CN114251354B

CN114251354B - Folding mechanism and folding screen

Info

Publication number: CN114251354B
Application number: CN202111554364.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张喜江
Original assignee: Hefei Visionox Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hefei Visionox Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-12-17
Filing date: 2021-12-17
Publication date: 2023-01-10
Anticipated expiration: 2041-12-17
Also published as: CN114251354A

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of display and discloses a folding mechanism and a folding screen. The folding mechanism comprises a folding driving part, a supporting part and a linkage part; the support piece is arranged on one side of the folding driving part close to the bending area and can be stretched to support the bending area; the linkage piece is arranged on one side, away from the support piece, of the folding driving portion, one end of the linkage piece is connected with the folding driving portion, the other end of the linkage piece can penetrate through the folding driving portion and is abutted against the support piece, and the folding driving portion drives the support piece to be close to or far away from the folding driving portion through the linkage piece so that the support portion avoids or supports the bending area. The folding mechanism can avoid the dent generated in the bending area, and has simple structure and low cost.

Description

Folding mechanism and folding screen

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of display, in particular to a folding mechanism and a folding screen.

Background

As shown in fig. 1-3, the flexible display module easily slides and rubs the film in the folding process, which results in sliding part of the film to both sides, and further makes the bending area of the flexible display module deform due to extrusion of the film, and when the flexible display module is flattened (folded back), the stress of the film in the bending area is greatly affected, and the bending area is sunken. Folding and unfolding action back indent of bending zone is serious for a long time, influences the outward appearance effect, has reduced the life-span of buckling of flexible display module, and the bending zone black spot and other functional badness appear easily, and then influence customer's experience.

In order to solve the problem of the dent of the bending area in the prior art, a plurality of bearing plates and a complex connecting rod structure are usually added in the folding mechanism, and the plurality of bearing plates are driven by the connecting rod structure to be spliced into a shape matched with the bending area in the folding process so as to support the bending area. Although this structure can reduce the problem of dents, it results in a very complicated folding mechanism and occupies a large space, which is not favorable for realizing the lightness and thinness of the folding equipment.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a folding mechanism and a folding screen, and aims to solve the problems that in the prior art, a bending area has dents, and the existing folding mechanism is complex in structure, large in size and high in cost.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme:

the utility model provides a folding mechanism for folding flexible display module assembly, the middle part structure of flexible display module assembly is the bending zone, folding mechanism includes:

the folding driving part is used for driving the flexible display module to switch between a folding state and a flattening state;

the support piece is arranged on one side of the folding driving part close to the bending area and can be stretched to support the bending area;

the linkage piece is arranged on one side of the folding driving part, which is far away from the supporting part, one end of the linkage piece is connected with the folding driving part, and the other end of the linkage piece can penetrate through the folding driving part and is abutted against the supporting part;

when the flexible display module is folded, the folding driving part drives the supporting part to move towards the direction close to the folding driving part through the linkage part;

when the flexible display module is unfolded and flat, the folding driving part drives the supporting part to move towards the direction far away from the folding driving part through the linkage part.

As an alternative to the above folding mechanism, the supporting member includes two fixing portions disposed oppositely and a supporting portion located between the two fixing portions, the two fixing portions are both connected to the folding driving portion, and the supporting portion can be stretched to support the bending region.

As an alternative to the above folding mechanism, the support is a metal netting.

As an alternative to the above folding mechanism, the supporting portion includes two outer side stretching sections arranged oppositely and a middle stretching section located between the two outer side stretching sections, and the connecting part of the middle stretching section and each outer side stretching section is connected with the link.

As an alternative to the above folding mechanism, the elongation at break of the middle tensile section is smaller than the elongation at break of the outer tensile section.

As an alternative to the above folding mechanism, at least two of the linkage members are connected to the joint of the middle stretching section and each of the outer stretching sections at intervals along the length direction of the joint.

As an alternative to the above folding mechanism, the linkage includes a track and a transmission assembly, the transmission assembly is connected to the folding driving portion and the track, and the folding driving portion drives the track to move toward or away from the flexible display module through the transmission assembly.

As an alternative to the above folding mechanism, the transmission assembly includes a sleeve and an elastic member disposed in the sleeve, the sleeve is disposed on a side of the folding driving portion away from the flexible display module, one end of the track extends into the sleeve and is connected to the elastic member, and the other end of the track passes through the folding driving portion and can be abutted to the supporting member under the driving of the elastic member.

