CN211231253U

CN211231253U - Folding electronic device

Info

Publication number: CN211231253U
Application number: CN201921519007.9U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 林秉颉; 赖季宏; 李柏毅; 王传化; 陈弘基; 李武晟
Original assignee: Acer Inc
Current assignee: Acer Inc
Priority date: 2019-09-12
Filing date: 2019-09-12
Publication date: 2020-08-11
Anticipated expiration: 2029-09-12

Abstract

The utility model provides a foldable electronic device, including first organism, second organism, pivot chain, a plurality of gasbag and flexible screen. The pivot chain is pivoted between the first body and the second body. The pin joint chain comprises a plurality of pin joint pieces which are pin jointed with each other, a groove is arranged between every two adjacent pin joint pieces, and the air bags are correspondingly arranged in the grooves. The flexible screen is connected with the first body and the second body, and part of the flexible screen is supported on the air bag to fluctuate with the air bag. The utility model provides a foldable electronic device, its state switching process that buckles and expand the shakeout at the flexible screen provides to respond to the length difference that the mechanism was in order to compensate the flexible screen, and makes the process actuate smoothly and avoids the flexible screen impaired.

Description

Folding electronic device

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a folding electronic device.

Background

As technology advances, foldable electronic devices using flexible screens are becoming a future development trend, and in component configurations of such devices, for example, smart phones, the flexible screens are usually disposed on two bodies, and when the two bodies rotate relatively through a rotating shaft to be folded or unfolded, the flexible screens can be switched between a folded state and an unfolded and flattened state.

However, when the flexible screen is bent, the bending position has a difference in the inner and outer dimensions (e.g. the arc length of the bending position) due to the thickness, so that the change needs to be considered when designing the mechanism of the rotating shaft to prevent the flexible screen from being damaged during the bending or unfolding process.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model provides a folding electronic device, which provides the length difference of the flexible screen compensated by the mechanism in the status switching process of bending and unfolding the flexible screen, so as to make the process act smoothly and avoid the damage of the flexible screen.

The utility model discloses a foldable electronic device, including first organism, second organism, pivot chain, a plurality of gasbags and flexible screen. The pivot chain is pivoted between the first body and the second body. The pin joint chain comprises a plurality of pin joint pieces which are pin jointed with each other, a groove is arranged between every two adjacent pin joint pieces, and the air bags are correspondingly arranged in the grooves. The flexible screen is connected with the first body and the second body, and part of the flexible screen is supported on the air bag to fluctuate with the air bag.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the present invention further includes: and the gas driving unit is arranged on the first machine body or the second machine body and is connected with the plurality of air bags so as to inflate or deflate the plurality of air bags.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the present invention further includes: the control unit is arranged on the first machine body or the second machine body and is electrically connected with the gas driving unit.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit drives the gas driving unit to deflate the plurality of air bags to gather the pivot chain to form the bending, and the first body and the second body form the folding state through the pivot chain, and the control unit drives the gas driving unit to inflate the plurality of air bags to relax the pivot chain to form the flattening, and the first body and the second body form the unfolding state through the pivot chain.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit adjusts the air pressures of the air bags through the air driving unit to control the bending degree of the pivot chain and the opening and closing angles of the first body and the second body.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit drives the gas driving unit to deflate the plurality of air bags, so that the surface of the air bag is concave relative to the adjacent plurality of pivoting members, and the control unit drives the gas driving unit to inflate the plurality of air bags, so that the surface of the air bag is filled and leveled with the plurality of grooves.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the flexible screen includes a first portion, a second portion and a third portion, the third portion is connected between the first portion and the second portion, the first portion is disposed in the first body, the second portion is disposed in the second body, the third portion is attached to the plurality of air bags, and the third portion is recessed in the plurality of grooves or fills up the plurality of grooves along with the fluctuation of the plurality of air bags.

Based on the above, in the foldable electronic device, the hinge chain connected between the two bodies and the air bag disposed in the groove of the hinge chain allow the flexible screen to partially bear against the air bag except for the portion connecting the first body and the second body, and to fluctuate with the change of air pressure of the air bag. Therefore, whether the air bag is inflated or not can generate different bending states on the pin joint chain, and the first machine body and the second machine body can be switched between the folding state and the unfolding state according to the different bending states, so that the relative opening and closing angles between the machine bodies can be adjusted.

