WO2021259340A1

WO2021259340A1 - Folding apparatus and electronic device

Info

Publication number: WO2021259340A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/101933
Authority: WO
Inventors: 廖立; 长井贤次; 田海强
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2020-06-24
Filing date: 2021-06-24
Publication date: 2021-12-30
Also published as: CN113833741B; CN113833741A

Abstract

Disclosed are a folding apparatus (100) and an electronic device (1000) comprising the folding apparatus and a flexible screen (200). The folding apparatus (100) comprises a main shaft assembly (11) and housings respectively arranged on two sides of the main shaft assembly (11), wherein a swing arm is rotatably connected to the main shaft assembly (11), and is fixedly connected to the housing located on the same side; and a support plate is rotatably connected to the main shaft assembly (11), and is slidably connected to the swing arm or the housing located on the same side. The housings on the two sides rotate relative to the main shaft assembly (11) by means of the swing arm, and the housings rotate to drive the support plate to slide relative to the housings, such that the support plate and the main shaft assembly (11) together define, in a closed state of the electronic device (1000), an accommodating space for accommodating the flexible screen (200), and the support plate and the main shaft assembly (11) together support the flexible screen (200) in an unfolded state of the electronic device (1000), such that the surface of the flexible screen is flat, thereby achieving the effects of folding and supporting, and in the closed state, the housings on the two sides can be completely closed without gaps, making the whole machine uniform in thickness, thereby improving the folding effect.

Description

Folding device and electronic equipment

Cross-references to related applications

This application claims the priority of a Chinese patent application filed with the Chinese Patent Office on June 24, 2020, the application number is 202010587857.3, and the application name is "a folding device and electronic equipment", the entire content of which is incorporated into this application by reference .

Technical field

This application relates to the technical field of foldable equipment, and in particular to a folding device and electronic equipment.

Background technique

As flexible screen technology matures, foldable electronic devices are becoming more and more popular with consumers because of their large screens and easy portability. Since foldable electronic devices need to fold the screen many times for a long time, if the flexible screen itself is bent and unfolded only by the ductility of the flexible screen itself, the flexible screen is likely to be excessively pulled and squeezed, resulting in a shorter screen life. Therefore, in order to prolong the life of the flexible screen and ensure the reliability of the foldable electronic device, the folding part of the electronic device needs to have a certain curvature deformation. In the prior art, a special hinge structure is generally designed in the folding part of the terminal device to meet the reliability requirements. However, the thickness of the hinge structure in the prior art is greater than the thickness of the whole machine, which affects the appearance of the terminal after folding, and the shells on both sides cannot be completely closed, there is a hollow gap in the middle, and impurities are easy to enter, which will also affect the reliability of the screen. .

Summary of the invention

The present application provides a folding device and electronic equipment, which are used to realize the folding of the electronic equipment, ensure reliable support for the flexible screen, and at the same time make the housings on both sides of the electronic equipment in the closed state completely closed, and the whole machine is of equal thickness.

In the first aspect, a folding device is provided, which is used to carry a flexible screen and can be applied to electronic equipment to realize folding of the folding device. Specifically, it includes: a main shaft assembly, two shells, a swing arm assembly, and a support assembly. Two shells are arranged on both sides of the main shaft assembly. The inside of the shell can be used to carry various functional circuits of electronic equipment, physical buttons, cameras and other parts, and the surface of the shell can be used to carry part of the flexible screen. The main shaft assembly functions as a rotating shaft and is also a support. The swing arm assembly is used to connect the two shells of the electronic device, and the support assembly is used to form a structure that supports the flexible screen. Wherein, the swing arm assembly includes at least one swing arm group, each swing arm group includes swing arms respectively arranged on both sides of the main shaft assembly, and each swing arm is rotatably connected to the main shaft assembly and is connected to the main shaft assembly on the same side. The housing is fixedly connected; the supporting assembly includes supporting plates correspondingly arranged on both sides of the main shaft assembly, each supporting plate is rotatably connected with the main shaft assembly, and is slidably connected with the swing arm or the housing on the same side; wherein, The axis around which each support plate is rotationally connected to the main shaft assembly and the axis around which each swing arm is rotationally connected to the main shaft assembly are respectively parallel to the length direction of the main shaft assembly; When the housings on both sides of the main shaft assembly rotate to the first position, the housing drives the support plate on the same side to rotate to the second position, and the support plate and the main shaft assembly enclose the flexible screen. Space; when the housing on both sides of the spindle assembly rotates to the third position, the housing drives the support plate on the same side to rotate to the fourth position, and the support plate and the spindle assembly are used to support The surface of the flexible screen is flat.

When the above solution is in use, the two side shells can be rotated relative to the main shaft assembly through the swing arm assembly, and the rotation of the shell can drive the support assembly to slide relative to the housing, so that the support assembly can rotate to the second position when the electronic device is closed. The position and the spindle assembly jointly enclose the accommodating space for the flexible screen to ensure that the flexible screen is not over-folded, and at the same time, the support assembly can be rotated to the fourth position when the electronic device is flattened, and the spindle assembly supports the flexible screen surface to be flat. Folding and supporting effects are realized. Further, the above solution also enables the two side shells in the closed state to be completely closed without a gap, so that the whole machine is of equal thickness, thereby improving the folding effect.