As an alternative of the folding mechanism, the track comprises a plurality of belt plates and hinge shafts, and two adjacent belt plates are hinged by the hinge shafts, so that the track is in an L shape after passing through the folding driving part.

The utility model provides a folding screen, includes flexible display module assembly and foretell folding mechanism, flexible display module assembly with the fixed part is connected, support piece can support the bending region of flexible display module assembly.

As an alternative of the folding screen, the flexible display module comprises a flexible main body and two disjunction supporting plates arranged on the back of the flexible main body at intervals, the part of the flexible main body, which is located between the two disjunction supporting plates, is the bending area, and the bending area and the two disjunction supporting plates enclose to form an avoidance groove.

As an alternative of the above folding screen, the cutting support plate is a steel plate.

An electronic device comprises the folding screen.

The invention has the beneficial effects that:

in the folding mechanism provided by the invention, the folding driving part drives the supporting part to be close to or far from the folding driving part through the linkage part in the process of driving the flexible display module to fold and unfold, so that the flexible display module is avoided from providing a space when being folded, or the flexible display module is abutted against and supports the bending area when being unfolded, thereby avoiding the deformation of the bending area and further avoiding the generation of dents. The supporting piece can be stretched or contracted according to requirements in the switching process so as to meet the use requirement.

Compared with the folding mechanism which is additionally provided with a plurality of bearing plates and a complex connecting rod structure, the folding mechanism has the advantages of simpler structure, low cost and small volume, and is beneficial to reducing the thickness of the folding screen.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a flexible display module in a flattened state;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of the flexible display module in a folded state;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a flexible display module with a notch in a bending region;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a folding screen provided by the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a partial structural view of a support portion provided in the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the support member and linkage member of the present invention in engagement;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the support member and linkage member provided by the present invention after engagement;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural view of a track provided by the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural view of the crawler belt according to the present invention, wherein two adjacent belt plates are disposed at an included angle;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the track provided by the present invention in one attitude;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural view of the crawler in another attitude provided by the present invention.

In the figure:

100. a flexible display module; 101. a flexible body; 1011. a bending zone; 102. breaking the supporting plate; 1. a folding drive section; 2. a support member; 21. a fixed part; 22. a support portion; 221. an outer stretching section; 222. a middle stretching section; 3. a linkage; 31. a crawler; 311. a band plate; 312. hinging shafts; 32. a transmission assembly; 321. a sleeve; 322. an elastic member.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the drawings and examples. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not limiting of the invention. It should be further noted that, for the convenience of description, only some of the structures related to the present invention are shown in the drawings, not all of the structures.

In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, the terms "connected," "connected," and "fixed" are to be construed broadly and may, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integral to one another; can be mechanically or electrically connected; either directly or indirectly through intervening media, either internally or in any other relationship. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood in specific cases to those skilled in the art.

In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, "above" or "below" a first feature means that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact with each other via another feature therebetween. Also, the first feature being "on," "above" and "over" the second feature includes the first feature being directly on and obliquely above the second feature, or merely indicating that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. A first feature being "under," "below," and "beneath" a second feature includes the first feature being directly under and obliquely below the second feature, or simply meaning that the first feature is at a lesser elevation than the second feature.

In the description of the present embodiment, the terms "upper", "lower", "right", etc. are used in an orientation or positional relationship based on that shown in the drawings only for convenience of description and simplicity of operation, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used only for descriptive purposes and are not intended to be limiting.

As shown in fig. 4, the present embodiment provides a foldable screen, which includes a flexible display module 100 and a folding mechanism, the folding mechanism can drive the flexible display module 100 to fold, and can support the bending region 1011 in the flexible display module 100, and limit the deformation of the bending region 1011 during the flattening process, thereby eliminating the dent.

Specifically, the folding mechanism includes a folding drive portion 1, a support member 2, and a link 3. Flexible display module assembly 100, support piece 2 and folding drive division 1 stack in proper order, and folding drive division 1 can be folded and open the flat state within a definite time switch to drive flexible display module assembly 100 and fold and open the flat. The support 2 comprises two fixing portions 21 arranged oppositely and a supporting portion 22 located between the two fixing portions 21, the two fixing portions 21 are both connected with the folding driving portion 1, and the supporting portion 22 can be stretched to support the bending region 1011; the linkage 3 is arranged on one side of the folding driving part 1 away from the support part 2, one end of the linkage 3 is connected with the folding driving part 1, and the other end can penetrate through the folding driving part 1 and is connected with the support part 22.

