US20210030123A1 - Flexible device - Google Patents

Flexible device Download PDF

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Publication number
US20210030123A1
US20210030123A1 US16/319,726 US201716319726A US2021030123A1 US 20210030123 A1 US20210030123 A1 US 20210030123A1 US 201716319726 A US201716319726 A US 201716319726A US 2021030123 A1 US2021030123 A1 US 2021030123A1
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
movable element
positioning
movable
flexible device
flexible
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US16/319,726
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Weifeng Wu
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from PCT/CN2016/090477 external-priority patent/WO2018014194A1/zh
Priority claimed from PCT/CN2016/090478 external-priority patent/WO2018014195A1/zh
Priority claimed from PCT/CN2016/090479 external-priority patent/WO2018014196A1/zh
Application filed by Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co Ltd filed Critical Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co Ltd
Assigned to SHENZHEN ROYOLE TECHNOLOGIES CO. LTD. reassignment SHENZHEN ROYOLE TECHNOLOGIES CO. LTD. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: WU, Weifeng
Publication of US20210030123A1 publication Critical patent/US20210030123A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
    • E05D—HINGES OR SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS
    • E05D3/00—Hinges with pins
    • E05D3/06—Hinges with pins with two or more pins
    • E05D3/18—Hinges with pins with two or more pins with sliding pins or guides
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09F—DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS
    • G09F9/00—Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements
    • G09F9/30—Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements in which the desired character or characters are formed by combining individual elements
    • G09F9/301—Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements in which the desired character or characters are formed by combining individual elements flexible foldable or roll-able electronic displays, e.g. thin LCD, OLED
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A44—HABERDASHERY; JEWELLERY
    • A44C—PERSONAL ADORNMENTS, e.g. JEWELLERY; COINS
    • A44C5/00—Bracelets; Wrist-watch straps; Fastenings for bracelets or wrist-watch straps
    • A44C5/0053—Flexible straps
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A44—HABERDASHERY; JEWELLERY
    • A44C—PERSONAL ADORNMENTS, e.g. JEWELLERY; COINS
    • A44C5/00—Bracelets; Wrist-watch straps; Fastenings for bracelets or wrist-watch straps
    • A44C5/0007—Bracelets specially adapted for other functions or with means for attaching other articles
    • A44C5/0015—Bracelets specially adapted for other functions or with means for attaching other articles providing information, e.g. bracelets with calendars
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A44—HABERDASHERY; JEWELLERY
    • A44C—PERSONAL ADORNMENTS, e.g. JEWELLERY; COINS
    • A44C5/00—Bracelets; Wrist-watch straps; Fastenings for bracelets or wrist-watch straps
    • A44C5/02—Link constructions
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A44—HABERDASHERY; JEWELLERY
    • A44C—PERSONAL ADORNMENTS, e.g. JEWELLERY; COINS
    • A44C5/00—Bracelets; Wrist-watch straps; Fastenings for bracelets or wrist-watch straps
    • A44C5/02—Link constructions
    • A44C5/10—Link constructions not extensible
    • A44C5/107—Link constructions not extensible with links made of more than two elements including connecting elements
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
    • E05D—HINGES OR SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS
    • E05D11/00—Additional features or accessories of hinges
    • E05D11/06—Devices for limiting the opening movement of hinges
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
    • E05D—HINGES OR SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS
    • E05D11/00—Additional features or accessories of hinges
    • E05D11/08—Friction devices between relatively-movable hinge parts
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
    • G06F1/1613—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers
    • G06F1/163—Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
    • G06F1/1613—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers
    • G06F1/1633—Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626
    • G06F1/1637—Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
    • G06F1/1641—Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing the display being formed by a plurality of foldable display components
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
    • G06F1/1613—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers
    • G06F1/1633—Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626
    • G06F1/1637—Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
    • G06F1/1643—Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
    • G06F1/1613—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers
    • G06F1/1633—Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626
    • G06F1/1637—Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
    • G06F1/1652—Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
    • G06F1/1613—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers
    • G06F1/1633—Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626
    • G06F1/1675—Miscellaneous details related to the relative movement between the different enclosures or enclosure parts
    • G06F1/1681—Details related solely to hinges
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
    • H04M1/0202—Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets
    • H04M1/0206—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings
    • H04M1/0247—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings comprising more than two body parts
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
    • H04M1/0202—Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets
    • H04M1/026—Details of the structure or mounting of specific components
    • H04M1/0266—Details of the structure or mounting of specific components for a display module assembly
    • H04M1/0268—Details of the structure or mounting of specific components for a display module assembly including a flexible display panel
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F2203/00—Indexing scheme relating to G06F3/00 - G06F3/048
    • G06F2203/041—Indexing scheme relating to G06F3/041 - G06F3/045
    • G06F2203/04102—Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
    • H04M1/0202—Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets
    • H04M1/0206—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings
    • H04M1/0208—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings characterized by the relative motions of the body parts
    • H04M1/0214—Foldable telephones, i.e. with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
    • H04M1/0216—Foldable in one direction, i.e. using a one degree of freedom hinge

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to flexible devices, and particularly to a flexible wearable device.
  • wearable smart devices such as smart watches, smart bracelets, smart running shoes, smart clothes, smart backpacks, and so on.
  • Various sensors integrated in the smart device are used to monitor human body's data to achieve health maintenance.
  • the smart bracelet Due to small size and portability of the smart bracelet, at present, the smart bracelet has become popular among the wearable smart devices.
  • the existing smart bracelet generally has a fixed shape, whereby application requirements of more scenarios cannot be satisfied.
  • the present disclosure provides a flexible device that can satisfy application requirements of different scenarios.
  • a flexible device includes a flexible functional element, and further includes a first movable element, a second movable element, a positioning element, and a limitation element.
  • the first movable element defines a positioning hole.
  • the second movable element defines a positioning slot.
  • the positioning element passes through the positioning hole and movably passes through the positioning slot.
  • the limitation element fixes to the positioning element and abuts against the first movable element. A movement of the second movable element relative to the first movable element deforms the flexible functional element.
  • the limitation element abuts against a region adjacent to the positioning hole of the first movable element.
  • the positioning element has a distal end passed through the positioning hole, and the limitation element is sleeved on the distal end of the positioning element passed through the positioning hole.
  • the limitation element includes an elastic tab abutting against the first movable element and a locking element locking the elastic tab.
  • the positioning element is motionless relative to the first movable element during the movement of the second movable element relative to the first movable element.
  • the limitation element is motionless relative to the first movable element during the movement of the second movable element relative to the first movable element.
  • the positioning hole has a flat surface
  • the positioning element has a flat surface
  • the flat surface of the positioning element abuts against the flat surface of the positioning hole to prevent a rotation of the positioning element relative to the positioning hole.
  • the first movable element locates at an interior side of the second movable element, and the limitation element abuts against an interior surface of the first movable element.
  • the positioning element comprises a first positioning shaft and a second positioning shaft, the first positioning shaft and the second positioning shaft both pass through the positioning slot, and the limitation element is fixed to the first positioning shaft.
  • the first positioning shaft is longer than the second positioning shaft.
  • the first positioning shaft is closer to a center of the first movement element than the second positioning shaft.
  • the first positioning shaft comprises a nut and a threaded rod extending from the nut, the nut locates at an exterior side of the second movable element, the threaded rod has a distal end passed through an interior side of the first movable element, and the limitation element is locked to the distal end of the threaded rod passed through the interior side of the first movable element.
  • the positioning slot has a first distal end and a second distal end opposite to the first distal end, and the positioning slot has a height decreasing from the first distal end to a middle of the positioning slot and decreasing from the second distal end to the middle of the positioning slot.
  • the movement of the second movable element relative to the first movable element deforms the flexible device to switch between a first state and a second state; in the first state, the first positioning shaft abuts against the first distal end of the positioning slot, and the second positioning shaft is spaced apart from the second distal end of the positioning slot; in the second state, the first positioning shaft is spaced apart from the first distal end of the positioning slot, and the second positioning shaft abuts against the second distal end of the positioning slot.
  • the first movable element In the first state, the first movable element is spaced apart from an adjacent first movable element; in the second state, the first movable element abuts against the adjacent first movable element.
  • the second movable element defines two positioning slots
  • the first movable element defines four positioning holes
  • two adjacent positioning holes correspond to one of the two positioning slots
  • the other two adjacent positioning holes correspond to the other of the two positioning slots.
  • the movement of the second movable element relative to the first movable comprises a rotation, and the rotation of the second movable element relative to the first movable element has a center locating in the functional element.
  • the functional element comprises a support plate attached to a top portion of the second movable element and a flexible functional screen attached to the support plate, and the center of the rotation of the second movable element relative to the first movable element locates above the support plate and locates in the flexible functional screen.
  • the first movable element is symmetric with respect to a center line of the first movable element
  • the second movable element is symmetric with respect to a center line of the second movable element
  • a relative movement of the first movable element and the second movable element can deform the flexible device to different shapes, thereby adapting the flexible device to application requirements of different scenarios.
  • FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flexible device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 2 is an inversion view of the flexible device of FIG. 1 .
  • FIG. 3 is a partial exploded view of the flexible device of FIG. 1 .
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating the flexible device of FIG. 1 deformed to a bracelet, a functional element being removed.
  • FIG. 5 is a further exploded view of the flexible device of FIG. 3 .
  • FIG. 6 is a partial enlarged view of the flexible device of FIG. 5 .
  • FIG. 7 is another partial enlarged view of the flexible device of FIG. 5 .
  • FIG. 8 is another partial exploded view of the flexible device of FIG. 1 .
  • FIG. 9 is a partial enlarged view of the flexible device of FIG. 8 .
  • FIG. 10 is another partial enlarged view of the flexible device of FIG. 8 .
  • FIG. 11 is a schematic view illustrating a first movable element and a second movable element of the flexible device of FIG. 1 in a first state.
  • FIG. 12 is a schematic view illustrating the first movable element and the second movable element of the flexible device of FIG. 1 in a second state.
  • FIGS. 13-15 are schematic views illustrating a principle of switching states of the first movable element and the second movable element of FIGS. 11-12 .
  • FIG. 16 is a sectional view of the flexible device of FIG. 1 .
  • FIG. 17 is a partial enlarged view of the flexible device of FIG. 16 .
  • FIG. 18 is a sectional view of the flexible device of FIG. 4 .
  • FIG. 19 is an exploded view of a flexible device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 20 is an exploded view of a movable element and a fixing element of the flexible device of FIG. 19 .
  • FIG. 21 is partial enlarged view of FIG. 20 .
  • FIG. 22 is an enlarged view of a support plate of FIG. 19 .
  • FIG. 23 is a partial enlarged view of FIG. 22 .
  • FIG. 24 is an exploded view of a first connection element of the flexible device of FIG. 19 .
  • FIG. 25 is a side view of the connection element of FIG. 24 .
  • FIG. 26 is a sectional view of a flexible device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 27 is a partial enlarged view of FIG. 26 .
  • FIG. 28 is an exploded view of a second connection element of the flexible device of FIG. 19 .
  • FIG. 29 is a front view of a support plate of FIG. 19 .
  • FIG. 30 is an exploded view of an end cap of the flexible device of FIG. 19 .
  • FIG. 31 is an exploded view of a fourth movable element of the flexible device of FIG. 19 .
  • the flexible device includes a housing 10 , a flexible assembly 20 mounted in the housing 10 , and a functional element 30 arranged on the housing 10 .
  • the flexible assembly 20 can be deformed to deform the flexible device, thereby adapting the flexible device to application requirements of different scenarios.
  • the flexible device is preferably deformed from a shape of a flat plate to a shape of a circular ring.
  • the flexible device When in the shape of the flat plate, the flexible device is fully unfolded, facilitating operations of a user.
  • the whole flexible device When in the shape of the circular ring, the whole flexible device is curled to form a wearable device, facilitating being worn on a body of the user.
  • shapes formed by the deformation of the flexible device can be changed according to requirements, thereby adapting to requirements of more application scenarios.
  • the flexible device is switched from a shape of an arch to the shape of the circular ring, from the shape of the flat plate to a shape of a wave, from a U-shape to an S-shaped, or other.
  • the flexible device 20 includes movable elements 200 arranged at opposite sides of the housing 10 .
  • the movable elements 200 at each side all include a first movable element 22 and a second movable element 24 movably connected to the first movable element 22 .
  • Multiple first movable elements 22 and multiple second movable elements 24 are included, and uniformly arranged at the opposite sides of the housing 10 .
  • each side of the housing 10 includes multiple first movable elements 22 and multiple second movable elements 24 , and the first movable element 22 is closer to an exterior side of the housing 10 than the second movable element 24 .
