KR20230111974A - Roll-Slide Type Mobile Device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a roll-slide type portable terminal capable of preventing the occurrence of friction between a flexible display panel that bends and deforms during a sliding operation of a moving body and a support chain assembly supporting the flexible display panel, so that the screen can be expanded or reduced smoothly, and the durability and function of parts can be prevented from being deteriorated or damaged due to excessive spring force acting at the screen expansion position.
The portable terminal of the present invention includes a fixed body, a mobile body that slides in the screen expansion direction with respect to the fixed body, a flexible display panel, some of which are supported on the upper surface of the fixed body so that the fixed end is fixed to the end of the fixed body in the screen reduction direction, and the other part is supported on the bottom surface of the mobile body and the moving end is located at the end of the screen reduction direction of the mobile body, and a support that supports the screen extension portion of the flexible display panel during sliding movement of the mobile body It comprises a chain assembly, a driving means for sliding and moving the moving body, and a tension means for applying a spring force in a direction in which the flexible display panel and the support chain assembly are always in close contact with the bent support portion of the moving body.

Description

Roll-Slide Type Mobile Device {Roll-Slide Type Mobile Device}

The present invention relates to a roll-slide type portable terminal, and more particularly, to a roll-slide type portable terminal capable of expanding or reducing the size of a screen using a flexible display panel as needed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Mobile terminals such as tablet PCs and smart phones are continuously adding or improving various functions to improve convenience due to the development of semiconductors, software, and communication fields.

Recently, folding type and roll-slide type portable terminals capable of increasing or decreasing the size of a body by using a flexible display panel free of bending and deformation have been developed and commercialized.

A folding type portable terminal is formed by dividing a main body into a first main body and a second main body, and configured to interlock with each other between a folded position and an unfolded position around a hinge axis.

In a roll-slide type portable terminal, a main body is formed by separating a fixed main body and a movable main body, and the movable main body can be slid and moved relative to the fixed main body between a screen reduction position and a screen expansion position.

However, in the folding type, only the middle portion (folding portion) of the flexible display panel is bent and deformed during the folding operation of the first and second bodies, and in the roll-slide type flexible display panel, the portion corresponding to the length of shrinking or expanding the screen by sliding the moving body relative to the fixed body (hereinafter referred to as 'bending section') is bent and deformed. bent and deformed

Therefore, the roll-slide type portable terminal needs to be improved in structural and functional aspects so that the bending deformation is smoothly performed in the bending section of the flexible display panel during the sliding operation of the moving body, and at the same time, the flatness of the entire screen is always maintained constant.

(Patent Document 1) KR 10-1792692 B1

An object of the present invention is to provide a roll-slide type portable terminal capable of smoothly expanding or contracting a screen by preventing friction between a flexible display panel that bends and deforms during a sliding operation of a mobile body and a support chain assembly supporting the flexible display panel, and improving durability of the flexible display panel.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a roll-slide type portable terminal capable of stable bending and deformation by applying a spring force to a flexible display panel that expands or contracts during a sliding operation of a mobile body and a support chain assembly supporting the flexible display panel, maintaining a constant flatness of the entire screen at all times, and preventing degradation or damage to the durability and function of parts due to excessive spring force acting at the screen extension position.

The present invention in order to achieve the above object, the fixed body; a moving body installed on the fixed body to slide in a screen expansion direction with respect to the fixed body and having a bending support at an end thereof in the screen expansion direction; A flexible display panel that is wrapped around and bent by the bending support part of the mobile body, a part of which is supported on the upper surface of the fixed body so that the fixed end is fixed to the end of the fixed body in the screen reduction direction, and the other part is supported on the bottom surface of the mobile body and the moving end is located at the end of the screen reduction direction of the mobile body; A support chain assembly positioned between the mobile body and the flexible display panel, tightly fixed to the lower surface of the flexible display panel, and configured to be bendable and deformable in response to the bending support portion to support and support the screen extension portion of the flexible display panel when the mobile body slides; a driving means installed between the fixed body and the moving body to slide and move the moving body; and a tension means installed between the mobile body and the support chain assembly to apply a spring force in a direction in which the flexible display panel and the support chain assembly are always in close contact with the curved support portion of the mobile body.