As shown in fig. 4, when the folding driving portion 1 is in the flat state, the folding driving portion 1 applies a pushing force to the link 3, so that the other end of the link 3 moves to one side close to the flexible display module 100, and then drives the supporting portion 22 to move in a direction away from the folding driving portion 1, the supporting portion 22 is spread, so as to support the bending region 1011 of the flexible display module 100 in the flat state, and limit the bending region 1011 to deform in the flat state, thereby avoiding generating an indentation.

When the folding driving portion 1 drives the flexible display module 100 to fold, the folding driving portion 1 applies a pulling force to the link 3, and the pulling force moves the other end of the link 3 to a side away from the flexible display module 100, so that the link 3 can drive the supporting portion 22 to move in a direction close to the folding driving portion 1, so as to provide a bending space for the bending area 1011 and keep supporting the bending area 1011.

In this embodiment, eliminate the dent problem through tensile supporting part 22 and the cooperation of linkage 3, simple structure, occupation space is little, is favorable to improving the thickness that reduces folding screen, reduces folding screen's cost.

Specifically, the support portion 22 includes two outer stretching sections 221 disposed oppositely and a middle stretching section 222 located between the two outer stretching sections 221, and the link 3 is connected to the joint of the middle stretching section 222 and each outer stretching section 221. When the folding driving portion 1 drives the flexible display module 100 to unfold normally, the folding driving portion 1 drives the linkage 3 to move in a direction (above the state shown in fig. 4) close to the flexible display module 100, so that the middle stretching section 222 is periodically supported by the bending region 1011, thereby preventing the bending region 1011 from deforming, and the outer stretching section 221 is in a stretched state and forms an included angle with the middle stretching section 222 in this state.

When folding drive portion 1 drive flexible display module assembly 100 is folding, because of flexible display module assembly 100 is folding, the folding drive portion 1 that is located the flexible display module assembly 100 back will receive the power of pulling to flexible display module assembly 100 both ends, under this power of pulling, folding drive portion 1 will drive linkage 3 and remove to the direction of keeping away from flexible display module assembly 100, it is close to folding drive portion 1 to drive supporting part 22 simultaneously, provide sufficient space for the folding of kink district 1011. When the flexible display module 100 is in the folded state, the supporting portion 22 will be attached to the top surface (one side surface facing the flexible display module 100) of the folding driving portion 1.

To ensure the supporting effect of the middle stretching section 222 on the bending region 1011, the elongation at break of the middle stretching section 222 is smaller than that of the outer stretching section 221. This arrangement enables the stretching length of the middle stretching section 222 to be effectively controlled, the middle stretching section 222 to be stretched as little as possible, and the tension state of the middle stretching section 222 to be maintained, thereby better supporting the bending region 1011.

As shown in fig. 5, the supporting portion 22 is a metal expanded metal. The metal net can be stretched, has certain strength, and can better play a role in supporting the bending area 1011. Optionally, the metal pull net can be made of stainless steel to avoid rusting and corrosion and prolong the service life. Illustratively, 301 stainless steel or 304 stainless steel may be used for the metal netting.

In order to make the middle stretching section better fit the bending area 1011 for supporting, a linking member 3 is connected to the joint of the middle stretching section and each outer stretching section 221 to support the middle stretching section from both ends and maintain the tensioning effect of the middle stretching section.

As shown in fig. 6, the joint of the middle stretching section and the outer stretching sections 221 is a straight line, and in order to make the middle stretching section better fit the bending region 1011, at least two linking members 3 are connected to the joint of the middle stretching section 222 and each outer stretching section 221 at intervals along the length direction X of the straight line, so as to better drive the support portion 22 to move and maintain the tensioning effect of the middle stretching section. In this embodiment, two linkage members 3 are connected to the joint between the middle stretching section and the outer stretching section 221.

In this embodiment, the middle stretching section and the outer stretching section 221 are disposed at an interval, and a linkage 3 is disposed between the two and connected by the linkage 3. In other embodiments, the middle stretching section and the outer stretching section 221 may be disposed continuously.

