member 350 to move relative to the second support 320.

Further, the support 350 has a guiding groove RL, a portion of the guiding groove RL is inclined relative to the moving axis of the

third bracket

330A, 330B, and the

third bracket

330A, 330B has a guiding post 331 movably coupled to the guiding groove RL. In the present embodiment, the support 350 has a plurality of guiding grooves RL, and each guiding groove RL has a first section 351 and a second section 352, wherein the first section 351 is parallel to the moving axis of the

third brackets

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

third brackets

330A, 330B, so that the

third brackets

330A, 330B can drive the support 350 to move relative to the second bracket 320 when the guiding post 331 moves along the second section 352. In the folded state shown in fig. 6A, the guide post 331 is located in the first section 351, and in the unfolded state shown in fig. 6B, the guide post 331 has moved to the second section 352. Furthermore, the motion path of the support 350 on the second bracket 320 and the motion path of the fourth bracket 340 on the second bracket 320 are different from each other but meet each other.

As can be seen by comparing the folded state shown in fig. 6A with the unfolded (flattened) state shown in fig. 6B, in the process of converting from fig. 6A to fig. 6B, the rotation of the shaft causes the

third brackets

330A and 330B to move away from each other, so as to drive the fourth bracket 340 to move away from the shaft, which is shown in fig. 5A and 5B and will not be repeated. The second guide post 331 moves from the first section 351 to the second section 352 simultaneously with the movement of the

third brackets

330A, 330B and the resulting movement of the fourth bracket 340. Accordingly, during the unfolding of the first and

second brackets

310 and 320 by the relative rotation, the fourth bracket 340 moves away from the rotation axis to create a space and thus expose the support 350. Then, the guide column 331 moves from the first section 351 to the second section 352, so that the

third brackets

330A, 330B drive the supporting member 350 to rise and move to the space left by the fourth brackets 340 moving away. In contrast, in the process of closing the first and

second holders

310 and 320 by rotating them relatively (switching from fig. 6B to fig. 6A), the guide column 331 moves from the second section 352 to the first section 351, so that the

third holders

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

Based on the above, the movable supporting member is instead movably disposed on the second bracket 320, and the guiding groove RL has a segmented design (the first segment 351 and the second segment 352) with different slopes, so that the

third brackets

330A and 330B can drive the fourth bracket 340 and the supporting member 350 simultaneously, so that the movement paths of the fourth bracket 340 and the supporting member 350 on the second bracket 320 are different, orthogonal and intersected, and the intersection is the space left after the fourth bracket 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 bracket 340 and the first bracket 310, thereby achieving the requirement of supporting the flexible screen.

Based on the above, the flexible supporting member and the supporting member shown in fig. 1 to 6B are used for filling the space between the fourth bracket, the second bracket, the first bracket and the flexible screen, so as to correspond to the space left after the fourth bracket is moved away, and serve as a support for the flexible screen.

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

aforementioned folding screen

100 or 200, and includes a first bracket 431, a second bracket 432, a third bracket 433, a fourth bracket 434, a second rotating shaft 435, and a flexible screen 436, wherein the second rotating shaft 435 connects the first bracket 431 and the second bracket 432, the first bracket 431 and the second bracket 432 are relatively rotated and opened and closed by the second rotating shaft 435, the second rotating shaft 435 has a second gear 435a, which is 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 axis L1 as its rotation center), and the second gear 435a is coaxially disposed with the second rotating shaft 435 (with the axis L2 as its rotation center).

Accordingly, the main unit 410 and the foldable screen 430 can be opened and closed relatively by the first shaft 420, and the first shaft 420 drives the second shaft 435 by the first gear 421 and the second gear 435a, so that the second bracket 432 can be opened and closed relatively to the first bracket 431, and the opening and closing of the foldable screen 430 can be linked with the opening and closing of the main unit 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 shafts 435 are disposed on 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 folding state shown in fig. 7A is created, a pair of parts of the flexible screen 436 are folded and accommodated in opposite recesses 431a on the back side of the first bracket 431 along with the second bracket 432, the third brackets 433 and the fourth brackets 434, so that when a user applies force to the first bracket 431, the foldable screen 430 is rotated and unfolded relative to the host 410 by the first shafts 420, as shown in fig. 7C, the pair of fourth brackets 434 and the first bracket 431 are coplanar, and the flexible screen 436 is unfolded and flattened. Of course, in another embodiment not shown, only the first bracket 431 and one of the second bracket 432, the third bracket 433 and the fourth bracket 434 may be present, and the flexible screen may be disposed on the first bracket 431 and the one of the fourth bracket 434.