In addition, the present invention further includes a first guide means for guiding the sliding movement of the mobile body with respect to the fixed body, and the first guide means is characterized in that the roll-slide type portable terminal is composed of a guide rail fixed to the mobile body and a guide block fixed to the stationary body and guided by the guide rail.

In addition, the present invention further includes a second guide means for guiding the sliding movement of the mobile body with respect to the stationary body, and the second guide means is characterized in that the roll-slide type portable terminal is formed by fixing guide side plates having guide members on both sides of the mobile body and forming guide grooves inside the side of the stationary body to guide the guide members.

Further, in the present invention, the support chain assembly is characterized in that the roll-slide type portable terminal is composed of a plurality of support bars extending in the width direction of the flexible display panel and disposed in the screen extension direction of the flexible display panel, and a connecting member fixed to both ends of each support bar and connected to other adjacent support bars in a bending and deformable manner.

In addition, the present invention further includes a chain guide means for guiding the movement of the support chain assembly, wherein the chain guide means forms a track groove corresponding to a horizontal portion and a curved portion of the support chain assembly in the moving body, and each connecting member of the support chain assembly has a roll-slide type portable terminal formed by forming a track protrusion inserted into the track groove and guided.

In the present invention, the tension means, one end hinged to the screen reduction direction end of the mobile body, the other end hinged to the screen reduction direction end of the support chain assembly located on the bottom surface of the mobile body Tension arm; and an elastic member installed between the moving body and the tension arm to apply a spring force so that the hinged portion of the support chain assembly is always pulled in the screen reduction direction.

According to the roll-slide type portable terminal of the present invention having the above characteristic configuration, since the flexible display panel and the support chain assembly supporting the flexible display panel are integrally formed and bent and deformed together during the sliding operation of the moving body, friction does not occur between the flexible display panel and the support chain assembly, thereby improving the durability of the flexible display panel, and the roll-slide operation is performed smoothly, thereby improving the function and quality.

In addition, according to the present invention, when the moving body slides, the tensile force by the tension means acts on the flexible display panel and the support chain assembly so that stable bending and deformation can be achieved, and when the screen is expanded or reduced, the entire flatness of the screen can always be kept constant, and the tensile force of the tension means does not act excessively in the extended position, so that the durability and function of parts are deteriorated or the parts are prevented from being damaged.

1 is a perspective view showing a screen reduction position of a portable terminal according to the present invention;
2 is a perspective view of a roll-slide type portable terminal showing a screen expansion position of the portable terminal according to the present invention;
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view along line AA of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a BB line cross-sectional view of Figure 2;
5 is an exploded perspective view showing the internal structure of the portable terminal according to the present invention.
Figure 6 is a perspective view showing a moving body and a tension means in a portable terminal according to the present invention.
7 is an enlarged view of portion A of FIG. 5;
Figure 8 is a partially cut-away perspective view showing the inside of the upper case in Figure 5;
9 is an enlarged perspective view of main parts showing a support chain assembly and its guide structure in a portable terminal according to the present invention.
Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view along line CC of Figure 1;
11 is a cross-sectional view along line DD of FIG. 2;
12 is a bottom view of the moving body showing the operating state of the tension means in the screen reduction position of the portable terminal according to the present invention.
13 is a bottom view of the moving body showing the operating state of the tension unit at the screen magnification position of the portable terminal according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a roll-slide type portable terminal according to the present invention will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 show a screen reduction position and a screen expansion position of a portable terminal according to the present invention. As shown, the present invention includes a fixed body 10, a movable body 20 and a flexible display panel 30.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the mobile body 20 is slid in the screen expansion direction (X1) spaced apart from the fixed body 10, the screen of the flexible display panel 30 is expanded so that a large screen can be viewed. When the mobile body 20 is slid and moved in the screen reduction direction (X2) closer to the fixed body 10, the screen of the flexible display panel 30 is reduced while the size of the body is reduced, making it convenient to carry.