The flexible screen in the bending state can be sunken relative to the pivot connection piece along with the deflation of the air bag so that the flexible screen can provide a further retraction space in the bending state, correspondingly, the flexible screen in the flattening state fills the groove along with the inflation of the air bag, and besides the air bag supporting the flexible screen, the inflation of the air bag can also provide the functions of pulling and flattening the flexible screen in the process of converting to the unfolding state so as to avoid the flexible screen from being folded or damaged. In other words, the foldable electronic device can provide the corresponding adjusting force required for the conversion between bending and flattening for the flexible screen through the inflation or non-inflation of the air bag, so as to overcome (compensate) the difference between the inner and outer dimensions of the flexible screen in different states caused by the thickness.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a foldable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the foldable electronic device of fig. 1 in another state;

fig. 3 is an electrical relationship diagram of a part of components in the foldable electronic device of fig. 1;

fig. 4 is a partial side view of the folding electronic device of fig. 1;

fig. 5 is a partial side view of the folding electronic device of fig. 2;

fig. 6 is an electrical relationship diagram of a part of components in a foldable electronic device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The reference numbers illustrate:

100: folding electronic device

110: first body

120: second body

130: flexible screen

131: the first part

132: the second part

133: third part

140: pivot chain

141: groove

150: air bag

160: gas drive unit

170: control unit

180: valve with a valve body

d1, d 2: distance between each other

h 1: depth of field

A1, a2, A3, a4, a5, a6, a 7: pin joint piece

X-Y-Z: rectangular coordinate

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a foldable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the foldable electronic device of fig. 1 in another state. Fig. 3 is an electrical relationship diagram of a part of components in the foldable electronic device of fig. 1. Orthogonal coordinates X-Y-Z are also provided herein to facilitate component description. Referring to fig. 1 to fig. 3, in the present embodiment, the foldable electronic device 100 includes a first body 110, a second body 120, a hinge chain 140, a plurality of air bags 150, and a flexible screen 130. The hinge link 140 is pivotally connected between the first body 110 and the second body 120. The pivot chain 140 includes a plurality of pivots a1, a2, A3, a4, a5, a6, a7 pivoted to each other, but the number thereof is not limited herein. A groove 141 is formed between two adjacent pivoting pieces A1-A7, and the air bag 150 is correspondingly arranged in the groove 141. The flexible screen 130 connects the first body 110 and the second body 120, and a part of the flexible screen 130 is supported on the air bag 150 to undulate with the air bag 150.

Referring to fig. 2 and fig. 3, the foldable electronic device 100 further includes an air driving unit 160 and a control unit 170, wherein the air driving unit 160 is, for example, an air pump, disposed on the first body 110 or the second body 120 (the air pump in the embodiment is disposed on the first body 110, but not limited thereto), and electrically connected to the control unit 170. The gas driving unit 160 is connected to the air bag 150, so that the control unit 170 inflates or deflates the air bag 150 through the gas driving unit 160.

Fig. 4 is a partial side view of the folding electronic device of fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a partial side view of the folding electronic device of fig. 2. Referring to fig. 1, 3 and 4, in the present embodiment, the control unit 170 drives the gas driving unit 160 to deflate the gas bag 150 to gather the hinge 140 to form a bent state, and the first body 110 and the second body 120 form a folded state through the bent hinge 140. On the contrary, referring to fig. 2, 3 and 5, the control unit 170 drives the gas driving unit 160 to inflate the gas bag 150 to relax the hinge 140 to form a flat state, and the first body 110 and the second body 120 are unfolded by the flat hinge 140.

In other words, the control unit 170 can adjust the air pressure of the airbag 150 through the air driving unit 160 to control the bending degree of the pivot link 140 and the opening and closing angles of the first body 110 and the second body 120. In this way, the user can adjust the foldable electronic device 100 to an opening and closing angle suitable for operation.

In detail, referring to fig. 2 and 5 again, the flexible screen 130 is divided into a first portion 131, a second portion 132 and a third portion 133, wherein the third portion 133 is connected between the first portion 131 and the second portion 132, the first portion 131 is disposed in the first body 110, the second portion 132 is disposed in the second body 120, and the third portion 133 is attached to the surface of the airbag 150 exposed to the groove 141, so that when the airbag 150 is deflated or inflated as described above, the third portion 133 of the flexible screen 130 is recessed in the groove 141 or fills the groove 141 along with the fluctuation of the airbag 150. As shown in fig. 5, the airbag 150 drives the first body 110, the second body 120 and the hinge chain 140 to be in the unfolded state due to the above-mentioned inflation, and at this time, the surface of the airbag 150 is substantially flush with the adjacent hinge members a 1-a 7, i.e. the groove 141 is filled, so that the third portion 133 of the flexible screen 130 can smoothly rest on the surface of the inflated airbag 150, which is equivalent to the inflatable airbag 150 providing a pulling and flattening force to the flexible screen 130, so that the surface of the flexible screen 130 is flat and without wrinkles.