It should be noted that, the support member 350 or the flexible support member 170 of the foregoing embodiment is not particularly limited, and the reason is that the operation mode of the folding screen 430 of the present embodiment is that, as in the foregoing embodiment, the fourth bracket 434 is moved away from the second rotating shaft 435 during the transition from the folded state to the unfolded state to provide the size compensation effect on the flexible screen 436, so that the flexible support member 170 shown in fig. 1 to 5B or the support member 350 shown in fig. 6A and 6B can be practically applied according to the requirement, and the space left after the fourth bracket 434 is moved away can be filled, so that the flexible screen 436 can be completely supported by the structural members (the first bracket 431, the fourth bracket 434 and the support member).

In summary, in the above embodiments of the present invention, the foldable screen and the portable electronic device are both moved away from or closer to the rotating shaft (or the first bracket) by the fourth bracket to provide the dimension compensation effect when the flexible screen is converted from bending to flattening, that is, the flexible screen is not fixed at one place along with the telescopic movement of the body member, so that the possible buckling and even falling-off of the flexible screen during the deformation process can be avoided. Furthermore, the body member can further fill the space left after being unfolded (flattened) by the support member, and the device member can be smoothly adapted to the deformation process of the flexible screen to facilitate operation, thereby providing sufficient supporting effect for the flexible screen.

In addition, through the arrangement of the rotating shaft of the folding screen and the other rotating shaft corresponding to the host, namely the two rotating shafts are mutually meshed through gears orthogonal to each other, the folding screen can also have the effect of corresponding rotating and opening and closing on the folding screen in the process of opening and closing the folding screen relative to the host, and further, a display surface with a larger range is provided for the portable electronic device, so that the development of the screen view of the portable electronic device is facilitated.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical solution of the present invention, and are not limiting; while the invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations may be made in the techniques described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalents may be substituted for in part or in whole; such modifications and substitutions do not depart from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A folding screen, comprising:

a first bracket;

a second bracket;

the rotating shaft is connected with the first bracket and the second bracket, and the first bracket and the second bracket are opened and closed in a relative rotating way through the rotating shaft;

the rotating shaft rotates to drive the third bracket 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 through the third bracket;

a flexible screen disposed between the first bracket and the fourth bracket; and

the flexible support piece is configured on the flexible screen and is flattened or bent along with the flexible screen, the flexible support piece is filled in a space formed by the fourth support, the second support, the first support and the flexible screen, the moving axial direction of the third support is orthogonal to the moving axial direction of the fourth support, the third support is provided with a guide groove or a guide column, the fourth support is provided with at least one guide column or a guide groove, the guide column is movably coupled with the guide groove, the guide groove is inclined relative to the moving axial direction of the third support, and the guide groove is inclined relative to the moving axial direction of the fourth support.

2. The folding screen of claim 1, wherein the fourth bracket moves away from the axis of rotation when the first bracket and the second bracket are relatively rotated and unfolded, the flexible support is flattened with the flexible screen, and the fourth bracket moves closer to the axis of rotation when the first bracket and the second bracket are relatively rotated and closed, and the flexible support is bent with the flexible screen and surrounds a portion of the axis of rotation.

3. The folding screen according to claim 1, wherein the fourth bracket moves closer to the rotation shaft to be entirely overlapped with the second bracket when the first bracket and the second bracket are relatively rotated to be unfolded, the fourth bracket moves away from the rotation shaft to be partially overlapped with the second bracket, and the flexible support fills a space left by the fourth bracket moving away from the rotation shaft.

4. The folding screen according to claim 1, wherein the first bracket, the flexible support member and the fourth bracket form the same surface, the surface being planar when the first bracket and the second bracket are relatively rotated and unfolded, and the surface being a U-shaped surface surrounding the rotation axis when the first bracket and the second bracket are relatively rotated and closed.

5. The folding screen of claim 1, wherein the flexible support is of unitary construction with the flexible screen.

6. A folding screen, comprising:

a first bracket;

a second bracket;

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

the support piece is movably arranged on the second support and is coupled with the third support, the rotation of the rotating shaft drives the fourth support and the support piece to move relative to the second support through the third support, the moving axial direction of the third support is orthogonal to the moving axial direction of the fourth support, the third support is provided with a first guide groove or a first guide column, the fourth support is provided with at least one first guide column or a first guide groove, the first guide column is movably coupled with the first guide groove, the first guide groove is inclined relative to the moving axial direction of the third support, and the first guide groove is inclined relative to the moving axial direction of the fourth support.