3 to 6 show the internal structure of the portable terminal and the configuration of the mobile body 20 according to the present invention. The fixed body 10 is composed of an upper case 11 and a lower case 12 that are mutually assembled to form an inner space, and an intermediate plate 13 installed in the inner space between the upper case 11 and the lower case 12.

The middle plate 13 is placed on the support bracket 14 fixed to the upper case 11 and is positioned at the midpoint between the upper case 11 and the lower case 12, and a space is formed between the upper surface and the upper case 11 of the middle plate 13, and a space is also formed between the lower surface of the middle plate 13 and the lower case 12.

The moving body 20 is installed on the fixed body 10 and slides between the screen reduction position and the screen expansion position with respect to the fixed body 10, and is located in the space between the upper case 11 and the middle plate 13. It consists of an upper moving plate 21 and a lower moving plate 22 located between the middle plate 13 and the lower case 12.

The upper movable plate 21 and the lower movable plate 22 are formed integrally by fixing the ends in the screen expansion direction to each other, and the fixed ends of the upper movable plate 21 and the lower movable plate 22 are formed as a curved support part 20a having a semi-circular cross-section structure to support the curved portion of the flexible display panel 30 and the support chain assembly 60, which will be described later.

In addition, the moving body 20 is provided with a front end cover 23 that blocks the bent support portions 20a of the upper moving plate 21 and the lower moving plate 22 from the outside. The front cover 23 is installed so that the extension covers 23a provided on both sides are fixed to the guide side plates 43 on both sides of the lower moving plate 22, and a space through which the flexible display panel 30 passes is formed between the curved support part 20a.

The movable body 20 is guided by first and second guide means to enable stable and smooth sliding movement with respect to the fixed body 10 .

7 and 8, the first guide means includes a guide rail 41 provided on the lower moving plate 22 of the moving body 20 and a guide block 42 fixed to the upper case 11 of the fixed body 10 and guided to the guide rail 41, and the guide block 42 is fixed to the fixing part 11a formed inside the upper case 11.

The second guide means is formed by fixing and installing guide side plates 43 having guide members 44 on both sides of the moving body 20, and forming guide grooves 45 through which the guide members 44 are guided inside the upper case 11 side of the fixed body 10.

The sliding movement of the mobile body 20 may be performed by the user pulling the mobile body 20 to the screen expansion position relative to the fixed body 10, but it is preferably performed automatically through a driving means controlled by a user's manipulation.

Here, the user's operation may be that the user operates a specific switch, touches a specific part of the screen in the case of a touch screen, or slightly moves the moving body 20 in the screen expansion direction (X1) or screen reduction direction (X2).

The driving means is installed between the upper case 11 of the fixed body 10 and the lower moving plate 22 of the moving body 20, as shown in FIGS. 5, 10 and 11. ) It is fixed to the bottom surface and consists of a drive motor 53 for rotating the pinion gear 52.

It is preferable that the pinion gear 52 and the drive motor 53 are provided in plurality to more smoothly slide the moving body 20 .

Referring back to FIGS. 3 and 4 , the flexible display panel 30 is bent and installed so as to surround the curved support part 20a of the mobile body 20, and a part is supported on the upper surface of the upper case 11 of the fixed body 10 so that the fixed end 31 is fixed to the end of the upper case 11 in the screen reduction direction, and the other part is supported on the bottom surface of the lower moving plate 22 of the mobile body 20 to move the end ( 32) is located at the end of the lower moving plate 22 in the screen reduction direction.

The flexible display panel 30 is supported on the upper surface of the upper case 11 at the screen reduction position of the mobile body 20 (position of FIG. 3) to maintain a horizontal plane, and the screen extension portion of the mobile body 20 (position of FIG. 4) is supported by the support chain assembly 60 to maintain a horizontal plane.