  • the first movable elements 22 at each side of the housing 10 are linearly aligned.
  • the second movable elements 24 at each side of the housing 10 are linearly aligned.
  • Each first movable element 22 at each side of the housing 10 is not directly connected to adjacent first movable elements 22
  • each second movable element 24 at each side of the housing 10 is also not directly connected to adjacent second movable elements 24 .
  • the first movable element 22 and adjacent second movable elements 24 at the same side of the housing 10 are in staggered connection.
  • each first movable element 22 and two adjacent second movable elements 24 are arranged side by side and connected in a staggered manner.
  • the first movable elements 22 and the second movable elements 24 have the same shape and structure.
  • the first movable elements 22 and the second movable elements 24 are all hinges.
  • the first movable element 22 is substantially trapezoid-shaped, and has a flat bottom surface 220 , inclined side surfaces 222 , and a curved top surface 224 .
  • the bottom surface 220 of the first movable element 22 is flat, and parallel to the undeformed functional element 30 .
  • the first movable element 22 has two side surfaces 222 . Each side surface 222 is flat, and inclined relative to the bottom surface 220 . Each side surface 222 and the bottom surface 220 define an obtuse angle therebetween.
  • the obtuse angle is larger than 90 degrees and smaller than 180 degrees. Preferably, the obtuse angle is larger than 100 degrees and smaller than 110 degrees.
  • the two side surfaces 222 extend upwards in opposite directions to connect the bottom surface 220 to the top surface 224 .
  • the top surface 224 of the first movable element 22 is an arch surface of a shape of a circular arc, and forms a support surface of the first movable element 22 .
  • the top surface 224 has a height gradually increasing from opposite ends of the top surface 224 to a middle portion of the top surface 224 , thus forming a convex surface.
  • the top surface 224 may be a convex surface of other shape, for example, a convex surface of a shape of a half of a hexahedron (a convex surface similar to a trapezoid), a convex surface of a shape of a half of an octahedron (a convex surface similar to a trapezoid with a rectangle at a bottom of the trapezoid), a convex surface of a shape of a half of a decahedron, or other.
  • Connection lines each connecting one of opposite ends of an arc surface and a center of a circle where the arc surface locates define an included angle therebetween, and the included angle is defined as a span angle of the arc surface.
  • the top surface 224 has a span angle larger than 10 degrees and smaller than 30 degrees.
  • the first movable element 22 defines a positioning slot 226 .
  • the positioning slot 226 extends through a front surface (i.e., an interior surface of the first movable element 22 ) and a rear surface (i.e., an exterior surface of the first movable element 22 ) of the first movable element 22 , and is adjacent to one side surface 222 of the first movable element 22 .
  • the positioning slot 226 is arc-shaped, and a bending direction of the positioning slot 226 is opposite to that of the top surface 224 .
  • the positioning slot 226 has a height gradually decreasing from opposite ends of the positioning slot 226 to a middle portion of the positioning slot 226 .
  • the positioning slot 226 has a first arc surface, a second arc surface, and two connection arc surfaces to connect the first arc surface to the second arc surface.
  • the first arc surface is parallel to the second arc surface, and the first arc surface and the second arc surface have a same center.
  • the first arc surface is shorter than the second arc surface.
  • the connection arc surfaces are substantially semi-circular, thereby forming rounded corners at the opposite ends of the positioning slot 226 .
  • the positioning slot 226 has a larger span angle than the top surface 224 .
  • the span angle of the positioning slot 226 is larger than 70 degrees and smaller than 90 degrees.
  • the first movable element 22 further defines positioning holes 228 .
  • the positioning holes 228 also extend through the front surface and the rear surface of the first movable element 22 .
  • the positioning holes 228 include a first positioning hole and a second positioning hole.
  • the first positioning hole is adjacent to a middle portion of the first movable element 22
  • the second positioning hole is adjacent to the other side surface 222 of the first movable element 22 .
  • the positioning hole 228 locates above a lowest point of the positioning slot 226 and below a highest point of the positioning slot 226 .
  • the second movable element 22 is substantially trapezoid-shaped, and has a flat bottom surface 240 , inclined side surfaces 242 , and a curved top surface 244 .
  • the bottom surface 240 of the second movable element 24 is flat, and parallel to the undeformed functional element 30 .
  • the second movable element 24 has two side surfaces 242 . Each side surface 242 is flat, and inclined relative to the bottom surface 240 . Each side surface 242 and the bottom surface 240 define an obtuse angle therebetween.
  • the obtuse angle is larger than 90 degrees and smaller than 180 degrees. Preferably, the obtuse angle is larger than 100 degrees and smaller than 110 degrees.
  • the two side surfaces 242 extend upwards in opposite directions to connect the bottom surface 240 to the top surface 244 .
  • the top surface 244 of the second movable element 24 is an arch surface of a shape of a circular arc, and forms a support surface of the second movable element 24 .
  • the top surface 244 has a height gradually increasing from opposite ends of the top surface 244 to a middle portion of the top surface 244 , thus forming a convex surface.
  • the top surface 244 has a span angle larger than 10 degrees and smaller than 30 degrees.
  • the top surface 244 may be a convex surface of other shape, for example, a convex surface of a shape of a half of a hexahedron, a convex surface of a shape of a half of an octahedron, a convex surface of a shape of a half of a decahedron, or other.
  • the second movable element 24 defines a positioning slot 246 .
  • the positioning slot 246 extends through a front surface (i.e., an interior surface of the second movable element 24 ) and a rear surface (i.e., an exterior surface of the second movable element 24 ) of the second movable element 24 , and is adjacent to one side surface 242 of the second movable element 24 .
  • the positioning slot 246 is arc-shaped, and a bending direction of the positioning slot 246 is opposite to that of the top surface 244 .
  • the positioning slot 246 has a height gradually decreasing from opposite ends of the positioning slot 246 to a middle portion of the positioning slot 246 .
  • the positioning slot 246 has a first arc surface, a second arc surface, and two connection arc surfaces to connect the first arc surface to the second arc surface.
  • the first arc surface is parallel to the second arc surface, and the first arc surface and the second arc surface have a same center.
  • the first arc surface is shorter than the second arc surface.
  • the connection arc surfaces are substantially semi-circular, thereby forming rounded corners at the opposite ends of the positioning slot 246 .
  • the positioning slot 246 has a larger span angle than the top surface 244 .
  • the span angle of the positioning slot 246 is larger than 70 degrees and smaller than 90 degrees.
  • the second movable element 24 further defines positioning holes 248 .
  • the positioning holes 248 also extend through the front surface and the rear surface of the second movable element 24 .
  • the fixing holes 248 include a first positioning hole and a second positioning hole.
  • the first positioning hole is adjacent to a middle portion of the second movable element 24
  • the second positioning hole is adjacent to the other side surface 242 of the second movable element 24 .
  • the positioning hole 248 locates above a lowest point of the positioning slot 246 and below a highest point of the positioning slot 246 .
  • the flexible device 20 further includes positioning elements 202 connected to the movable elements 200 .
  • the first movable elements 22 and adjacent second movable elements 24 are in staggered connection via the positioning elements 202 .
  • Part of the front surface of the first movable element 22 is in contact with part of the rear surface of the second movable element 24 .
  • the positioning element 202 can slide in the positioning slots 226 and 246 , such that the first movable element 22 can move relative to the second movable element 24 .
  • the positioning element 202 includes a first positioning element 26 and a second positioning element 28 .
  • the second positioning element 28 connects the first movable element 22 to one adjacent second movable element 24
  • the first positioning element 26 connects the first movable element 22 to another adjacent second movable element 24
  • the second positioning element 28 and the first positioning element 26 may have the same structure or different structures.
  • the second positioning element 28 includes a first positioning shaft 280 and a second positioning shaft 282
  • the first movable element 26 includes a first positioning shaft 260 and a second positioning shaft 262 .
  • the first positioning shaft 280 and the second positioning shaft 282 of the second positioning element 28 first pass through the positioning slot 226 of the first movable element 22 , and then pass through the two positioning holes 248 of one adjacent second movable element 24 , respectively.
  • the first positioning shaft 260 and the second positioning shaft 262 of the first positioning element 26 first pass through the two positioning holes 228 of the first movable element 22 , respectively, and then pass through the positioning slot 246 of another adjacent second movable element 24 .
  • the first positioning shaft 260 and the second positioning shaft 262 of the first positioning element 26 are spaced apart from each other, and a distance between the first positioning shaft 260 and the second positioning shaft 262 of the first positioning element 26 remains unchanged during deformation of the flexible assembly 20 .
  • the first positioning shaft 280 and the second positioning shaft 282 of the second positioning element 28 are spaced apart from each other, and a distance between the first positioning shaft 280 and the second positioning shaft 282 of the second positioning element 28 remains unchanged during the deformation of the flexible assembly 20 .
  • the first positioning shaft 280 and the second positioning shaft 282 of the second positioning element 28 may have the same structure or different structures.
  • the first positioning shaft 260 and the second positioning shaft 262 of the first positioning element 26 may have the same structure or different structures.
  • the first positioning shaft 280 of the second positioning element 28 and the first positioning shaft 260 of the first positioning element 26 may have the same structure or different structures, or the first positioning shaft 280 of the second positioning element 28 and the second positioning shaft 262 of the first positioning element 26 may have the same structure or different structures.
  • the second positioning shaft 282 of the second positioning element 28 and the first positioning shaft 260 of the first positioning element 26 may have the same structure or different structures, or the second positioning shaft 282 of the second positioning element 28 and the second positioning shaft 262 of the first positioning element 26 may have the same structure or different structures.
  • the first positioning shaft 280 and the second positioning shaft 282 of the second positioning element 28 and the first positioning shaft 260 and the second positioning shaft 262 of the first positioning element 26 have different structures.
  • a length of the second positioning shaft 282 of the second fixing element 28 , a length of the first positioning shaft 280 of the second fixing element 28 , a length of the first positioning shaft 260 of the first fixing element 26 , and a length of the second positioning shaft 262 of the first fixing element 26 sequentially decrease.
  • the first positioning shaft 280 of the second positioning element 28 includes a screw consisted of a nut and a threaded rod extending perpendicularly from the nut.
  • the threaded rod passes through the positioning slot 226 of the first movable element 22 , and then passes through one positioning hole 248 of one adjacent second movable element 24 .
  • the nut abuts against a rear side of the first movable element 22 to prevent the first positioning shaft 280 from falling off.
  • the second positioning shaft 282 of the second positioning element 28 includes a continuous connection rod of a shape of an elongated rod.
  • connection rod passes through the positioning slot 226 of the first movable element 22 and another positioning hole 248 of the adjacent second movable element 24 at one side of the flexible device, and then passes through the first positioning hole 248 of the second movable element 24 and the positioning slot 226 of one adjacent first movable element 22 at the other side of the flexible device.
  • the connection rods connect the movable elements 200 at the opposite sides of the flexible device, and particularly connect the first movable elements 22 and the second movable elements 24 of the movable elements 200 at one side of the flexible device to the first movable elements 22 and the second movable elements 24 of the movable elements 200 at the other side of the flexible device, thereby reinforcing the flexible device.
  • the first positioning shaft 260 of the first positioning element 26 includes a threaded rod, and the threaded rod passes through one positioning hole 228 of the first movable element 22 and the positioning slot 246 of the other adjacent second movable element 24 .
  • the second positioning shaft 262 of the first positioning element 26 includes a protruding post, and the protruding post passes through the other positioning hole 228 of the first movable element 22 and the positioning slot 246 of the other adjacent second movable element 24 .
  • the first positioning shaft 280 of the second positioning element 28 connects the first movable element 22 to one adjacent second movable element 24 at one side of the flexible device.
  • the second positioning shaft 282 of the second positioning element 28 connects the first movable element 22 and one adjacent second movable element 24 at one side of the flexible device to the first movable element 22 and one adjacent second movable element 24 at the other side of the flexible device.
  • the first positioning shaft 260 of the first positioning element 26 connects the first movable element 22 to the other adjacent second movable element 24 at one side of the flexible device.
  • the second fixing shaft 262 of the first positioning element 26 connects the first movable element 22 to the other adjacent second movable element 24 at one side of the flexible device.
  • the first positioning shafts 260 and 280 and the second positioning shafts 262 and 282 all have a diameter equal to or slightly smaller than a width of the positioning slot 226 and equal to or slightly smaller than a width of the positioning slot 246 , thereby tight fitting in the positioning slots 226 and 246 .