In a possible implementation manner, the two shells are respectively provided with first sliding grooves, each support plate passes through the first sliding grooves of the same side shell through the first pin, and the first pin The shaft slides in the first sliding groove of the housing on the same side.

In a possible implementation manner, each support plate is provided with at least one connecting rod, the connecting rod is fixedly connected to the support plate, one end of the connecting rod is rotatably connected to the spindle assembly, and the The other end of the connecting rod passes through the first sliding groove of the housing on the same side through the first pin, and the first pin slides in the first sliding groove of the housing on the same side.

In a possible implementation manner, the axes around the swing arms respectively provided on both sides of the main shaft assembly are symmetrical with respect to the main shaft assembly. In this way, the movement paths of the swing arms on both sides can be made symmetrical with each other, that is, the movement paths of the housings on both sides can be made symmetrical, which ensures the symmetrical movement of the electronic device on both sides.

In order to enable the swing arm assembly to be exposed outside the main shaft assembly and connected with the housing, a gap is provided on the main outer shaft. The indentation will be exposed and affect the appearance of the mobile terminal. Therefore, in a possible implementation manner, the folding device further includes a flexible shielding member, which is arranged on the side of the spindle assembly facing away from the flexible screen. The flexible shielding member 16 may be adopted Made of elastic material, such as an elastic steel plate or an elastic plastic plate; the sliding assembly includes at least one connecting arm group and at least one sliding plate group; each connecting arm group includes being respectively arranged on both sides of the main shaft assembly and rotating with the main shaft assembly Connected connecting arms, each sliding plate group includes sliding plates arranged on both sides of the main shaft assembly, each connecting arm is rotatably connected with the corresponding sliding plate and can slide relatively; each sliding plate is arranged on the shell on the same side Between the body and the flexible shielding member, and slidably connected to the housing on the same side, and fixedly connected to one side of the flexible shielding member; wherein, the axis around which each connecting arm is rotationally connected to the main shaft assembly It is parallel to the length direction of the main shaft assembly, and the axis around which each connecting arm is rotationally connected to the main shaft assembly and the axis around which each swing arm is rotationally connected to the main shaft assembly are different axes.

In the above solution, during the process of folding or unfolding the shells on both sides, the connecting arm group rotates relative to the main shaft assembly, the sliding plate group rotates and slides relative to the corresponding connecting arm, and the sliding plate group slides relative to the housing on the corresponding side, so that the sliding plate group It can drive the two sides of the flexible shield to deform together with the folding or unfolding of the shells on both sides, and always match the outline of the main shaft assembly to cover the gaps and grooves on the outside of the main outer shaft to improve the appearance of the electronic device when folded .

In a possible implementation manner, the two shells are respectively provided with second sliding grooves, and each sliding plate is provided with a sliding block that is slidably assembled in the second sliding groove.

In a possible implementation manner, the coverable area of one end of the sliding block passing through the second sliding groove is larger than the width of the second sliding groove. It can be understood that the edge of one end of the sliding block passing through the second sliding groove can be overlapped on both sides of the length direction of the second sliding groove. In this way, the stability of the sliding connection between the sliding plate and the housing can be ensured.

In a possible implementation manner, the connecting part of the sliding plate and the connecting arm rotating and slidingly connected is provided with a protrusion, and the shell is provided with a notch in the area corresponding to the protrusion, and the protrusion of the connecting part can be clamped on the shell correspondingly. The notch position makes the sliding plate not only maintain a stable connection with the housing through the sliding block, but also further increase the stability of the mechanism through the engagement of the protrusions and notches of the connection part.

In a possible implementation, the folding device further includes fixing components, including fixing frames arranged on both sides of the main shaft assembly, and each fixing frame and a sliding plate on the same side face away from the flexible screen. Fixed connection; the two sides of the flexible shielding member are respectively fixedly connected with the fixing frame on the same side. The length of the fixing frame is similar to the length of the spindle assembly. Since the length of the sliding plate is short and the contact surface is limited when it is fixedly connected with the flexible shielding member, the flexible shielding member can be fixed to the fixing frame by providing a fixing component, which is more stable than the solution of directly fixing the sliding plate.

In a possible implementation manner, the main shaft assembly is provided with a first arc-shaped sliding groove corresponding to each swing arm; each of the swing arms is provided with a first arc-shaped sliding groove that is slidably assembled on the corresponding one The first arc-shaped arm inside. The axis and axis around the swing arm of the arc-shaped arm are virtual instead of a physical axis, which can save the space occupied by the main shaft assembly, reduce the thickness of the shaft structure, and make the entire electronic device lighter and thinner.