The support chain assembly 60 is positioned between the mobile body 20 and the flexible display panel 30, is tightly fixed to the lower surface of the flexible display panel 30, and is configured to be bendable and deformable.

As shown in FIG. 9, the support chain assembly 60 is composed of a plurality of support bars 61 disposed long in the width direction of the flexible display panel 30 (a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction of the moving body 20), and a connecting member 62 fixed to both ends of the plurality of support bars 61 and connecting the adjacent support bars 61 so as to be able to bend and deform each other.

The chain protrusion 63 and the chain groove 64 are formed in the connecting member 62 so that the chain protrusion 63 and the chain groove 64 of the adjacent connecting member 62 are interfitted and connected, and the chain protrusion 63 and the chain groove 64 are formed in a semicircle so that a plurality of support bars 61 can be bent and deformed in the bending support part 20a of the moving body 20.

In addition, when the screen of the flexible display panel 30 is expanded or contracted by the sliding movement of the moving body 20, the support chain assembly 60 is guided by the chain guide means and moves along a predetermined trajectory, thereby more stably supporting the flexible display panel 30 during horizontal maintenance and bending deformation.

The chain guide means may use the guide side plate 43 constituting the second guide means of the moving body 20 . That is, by forming a trajectory groove 65 corresponding to the semicircular shape of the curved support portion 20a of the moving body 20 and the horizontal shapes of the upper moving plate 21 and lower moving plate 22 of the moving body 20 inside the guide side plate 43, and forming a trajectory protrusion 66 in the connecting member 62 of the support chain assembly 60 to be guided by being inserted into the trajectory groove 65 can be configured.

In addition, the present invention is provided with a tension means installed between the moving body 20 and the support chain assembly 60 so that the flexible display panel 30 and the support chain assembly 60 are always closely supported by the moving body 20.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 , the tension unit is composed of a tension arm 71 and an elastic member 72 .

The tension arm 71 is formed in the form of a bar of a predetermined length, one end 71a is hinged to the end of the lower moving plate 22 of the moving body 20 in the screen reduction direction, and the other end 71b is hinged to the end of the support plate 60a connected to the support bar 61 in the screen reduction direction of the support chain assembly 60 located on the bottom surface of the lower moving plate 22 in the screen reduction direction. .

The elastic member 72 is installed between the lower moving plate 22 of the moving body 20 and the tension arm 71 to apply a spring force so that the support chain assembly 60 is always pulled in the screen reduction direction.

It is preferable to use a torsion spring as the elastic member 72, and one end of the torsion spring is held on the lower moving plate 22 and the other end is held on the tension arm 71, so that the torsion spring is compressed when the hinged position of the support chain assembly 60 and the tension arm 71 moves away from the hinged position of the lower moving plate 22 and the tension arm 71. Thus, a spring force that always pulls the support chain assembly 60 in the screen reduction direction can be configured to be applied.

The operation of the roll-slide type portable terminal according to the present invention having such a configuration will be described as follows.

First, when the driving motor 53 is controlled and driven by a user operating a specific switch of the portable terminal, touching the screen, or slightly pulling the moving body 20 at the screen reduction position (see FIGS. 1 and 3), the pinion gear 52 is rotated by the driving motor 53 as shown in FIGS. 5, 10 and 11 to linearly move the rack gear 51 in the screen expansion direction, thereby moving The upper movable plate 21, the lower movable plate 22, and the front end cover 23 of the body 20 slide in the screen expansion direction with respect to the fixed main body 10.

The sliding movement of the moving body 20 is carried out very stably without shaking by this double guide structure, since the guide rail 41 of the lower moving plate 22 is guided by the guide block 42 of the upper case 11, which is the first guide means, and the guide member 44 provided on the guide side plate 43 of the lower moving plate 22, which is the second guide means, is guided to the guide groove 45 of the upper case 11.