  • a distance between the first positioning shaft 260 and the second positioning shaft 262 of the first positioning element 26 is shorter than that of the positioning slot 246
  • a distance between the first positioning shaft 280 and the second positioning shaft 282 of the second positioning element 28 is shorter than that of the positioning slot 226 , such that the first positioning shafts 260 and 280 and the second positioning shafts 262 and 282 can slide in the positioning slots 226 and 246 , thereby driving the first movable element 22 to move relative to the second movable element 24 .
  • the flexible assembly 20 further includes limitation elements 204 abutting against the movable elements 200 .
  • the limitation element 204 is movably sleeved on the positioning element 202 to control a force applied to the movable element 200 , thereby adjusting a damping value of the flexible assembly 20 during the deformation of the flexible assembly 20 .
  • the first positioning shafts 280 and 260 are all locked with the limitation elements 204 .
  • the limitation elements 204 are all a nut 270 with an elastic tab 272 , and the nuts 270 and the first positioning shafts 260 and 280 are in threaded engagement.
  • the elastic tab 272 elastically abuts against the front surface of the first movable element 22 or the front surface of the second movable element 24 , and is sandwiched between the nut 270 and the front surface of the first movable element 22 or sandwiched between the nut 270 and the front surface of the second movable element 24 . Furthermore, by adjusting locking between the limitation element 204 and the first positioning shaft 260 and locking between the limitation element 204 and the second positioning shaft 280 , an elastic force applied to the first movable element 22 or the second movable element 24 by the elastic tab 272 can be adjusted, thereby controlling the damping value of the flexible assembly 20 during the rotation of the flexible assembly 20 . When the damping value is adjusted to be proper, the flexible assembly 20 can be positioned at any position during the rotation, thereby adapting to more shape requirements.
  • the functional element 30 includes a flexible functional screen 32 such as a flexible touch screen or a flexible display screen, or a combination of the flexible touch screen and the flexible display screen
  • a flexible functional screen 32 such as a flexible touch screen or a flexible display screen, or a combination of the flexible touch screen and the flexible display screen
  • the flexible functional screen 32 is not resistant to stretching or compression.
  • the structure of the first movable element 22 and the second movable element 24 and the connection relationship between the first movable element 22 and the second movable element 24 are further improved.
  • the functional element 30 further includes a support plate 34 fixed to a bottom portion of the flexible touch screen or a bottom portion of the flexible display screen.
  • the support plate 34 and the flexible functional screen 32 have the same size and shape.
  • the support plate 34 is made of an elastic material having high rigidity, such as steel, iron, copper, or the like.
  • the support plate 34 has higher rigidity than the flexible functional screen 32 .
  • the support plate 34 is fixed to the first movable elements 22 and the second movable elements 24 .
  • the support plate 34 is fixed to the support surfaces (i.e., the top surfaces 224 ) of the first movable elements 22 and the support surfaces (i.e., the top surfaces 244 ) of the second movable elements 24 . Since the support surface is a convex and arc surface, the support plate 34 is fixed to a top portion of the support surface, that is, a fixing point of the support surface is the top portion of the support surface.
  • the fixing points may be other positions of the top surfaces 224 of the first movable elements 22 and other positions of the top surfaces 244 of the second movable elements 24 , and are not limited to the top portions.
  • the fixing points are defined merely for easy illustration, and essentially refer to the top portions of the top surfaces 224 and 244 , and the fixing point may include a region and is not limited to a single point.
  • the support plate 34 is fixed to the top portion of the top surface 224 of each first movable element 22 and the top portion of the top surface 244 of each second movable element 24 at each side of the flexible device.
  • the support plate 34 is spaced apart from the other positions of the top surfaces 224 of the first movable elements 22 and the other positions of the top surfaces 244 of the second movable elements 24 .
  • the support plate 34 is fixed to the first movable elements 22 and the second movable elements 24 via welding, bonding, or other.
  • the positioning slot 246 of the second movable element 24 is in a shape of a circular arc, when the second movable element 24 moves relative to the first movable element 22 , the positioning slot 246 of the second movable element 24 is limited by the first positioning shaft 260 and the second positioning shaft 262 of the first positioning element 26 that connects the first movable element 22 to the second movable element 24 , such that the second movable element 24 moves along the positioning slot 246 .
  • the second movable element 24 further moves in parallel relative to the first movable element 22 while rotating relative to the first movement element 22 , i.e., the movement of the second movable element 24 relative to the first movable element 22 includes both rotational movement and parallel movement.
  • the second movable element 24 rotates clockwise relative to the first movable element 22 .
  • the second movable element 24 moves in parallel toward the positioning slot 226 of the first movable element 22 .
  • the positioning slot 246 of the second movable element 24 is in the shape of the circular arc, the positioning slot 246 has a corresponding center.
  • the center is also a rotation center O of the second movable element 24 .
  • the rotation center referred to in the embodiment means that during a rotation of a certain element around the rotation center, a distance between any position of the element and the rotation center keeps unchanged.
  • a track of the movement of the second movable element 24 around the rotation center O is curved in a direction opposite to that in which the top surface 244 of the second movable element 24 is curved.
  • the rotation center O of the second movable element 24 is located above a thickness center of the second movable element 24 .
  • the rotation center O of the second moveable element 24 is flush with the top portion of the support surface of the second movable element 24 or located above the second movable element 24 . Since the rotation center O of the second movable element 24 is located above the thickness center of the second movable element 24 , the rotation of the second movable element 24 around the rotation center O can reduce a length difference which is generated for thickness of the second movable element 24 .
  • the first movable element 22 and the second movable element 24 are both set to be rectangular bodies, centers C of top surfaces of the rectangular bodies are the fixing points of the first movable element 22 and the second movable element 24 .
  • a distance between the center C of the top surface of the first movable element 22 and a distal end of the second movable element 24 adjacent to the first movable element 22 is S1
  • a distance between the distal end of the second movable element 24 adjacent to the first movable element 22 and the center C of the top surface of the second movable element 24 is S2.
  • the rotation center O of the second movable element 24 and the thickness center of the second movable element 24 have the same height, as illustrated in FIG. 13
  • a distance between the center C of the top surface of the first movable element 22 and the center C of the top surface of the second movable element 24 is S1+S2.
  • the distance between the centers C along the top surface of the first movable element 22 and the top surface of the second movable element 24 has a length difference.
  • the rotation center O of the second movable element 24 is flush with the top surface of the second movable element 24
  • the distance between the center C of the top surface of the first movable element 22 and the center C of the top surface of the second movable element 24 along the top surface of the first movable element 22 and the top surface of the second movable element 24 is always S1+S2, thereby avoiding to generate the length difference.
  • the support plate 34 is fixed to both the fixing point (i.e., the center C of the top surface) of the first movable element 22 and the fixing point (i.e., the center C of the top surface) of the second movable element 24 , when the distance between the fixing point of the first movable element 22 and the fixing point of the second movable element 24 along the top surface of the first movable element 22 and the top surface of the second movable element 24 becomes long, which indicates that the length of the support plate 34 between the two fixing points needs to become long, thereby stretching and deforming the support plate 34 between the two fixing points.
  • the rotation center O of the second movable element 24 is set to be located above the thickness center of the second movable element 24 , and particularly, set to be flush with the fixing point of the second movable element 24 .
  • the rotation center O may be located on the support plate 34 , and particularly, located on the top surface of the support plate 34 .
  • the top surface 224 of the first movable element 22 and the top surface 244 of the second movable element 24 are arc-shaped. After rotation of the second movable element 24 around the first movable element 22 , the top surfaces 224 of the second movable elements 24 and the top surfaces 244 of the first movable elements 22 together form a continuous arc surface (curvatures of the top surfaces 224 of the first movable elements 22 and curvatures of the top surfaces 244 of the second movable elements 24 are continuously distributed), such that the entire flexible device forms a circular ring.
  • a projection of the top surface 224 of each first movable element 22 on a plane perpendicular to the top surface 224 and a projection of the top surface 244 of each second movable element 24 on a plane perpendicular to the top surface 244 together form a continuous arc surface (a curvature of the projection of the top surface 224 of each first movable element 22 on the plane perpendicular to the top surface 224 and a curvature of the projection of the top surface 244 of each second movable element 24 on the plane perpendicular to the top surface 244 are continuously distributed).
  • part of the support plate 34 between the fixing point of the first movable element 22 and the fixing point of the second movable element 24 needs to be bent to a shape of an arc in consistence with the top surface 224 of the first movable element 22 and the top surface 244 of the second movable element 24 , to ensure that after the movement of the second movable element 24 relative to the first movable element 22 , the support plate 34 can be tightly attached to the continuous arc surface constituted by the first movable elements 22 and the second movable elements 24 .
  • a length of an arc is longer than a linear distance, and particularly, a length of an arc defined by the fixing points of the first movable element 22 and the second movable element 24 and the rotation center O of the second movable element (the rotation center O is set to be located on the top surface 224 of the first movable element 22 ) is longer than a sum of a linear distance between the fixing point of the first movable element 22 and the rotation center O of the second movable element 24 and a linear distance between the fixing point of the second movable element 24 and the rotation center O of the second movable element 24 . If not adjusted, a length difference between the length of the arc and the linear length may also cause the support plate 34 to be stretched.
  • the rotation center O of the second movable element 24 needs to be further adjusted to reduce or offset the length difference between the length of the arc and the linear length.
  • the rotation center O of the second movable element 24 needs to be located above the top surface of the support plate 34 , such that the second movable element 24 can further move in parallel toward the first movable element 22 during the rotation of the second movable element 24 around the rotation center O, thereby reducing or offsetting the length difference between the length of the arc and the linear length.
  • a ratio of a distance between the rotation center O of the second movable element 24 and the top surface of the support plate 34 to thickness of the support plate 34 ranges from 0.1 to 0.5.
  • the rotation center O Since the rotation center O is located above the top surface of the support plate 34 , the position of the rotation center O is constant relative to the first movable element 22 , in other words, when the second movable element 24 moves relative to the first movable element 22 , the position of the rotation center O relative to the first movable element 22 is unchanged. Certainly, assuming that the rotation center O is located on the top surface of the support plate 34 or on the top surface 224 of the first movable element 22 , the position of the rotation center O relative to the first movable element 22 is also constant. Furthermore, the rotation center O may be located on the flexible functional screen 32 or even located above the flexible functional screen 32 .
  • the rotation center O of the second movable element 24 is located above the top surface of the support plate 34 , the rotation center O is located above a lower portion (i.e., the support plate 34 ) of the functional element 30 having higher hardness, and is located below or flush with an upper portion (i.e., the flexible functional screen 32 ) of the functional element 30 having low hardness.
  • the second movable element 24 When the flexible device is in a first state (e.g., the shape of the flat plate), the second movable element 24 is unfolded relative to the first movable element 22 .
  • the second movable element 24 and the first movable element 22 are arranged side by side and flush with each other.
  • the first positioning shaft 260 of the first positioning element 26 abuts against a first distal end of the positioning slot 246 of the second movable element 24 .
  • the second positioning shaft 262 of the first positioning element 26 is spaced apart from a second distal end of the positioning slot 246 of the second movable element 24 .
  • the first distal end and the second distal end are arranged at opposite ends of the positioning slot 246 .
  • the second movable element 24 When the flexible device is in a second state (e.g., the shape of the circular ring), the second movable element 24 is folded relative to the first movable element 22 .
  • the second movable element 24 and the first movable element 22 are arranged side by side to define an included angle therebetween, and the second movable element 24 is inclined relative to the first movable element 22 .
  • the first positioning shaft 260 of the first positioning element 26 is spaced apart from the first distal end of the positioning slot 246 of the second movable element 24 , and the second positioning shaft 262 of the first positioning element 26 abuts against the second distal end of the positioning slot 246 of the second movable element 24 .
  • position relationships of the second positioning element 28 is similar to that of the first positioning element 26 , and will not be repeated herein.
  • the support plate 34 is merely fixed to the top portion of the top surface 224 of the first movable element 22 and the top portion of the top surface 244 of the second movable element 24 ; in the first state, the bottom surface of the support plate 34 is spaced apart from the other positions of the top surface 224 of the first movable element 22 and the other positions of the top surface 244 of the second movable element 24 ; in the second state, the bottom surface of the support plate 34 is in contact with the other positions of the top surface 224 of the first movable element 22 and the other positions of the top surface 244 of the second movable element 24 .
  • An area of a portion of the support plate 34 in contact with the top surface 224 of the first movable element 22 or the top surface 244 of the second movable element 24 in the second state is larger than that of a portion of the support plate 34 in contact with the top surface 224 of the first movable element 22 or the top surface 244 of the second movable element 24 in the first state.
  • a position of the top surface of the support plate 34 corresponding to the fixing point of the first movable element 22 is defined as a first reference point P 1
  • a position of the top surface of the support plate 34 corresponding to the fixing point of the second movable element 24 is defined as a second reference point P 2 .