In a possible implementation manner, the axis around the first arc-shaped arm is located near the surface of the support plate that supports the flexible screen. The position of the axis around the swing arm relative to the flexible surface of the support plate assembly can affect the length of some components such as the support plate and the connecting arm, thereby further affecting the rotation angle of the support plate relative to the housing, and thus the size of the screen space. The design in which the position of the axis around the swing arm is located near the surface of the support plate supporting the flexible screen can make the design of the screen containing space more reasonable.

In a possible implementation manner, the main shaft assembly includes a main outer shaft and a main inner shaft fixedly connected to the main outer shaft; the first arc-shaped sliding groove is provided on the main outer shaft, or the main outer shaft The first arc-shaped sliding groove is arranged on the main outer shaft and the main inner shaft. In this way, the position setting of the first arc chute can be adjusted according to the design parameters required by the first arc chute and the design parameters of the main outer shaft and the main inner shaft.

In a possible implementation manner, the first arc arms on the two corresponding swing arms in each swing arm group are arranged staggered. When the electronic device is folded, the swing arm rotates ninety degrees relative to the spindle assembly, so the first arc-shaped arm is driven to rotate over ninety degrees, and the staggered arrangement of the first arc-shaped arm can ensure the contact between the first arc-shaped arm and the spindle assembly The length is greater than ninety degrees, that is, each first arc-shaped arm can occupy a complete spindle assembly, instead of a symmetrical arrangement. Therefore, when it is in the closed state, it is ensured that the first arc-shaped arm will not slip out of the first arc-shaped sliding groove, thereby improving the stability of the entire swing arm and the main shaft assembly in sliding connection. In addition, the width of the shaft mechanism can also be saved, that is to say, the circles corresponding to the rotation axis around the two swing arms are overlapped, so that the thickness of the shaft part of the electronic device can be reduced, so that the The device is thinner and more portable.

In a possible implementation manner, a transmission wheel is provided between the two first arc-shaped arms staggered in each swing arm group, and the transmission wheel is rotatably connected with the main shaft assembly, and the transmission The axis around which the wheel is rotationally connected to the main shaft assembly is perpendicular to the length direction of the main shaft assembly; the surface of each first arc arm opposite to the transmission wheel is respectively provided with a first protrusion and a first notch that engage When any one of the first arc-shaped arms slides in the first direction in the corresponding first arc-shaped chute, the first arc-shaped arm drives the transmission wheel to rotate to push the other first The arc-shaped arm slides in the corresponding first arc-shaped sliding groove in a second direction, and the first direction is opposite to the second direction.

Since the two swing arms of a swing arm group move in opposite directions relative to the spindle assembly when folded and unfolded, when one swing arm slides in the first direction in the corresponding first arc chute, the first arc The first protrusion on the arm 121 will then rotate together, thereby driving the transmission wheel to rotate to push the first protrusion on the first arc-shaped arm of the other swing arm, so that the other first arc-shaped arm is on the corresponding The first arc-shaped sliding groove slides in the second direction, and the first direction is opposite to the second direction, so as to realize the synchronous rotation of the swing arms on both sides of the casing, that is, realize the synchronous movement between the two casings.

In a possible implementation manner, the folding device further includes a damping mechanism, which is located between the first arc-shaped arm of each swing arm and the main inner shaft, and includes a damping pressure piece and a first elastic member. The pressure piece is placed on the first arc-shaped arm, and both ends of the first elastic member are in pressure contact with the main inner shaft and the damping pressure piece respectively.

When the first arc-shaped arm of the swing arm slides relative to the main shaft assembly, due to the mortgage force of the main inner shaft and the first arc-shaped arm on the first elastic member, the damping pressure piece will hinder the sliding of the first arc-shaped arm. Friction, so that the user can feel the damping force during the process of folding and unfolding the shells on both sides, and can also avoid excessive pulling or squeezing of the flexible screen due to the excessively fast folding or unfolding speed.

In a possible implementation manner, the opposite surface of the main inner shaft and the main outer shaft is provided with a groove for accommodating the first elastic member.

In a possible implementation, the folding device further includes an opening and closing mechanism located between the main shaft assembly and the first arc arm of at least one swing arm of each swing arm group, including a cam and a second arc arm. Elastic member; the cam is provided with a second protrusion on the side opposite to the first arc-shaped arm, and the first arc-shaped arm is provided with a second notch and a third notch that engage with the protrusion; Both ends of the second elastic member are in pressing contact with the main shaft assembly and the cam, and are used to push the cam and the first arc-shaped arm to slide toward each other; When the body is respectively rotated to the first position and the second position, the second protrusions are respectively located at positions engaged with the second notch and the third notch.

In the flattened state, the second notch is engaged with the second protrusion. During the folding process of the electronic device, the first arc-shaped arm slides to the outside relative to the main shaft assembly. At this time, under the action of force, the second protrusion separates from the second notch. And gradually slide to the third notch. When the closed state is about to be reached, due to the thrust of the second elastic member, the second protrusion of the cam will be pushed along the edge of the third notch, so that the cam and the first arc-shaped arm Sliding towards each other, and then there is no need to manually give too much force, the opening and closing mechanism can make the second protrusion and the third notch reach the meshing state, that is, the closed state is automatically reached. Conversely, when expanded from the closed state to the flat state, the second protrusion disengages from the state of engaging with the third notch and slides toward the second notch until it engages with the second notch by the thrust of the second elastic member. Realize automatic flattening. It can expand or collapse by itself to provide a better user experience.