In this way, when the mobile body 20 moves in the screen expansion direction, the bending support portion 20a, which is the tip of the upper moving plate 21 and the lower moving plate 22 of the mobile body 20, pushes the support chain assembly 60 and the flexible display panel 30 out. Due to this, since the fixed end 31 of the support chain assembly 60 and the flexible display panel 30 is fixed to the upper case 11 and the movable end 32 is not fixed and is located on the bottom of the lower movable plate 22, the movable end 32 is pulled in the direction of screen extension, and the screen of the flexible display panel 30 supported on the upper movable plate 21 is extended by the moving length (a) of the movable body 20 , the support chain assembly 60 supporting the flexible display panel 30 is also extended (see FIGS. 2 and 4).

The extended flexible display panel 30 and the support chain assembly 60 are supported on the upper moving plate 21 that slides in the screen extending direction with respect to the upper case 11 and maintains a horizontal level.

When the screen is extended, as shown in FIG. 9, the support chain assembly 60 has a plurality of support bars 61 connected to the connecting member 62 so that it is free to be horizontal and curved, and the chain protrusion 63 of the connecting member 62 is guided by the chain groove 64 formed on the guide side plate 43 of the moving body 20 and moves in a constant trajectory, so that the extended portion of the flexible display panel 30 can be maintained horizontally without fail. , the bending deformation in the bending support part 20a is always supported constantly and stably.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 13, the end of the support chain assembly 60 moves in the screen extension direction than the length (a) of the lower moving plate 22 moves in the screen extension direction when the moving body 20 slides. Length (b) is longer.

This is because the support chain assembly 60 is wound around the semicircular curved support portion 20a of the moving body 20, and the larger the radius of the bent support portion 20a, the longer the moving length b of the end of the support chain assembly 60 in proportion thereto.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, in the screen reduction position, the hinged position of the lower moving plate 22 hinged with the tension arm 71 of the tension means and the hinged position of the end of the support chain assembly 60 are close to the screen expanding direction, as shown in FIG. Since the length (b) of the movement of the hinge coupling position at the end of the support chain assembly 60 is longer than that of a), the tension arm 71 rotates at a predetermined angle around the hinge coupling position of the lower moving plate 22, and thereby the elastic member 72 is compressed.

Since a spring force pulling the support chain assembly 60 in the direction of screen reduction is applied to the end of the support chain assembly 60 by the elastic member 72 compressed as described above, the support chain assembly 60 and the flexible display panel 30 supported thereon can continuously maintain a state in close contact with the bent support portion 20a, so that the entire screen can be kept taut while the screen of the flexible display panel 30 expands.

Conversely, in the screen expansion position (see FIGS. 2 and 4), the user manipulates a specific switch of the portable terminal, touches the screen, or slightly presses the mobile body 20 in the screen reduction direction.

As a result, since the rack gear 51 moves linearly in the screen reduction direction, the upper moving plate 21, the lower moving plate 22, and the front cover 23 of the moving body 20 slide with respect to the fixed body 10 in the screen reducing direction.

Even at this time, the sliding movement of the moving body 20 is performed very stably without shaking by the double guide structure by the first and second guide means as described above.

When the moving body 20 moves in the screen reduction direction, the support chain assembly 60 and the flexible display panel 30 try to be separated from the bent support portion 20a, which is the front end of the upper moving plate 21 and the lower moving plate 22 of the moving body 20, but the end of the supporting chain assembly 60 is subjected to a spring force in the screen reduction direction by the elastic member 72 of the compressed tension means. Therefore, the support chain assembly 60 and the flexible display panel 30 continuously come into close contact with the bent support part 20a.

Therefore, it is possible to maintain a horizontal state by tightening the screen while moving from the screen expansion position to the screen reduction position.

Even when the screen is reduced, the support chain assembly 60 moves in a constant trajectory by means of a chain guide as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, in the tension means of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 13, when the moving body 20 slides, the length (b) of the support chain assembly 60 moved in the screen extending direction is longer than the length (a) of the lower moving plate 22 moving in the screen extending direction. Considering that, one end 71a of the tension arm 71 is hinged with the lower moving plate 22, and the other end 71 In b), the displacement length (c) in which the elastic member 72 elastically deforms between the screen reduction position and the screen expansion position is reduced as much as possible by hinge coupling to the end of the support chain assembly 60.