  • An arc length of the top surface of the support plate 34 between the first reference point P 1 and the second reference point P 2 in the second state is equal to a linear distance between the first reference point P 1 and the second reference point P 2 in the first state. Therefore, it can be ensured that the length of the top surface of the support plate 34 stays unchanged during the deformation of the flexible device.
  • first positioning element 26 may merely include the first positioning shaft 260 , and the first positioning element 26 is the first positioning shaft 260 , correspondingly, the positioning slot 246 of the second movable element 24 is correspondingly shortened;
  • second positioning element 28 may merely include the first positioning shaft 280 , and the second positioning element 28 is the first positioning shaft 280 , correspondingly, the positioning slot 226 of the first movable element 22 is correspondingly shortened.
  • An effect realized by using both the first positioning shafts 260 and 280 and the second positioning shafts 262 and 282 can also be realized by merely using the first positioning shafts 260 and 280 .
  • the positioning element 202 may merely include the second positioning element 28 , and the positioning element 202 is the second positioning element 28 .
  • the first movable element 22 and the second movable element 24 are in overlap arrangement, for example, one first movable element 22 is arranged on the exterior side of one second movable element 24 , another second movable element 24 is arranged the exterior side of the first movable element 22 , and another first movable element 22 is further arranged on the exterior side of the another second movable element 24 , and so on.
  • Each positioning element 202 correspondingly passes through an overlapping position of the first movable element 22 and the second movable element 24 .
  • each side of the flexible assembly 20 may include only one first movable element 22 and only one second movable element 24 , or only one side of the flexible assembly includes only one first movable element 22 or only one second movable element 24 , and the flexible assembly 20 may be further arranged in the middle portion of the housing 10 , such that when the flexible assembly 20 includes only one first movable element 22 and only one second movable element 24 , the shape switching of the flexible device can be still realized, and it can be still ensured that the functional element 30 is not stretched or slightly stretched.
  • the housing 10 includes multiple connection elements 100 .
  • the connection elements 100 include multiple first connection elements 12 and multiple second connection elements 14 .
  • the first connection elements 12 and the second connection elements 14 are alternatively arranged and spaced apart from each other.
  • the first connection elements 12 and the second connection elements 14 may be made of a hard material such as plastic, metal, or the like, so as to protect electronic components in the housing 10 .
  • the first connection element 12 and the second connection element 14 may have the same structure or different structures. In the embodiment, the first connection element 12 and the second connection element 14 have different structures.
  • the first connection element 12 includes a base plate 120 and sidewalls 122 extending upwards from opposite ends of the base plate 120
  • the second connection element 14 includes a base plate 140 and sidewalls 142 extending upwards from opposite ends of the base plate 140 .
  • the base plate 120 of the first connection element 12 further forms two protruding steps 124
  • the base plate 140 of the second connection element 14 further forms two protruding steps 144 .
  • the steps 124 of the first connection element 12 are adjacent to the opposite ends of the base plate 120 , respectively, and further adjacent to the sidewalls 122 , respectively
  • the steps 144 of the second connection element 14 are adjacent to the opposite ends of the base plate 140 , respectively, and further adjacent to the sidewalls 142 , respectively.
  • the step 124 of the first connection element 12 further forms a protruding baffle 126
  • the step 144 of the second connection element 14 further forms a protruding baffle 146 .
  • the baffle 126 is higher than the step 124
  • the baffle 146 is higher than the step 144 .
  • the baffle 146 of the second connection element 14 is located on an interior side of the step 144 and far away from the corresponding sidewall 142 .
  • the baffle 126 of the first connection element 12 is located at an exterior side of the step 124 and adjacent to the corresponding sidewall 122 .
  • the baffle 126 of the first connection element 12 is spaced apart from the adjacent sidewall 122
  • the baffle 146 of the second connection element 14 is spaced apart from the adjacent sidewall 142 .
  • the step 124 of the first connection element 12 defines a screw hole
  • the step 144 of the second connection element 14 defines a screw hole.
  • Each first connection element 12 and one adjacent second connection element 14 constitutes a connection element group to connect and support a movable element group constituted by one first movable element 22 and one adjacent second movable element 24 .
  • the first connection element 12 and the second connection element 14 are arranged side by side.
  • the first movable element 22 and the second movable element 24 are arranged on the step 124 of the first connection element 12 and the step 144 of the second connection element 14 at the same side, respectively.
  • the first movable element 22 abuts against a top surface of the step 124 of the first connection element 12
  • the second movable element 24 abuts against a top surface of the step 144 of the second connection element 14 .
  • the first movable element 22 is adjacent to the baffle 126 of the first connection element 12
  • the second movable element 24 is adjacent to the baffle 146 of the second connection element 14 , thus the first movable element 22 and the second movable element 24 are in staggered arrangement.
  • the baffle 126 of the first connection element 12 abuts against the exterior side of the first movable element 22
  • the baffle 146 of the second connection element 16 abuts against the interior side of the second movable element 24 , such that the first movable element 12 and the second movable element 14 are sandwiched between the baffle 126 and the baffle 146 to limit the first movable element 22 and the second movable element 24 .
  • a screw is passed through a bottom surface of the first movable element 22 from the screw hole of the first connection element 12 , and a screw is passed through a bottom surface of the second movable element 24 from the screw hole of the second connection element 14 , thereby further locking the first movable element 22 to the first connection element 12 , and locking the second movable element 24 to the second connection element 14 .
  • the multiple connection element groups are sequentially connected to constitute the housing 10 of the flexible device, and the multiple movable element groups are sequentially connected to constitute the flexible assembly 20 of the housing 10 .
  • a top portion of each sidewall 122 of the first connection element 12 forms a flange 128 adjacent to an exterior side of the first connection element 12
  • a top portion of each sidewall 142 of the second connection element 14 forms a flange 148 adjacent to an exterior side of the second connection element 14
  • the flange 128 is located above the top portion of the sidewall 122
  • the flange 148 is located above the top portion of the sidewall 148 .
  • the top portions of the sidewalls 122 and 142 cooperate with the flanges 128 and 148 to support and limit the support plate 34 .
  • edges of the support plate 34 abut against the top surfaces of the sidewalls 122 and 142 , and side surfaces of the edges of the support plate 34 abut against interior sides of the flanges 128 and 148 . Therefore, the edges at opposite sides of the support plate 34 are limited by the flanges 128 and 148 .
  • the electronic components may include a controller 40 configured to control the functional element 30 , a battery 50 configured to power the functional element 30 and the controller 40 , a communication module configured to communicate the flexible device with external electronic devices, and so on.
  • the functional element 30 is not limited to the aforementioned flexible touch screen or flexible display screen, and may also include functional elements of other types according to different needs, such as a display screen/an indicator screen of other type, functional sensors, a speaker, a microphone, and so on.
  • the display screen/indicator screen of the other type may be one of screens having different areas such as a rigid display, an electronic ink screen, an LED illuminator, or other, and can be fixed to the top surface of the support plate 34 .
  • the functional sensors may include a body temperature sensor, a temperature sensor, a speed sensor, a gravity sensor, a height sensor, an angular velocity sensor, an acceleration sensor, a barometric pressure sensor, a heart rate sensor, a pulse sensor, a sweat sensor, a light sensor, a myoelectric sensor, etc., which may be arranged in various positions of the flexible device according to different usages, such as the top surface of the support plate 34 , the cavity defined by the support plate 34 and the housing 10 , the bottom surface of the housing 10 , and so on.
  • the speaker and microphone may also be disposed within the cavity defined by the support plate 34 and the housing 10 .
  • the flexible device in use, if it needs to switch to the first state, the flexible device can be laid flat, at this point, the support plate 34 is in the shape of the flat plate, the first movable elements 22 at each side are linearly arranged, and the second movable elements 24 at each side are also linearly arranged.
  • Each first movable element 22 is spaced apart from adjacent first movable elements 22 .
  • One sidewall 222 of each first movable element 22 is spaced apart from the opposite sidewall 222 of one adjacent first movable element 22 by a gap.
  • the gap has a width gradually increasing from top to bottom to form a shape of a trapezoid.
  • Each second movable element 24 is spaced apart from adjacent second movable elements 24 .
  • each second movable element 24 is spaced apart from the opposite sidewall 242 of one adjacent second movable element 24 by a gap.
  • the gap has a width gradually increasing from top to bottom to form a shape of trapezoid.
  • the top surface of the first movable element 22 and the top surfaces of adjacent second movable elements 24 are discontinuously distributed.
  • the support plate 34 is in a shape of a circular arc smaller than 360 degrees.
  • the first movable elements 22 at each side are arranged to form a circular arc, and the second movable elements 24 at each side are also arranged to form a circular arc.
  • Each first movable element 22 abuts against adjacent first movable elements 22 .
  • One sidewall 222 of each first movable element 22 is in contact with the opposite sidewall 222 of one adjacent first movable element 22 .
  • Each second movable element 24 abuts against adjacent second movable elements 24 .
  • One sidewall 242 of each second movable element 24 is in contact with the opposite sidewall 242 of one adjacent second movable element 24 .
  • the top surface of the first movable element 22 and the top surfaces of adjacent first movable elements 22 are continuously distributed, and the top surface of the first movable element 22 and the top surfaces of adjacent second movable elements 24 are also continuously distributed.
  • the flexible device Since adjacent first movable elements 22 abut each other, and adjacent second movable elements 24 abut each other, the flexible device is limited, and a bending degree of the flexible device is limited to fall within a desired range.
  • the top surfaces of the first movable elements 22 at each side together form a continuous arc surface larger than 270 degrees
  • the top surfaces of the second movable elements 24 at each side also together form a continuous arc surface larger than 270 degrees. Due to the continuous arc surface, the flexible touch screen or flexible display screen can be in a shape of a nearly perfect circular ring, so that the user can get a good experience during using or watching.
  • the flexible device In the second state, the flexible device can be worn on the wrist of the user and used as a smart bracelet. Certainly, in the second state, the flexible device can also be worn at any wearable position such as arm, waist, thigh, calves, neck, forehead, and so on.
  • the flexible assembly 20 may also be made from a flexible material.
  • the housing 10 further includes two end caps 16 disposed at opposite ends of the housing 10 , respectively.
  • the two end caps 16 have the same structure and are arranged symmetrically.
  • the end cap 16 , the first connection element 12 , and the second connection element 14 may be made of the same rigid material.
  • Each end cap 16 includes a base plate 160 and a sidewall 162 extending upwards from an edge of the base plate 160 .
  • the base plate 160 is substantially semi-circular, and an area of the base plate 160 is larger than that of the base plate 120 of the first connection element 12 or that of the base plate 140 of the second connection element 14 , and larger than a sum of the area of the base plate 120 of the first connection element 12 and the area of the base plate 140 of the second connection element 14 .
  • the base plate 160 forms two steps 164 at opposite positions adjacent to an edge of the base plate 160 , respectively. Each step 164 defines two screw holes on a top surface thereof.
  • the sidewall 162 forms a flange on a top surface thereof adjacent to an exterior side thereof.
  • the support plate 34 also abuts against the top surface of the sidewall 162 and an interior side of the flange.
  • the battery 50 can be accommodated in one of the end caps 16 , and the electronic components such as the controller 40 , the communication module, and a circuit board can be accommodated in the other end cap 16 .
  • the battery 50 is coupled with the controller 40 , the communication module, and the circuit board by wires.
  • the flexible touch screen or flexible display screen is coupled with the circuit board through a flexible circuit board to achieve electrical connection with the controller 40 , the communication module, and the battery 50 .
  • the battery 50 and the controller 40 are located within the two end caps 16 , respectively, the battery 50 and the controller 40 are also located at opposite ends of the flexible assembly 20 , respectively.
  • the battery 50 and the controller 40 also move following the deformation of the flexible assembly 20 to change a distance between the battery 50 and the controller 40 .
  • the distance between the battery 50 and the controller 40 gradually decreases as the flexible assembly 20 is deformed to the second state.
  • the battery 50 and the other electronic components By arranging the battery 50 and the other electronic components in the two separate end caps 16 , respectively, an internal space of the flexible device can be effectively saved, making the flexible device thinner and lighter. Moreover, the design that the battery 50 is separated from the other electronic components can also prevent heat generated by the battery 50 and the other electronic components from interacting with each other, thereby ensuring that the battery 50 and the other electronic components can operate normally.
  • the flexible assembly 20 further includes third movable elements 21 to connect the end caps 16 to adjacent first movable elements 22 or adjacent second movable elements 24 .