Referring to fig. 1 and 4 again, when the control unit 170 drives the gas driving unit 160 to deflate the airbag 150 so as to make the surface of the airbag 150 form a recess with respect to the adjacent pivot pieces a 1-a 7, as shown in the enlarged view of fig. 4, the surface of the deflated airbag 150 contracts to have a depth h1, and thus the adjacent pivot pieces a 1-a 7 are drawn together to reduce the distance between the adjacent pivot pieces a 1-a 7 from the distance d2 shown in fig. 5 to the distance d1 shown in fig. 4, thereby causing the pivot chain 140 to be folded and bent. At this time, the third portion 133 of the flexible screen 130 is attached to the surface of the airbag 150, and thus is recessed along with the surface of the airbag 150. Thus, a further retraction space is provided for the third portion 133 of the flexible screen 130 in the bent state, so that the flexible screen 130 is not damaged at the third portion 133 due to the difference between the inside and the outside caused by the thickness of the flexible screen 130. Conversely, the same is true for the transition from the state shown in fig. 4 to the state shown in fig. 5. Therefore, the flexible screen 130 can undulate with the air bag 150 to provide a corresponding size compensation effect when the flexible screen 130 is in different states.

Fig. 6 is an electrical relationship diagram of a part of components in a foldable electronic device according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 6, different from the above, in the foldable electronic device of the present embodiment, the gas driving unit 160 is provided with a plurality of corresponding valves 180 on the gas path connecting the plurality of air bags 150, and is electrically connected to the control unit 170. Accordingly, the control unit 170 can adjust the required air pressure according to the air bags 150 at different positions. For example, taking fig. 4 as an example, the control unit 170 may provide a larger air pressure to the air bags 150 between the pivot joints a 2-a 6, and provide a smaller air pressure to the air bags 150 between a1 and a2 and between a6 and a7, so that the two air bags 150 generate a larger contraction effect, thereby adjusting the relative angle between the first body 110 and the second body 120. In another embodiment, not shown, a corresponding air pressure sensing unit may be provided in each air bag 150 and electrically connected to the control unit 170, so that the control unit 170 can provide a more precise adjustment means for the air pressure in each air bag 150.

In summary, in the above embodiments of the present invention, the foldable electronic device is connected between the two bodies through the hinge chain and the air bag disposed in the groove of the hinge chain, so that the flexible screen partially leans against the air bag except the portion connecting the first body and the second body, and can fluctuate along with the change of the air pressure of the air bag. Accordingly, the air bag can correspondingly adjust the air pressure of the air bag according to the folded state or the unfolded state of the first body and the second body so as to generate different outline contours when the air bag is inflated or deflated relative to the pivot chain, and further adjust the flexible screen supported by the air bag, so that the flexible screen can be effectively provided with corresponding outline changes in the folded state or the unfolded state, and further the situation that the flexible screen is possibly damaged due to the difference of the inner and outer sizes of the flexible screen is avoided.

Claims

1. A foldable electronic device, comprising:

a first body;

a second body;

the pivoting chain is pivoted between the first machine body and the second machine body and comprises a plurality of pivoting pieces which are pivoted with each other, and a groove is formed between every two adjacent pivoting pieces;

the air bags are correspondingly arranged in the grooves; and

the flexible screen is connected with the first machine body and the second machine body, and part of the flexible screen is supported on the air bags to rise and fall along with the air bags.

2. The folding electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising:

and the gas driving unit is arranged on the first machine body or the second machine body and is connected with the plurality of air bags so as to inflate or deflate the plurality of air bags.

3. The folding electronic device of claim 2, further comprising:

the control unit is arranged on the first machine body or the second machine body and is electrically connected with the gas driving unit.

4. The folding electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the control unit drives the gas driving unit to deflate the plurality of air bags to gather the pivot chain to form a bend and to make the first body and the second body form a folded state through the pivot chain, and drives the gas driving unit to inflate the plurality of air bags to relax the pivot chain to form a flattened state and to make the first body and the second body form an unfolded state through the pivot chain.

5. The foldable electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit adjusts air pressures of the air bags by the air driving unit to control a bending degree of the hinge chain and opening and closing angles of the first body and the second body.

6. The folding electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit drives the gas driving unit to deflate the plurality of air bags to make the air bag surfaces recessed with respect to the adjacent plurality of pivots, and drives the gas driving unit to inflate the plurality of air bags to make the air bag surfaces fill the plurality of grooves.

7. The foldable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the flexible screen comprises a first portion, a second portion and a third portion, the third portion is connected between the first portion and the second portion, the first portion is disposed in the first body, the second portion is disposed in the second body, the third portion is attached to the air bags, and the third portion is recessed in the grooves or fills the grooves as the air bags fluctuate.