This means that when one end 71a of the tension arm 71 is hinged to the lower case 12 of the fixed body 10, the displacement length by which the tension member elastically deforms is the same as the length b moved by the end of the support chain assembly 60, so the displacement length by which the elastic member 72 elastically deforms becomes longer.

Therefore, the longer the displacement length (c) at which the elastic member 72 elastically deforms, the excessive spring force acts at the screen extended position, and the excessive spring force acts as a large load during the sliding movement of the moving body 20, giving a burden to the driving means. In addition, when the elastic member 72 repeats excessive elastic deformation and elastic restoration operation for a long period of time, the elastic function of the elastic member 72 gradually weakens and loses its function, so this can be prevented as much as possible.

As described above, the optimal embodiment has been disclosed in the drawings and specifications. Although specific terms have been used herein, they are only used for the purpose of describing the present invention and are not used to limit the scope of the present invention described in the claims. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

10: fixed body 11: upper case
12: lower case 20: moving body
20a: bending support 21: upper moving plate
22: lower moving plate 30: flexible display panel
31: fixed end 32: moving end
41: guide rail 42: guide block
43: guide side plate 44: guide member
45: guide groove 60: support chain assembly
61: supporting bar 62: connecting member
65: trajectory groove 66: trajectory protrusion
71: tension arm 72: elastic member

Claims (6)

fixed body;
a moving body installed on the fixed body to slide in a screen expansion direction with respect to the fixed body and having a bending support at an end thereof in the screen expansion direction;
A flexible display panel that is wrapped around and bent by the bending support part of the mobile body, a part of which is supported on the upper surface of the fixed body so that the fixed end is fixed to the end of the fixed body in the screen reduction direction, and the other part is supported on the bottom surface of the mobile body and the moving end is located at the end of the screen reduction direction of the mobile body;
A support chain assembly positioned between the mobile body and the flexible display panel, tightly fixed to the lower surface of the flexible display panel, and configured to be bendable and deformable in response to the bending support portion to support and support the screen extension portion of the flexible display panel when the mobile body slides;
a driving means installed between the fixed body and the moving body to slide and move the moving body; and
A roll-slide type portable terminal, characterized in that it comprises a tension means installed between the mobile body and the support chain assembly to apply a spring force in a direction in which the flexible display panel and the support chain assembly always come into close contact with the curved support portion of the mobile body. According to claim 1, further comprising a first guide means for guiding the slide movement of the moving body with respect to the fixed body,
The roll-slide type portable terminal, characterized in that the first guide means consists of a guide rail fixed to the mobile body and a guide block fixed to the stationary body and guided by the guide rail. The method of claim 2, further comprising a second guide means for guiding sliding movement of the movable body with respect to the fixed body,
The second guide means is formed by fixing guide side plates having guide members on both sides of the moving body, and forming guide grooves through which the guide members are guided inside the side of the fixed body. The method of claim 1, wherein the support chain assembly,
A roll-slide type portable terminal, characterized in that it consists of a plurality of support bars extending in the width direction of the flexible display panel and disposed in the screen extension direction of the flexible display panel, and a connecting member fixed to both ends of each support bar and connected to other adjacent support bars so as to be flexibly deformable. The method of claim 4, further comprising a chain guide means for guiding the movement of the support chain assembly,
The chain guide means forms a track groove corresponding to the horizontal portion and the curved portion of the support chain assembly in the moving body, and forms a track projection on each connecting member of the support chain assembly to be guided by being inserted into the track groove. A roll-slide type portable terminal, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, wherein the tension means,
a tension arm having one end hinged to the end of the mobile body in the screen reduction direction and the other end hinged to the end of the support chain assembly located on the bottom surface of the mobile body in the screen reduction direction; and
A roll-slide type portable terminal, characterized in that consisting of an elastic member installed between the moving body and the tension arm to apply a spring force so that the hinged portion of the support chain assembly is always pulled in the screen reduction direction.

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