  • the third movable element 21 includes a base 210 and a plate body 212 formed on a top surface of the base 210 .
  • the base 210 is parallel to the top surface of the step 164 of the end cap 16
  • the plate body 212 is perpendicular to the top surface of the step 164 .
  • a shape of the plate body 212 is similar to that of part of the first movable element 22 defining the positioning slot 226 or part of the second movable element 24 defining the positioning slot 246 , and also defines a positioning slot 216 .
  • the positioning slot 216 of the plate body 212 has the same shape as the positioning slot 226 of the first movable element 22 or the positioning slot 246 of the second movable element 24 . Similar to the first movable element 22 or the second movable element 24 , the positioning element 202 passes through the positioning slot 216 of the plate body 212 and the positioning hole 228 of one adjacent first movable element 22 or the positioning hole 248 of one adjacent second movable element 24 , whereby the third movable element 21 is movably connected to the adjacent first movable element 22 or the adjacent second movable element 24 .
  • the positioning element 202 includes a first positioning shaft 290 and a second positioning shaft 292 , and a distal end of the first positioning shaft 290 is locked in one limitation element 204 after passing through one adjacent first movable element 22 or one adjacent second movable element 24 .
  • the structure and function of the limitation element 204 are the same as those of the aforementioned limitation element 204 , respectively.
  • the base 210 is locked to the top surface of the step 164 of the end cap 16 by a fixing element such as a screw.
  • the battery 50 accommodated in the end cap 16 has a limited capacity.
  • another battery 60 is preferably installed in the flexible device.
  • the battery 60 has a lower capacity than the battery 50 .
  • the battery 60 can be placed at a suitable position of the flexible device as desired.
  • the battery 60 is mounted in the middle portion of the flexible device.
  • the flexible device also forms a corresponding protection structure in the middle portion to prevent the battery 60 from being bent.
  • the housing 10 of the flexible device has a third connection element 18 in the middle portion, and the third connection element 18 has a large area.
  • a configuration of the third connection element 18 is similar to that of the first connection element 12 or that of the second connection element 14 , and a main difference is that the area of the third connection element 18 is larger than that of the first connection element 12 or that of the second connection element 14 .
  • the third connection element 18 also has a base plate 180 , sidewalls 182 , and a step 184 , and the structures of these elements are the same as those of corresponding elements of the first movable element 22 or those of corresponding elements of the second movable element 24 respectively, except large widths.
  • the base plate 180 of the third connection element 18 has a width preferably larger than twice of the width of the base plate 120 of the first connection element 12 or twice of the width of the base plate 140 of the second connection element 14 to accommodate the battery 60 .
  • the flexible assembly 20 also includes fourth movable elements 23 and fifth movable elements 25 .
  • the fourth movable element 23 is constituted by two symmetrical plates, and a structure and shape of each plate are similar to those of the part of the first movable element 22 defining the positioning slot 226 or those of the part of the second movable element 24 defining the positioning slot 246 , respectively.
  • Top surfaces of the two plates together form a continuous arc surface, the arc surface serves as a support surface, and a top portion of the arc surface is a fixing point fixed to the bottom surface of the support plate 34 .
  • Each plate defines a positioning slot 230 having the same shape and structure as the positioning slot 226 of the first movable element 22 or the positioning slot 246 of the second movable element 24 .
  • the positioning slot 230 of the left plate is slightly inclined to the left
  • the positioning slot 230 of the right plate is slightly inclined to the right.
  • Two fifth movable elements 25 are movably connected to opposite sides of the fourth movable element 23 , respectively.
  • the fifth movable element 25 has the shape and configuration substantially the same as those of the first movable element 22 or those of the second movable element 24 , except that the fifth movable element 25 defines two perforations 250 at a position corresponding to the positioning slot 226 of the first movable element 22 or the positioning slot 246 of the second movable element 24 . Therefore, the fifth movable element 25 has four perforations 250 . According to a distance between each perforation 250 and the fourth movable element 23 , the four perforations 250 are divided into two first perforations 250 adjacent to the fourth movable element 23 and two second perforations 250 remote from the fourth movable element 23 .
  • the two first perforations 250 of the fifth movable element 25 adjacent to the fourth movable element 23 are movably connected to the fourth movable element 23 through the positioning element 202
  • the two first perforations 250 of the fifth movable element 25 remote from the fourth movable element 23 are movably connected to one adjacent first movable element 22 or one adjacent second movable element 24 through the positioning element 202
  • the positioning element 202 connecting the fifth movable element 25 to the fourth movable element 23 includes a first positioning element 26 a.
  • the first positioning element 26 a includes a first positioning shaft 260 a and a second positioning shaft 262 a.
  • the first positioning shaft 260 a includes a protruding post.
  • the second positioning shaft 262 a includes a screw.
  • the protruding post has the same shape and configuration as the aforementioned protruding post, and the screw has the same shape and configuration as the aforementioned screw.
  • the protruding post and the screw pass though the positioning slot 230 of the fourth movable element 23 and two of the perforations 250 of the fifth movable element 25 , respectively.
  • a distal end of the screw is further locked in one limitation element 204 after passing through the fifth movable element 250 .
  • the positioning element 202 connecting the fifth movable element 250 to one adjacent first movable element 22 or one adjacent second movable element 24 includes a second positioning element 28 a .
  • the second positioning element 28 a includes a first positioning shaft 280 a and a second positioning shaft 282 a .
  • the first positioning shaft 280 a includes a screw.
  • the second positioning shaft 282 includes a connection rod.
  • the screw has the same shape and configuration as the aforementioned screw, and the connection rod has the same shape and configuration as the aforementioned connection rod.
  • the screw and the connection rod pass though the positioning slot 226 of the first movable element 22 or the positioning slot 246 of the second movable element 24 , and then pass through two of the perforations 250 of the fifth movable element 25 . Furthermore, a distal end of the screw is locked in one limitation element 204 after passing through the fifth movable element 250 .
  • connection rod After passing through the fifth movable element 25 , a distal end of the connection rod further passes through the fifth movable element 25 and the first movable element 22 at the opposite side of the flexible device or passes through the fifth movable element 25 and the second movable element 24 at the opposite side of the flexible device, thereby reinforcing the flexible device.
  • the connection rod is located in the perforation 250 of the fifth movable element 25 farthest from the fourth movable element 23 , thereby defining an enough space between the two connection rods to accommodate the battery 60 , and avoiding that the battery 60 cannot be placed due to a short distance between the two connection rods.
  • the service time of the flexible device can be effectively prolonged. Furthermore, since the battery 60 is arranged in the middle portion of the flexible device, when the flexible device serves as a smart bracelet, the battery 60 faces the back of the wrist, and as for the wrist, the back of the wrist is exactly a position with the highest flatness, thus the back of the wrist can effectively fit against the bottom surface of the base plate 180 of the third connection element 18 , thereby reducing or eliminating human discomfort caused by inconsistent flatness of a contact surface.
  • FIG. 19 illustrates a flexible device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • a structure of the flexible device is substantially the same as that of the aforementioned embodiment, and merely some structures are changed.
  • the flexible device includes a housing 10 a , a flexible assembly 20 a mounted in the housing 10 a , and a functional element 30 a arranged on the housing 10 a .
  • the flexible assembly 20 a can be deformed to deform the flexible device, thereby adapting the flexible device to application requirements of different scenarios.
  • the flexible device is preferably deformed from a shape of a flat plate to a shape of a circular ring.
  • the flexible device When in the shape of the flat plate, the flexible device is fully unfolded, facilitating operations of a user.
  • the whole flexible device When in the shape of the circular ring, the whole flexible device is curled to form a wearable device, facilitating being worn on a body of the user.
  • shapes formed by deformation of the flexible device can be changed according to requirements, thereby adapting to requirements of more application scenarios.
  • the flexible device is switched from a shape of an arch to the shape of the circular ring, from the shape of the flat plate to a shape of a wave, from a U-shape to an S-shape, or other.
  • the flexible device 20 a includes movable elements 200 a arranged at opposite sides of the housing 10 a .
  • the movable elements 200 a at each side all include a first movable element 22 a and a second movable element 24 a movably connected to the first movable element 22 a .
  • Multiple first movable elements 22 a and multiple second movable elements 24 a are included, and uniformly distributed at the opposite sides of the housing 10 a .
  • each side of the housing 10 a includes multiple first movable elements 22 a and multiple second movable elements 24 a , and the first movable elements 22 a are closer to an interior side of the housing 10 a than the second movable elements 24 a .
  • the first movable elements 22 a at each side of the housing 10 a are linearly aligned
  • the second movable elements 24 a at each side of the housing 10 a are linearly aligned.
  • Each first movable element 22 a at each side of the housing 10 a is not directly connected to adjacent first movable elements 22 a
  • each second movable element 24 a at each side of the housing 10 a is also not directly connected to adjacent second movable elements 24 a
  • the first movable element 22 a and adjacent second movable elements 24 a at the same side of the housing 10 a are in alternate connection.
  • each first movable element 22 a and two adjacent second movable elements 24 a are arranged side by side and in overlapped connection.
  • the first movable element 22 a and the second movable element 24 a have the same shape and different configurations.
  • the first movable elements 22 a and the second movable elements 24 a are all hinges.
  • the first movable element 22 a is substantially trapezoid-shaped, and has a flat bottom surface 220 a , inclined side surfaces 222 a , and a curved top surface 224 a .
  • the bottom surface 220 a of the first movable element 22 a is flat, and parallel to the undeformed functional element 30 a .
  • the first movable element 22 a has two side surfaces 222 a . Each side surface 222 a is flat and inclined relative to the bottom surface 220 a .
  • Each side surface 222 a and the bottom surface 220 a define an obtuse angle therebetween.
  • the obtuse angle is larger than 90 degrees and smaller than 180 degrees.
  • the obtuse angle is larger than 100 degrees and smaller than 110 degrees.
  • the two side surfaces 222 a extend upwards in opposite directions to connect the bottom surface 220 a to the top surface 224 a .
  • the top surface 224 a of the first movable element 22 a is an arch surface of a shape of a circular arc.
  • the top surface 224 a has a height gradually increasing from opposite ends of the top surface 224 a to a middle portion of the top surface 224 a to form a convex surface.
  • the top surface 224 a may be a convex surface of other shape, for example, a convex surface of a shape of a half of a hexahedron (a convex surface similar to a trapezoid), a convex surface of a shape of a half of an octahedron (a convex surface similar to a trapezoid with a rectangle at a bottom surface of the trapezoid), a convex surface of a shape of a half of a decahedron, or other.
  • a convex surface of a shape of a half of a hexahedron a convex surface similar to a trapezoid
  • a convex surface of a shape of a half of an octahedron a convex surface similar to a trapezoid with a rectangle at a bottom surface of the trapezoid
  • connection lines each connecting one of opposite ends of an arc surface and a center of a circle where the arc surface locates define an included angle therebetween, and the included angle is defined as a span angle of the arc surface.
  • the top surface 224 a has a span angle larger than 10 degrees and smaller than 30 degrees.
  • the first movable element 22 a defines multiple positioning holes 228 a .
  • Each positioning hole 228 a cuts through a front side and a rear side of the first movable element 22 a .
  • the positioning hole 228 a is substantially circular, and has a flat bottom portion to circumferentially limit an element inserted in the positioning hole 228 , such that the element cannot rotate.
  • a top portion or a side portion of the positioning hole 228 may be flat, rather than being limited to the bottom portion.
  • four positioning holes 228 a are included.
  • the four positioning holes 228 a are linearly arranged at intervals. A distance between two left positioning holes 228 a is equal to that between two right positioning holes 228 , and shorter than that between two middle positioning holes 228 .
  • the first movable element 22 a further defines a positioning slot 226 a on a top surface thereof. The positioning slot 226 a cuts through the front side and the rear side of the first movable element 22 a , and extends through the top surface 224 a upwardly.
  • the positioning slot 226 a is in the middle portion of the top surface 224 a , and located above the four positioning holes 228 a .
  • the positioning slot 226 a has two sidewalls inclined relative to each other and a flat bottom surface. A distance between the two sidewalls gradually increases in an upward direction, such that the positioning slot 226 a is in a shape of a trapezoid that gradually widens from bottom to top. The sidewalls and the bottom surface are all flat, thereby facilitating cooperation with an element inserted in the positioning slot 226 a.
  • the second movable element 24 a is substantially trapezoid-shaped, and has a flat bottom surface 240 a , inclined side surfaces 242 a , and a curved top surface 244 a .
  • the bottom surface 240 a of the second movable element 24 a is flat, and parallel to the undeformed functional element 30 a .
  • the second movable element 24 a has two side surfaces 242 a .