In a possible implementation manner, a camshaft is provided on the cam, and the second elastic member is partially sleeved on the camshaft. The second elastic part is sleeved by the camshaft to make the mortgage contact between the elastic part and the cam more stable, and avoid the displacement of the elastic part under the action of force.

In a second aspect, an electronic device is provided, which includes the folding device described in any one of the above, and further includes a flexible screen covering the folding device, and the flexible screen is fixedly connected to two shells.

It can be seen that when the above solution is in use, the two side shells can be rotated relative to the main shaft assembly through the swing arm assembly, and the rotation of the shell can drive the support assembly to slide relative to the housing, so that the support assembly can be used when the electronic device is closed. Rotate to the second position and the spindle assembly together to enclose the accommodating space for accommodating the flexible screen, ensuring that the flexible screen is not over-folded, and at the same time allowing the support assembly to rotate to the fourth position when the electronic device is flattened, and the spindle assembly to support the flexibility together The surface of the screen is flat, achieving the effect of folding and supporting. Further, the above solution also enables the two side shells in the closed state to be completely closed without a gap, so that the whole machine is of equal thickness, thereby improving the folding effect.

In a possible implementation manner, the flexible screen is also fixedly connected to the support plate.

Description of the drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device in an unfolded state according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exploded structure of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present application when it is in a closed state.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a shaft mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 5 is an exploded schematic diagram of a shaft mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a folding device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a shaft mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present application;

8 is a schematic diagram of the connection structure between the swing arm and the spindle assembly provided by the embodiment of the present application;

Figure 9a is a schematic structural diagram of a support assembly provided by an embodiment of the present application in a flat state;

Figure 9b is a schematic structural diagram of the support assembly provided by an embodiment of the present application in a closed state;

Figure 10a is a schematic diagram of the connection between the connecting rod and the housing and the spindle assembly provided by an embodiment of the present application;

10b is a schematic diagram of the cooperation between the connecting rod and the first chute provided by the embodiment of the present application;

Figure 10c is a schematic diagram of the assembly between the connecting rod and the housing provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 11a is a schematic diagram of the connection relationship between the swing arm assembly, the sliding assembly and the main shaft assembly provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 11b is a schematic diagram of the assembly between the swing arm assembly, the sliding assembly and the spindle assembly provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 12a is a schematic diagram of the connection relationship between the sliding assembly and the housing provided by an embodiment of the present application;

12b is a schematic diagram of the connection relationship between the side of the sliding component facing away from the flexible screen and the housing provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a flexible shield provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a synchronization mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a damping mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present application;

16a is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship of the opening and closing mechanism in the closed state provided by the embodiment of the present application;

16b is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship of the opening and closing mechanism in the unfolded state provided by the embodiment of the present application;

Figure 17a is a schematic diagram of a state of a flexible screen in a closed state according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 17b is a schematic diagram of another state of the flexible screen in a closed state provided by an embodiment of the present application.

detailed description

In order to make the purpose, technical solutions, and advantages of the application more clear, the application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The embodiments of the present application provide a folding device and an electronic device. The electronic device includes a folding device and a flexible screen covering the folding device. The flexible screen of the present application is flexible and bendable, and can be used to display images. Exemplarily, the flexible screen may be an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display screen, an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode or an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED). ) Display, mini organic light-emitting diode display, micro organic light-emitting diode display, micro organic light-emitting diode display, quantum dot light emitting Diode (quantum dot light emitting diodes, QLED) display screen. The electronic device of the present application may specifically be a foldable electronic device, such as a foldable mobile phone, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and the like. The folding device can be unfolded to a flat state, can also be folded to a closed state, and can also be in an intermediate state between the flat state and the closed state. The flexible screen is unfolded and folded with the folding device.

The electronic device of the present application optimizes the hinge mechanism of the folding device so that the flexible screen does not slide relative to the folding device during the folding process of the electronic device, and provides an accommodation space for the flexible screen in the closed state and the thickness of the whole machine is equal. Thereby, the risk of pulling or squeezing the flexible screen is reduced, the reliability of the flexible screen is improved, and the appearance effect in the closed state is improved.

Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 3 together. FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device 1000 in an unfolded state according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 2 is an exploded structural diagram of the electronic device 1000 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of the electronic device 1000 shown in FIG. 1 when it is in a closed state.