Optionally, the bending area 1011 of the flexible display module 100 extends along the width direction of the flexible display module 100, and the flexible display module 100 is folded along the length direction when being folded. The link 3 extends substantially along the length direction of the flexible display module 100, so that the bending driving portion can pull the link 3 when driving the flexible display module 100 to bend.

In this embodiment, the link 3 needs to pass through the folding driving portion 1 and be connected to the supporting portion 22, for this purpose, a hollow hole is provided on the folding driving portion 1, and the link 3 passes through the hollow hole and then is connected to the supporting portion 22. The provision of the cutout also serves to guide the movement of the link 3, ensuring that the part of the link 3 located in front of the folding drive 1 and the support 22 extends substantially in a straight line.

Optionally, the folding driving portion 1 is a flexible rotating shaft, and can be flexibly bent, so as to ensure the flexible damage of the flexible display module 100 when the flexible display module is bent and the flatness of the folding screen. The folding driving portion 1 is embodied as an inward folding flexible rotating shaft in the embodiment.

Any one flexible rotating shaft in the prior art can be adopted in the embodiment, as long as the hollow hole can be formed in the flexible rotating shaft to meet the installation requirement of the linkage piece 3, and the embodiment is not specifically described.

Specifically, the linkage 3 includes a track 31 and a drive assembly 32. The transmission assembly 32 is connected to the folding driving unit 1 and the caterpillar 31, and the folding driving unit 1 drives the caterpillar 31 to move towards or away from the flexible display module 100 through the transmission assembly 32.

The transmission assembly 32 includes a sleeve 321 and an elastic member 322 disposed in the sleeve 321. The sleeve 321 is disposed on a side of the folding driving portion 1 away from the flexible display module 100, one end of the crawler 31 extends into the sleeve 321 and is connected to the elastic member 322, the elastic member 322 applies an elastic force to the crawler 31, and the other end of the crawler 31 can pass through the folding driving portion 1 and then abut against the support portion 22.

When the flexible display module 100 is in the flattened state, under the elastic force of the elastic member 322, the length of the crawler 31 extending out of the sleeve 321 is increased, so that the other end of the crawler 31 moves toward the direction close to the flexible display module 100, and the crawler 31 is kept in contact with the support portion 22 to support the bending area 1011, thereby avoiding the generation of the dent.

When flexible display module 100 is in folding state, buckle area 1011 takes place to buckle and exert pressure to track 31 for track 31 removes to the direction that is kept away from flexible display module 100, and track 31 overcomes the elasticity of elastic component 322 and then compresses elastic component 322, makes track 31 remove in to sleeve 321, for flexible display module 100 is folding to provide and dodges the space.

Alternatively, the sleeve 321 may be fixed to the folding drive unit 1 by screws, bonding, or clipping.

Alternatively, the elastic member 322 may be a spring or a coil spring, which is simple and low in cost.

In the present embodiment, by using the crawler belt 31 to abut against the support portion 22, the portion of the crawler belt between the support portion 22 and the folding driving portion 1 can be kept linearly extended and substantially perpendicular to the intermediate stretching portion 222 by utilizing the structural characteristics of the crawler belt 31, so as to improve the supporting effect.

As shown in fig. 8, the crawler 31 includes a plurality of belt plates 311 and hinge shafts 312, and two adjacent belt plates 311 are hinged by the hinge shafts 312, so that the two adjacent belt plates 311 can form an included angle as shown in fig. 9 under the action of external force, and the whole crawler 31 can be in the posture as shown in fig. 10 and 11, and the posture adjustment is flexible. By adopting the structure of the crawler belt 31, the self posture of the crawler belt 31 can be adjusted in a self-adaptive manner under the action of external force, and the crawler belt 31 is L-shaped after penetrating through the hollow hole.

In order to make the bending region 1011 easier to bend, the flexible display module 100 includes a flexible main body 101 and two divided support plates 102 disposed at the back of the flexible main body 101 at intervals, a portion of the flexible main body 101 located between the two divided support plates 102 is the bending region 1011, and the thickness of the bending region 1011 is smaller than the thickness of other positions of the flexible display module 100, so that the bending region 1011 is easier to deform.