  • Each side surface 242 a is flat, and inclined relative to the bottom surface 240 a .
  • Each side surface 242 a and the bottom surface 240 a define an obtuse angle therebetween. The obtuse angle is larger than 90 degrees and smaller than 180 degrees.
  • the obtuse angle is larger than 100 degrees and smaller than 110 degrees.
  • the two side surfaces 242 a extend upwards in opposite directions to connect the bottom surface 240 a to the top surface 244 a .
  • the top surface 244 a of the second movable element 22 a is an arch surface of a shape of a circular arc, and forms a support surface of the second movable element 24 a .
  • the top surface 244 a has a height gradually increasing from opposite ends of the top surface 224 a to a middle portion of the top surface 224 a to form a convex surface.
  • the top surface 244 a has a span angle larger than 10 degrees and smaller than 30 degrees.
  • the top surface 224 a may be a convex surface of other shape, for example, a convex surface of a shape of a half of a hexahedron, a convex surface of a shape of a half of an octahedron, a convex surface of a shape of a half of a decahedron, or other.
  • the second movable element 24 a defines two positioning slots 248 a adjacent to the left side and right side of the second movable element 24 a , respectively.
  • the positioning slot 248 a cuts through a front side (an exterior surface of the second movable element 24 a ) and a rear side (an interior surface of the second movable element 24 a ) of the second movable element 24 a .
  • the positioning slot 248 a is in a shape of a circular arc, and a bending direction of the positioning slot 248 a is opposite to that of the top surface 244 a .
  • the positioning slot 248 a has a height gradually decreasing from opposite ends of the positioning slot 248 a to a middle portion of the positioning slot 248 a .
  • the positioning slot 248 a has a first arc surface, a second arc surface, and two connection arc surfaces to connect the first arc surface to the second arc surface.
  • the first arc surface is parallel to the second arc surface, and the first arc surface and the second arc surface have a same center.
  • the first arc surface is shorter than the second arc surface.
  • the connection arc surfaces are substantially semi-circular, thereby forming rounded corners at the opposite ends of the positioning slot 248 a .
  • the positioning slot 248 a has a larger span angle than the top surface 244 a .
  • the span angle of the positioning slot 248 a is larger than 70 degrees and smaller than 90 degrees.
  • the two positioning slots 248 a are symmetrically arranged along a center line of the second movable element 24 a , and have opposite bending directions.
  • the left positioning slot 248 a curves downwards and towards the right slightly, and the right positioning slot 248 a curves downwards and towards the left slightly.
  • the second movable element 24 a further defines a fixing hole 246 a .
  • the fixing hole 246 a extends through the front side and the rear side of the second movable element 24 a .
  • the fixing hole 246 a is located between the two positioning slots 248 a , and located below the two positioning slots 248 a .
  • the fixing hole 246 a has a smaller diameter than the positioning hole 228 a , and is located below the positioning hole 228 a.
  • the flexible device 20 a further includes positioning elements 202 a connected to the movable elements 200 a .
  • the first movable element 22 a and adjacent second movable elements 24 a are in staggered connection via the positioning elements 202 a .
  • Part of the front side of the first movable element 22 a is in contact with part of the rear side of the second movable element 24 a .
  • the positioning element 202 a can slide in the positioning slot 248 a , such that the first movable element 22 a can move relative to the second movable element 24 a .
  • the positioning element 202 a includes a first positioning element 26 a and a second positioning element 28 a .
  • the first positioning element 26 a connects the first moveable element 22 a to one adjacent second movable element 24 a
  • the second positioning element 28 a connects the first movable element 22 a to another adjacent second movable element 24 a
  • the second positioning element 28 a and the first positioning element 26 a may have the same structure or different structures.
  • the second positioning element 28 a includes a first positioning shaft 270 a and a second positioning shaft 272 a
  • the first positioning element 26 a includes a first positioning shaft 270 a and a second positioning shaft 272 a .
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the first positioning shaft 26 a pass through two right positioning holes 228 a of the first movable element 22 a , respectively, and then pass through the left positioning slot 248 a of one adjacent second movable element 24 a .
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the second positioning element 28 a pass through two left positioning holes 228 a of the first movable element 22 a , respectively, and then pass through the right positioning slot 248 a of another adjacent second movable element 24 a .
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the first positioning element 26 a are spaced apart from each other, and a distance between the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the first positioning element 26 a remains unchanged during deformation of the flexible assembly 20 a .
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the second positioning element 28 a are spaced apart from each other, and a distance between the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the second positioning element 28 a remains unchanged during the deformation of the flexible assembly 20 a .
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a is longer than the second positioning shaft 272 a , and the first positioning shaft 270 a is closer to a center of the first movable element 22 a than the second positioning shaft 272 a.
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the second positioning element 28 a may have the same structure or different structures.
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the first positioning element 26 a may have the same structure or different structures.
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a of the second positioning element 28 a and the first positioning shaft 270 a of the first positioning element 26 a may have the same structure or different structures, or the first positioning shaft 270 a of the second positioning element 28 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the first positioning element 26 a may have the same structure or different structures.
  • the second positioning shaft 272 a of the second positioning element 28 and the first positioning shaft 270 a of the first positioning element 26 a may have the same structure or different structures, or the second positioning shaft 272 a of the second positioning element 28 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the first positioning element 26 a may have the same structure or different structures.
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the second positioning element 28 a have different structures
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the first positioning element 26 a have different structures
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a of the second positioning element 28 a and the first positioning shaft 270 a of the first positioning element 26 a have the same structure
  • the second positioning shaft 272 a of the second positioning element 28 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the first positioning element 26 a have the same structure.
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a of the first positioning element 26 a includes a screw consisted of a nut and a threaded rod extending perpendicularly from the nut.
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a of the first positioning element 26 a sequentially passes through the positioning slot 248 a of the second movable element 24 a and one positioning hole 228 a of one adjacent first movable element 22 a from front to back.
  • the nut abuts against the front side of the second movable element 24 a to prevent the first positioning shaft 270 a from falling off.
  • the second positioning shaft 272 a of the first positioning element 26 a includes a protruding post of a rod shape. The protruding post passes through the positioning hole 228 a of the first movable element 22 a and the positioning slot 248 a of one adjacent second movable element 24 a .
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a of the first positioning element 26 a and the first positioning shaft 270 a of the second positioning element 28 a are symmetrically arranged with respect to the center line of the first movable element 26 a
  • the second positioning shaft 272 a of the first positioning element 26 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the second positioning element 28 a are symmetrically arranged with respect to the center line of the first movable element 26 a
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a of the second positioning element 28 a includes a screw consisted of a nut and a threaded rod extending perpendicularly from the nut.
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a of the second positioning element 28 a sequentially passes through the positioning slot 248 a of the second movable element 24 a and one positioning hole 228 a of one adjacent first movable element 22 a from front to back.
  • the nut abuts against the front side of the second movable element 24 a to prevent the first positioning shaft 270 a from falling off.
  • the second positioning shaft 272 a of the second positioning element 28 a includes a protruding post of a rod shape. The protruding post passes through the positioning hole 228 a of the first movable element 22 a and the positioning slot 248 a of one adjacent second movable element 24 a .
  • the first positioning shafts 270 a and the second positioning shafts 272 a all have a diameter equal to or slightly smaller than a width of the positioning slot 248 a , thereby achieving tight fit in the positioning slots 248 a .
  • a distance between the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the first positioning element 26 a is shorter than a length of the positioning slot 248 a
  • a distance between the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the second positioning element 28 a is shorter than a length of the positioning slot 248 a , such that the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a can slide in the positioning slot 248 a , thereby driving the second movable element 24 a to move relative to the first movable element 22 a.
  • the second movable element 24 a When the flexible device is in a first state (e.g., an unfolded state in the shape of the flat plate), the second movable element 24 a is unfolded relative to the first movable element 22 a .
  • the second movable element 24 a and the first movable element 22 a are arranged side by side and flush with each other.
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a of the first positioning element 26 a abuts against a first distal end of the positioning slot 248 a of the second movable element 24 a .
  • the second positioning shaft 272 a of the first positioning element 26 a is spaced apart from a second distal end of the positioning slot 248 a of the second movable element 24 a .
  • the first distal end and the second distal end are located at opposite ends of the positioning slot 248 a .
  • the second movable element 24 a is folded relative to the first movable element 22 a .
  • the second movable element 24 a and the first movable element 22 s are arranged side by side to define an included angle therebetween, and the second movable element 24 a is inclined relative to the first movable element 22 a .
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a of the first positioning element 26 a is spaced apart from the first distal end of the positioning slot 248 a of the second movable element 24 a , and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the first positioning element 26 a abuts against the second distal end of the positioning slot 248 a of the second movable element 24 a .
  • position relationships of the second positioning element 28 a is similar to that of the first positioning element 26 a , and will not be repeated herein.
  • the second movable element 24 a includes a rotation center O relative to the first movable element 22 a , and is located above the top surface 224 a of the first movable element 22 a , and preferably located at an upper position of an inside of the functional element 30 a , thereby ensuring that the functional element 30 a is not stretched or compressed during the deformation of the flexible device.
  • the rotation center O is located above a support plate 34 a of the functional element 30 a , and located at an upper position of an inside of a flexible functional screen 32 a.
  • the flexible assembly 20 a further includes limitations 204 to adjust a damping value.
  • the limitation element 204 a is movably sleeved on the positioning element 202 a to control a force applied to the movable element 200 a , thereby adjusting the damping value during the deformation of the flexible assembly 20 .
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a of the second positioning element 28 a and the first positioning shaft 270 a of the first positioning element 28 a are all locked with the limitation elements 204 .
  • the limitation element 204 a is a locking element 206 a (i.e., nut) with an elastic tab 205 , and the locking element 206 a and a distal end of the first positioning shaft 270 a are in threaded engagement.
  • the elastic tab 205 a elastically abuts against the rear side of the first movable element 22 a , and is sandwiched between the nut and the rear side of the first movable element 22 a .
  • an elastic force applied to the first movable element 22 a by the elastic tab 205 a can be adjusted, thereby adjusting the damping value during rotation of the flexible assembly 20 a .
  • the damping value is adjusted to be proper, the flexible assembly 20 a can be positioned at any position during the rotation, thereby adapting to more shape requirements.
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the first positioning element 26 a both have a flat bottom surface
  • the first positioning shaft 270 a and the second positioning shaft 272 a of the second positioning element 28 a both have a flat bottom surface, so as to engage with the flat surfaces of the positioning holes 228 a of the first movable element 22 a to realize circumferential limitation.
  • the flat surfaces of the first positioning shafts 270 a and the second positioning shafts 272 a abut against the flat surfaces of the positioning holes 228 a , thereby preventing rotation of the first positioning shafts 270 a and the second positioning shafts 272 a in the positioning holes 228 a.
  • the positioning holes 228 a in the first movable elements 22 a is defined to be abutted against the limitation elements 204 a , which can reduce or prevent abrasion of the elastic tabs 205 a .
  • the elastic tab 272 directly abuts against the second movable element 24 . Since the second movable element 24 moves and rotates during the deformation of the flexible device, and the elastic tab 272 is fixed relative to the first movable element 22 , thus friction between the elastic tab 272 and a surface of the second movable element 24 is generated during movement and rotation of the second movable element 24 . After prolonged use, the elastic tab 272 is worn out due to the friction, thereby affecting the damping value of the flexible device.
  • the elastic tab 205 a abuts against the first movable element 22 a fixed relative to the elastic tab 205 a during the deformation of the flexible device. Since the first movable element 22 a is fixed relative to the elastic tab 205 a , the first movable element 22 a does not move during the deformation of the flexible device, thereby avoiding scratching of a surface of the elastic tab 205 a and a surface of the first movable element 22 a , and reducing or avoiding the abrasion of the elastic tab 205 a .
  • the first positioning element 26 a and the second positioning element 28 a cannot rotate in the positioning holes 228 a due to limitation of the flat surfaces, such that the elastic tab 205 a sleeved on the first positioning shaft 270 a cannot rotate relative to the first movable element 22 a . Therefore, by means of the above manner, the elastic tab 205 not only cannot move relative to the first movable element 22 a , but also cannot rotate relative to the first movable element 22 a , thus a constant position relationship between the elastic tab 205 a and the first movable element 22 a can be ensured to a greatest extent, and it is advantageous for preventing the elastic tab 205 a from being worn out.
  • the rotation center O of the second movable element 24 is set to be located above the support plate 34 to avoid stretching or compression of the functional element 30 , since the support plate 34 is directly soldered to the top portion of the first movable element 22 and the top portion of the second movable element 24 , it cannot be ensured that each element is precisely in a desired position due to an assembly and element dimensional tolerance. Thus, during the deformation of the flexible device, a situation that the support plate 34 and the functional element 30 are still stretched or compressed due to the tolerance may occur easily. Thus, in the embodiment, the support plate 34 a having a different structure and assembly manner is adopted to provide a tolerance range for the tolerance.