7. The folding screen of claim 6, wherein the support has a second guide slot, a portion of the second guide slot being inclined relative to the axis of movement of the third bracket, the third bracket having a second guide post movably coupled to the second guide slot.

8. A folding screen as claimed in claim 7 wherein the second guide slot has a first section parallel to the axis of movement of the third bracket and a second section inclined relative to the axis of movement of the third bracket, the second guide post moving along the second section to cause the third bracket to drive the support member to move relative to the second bracket.

9. The folding screen according to claim 8, wherein the first support and the second support are relatively closed to bend the flexible screen, the second guide post is located at the first section, the fourth support is completely overlapped on the second support and covers the supporting member, the first support and the second support are relatively unfolded to flatten the flexible screen, the second guide post is located at the second section, the fourth support is partially overlapped on the second support and exposes the supporting member, and the fourth support, the supporting member and the first support are coplanar to support the flexible screen.

10. The folding screen according to claim 8, wherein the fourth bracket moves away from the rotation shaft to create a space during the unfolding of the first bracket and the second bracket by relative rotation, the second guide post moves from the first section toward the second section to allow the third bracket to drive the support to move to the space, and the second guide post moves from the second section toward the first section to allow the third bracket to drive the support to move away from the space and then move closer to the rotation shaft and cover the support during the closing of the first bracket and the second bracket by relative rotation.

11. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a host;

a first rotating shaft;

the folding screen, first pivot is connected the host computer with between the folding screen, the folding screen is through first pivot and for the host computer rotation opening and closing, first pivot has a first gear, the folding screen includes:

a first bracket;

at least one second bracket; and

at least one second rotating shaft connected to the first and second brackets, the first and second brackets being 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 folding screen are opened and closed relatively 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 bracket is opened and closed relatively to the first bracket, and the folding screen further comprises:

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 the rotation of the second rotating shaft drives the fourth bracket to move relative to the second bracket through the third bracket so as to move closer to or away from the second rotating shaft; and

the flexible screen is configured on the first bracket and the fourth bracket, wherein the relative rotation opening and closing of the first bracket and the second bracket drives the flexible screen to be flattened or bent, the moving axial direction of the third bracket is orthogonal to the moving axial direction of the fourth bracket, the third bracket is provided with a first guide groove or a first guide column, the fourth bracket is provided with at least one first guide column or a first guide groove, the first guide column is movably coupled with the first guide groove, the first guide groove is inclined relative to the moving axial direction of the third bracket, and the first guide groove is inclined relative to the moving axial direction of the fourth bracket.

12. The portable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the first gear is orthogonal to the second gear.

13. The portable electronic device of claim 11, further comprising:

the flexible support piece is configured on the flexible screen and is flattened or bent along with the flexible screen, the flexible support piece 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 piece and the fourth support form the same surface, when the first support and the second support are relatively rotated and unfolded, the surface is a plane, and when the first support and the second support are relatively rotated and closed, the surface is a U-shaped surface surrounding the rotating shaft.

14. The portable electronic device of claim 11, further comprising:

the support piece is movably arranged on the second support and coupled with the third support, the rotation of the second rotating shaft drives the support piece to move relative to the second support through the third support, the support piece 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 support, and the third support is provided with a second guide post and is movably coupled with the second guide groove.

15. The portable electronic device according to claim 14, wherein the second guiding slot has a first section and a second section, the first section is parallel to the moving axis of the third support, the second section is inclined with respect to the moving axis of the third support, the second guiding post moves along the second section to enable the third support to drive the supporting member to move with respect to the second support, when the first support and the second support are relatively closed to bend the flexible screen, the second guiding post is located at the first section, the fourth support is completely overlapped with the second support and covers the supporting member, when the first support and the second support are relatively unfolded to flatten the flexible screen, the second guiding post is located at the second section, the fourth support is partially overlapped with the second support and exposes the supporting member, and the fourth support, the supporting member and the first support are coplanar to support the flexible screen.

16. The portable electronic device of claim 14, wherein the path of motion of the support member on the second stand and the path of motion of the fourth stand on the second stand are different from each other but meet.