The electronic device 1000 includes a folding device 100 and a flexible screen 200. The folding device 100 includes a first housing 20, a rotating shaft mechanism 10 and a second housing 30. The first housing 20 and the second housing 30 are arranged on both sides of the rotating shaft mechanism 10, and the inside of the housing can be used to carry various functional circuits, physical buttons, cameras and other parts of the electronic device. The shaft mechanism 10 can be deformed so that the first housing 20 and the second housing 30 are relatively folded or relatively unfolded. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first housing 20 and the second housing 30 can be relatively expanded to a flat state, so that the electronic device 1000 is in a flat state. As shown in FIG. 3, the first housing 20 and the second housing 30 can be relatively folded to a closed state, so that the electronic device 1000 is in a closed state. When the first housing 20 and the second housing 30 are in a closed state, they can be completely folded to be parallel to each other (a slight deviation is also allowed). Wherein, the electronic device 1000 can also be in an intermediate state (not shown), that is, any state between the flat state and the closed state, so that the electronic device 1000 can be between the flat state and the closed state through the deformation of the shaft mechanism 10 Switch each other.

The flexible screen 200 includes a first non-bending area A1, a bending area (B1, C, and B2), and a second non-bending area A2 arranged in sequence. The flexible screen 200 covers the folding device 100. Among them, the first non-bending area A1 of the flexible screen 200 is fixed to the first housing 20, and the second non-bending area A2 is fixed to the second housing 30, and the first housing 20 and the second housing 30 are folded relative to each other. Or during the relatively unfolding process, the bending area is deformed. As shown in FIG. 1, when the first housing 20 and the second housing 30 are in a flat state, the flexible screen 200 is in a flat state; as shown in FIG. 3, the first housing 20 and the second housing 30 are closed In the state, the flexible screen 200 is in a closed form. Wherein, when the electronic device 1000 is in the closed state, the flexible screen 200 is located inside the folding device 100. The flexible screen 200 may be roughly in the shape of a drop or semi-circular arc. The specific connection relationship between the bending area of the flexible screen 200 and the shaft mechanism 10 will be It will be further described after the introduction of the folding device 100 later.

In this embodiment, the flexible screen 200 can be unfolded or folded with the folding device 100. When the electronic device 1000 is in a flattened state, the flexible screen 200 is in a flattened state and can display in full screen, so that the electronic device 1000 has a larger display area, so as to improve the user's viewing experience. When the electronic device 1000 is in the closed state, the planar size of the electronic device 1000 is small, which is convenient for the user to carry and store.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the shaft mechanism 10 provided by the embodiment of the present application, its structure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First refer to Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 shows a schematic structural diagram of the shaft mechanism 10, and Figure 5 shows an exploded schematic diagram of the shaft mechanism 10 (the figure shows the internal structure of one side of the shaft mechanism, and the other side of the structure resemblance). The rotating shaft mechanism 10 provided in the embodiment of the present application mainly includes: a main shaft assembly 11, a swing arm assembly, and a support assembly. Among them, the main shaft assembly 11 functions as a rotating shaft and is also a support. The swing arm assembly is used to connect the two housings (the first housing 20 and the second housing 30) of the electronic device, and the support assembly is used to form a support. The structure of the flexible screen 200. It will be described in detail below in conjunction with specific drawings.

Continuing to refer to FIGS. 4 and 5, the overall structure of the spindle assembly 11 provided in the embodiment of the present application is a semi-cylindrical shape, and its side surface includes a first surface and a second surface connected to the first surface. The surface is a flat surface and is used to support the flexible screen 200, and the second surface is an arc-shaped cylindrical surface. For the convenience of description, the length direction of the main shaft assembly 11 is defined. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the length direction of the main shaft assembly 11 refers to the rotation of the first housing 20 and the second housing 30. The direction of the axis.

When the main shaft assembly 11 is specifically set, the main shaft assembly 11 can adopt different structures. As shown in FIG. 5, the main shaft assembly 11 includes a main inner shaft 112 and a main outer shaft 111, and the main inner shaft 112 and the main outer shaft The main inner shaft 112 and the main outer shaft 111 are fixedly connected with each other, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 together. The main inner shaft 112 and the main outer shaft 111 are fixedly connected detachably by screws. Of course, in addition to the connection method shown in FIG. 4, the main inner shaft 112 and the main outer shaft 111 may also be fixedly connected by a buckle or a rivet. When the main inner shaft 112 and the main outer shaft 111 are specifically arranged, the aforementioned first surface is a surface of the main inner shaft 112, and the second surface is a side surface of the main outer shaft 111. Of course, it should be understood that the split structure adopted by the above-mentioned spindle assembly 11 is only a specific example, and the spindle assembly 11 provided in the embodiment of the present application may also adopt other structures. In addition, when the spindle assembly 11 supports the swing arm assembly, the spindle assembly 11 is provided with a structure corresponding to the swing arm assembly. To facilitate the understanding of the internal structure of the spindle assembly 11, the structure of the spindle assembly 11 will be described below in conjunction with the swing arm assembly.

6 and 7 together, FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the folding device 100 (in order to show the internal structure, the supporting components are hidden), and FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the shaft mechanism 10. The swing arm assembly 12 provided in the embodiment of the present application includes at least one swing arm group, and the swing arm group is used to connect the housing. The number of swing arm groups can be determined according to needs. Figures 6 and 7 show two swing arm groups. In the present application, the structure of the swing arm groups is the same, and the connection relationship between each swing arm group and the main shaft assembly 11 and the housing is also the same. Therefore, a swing arm group is taken as an example for description below.