  • the functional element 30 a includes the support plate 34 a and the flexible functional screen 32 a attached to the support plate 34 a .
  • the flexible functional screen 32 a has the same structure as the flexible functional screen 32 in the aforementioned embodiment.
  • the support plate 34 a and the support plate 34 in the aforementioned embodiment are made of the same material, and may be integrally formed by metal sheets.
  • the support plate 34 a is made of a rigid material having elastic deformation of a certain degree.
  • the support plate 34 a includes a plate body 340 a and fixing sheets 342 a extending from opposite sides of the plate body 340 a .
  • An area of the plate body 340 a is equal to or larger than that of the flexible functional screen 32 a , and supports the flexible functional screen 32 a of the functional element 30 a .
  • Each side of the plate body 340 a includes multiple fixing sheets 342 a .
  • Each fixing sheet 342 a is formed by integral bending of the plate body 340 a .
  • Each fixing sheet 342 a is perpendicular to the plate body 340 a .
  • Each fixing sheet 32 defines a fixing hole 343 a .
  • Each fixing sheet 342 a is connected to the plate body 340 a via a connection sheet 344 a .
  • the connection sheet 344 a is curved and arc-shaped.
  • connection sheet 344 a has an end connected to the plate body 340 a , and another end connected to the fixing sheet 342 a .
  • the connection sheet 344 a is narrower than the fixing sheet 342 a .
  • the support plate 34 a defines two recesses 345 a recessed inwardly at opposite sides of the connection sheet 344 a , respectively.
  • the two recesses 345 a are symmetrically arranged with respect to a center line of the connection sheet 344 a .
  • Each recess 345 a has a width gradually increasing along a direction toward the fixing sheet 342 a to form a shape substantially similar to a triangle.
  • Each recess 345 a extends through an upper surface and a lower surface of the plate body 340 a .
  • the recesses 345 a are to reduce or prevent deformation of the plate body 340 a at positions adjacent to the connection sheet 344 a due to bending of the fixing sheet 342 a , thereby maintaining the shape of the plate body 340 a .
  • a ratio of a depth of the recess 345 to the width of the connection sheet 344 a ranges from 1 to 2.
  • each fixing sheet 342 a of the support plate 34 a is aligned with the fixing hole 246 a of each second movable element 24 a of the flexible assembly 20 a , a fixing element 29 a (a screw as illustrated in FIG. 20 ) passes through the fixing hole 343 a of the fixing sheet 342 a and then is locked in the fixing hole 246 a of the second movable element 24 a , thereby locking the fixing sheet 342 a to the second movable element 24 a .
  • a bottom portion of the plate body 340 a separably abuts against the top portion of the first movable element 22 a and the top portion of the second movable element 24 a .
  • the fixing sheet 342 a is fixed to a side of the second movable element 24 a .
  • the second movable element 24 a drives the fixing sheet 342 a to rotate and move, thereby deforming the plate body 340 a to form various desired shapes.
  • a diameter of the fixing hole 343 a of the fixing sheet 342 a is slightly larger than that of the screw, such that a small space is reserved for movement of the screw in the fixing hole 343 a .
  • the space for the movement of the screw can offset the element tolerance or the assembly tolerance, avoiding stretching or compression due to soldering in the aforementioned embodiment.
  • the fixing sheet 342 a of the support plate 34 a is connected to the plate body 340 a via the connection sheet 344 a having a small width, thus the fixing sheet 342 a has a certain degree of flexibility in an up and down direction (i.e., a vertical direction) via the connection sheet 344 a , thereby further offsetting the element tolerance or the assembly tolerance.
  • the support plate 34 a is fixed to the flexible assembly 20 a via the fixing sheets 342 a , that is, the bottom surface of the plate body 340 a of the support plate 34 a is not directly connected to the first movable elements 22 a and the second movable elements 24 a of the flexible assembly 20 a.
  • the plate body 340 a movably abuts against the top surface 224 a of the first movable element 22 a and the top surface 244 a of the second movable element 24 a , the plate 340 a can slightly move relative to the top surface 224 a of the first movable element 22 a and the top surface 244 a of the second movable element 24 a to offset the element tolerance or the assembly tolerance.
  • the fixing sheet 342 a has certain deformation to offset the element tolerance or the assembly tolerance. Therefore, even if the fixing sheet 342 a is fixed in a manner without a screw, reducing or offsetting the element tolerance or the assembly tolerance can be stilled achieved.
  • the first positioning element 26 a and the second positioning element 28 a both have a short length, and different from the aforementioned embodiment, the first positioning element 26 a and the second positioning element 28 a do not connect opposite sides of the flexible device together, such that the flexible device has more space to accommodate various electronic components. However, due to lack of elements connecting the opposite sides of the flexible device together, the flexible device has low structural stability. To reinforce the flexible device, in the embodiment, connection rods 40 a passing through the opposite sides of the flexible device are included.
  • connection rod 40 a is elongated, has an end inserted in the fixing slot 226 a of the first movable element 22 a at one side of the flexible device, and another end inserted in the fixing slot 226 a of the opposite first movable element 22 a at the other side of the flexible device.
  • the connection rod 40 a has a shape matched with a shape of the fixing slot 226 a , and includes a horizontal bottom surface and two inclined side surfaces. The bottom surface of the connection rod 40 a abuts against a bottom of the fixing slot 226 a , and the side surface abuts against a sidewall of the fixing slot 226 a , thereby limiting the connection rod 40 a in the fixing slot 226 a to avoid circumferential rotation.
  • connection rod 40 a the first movable elements 22 a at the left and right sides of the flexible device can be further fixed to further stabilize the flexible device.
  • the connection rod 40 a can be fixed in the fixing slots 226 a at the opposite sides of the flexible device via soldering. Since the connection rod 40 a is located on the top of the first movable element 22 a , the connection rod 40 a does not affect the inner space of the flexible device greatly, such that the flexible device can accommodate more electronic components.
  • the flexible device in the embodiment may merely include the first positioning shaft 270 a , and the first positioning element 26 a is the first positioning shaft 270 a , correspondingly, the positioning slot 248 a of the second movable element 24 a is correspondingly shortened;
  • the second positioning element 28 a may merely include the first positioning shaft 270 a , and the second positioning element 28 a is the first positioning shaft 270 a , correspondingly, the positioning slot 248 a of the second movable element 24 a is correspondingly shortened.
  • An effect realized by using both the first positioning shafts 270 a and the second positioning shafts 272 a can also be realized by merely using the first positioning shafts 270 a .
  • each side of the flexible assembly 20 a may include only one first movable element 22 a and only one second movable element 24 a , or only one side of the flexible assembly 20 a include only one first movable element 22 a or only one second movable element 24 a , and the flexible assembly 20 a may be even arranged in the middle of the housing 10 a , such that when the flexible assembly 20 a includes only one first movable element 22 a and only one second movable element 24 a , shape switching of the flexible device can be still realized, and it can be still ensured that the functional element 30 a is not stretched or slightly stretched.
  • the housing 10 a includes multiple connection elements 100 a .
  • the connection elements 100 a include multiple first connection elements 12 a having the same shape and structure.
  • the first connection elements 12 a may be made of a hard material such as plastic, metal, or the like, so as to protect electronic components in the housing 10 a .
  • the first connection element 12 a includes a base plate 120 a and sidewalls 140 a extending upwards from opposite ends of the base plate 120 a .
  • Each sidewall 140 a forms a flange on a top portion thereof adjacent to an exterior side thereof. The flange abuts against the plate body 340 a of the support plate 34 a to position the plate body 340 a .
  • the first connection element 12 a further includes two protruding baffles 160 a .
  • the two baffles 160 a are adjacent to the opposite sidewalls 140 a , respectively, and each baffle 160 a is spaced apart from the adjacent sidewall 140 a by an interval 162 a .
  • a height of each baffle 160 a is substantially equal to that of the adjacent sidewall 140 a .
  • Each sidewall 140 a defines a fixing hole 146 a
  • the adjacent baffle 160 a also defines a fixing hole 166 a
  • the fixing holes 146 a and 166 a are both aligned with the fixing holes 246 a of the corresponding second movable elements 24 a.
  • the first movable elements 22 a and the second movable elements 24 a at one side of the flexible device are located on the top surfaces of the base plates 120 a of the first connection elements 12 a , and adjacent to the baffles 160 a at the same side.
  • the first movable elements 22 a and the second movable elements 24 a at the other side of the flexible device are located on the top surfaces of the base plates 120 a of the first connection elements 12 a , and adjacent to the baffles 160 a at the same side.
  • An exterior surface of the second movable element 24 a abuts against an interior surface of the baffle 160 a , so as to be limited to the connection element 100 a .
  • the fixing sheet 342 a of the support plate 34 a is inserted in the gap 162 a between the baffle 160 a and the adjacent sidewall 140 a .
  • the fixing element 29 a sequentially passes through the fixing hole 146 a of the sidewall 140 a of the first connection element 12 a , the fixing hole 343 a of the fixing sheet 342 a , and the fixing hole 166 a of the baffle 160 a , and is locked in the fixing hole 246 a of the second movable element 24 a , thereby fixing the connection element 100 a , the support plate 34 a , and the second movable element 24 a.
  • first connection elements 12 a When the flexible device is in the first state, the second state, or other state between the first state and the second state, adjacent first connection elements 12 a are always spaced apart from each other to define a groove 122 a . In other words, during the deformation of the flexible assembly 20 a , the first connection elements 12 a move relative to each other but are always spaced apart from each other.
  • the housing 10 a further includes a second connection element 18 a .
  • a structure of the second connection element 18 a is similar to that of the first connection element 12 a , and a difference is merely that the second connection element 18 a is wider than the first connection element 12 a .
  • a base plate 180 a of the second connection element 18 a defines a through groove 182 in a middle portion thereof to accommodate a connection terminal 50 a .
  • the connection terminal 50 a is coupled with an external charging device to charge the flexible device or coupled with an external data processing device to transmit data.
  • the second connection element 18 a further defines a switch hole 186 a on a front sidewall 184 a thereof to accommodate a switch assembly 52 a , thereby realizing on or off of the flexible device.
  • the front sidewall 184 a of the second connection element 18 a further defines two through holes 188 a on the left and right side of the switch hole 186 a , respectively.
  • the second connection element 18 a merely includes a baffle 185 a at a rear sidewall 183 a thereof, and the baffle 185 a is also spaced apart from the rear sidewall 183 a by a gap.
  • the flexible device 20 a further includes third movable elements 26 a located on the second connection elements 18 a .
  • Three third movable elements 26 a are arranged at a front side and a rear side of the second connection element 18 a , respectively, and each third movable element 26 a is movably connected to two first movable elements 22 a at the same side.
  • the third movable element 26 a has the same configuration as the second movable element 24 a , and only lengths are different. In the embodiment, the length of the third movable element 26 a is longer than that of the second movable element 24 a .
  • Names, positions, and relative position relationships of elements of the third movable element 26 a are similar to those of the elements of the second movable element 24 a , respectively.
  • the third movable element 26 a also defines two positioning slots 268 a and a fixing whole 266 a located between the positioning slots 268 a .
  • the two positioning slots 268 a of the third movable element 26 a have the same orientation as the two positioning slots 248 a of the second movable element 24 a , and a distance between the two positioning slots 268 a of the third movable element 26 a is longer than that between the two positioning slots 248 a of the second movable element 24 a .
  • the third movable element 26 a further defines a fixing slot 264 a on a top surface thereof.
  • the fixing slot 264 a of the third movable element 26 a is wider than the fixing slot 226 a of the first movable element 22 a.
  • the flexible device further includes a connection beam 42 a located above the second connection element 18 a .
  • the connection beam 42 a has a larger size than the connection rod 40 at the other position.
  • the connection beam 42 located above the second connection element 18 a is wider and longer than the connection rod 40 a at the other position.
  • the connection beam 42 a forms a positioning block 420 a on a front end thereof, and the positioning block 420 forms two bumps 422 a on a front surface thereof.
  • connection beam 42 a has a rear end inserted in the fixing slot 264 a of the third movable element 26 a at the rear side of the flexible device, and a front end inserted in the fixing slot 264 a of the third movable element 26 a at the front side of the flexible device.
  • the positioning block 420 a abuts against the front surface of the third movable element 26 a and a rear surface of the front sidewall 184 a of the second connection element 18 a , and the bump 422 a is inserted in the through hole 188 a of the second connection element 18 a , thereby reinforcing the whole flexible device.