In addition, the bending region 1011 and the two divided support plates 102 enclose an avoidance groove. When the flexible display module 100 is in the flat state, at least a portion of the support portion 22 and at least a portion of the link member 3 may be located in the avoiding groove to reduce the overall thickness of the foldable screen.

Alternatively, the dividing support plate 102 may be a steel plate to meet the support requirement on the basis of having a thin thickness, and to avoid deformation of a portion of the non-bending region 1011 of the flexible body 101.

The embodiment also provides electronic equipment, including above-mentioned folding screen, folding life-span of folding screen is long in this electronic equipment, and functional bad problems such as the difficult black spot that appears, and customer uses and experiences well.

Wherein, electronic equipment can show the product for wearing type such as cell-phone, panel computer, intelligent wrist-watch or intelligent bracelet.

It should be understood that the above-described embodiments of the present invention are merely examples for clearly illustrating the present invention and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present invention. Numerous obvious variations, adaptations, and substitutions will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. And are neither required nor exhaustive of all embodiments. Any modification, equivalent replacement, and improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A folding mechanism for folding a flexible display module (100), the middle portion of the flexible display module (100) being configured as a bending region (1011), the folding mechanism comprising:

the folding driving part (1) is used for driving the flexible display module (100) to be switched between a folding state and a flattening state;

the support piece (2) is arranged on one side, close to the bending area, of the folding driving part (1), and the support piece (2) can be stretched to support the bending area (1011);

the linkage piece (3) is arranged on one side, away from the support piece (2), of the folding driving part (1), one end of the linkage piece (3) is connected with the folding driving part (1), and the other end of the linkage piece can penetrate through the folding driving part (1) and is abutted against the support piece (2);

when the flexible display module (100) is folded, the folding driving part (1) drives the supporting part (2) to move towards the direction close to the folding driving part (1) through the linkage part (3);

when the flexible display module (100) is unfolded, the folding driving part (1) drives the supporting part (2) to move in the direction away from the folding driving part (1) through the linkage part (3).

2. The folding mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that said support (2) comprises two fixed portions (21) arranged opposite each other and a support portion (22) located between said two fixed portions (21), both said fixed portions (21) being connected to said folding actuation portion (1), said support portion (22) being stretchable to support said bending zone (1011).

3. The folding mechanism of claim 2, characterized in that the support (22) is a metal pull net.

4. The folding mechanism of claim 2, wherein the support portion (22) comprises two outer stretching sections (221) arranged oppositely and a middle stretching section (222) arranged between the two outer stretching sections (221), and the linkage (3) is connected to the joint of the middle stretching section (222) and each outer stretching section (221).

5. The folding mechanism of claim 4, characterized in that the elongation at break of the middle stretch section (222) is smaller than the elongation at break of the outer stretch section (221).

6. The folding mechanism of claim 4, wherein at least two of said linkages (3) are spaced apart along the length of the junction of said middle stretch section (222) and each of said outer stretch sections (221).

7. The folding mechanism according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the linkage (3) comprises a track (31) and a transmission assembly (32), the transmission assembly (32) is respectively connected with the folding driving portion (1) and the track (31), and the folding driving portion (1) drives the track (31) to move towards or away from the flexible display module (100) through the transmission assembly (32).

8. The folding mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the transmission assembly (32) comprises a sleeve (321) and an elastic member (322) disposed in the sleeve (321), the sleeve (321) is disposed on a side of the folding driving portion (1) facing away from the flexible display module (100), one end of the crawler (31) extends into the sleeve (321) and is connected to the elastic member (322), and the other end of the crawler passes through the folding driving portion (1) and can abut against the support member (2) under the driving of the elastic member (322).

9. The folding mechanism according to claim 8, characterized in that said track (31) comprises a plurality of belt plates (311) and articulated shafts (312), two adjacent belt plates (311) being articulated by said articulated shafts (312) so that said track (31) is L-shaped after passing through said folding drive (1).

10. A folding screen comprising a flexible display module (100) and a folding mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the support (2) being capable of supporting a bending region (1011) of the flexible display module (100).

11. The folding screen of claim 10, wherein the flexible display module (100) comprises a flexible main body (101) and two separated support plates (102) spaced apart from the back of the flexible main body (101), a portion of the flexible main body (101) between the two separated support plates (102) is the bending area (1011), and the bending area (1011) and the two separated support plates (102) form an avoiding groove.