Continuing to refer to Figures 6 and 7, each swing arm set provided by the embodiment of the present application includes two swing arms. For the convenience of description, the two swing arms are named as the first swing arm 12a and the second swing arm 12b, respectively. The first swing arm 12a and the second swing arm 12b are respectively used for fixed connection with two housings of the electronic device. The first swing arm 12a is fixedly connected to the first housing 20, and the second swing arm 12b is fixedly connected to the second housing 30. In the specific fixed connection, bolts or screws can be used to fix the connection; at this time, the first swing arm 12a The second swing arm 12b moves synchronously with the first housing 20 and the second housing 30, respectively. Further, when each swing arm is fixedly connected to the corresponding housing, the housing can be provided with a corresponding accommodating groove for fixing and accommodating the swing arm, so that the surface of the swing arm and the surface of the housing can be kept facing each other. Flush.

When the two swing arms are specifically set, the first swing arm 12a and the second swing arm 12b are arranged on both sides of the spindle assembly 11. More specifically, the first swing arm 12a and the second swing arm 12b are arranged along the axis of the spindle assembly 11. The length direction is listed on both sides.

For the first swing arm 12a and the second swing arm 12b, they are connected to the main shaft assembly 11 in the same manner. Therefore, the first swing arm 12a is taken as an example for specific description.

When the first swing arm 12a is specifically connected to the spindle assembly 11, the first swing arm 12a is rotatably connected with the spindle assembly 11, and the axis around which the first swing arm 12a rotates is parallel to the length direction of the spindle assembly 11. When the first swing arm 12a is rotatably connected with the main shaft assembly 11, as shown in FIG. 8 is a specific structure in which the first swing arm 12a and the main shaft assembly 11 are rotatably connected. In the specific arrangement, a first arc-shaped sliding groove 113 is provided in the main shaft assembly 11, and the first swing arm 12a is slidably assembled in the first arc-shaped sliding groove 113, and the first swing arm 12a slides relative to the main shaft assembly 11 At this time, the first swing arm 12a rotates relative to the main shaft assembly 11 at the same time. When the first swing arm 12a is slidably assembled in the first arc-shaped sliding groove 113, the first swing arm 12a is provided with a first arc-shaped arm for slidingly assembled in the corresponding first arc-shaped sliding groove 113 121, as shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, a first arc-shaped arm 121 is provided on the first swing arm 12a, and one end of the first arc-shaped arm 121 is fixed to one end of the first swing arm 12a It is connected to or integrated with the first swing arm 12a, but it should be understood that in the shaft mechanism 10 provided in the embodiment of the present application, the number of the first arc-shaped arms 121 corresponding to the swing arm is not limited, and it can be One first arc arm 121 is arranged on one swing arm as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, or a plurality of first arc arms 121 are arranged on one swing arm, such as two, three or four. Wait for different numbers. However, no matter how many first arc-shaped arms 121 are used, the assembly method is slidingly assembled in the first arc-shaped sliding groove 113. As shown in FIG. 8, the first arc-shaped arm 121 is assembled in the first arc-shaped chute 113, and the arc of the first arc-shaped arm 121 is the same as the arc of the first arc-shaped chute 113, so in the first pendulum When the arm 12a slides, the first swing arm 12a slides along the length of the first arc-shaped sliding groove 113. Since the first arc-shaped sliding groove 113 is an arc-shaped groove, it can be relative to the main shaft when sliding. The assembly 11 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow as shown in FIG. 8. This direction is the direction of the first swing arm 12a when it rotates. Sliding in the arc direction defined by the sliding groove 113, while sliding, it also rotates relative to the spindle assembly 11. When the first swing arm 12a is fixedly connected to the first housing 20, the first swing arm 12a rotates relative to the spindle assembly 11 The first housing 20 can be driven to rotate relative to the spindle assembly 11, so as to realize the opening or folding of the mobile terminal. Further, the edge of the first arc-shaped sliding groove 113 can also form a protrusion and groove that cooperate with the edge of the first arc-shaped arm 121, so as to limit the sliding of the first arc-shaped arm 121 and maintain the first pendulum. Stable sliding of arm 12a.

6 and 7, when the main shaft assembly 11 includes the main inner shaft 112 and the main outer shaft 111, the first arc-shaped sliding groove 113 can be provided only on the main outer shaft 111, or can be provided on the main outer shaft at the same time. 111 and the main inner shaft 112. In the latter case, the main outer shaft 111 and the main inner shaft 112 are formed with continuous arc-shaped sliding grooves and the shape of the sliding grooves between the two is correspondingly engageable, so that the main inner shaft When the shaft 112 and the main outer shaft 111 are fixed, the complete form of the first arc-shaped sliding groove 113 is realized together.