  • the support plate 34 a defines two small fixing sheets 346 a at positions corresponding to the two through holes 188 a of the second connection element 18 a , respectively.
  • Each fixing sheet 346 a defines a positioning hole 347 a aligned with the through hole 188 a .
  • the small fixing sheet 346 a is inserted in a gap defined between the sidewall 184 a of the second connection element 18 a and the positioning block 420 a .
  • the bump 422 a of the positioning block 420 a is further inserted in the fixing hole 347 a of the fixing sheet 346 a to be connected to the support plate 34 a.
  • the housing 10 a further includes two end caps 19 a disposed at opposite ends of the housing 10 a , respectively.
  • the two end caps 19 a have the same structure and are arranged symmetrically.
  • the end cap 19 a , the first connection element 12 a , and the second connection element 18 a may be made of the same rigid material.
  • Each end cap 19 a includes a base plate 190 a and a sidewall 192 a extending upwardly from an edge of the base plate 190 a .
  • the base plate 190 a is substantially semi-circular, and an area of the base plate 190 a is larger than that of the base plate 120 a of the first connection element 12 a or that of the base plate 180 a of the second connection element 18 a , and larger than a sum of the area of the base plate 120 a of the first connection element 12 a and the area of the base plate 180 a of the second connection element 18 a .
  • the sidewall 192 a forms a flange on a top surface thereof adjacent to an exterior side thereof.
  • the plate body 340 a of the support plate 34 a abuts against the top surface of the sidewall 192 a and an interior side of the flange.
  • the battery 70 a can be accommodated in one of the end caps 19 a , and the electronic components such as the controller 60 a , the communication module, and a circuit board can be accommodated in the other end cap 19 a .
  • the battery 70 a is coupled with the controller 60 a , the communication module, and the circuit board by wires or flexible circuit boards.
  • the flexible touch screen or flexible display screen is coupled with the circuit board through a flexible circuit board to achieve electrical connection with the controller 60 a , the communication module, and the battery 70 .
  • the battery 70 a and the controller 60 a are located within the two end caps 19 a , respectively, the battery 60 a and the controller 60 a are also located at the opposite ends of the flexible assembly 20 a , respectively.
  • the battery 70 a and the controller 60 a also move following the deformation of the flexible assembly 20 a , thereby changing a distance between the battery 70 a and the controller 60 a .
  • the distance between the battery 70 a and the controller 60 a gradually decreases as the flexible assembly 20 a is deformed to the second state.
  • the battery 70 a and the other electronic components By arranging the battery 70 a and the other electronic components in the two separate end caps 19 a , respectively, an internal space of the flexible device can be effectively saved, making the flexible device thinner and lighter. Moreover, the design that the battery 70 a is separated from the other electronic components can also prevent heat generated by the battery 70 a and the other electronic components from interacting with each other, thereby ensuring that the battery 70 a and the other electronic components can operate normally.
  • the right end cap 19 a further defines a sound chamber 194 a therein for receiving a speaker 196 a .
  • the sound chamber 194 a is formed by multiple vertical partitions 193 a .
  • the speaker 196 a is interposed between the partitions 193 a , and the sound chamber 194 a is covered by a cover plate 195 a .
  • the right end cap 19 a also defines multiple sound holes corresponding to the sound chamber 194 a for outputting sound from the speaker 196 a.
  • the flexible assembly 20 a further includes fourth movable elements 28 a .
  • the fourth movable element 28 is located in the end cap 19 a to connect the first movable element 22 a or the second movable element 24 a to the end cap 19 a .
  • the left portion of the fourth movable element 28 a has the same structure and shape as the left portion of the second movable element 24 a .
  • the left portion of the fourth movable element 28 a also defines a positioning slot 288 a .
  • the right portion of the fourth movable element 28 a is rectangular, and defines a through hole 286 a in a middle portion thereof to allow the positioning element 202 a to pass through and be locked to the sidewall 192 a of the end cap 19 a.
  • the top surface 224 a of the first movable element 22 a and the top surface 244 a of the second movable element 24 a are in a shape of a circular arc.
  • the top surfaces 224 a of the second movable elements 24 a and the top surfaces 244 a of the first movable elements 22 a together form a continuous arc surface (curvatures of the top surfaces 224 a of the first movable elements 22 a and curvatures of the top surfaces 244 a of the second movable elements 24 a are continuously distributed), such that the entire flexible device forms a circular ring.
  • a projection of the top surface 224 a of each first movable element 22 a on a plane perpendicular to the top surface 224 a and a projection of the top surface 244 a of each second movable element 24 a on a plane perpendicular to the top surface 244 a together form a continuous arc surface (a curvature of the projection of the top surface 224 a of each first movable element 22 a on the plane perpendicular to the top surface 224 a and a curvature of the projection of the top surface 244 a of each second movable element 24 a on the plane perpendicular to the top surface 244 are continuously distributed), thereby adapting the flexible device to the shape of the wrist better.
  • the bottom surface of the plate body 340 a of the support plate 34 a is in contact with a top portion of the top surface 224 a of the first movable element 22 a and a top portion of the top surface 244 a of the second movable element 24 a , and is separated from other positions of the top surface 224 a of the first movable element 22 a adjacent to the top portion of the top surface 224 a of the first movable element 22 a and other positions of the top surface 244 a of the second movable element 24 a adjacent to the top portion of the top surface 244 a of the second movable element 24 a .
  • the bottom surface of the plate body 340 a of the support plate 34 a is further in contact with the other positions of the top surface 224 a of the first movable element 22 a adjacent to the top portion of the top surface 224 a of the first movable element 22 a and the other positions of the top surface 244 a of the second movable element 24 a adjacent to the top portion of the top surface 244 a of the second movable element 24 a .
  • an area of a portion of the support plate 34 a in contact with the top surface 224 a of the first movable element 22 or the top surface 244 a of the second movable element 24 a in the second state is larger than that of a portion of the support plate 34 a in contact with the top surface 224 a of the first movable element 22 or the top surface 244 a of the second movable element 24 a in the first state.
  • the movable elements 300 a can fully support the plate body 340 a of the support plate 34 a , thus it is not necessary to set that the plate body 340 a is separably in contact with both the top surface 224 a of the first movable element 22 a and the top surface 244 a of the second movable element 24 a , and merely in contact with the top surface 224 a of the first movable element 22 or the top surface 244 a of the second movable element 24 a.
  • the side surface 222 a of the first movable element 22 a is spaced apart from the side surface 222 a of one opposite and adjacent first movable element 22 a by a gap at each side of the flexible device
  • the side surface 242 a of the second movable element 24 a is spaced apart from the side surface 242 a of one opposite and adjacent second movable element 24 a at each side of the flexible device.
  • the side surface 222 a of the first movable element 22 a is in contact with the side surface 222 a of one opposite and adjacent first movable element 22 a at each side of the flexible device
  • the side surface 242 a of the second movable element 24 a is in contact with the side surface 242 a of one opposite and adjacent second movable element 24 a at each side of the flexible device.
  • the damping values of the elastic tabs 205 a are adjusted to be the same, so that the first movable element 22 a and the second movable element 24 a at the respective positions move relatively with the same resistance.
  • the flexible device is usually deformed by pulling the end caps 19 a at both ends by both hands. Since the resistance at each position is the same, during transferring an applied external force from the both ends to the middle portion, some positions are skipped, and the applied external force is directly transmitted to the first movable element 22 a /second movable element 24 a at the next position.
  • the present disclosure further provides an embodiment that reduces or prevents incomplete deformation of the flexible device.
  • the positioning element 202 a of the first movable element 22 a is defined as a rotation shaft of the first movable element 22 a
  • the positioning element 202 a of the second movable element 24 a is defined as a rotation shaft of the second movable element 24 a
  • the rotation shafts include the first positioning shaft 260 of the first positioning element 26 and the first positioning shaft 280 of the second positioning element 28
  • the rotation shafts include the first positioning shaft 270 a of the first positioning element 26 a and the first positioning shaft 270 a of the second positioning element 28 a .
  • the rotation shafts include the first positioning shaft 260 of the first positioning shaft 26 and the first positioning shaft 280 of the second positioning element 28 a , or include the first positioning shaft 270 a of the first positioning shaft 26 a and the first positioning shaft 270 a of the second positioning shaft 28 a.
  • the damping values of the rotation shafts may gradually increase from a middle to opposite sides, for example, from the second connection element 18 a to the end caps 19 a .
  • the damping values of the rotation shafts may gradually decrease from the middle to the opposite sides, for example, from the second connection element 18 a to the end caps 19 a . Therefore, during the deformation of the flexible device, since the damping values gradually change, the external force transferring from the opposite ends to the middle can sequentially deform the first movable elements 22 a /second movable elements 24 according to an ascending order of the damping values, thereby avoiding the incomplete deformation.
  • the damping values can be realized by adjusting the abutting of the elastic tab 502 against the first movable element 22 a .
  • the elasticity of the elastic tab 502 a is changed to abut against the rear side of the first movable element 22 a in different degrees.
  • an adjustment of the damping value can be realized in other manners, for example, the positioning elements 202 having different diameters pass through the positioning slots 248 a , and the larger the diameter is, the tighter the abutting of the positioning element 202 a against the first arc surface and the second arc surface of the positioning slot 248 a is, thus the larger the damping value is.
  • rubber rings with different friction coefficients may be sleeved on portions of the positioning elements 202 in the positioning slots 248 a , respectively, and the higher the friction coefficient of the rubber ring is, the greater the damping value is.
  • the flexible device can be deformed to different shapes to satisfy different usage requirements.
  • the flexible device may be deformed to a shape of an arch bridge, facilitating being placed on a desk to view content displayed on the functional element 30 a , or facilitating operating the functional element 30 a .
  • the flexible device may be deformed to a shape of a ridge, facilitating viewing or operating at front and back. Therefore, to position in various states, the damping values of the rotation shafts may be correspondingly adjusted.
  • the damping value of a certain bending position may be set to be lowest, such that the corner position or sharp corner position is firstly deformed during the deformation of the flexible device to form a corner or sharp corner.
  • the damping value may be set to be highest, such that the position is not deformed during the deformation of the flexible device.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Telephone Set Structure (AREA)
  • Devices For Indicating Variable Information By Combining Individual Elements (AREA)
  • Push-Button Switches (AREA)
  • Pivots And Pivotal Connections (AREA)
  • Studio Devices (AREA)
  • Purses, Travelling Bags, Baskets, Or Suitcases (AREA)
US16/319,726 2016-07-19 2017-01-20 Flexible device Abandoned US20210030123A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (7)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/CN2016/090477 WO2018014194A1 (zh) 2016-07-19 2016-07-19 柔性装置
PCT/CN2016/090478 WO2018014195A1 (zh) 2016-07-19 2016-07-19 柔性装置
CNPCT/CN2016/090478 2016-07-19
PCT/CN2016/090479 WO2018014196A1 (zh) 2016-07-19 2016-07-19 柔性装置
CNPCT/CN2016/090477 2016-07-19
CNPCT/CN2016/090479 2016-07-19
PCT/CN2017/071875 WO2018014531A1 (zh) 2016-07-19 2017-01-20 柔性装置

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US20210030123A1 true US20210030123A1 (en) 2021-02-04

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US16/319,726 Abandoned US20210030123A1 (en) 2016-07-19 2017-01-20 Flexible device
US16/319,676 Active 2039-08-05 US11459808B2 (en) 2016-07-19 2017-01-20 Flexible device
US16/319,754 Abandoned US20210030122A1 (en) 2016-07-19 2017-01-20 Flexible device
US16/319,771 Abandoned US20210034108A1 (en) 2016-07-19 2017-02-13 Flexible device
US16/319,768 Abandoned US20190345748A1 (en) 2016-07-19 2017-02-13 Support assembly

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US16/319,676 Active 2039-08-05 US11459808B2 (en) 2016-07-19 2017-01-20 Flexible device
US16/319,754 Abandoned US20210030122A1 (en) 2016-07-19 2017-01-20 Flexible device
US16/319,771 Abandoned US20210034108A1 (en) 2016-07-19 2017-02-13 Flexible device
US16/319,768 Abandoned US20190345748A1 (en) 2016-07-19 2017-02-13 Support assembly

Country Status (7)

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US (5) US20210030123A1 (zh)
EP (5) EP3488769B1 (zh)
JP (5) JP2019527103A (zh)
KR (5) KR20190028535A (zh)
CN (5) CN108366739B (zh)
CA (5) CA3034154A1 (zh)
WO (5) WO2018014530A1 (zh)

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