Continuing to refer to Figures 6 and 7, the arrangement of the first swing arm 12a and the second swing arm 12b will be described. In the first implementation, when the first swing arm 12a and the second swing arm 12b are specifically arranged, the first arc-shaped arms 121 of the first swing arm 12a and the second swing arm 12b are staggered, and the above-mentioned positions are different from each other. Wrongly refers to the position difference between the correspondingly connected first arc-shaped arms 121 on the two swing arms along the axis of the spindle assembly 11. The arc-shaped arm 121 and the first arc-shaped arm 121 of the second swing arm 12b are arranged in a row along the axis of the main shaft assembly 11. When arranged in this way, as shown in FIG. The arc-shaped arm 121 can have a relatively large contact with the main shaft assembly 11, that is, the length of the first arc-shaped arm 121 extending into the first arc-shaped sliding groove 113 is relatively long. 12a is an example. When the electronic device is folded, the first swing arm 12a rotates ninety degrees relative to the main shaft assembly 11, thus driving the first arc-shaped arm 121 to relatively rotate through ninety degrees. The contact length between the arc arm 121 and the main shaft assembly 11 is obviously greater than ninety degrees. That is, each first arc-shaped arm can occupy a complete main shaft assembly, instead of occupying a part of it in an asymmetrical arrangement. Therefore, when in the closed state, it is ensured that the first arc-shaped arm 121 will not slip out of the first arc-shaped sliding groove 113, thereby improving the stability of the entire swing arm and the main shaft assembly 11 in sliding connection. In addition, the staggered arrangement of the first swing arm 12a and the second swing arm 12b can also save the width of the shaft mechanism, that is to say, the circles corresponding to the rotation axis around the two swing arms overlap. The thickness of the shaft part of the electronic device can be reduced, so that the device can be made lighter, thinner and more portable.

Of course, when the rotating shaft mechanism 10 adopts multiple swing arm groups, the above-mentioned arrangement can be adopted. At this time, the first arc arms 121 on the two corresponding swing arms in each swing arm group are arranged staggered. In addition, the above-mentioned Fig. 8 only shows a specific embodiment. In the swing arm set provided by the embodiment of the present application, the first arc arms 121 of the two swing arms may also be arranged in a symmetrical manner. At this time, the first arc arms on the first swing arm 12a and the second swing arm 12b The arms 121 are symmetrically arranged.

However, regardless of the above-mentioned arrangement, the axes around the swing arms disposed on both sides of the spindle assembly are symmetrical with respect to the spindle assembly (that is, the center line of the spindle assembly), that is, the axis of each swing arm group The axes around the two swing arms are symmetrical to each other, and the axes around the swing arms on the same side among the plurality of swing arm groups should be the same axis. In this way, the symmetrical expansion and closing of the two-side shells fixedly connected with the swing arm can be ensured, that is, the movement paths of the two-side shells are made symmetrical, and the two-sided symmetrical movement of the electronic device is ensured. . In addition, the axis and the shaft center around the swing arm of the arc arm are virtual rather than physical shafts, which can save the space occupied by the main shaft assembly 11, reduce the thickness of the shaft structure, and make the entire electronic device lighter and thinner.

Further, the axis around the two swing arms in the swing arm group is located near the surface of the support plate assembly supporting the flexible screen 200. Specifically, the axis around the swing arm can be located above the surface of the support plate assembly supporting the flexible screen 200. , Below or on the surface of the above-mentioned support plate assembly. The position of the axis around the swing arm relative to the surface of the support plate assembly supporting the flexible screen 200 can affect the length of some components such as the support plate and the connecting arm that will be described in detail later, thereby further affecting the angle of rotation of the support plate relative to the housing. This in turn affects the size of the screen space. The design of the position of the swing arm around the axis of the embodiment of the present application can make the design of the screen space more reasonable.

The embodiment of the present application may not limit the rotational connection mode of the first swing arm 12a and the main shaft assembly 11. For example, the first swing arm 12a can also be rotationally connected by means of a gear pin shaft and an arc gear guide groove. Specifically, an arc gear guide groove may be provided at one end of the first swing arm 12a connected to the main shaft assembly 11, and the gear pin shaft meshing with the arc gear guide groove passes through the gear guide groove and the main shaft assembly 11. When the first swing arm 12a is unfolded or folded along with the first housing 20, the gear pin shaft will rotate in the gear guide groove and slide along the meshed gear, thereby achieving a rotational connection with the main shaft assembly 11. For another example, the first swing arm 12a and the main shaft assembly 11 may also be rotatably connected by a pin connection, which will not be described in detail here.

With reference to Figures 9a and 9b, the relationship between the support assembly and the spindle assembly 11 will be further described. Among them, Fig. 9a shows a schematic structural diagram of the supporting assembly in a flat state, and Fig. 9b shows a structural schematic diagram of the supporting assembly in a closed state. In conjunction with FIG. 4, when the hinge mechanism 10 supports the flexible screen 200, a supporting component is used to support the flexible screen 200 to improve the supporting effect of the flexible screen 200. Refer to FIG. 4 when setting the support assembly specifically. The support assembly includes two

support plates

13a and 13b, and the two support plates are correspondingly arranged on both sides of the spindle assembly 11, that is, the two support plates are along the length of the spindle assembly 11. The direction is set on both sides. As shown in FIG. 4, when the spindle assembly 11 has a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, the first surface of the spindle assembly 11 is a surface for supporting the flexible screen 200, and the support plate also has a To support the surface of the flexible screen 200. For example, as shown in FIG. 9a, when the electronic device is in a flat state, the housings on both sides are rotated to the third position, the supporting plate is at the fourth position, and the rotating shaft mechanism 10 is unfolded and can support the flexible screen 200. At this time, the first surface and the support plate can jointly support the surface of the bending area of the flexible screen 200 to be approximately flush, so as to support the flexible screen 200 to make its surface flat. The above-mentioned almost flush means that the first surface and the surface of the support plate supporting the flexible screen 200 are flush, or there is a certain error between the two, and the surface of the flexible screen 200 is supported by the first surface and the support plate. Flushing improves the supporting effect of the flexible screen 200 in the flat state. For example, as shown in Figure 9b, when the electronic device is in the closed state, the housings on both sides are rotated to the first position (opposite to each other), the support plate is in the second position, and the hinge mechanism 10 is folded and continues to support the flexible screen 200. At this time, The support plate and the first surface of the main shaft assembly 11 jointly enclose a receiving space for the flexible screen 200 (a triangle or drop-shaped space in FIG. 9b), so that the flexible screen 200 will not be excessively folded and squeezed in the closed state. Extend the life of the flexible screen. At the same time, the arrangement of the support plate in the second position can enable the first housing 20 and the second housing 30 to be completely closed to be parallel to each other. Referring to Figure 6, Figure 9a and Figure 9b, in order to ensure that the support plate in the closed state can be rotated to the second position to form a triangular or drop-shaped containment space, then the first housing 20 and the second housing 30 The surface of the upper part covered by the support plate (also called the middle frame) needs to have a certain slope. For example, in the unfolded state shown in Figure 9a, there will be a certain space between the support plate and the housing, rather than tightly fitting; in the closed state shown in Figure 9b, the support plate and the surface of the housing can be attached Close or close.

When two supporting plates are specifically set, they are divided into a first supporting plate 13a and a second supporting plate 13b for the convenience of description. For the first supporting plate 13a or the second supporting plate 13b, it is the same side as the swing arm Or the housing and the main shaft assembly 11 are connected in the same manner. Therefore, taking the first support plate 13a as an example, a detailed description will be given with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Continuing to refer to Figures 9a and 9b, the first support plate 13a is rotatably connected to the spindle assembly 11, and is slidably connected to the first housing 20 or the first swing arm 12a, wherein the first support plate 13a is rotatably connected to the spindle assembly 11 The axis of and the axis around which the first swing arm 12a is rotatably connected with the spindle assembly 11 are respectively parallel to the length direction of the spindle assembly 11. It can be understood that since the first swing arm 12a and the first housing 20 are relatively fixed, the principle and connection relationship when the first support plate 13a is connected to the first housing 20 or the first swing arm 12a are similar. Therefore, the connection relationship between the first support plate 13a and the first housing 20 is taken as an example for description below. Specifically, one end of the first support plate 13a can be slidably connected to the first housing 20 through a first pin 1311, and at the same time, a first chute 201 can be provided on the first housing 20. During specific assembly, the first The pin 1311 is arranged in the first sliding groove 201 to realize sliding at the same time. The other end of the first support plate 13a can be rotatably connected to the main shaft assembly 11 through a second pin shaft 1312. Specifically, when the main shaft assembly 11 includes a main outer shaft 111 and a main inner shaft 112, the second pin shaft 1312 can be connected to the main shaft Either the outer shaft 111 or the main inner shaft 112 is rotatably connected, and can also be rotatably connected with the main outer shaft 111 and the main inner shaft 112 at the same time. It is understandable that when the main outer shaft 111 and the main inner shaft 112 are simultaneously rotatably connected, the main outer shaft 111 and the main inner shaft 112 may be provided with arc-shaped grooves on the surface opposite to the main inner shaft 112. During the fixed connection, the arc-shaped groove covered by the arc surface may enclose a circular hole for receiving the rotation of the second pin shaft 1312.

When the electronic device is rotated from the closed state shown in FIG. 9b to the unfolded state shown in FIG. 9a, the first pin 1311 slides relative to the first chute 201 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 8b until it reaches the unfolded state ; Similarly, in the process of turning the electronic device from the flat state shown in Figure 9a to the closed state shown in Figure 9b, the first pin 1311 slides relative to the first chute 201 in the opposite direction until it is closed state. Therefore, it can be understood that the length of the first sliding groove 201 may be equal to or greater than the length of the first supporting plate 13a sliding relative to the first housing 20 when the first supporting plate 13a is moved from the flat state to the closed state. Further, the shape of the groove body of the first sliding groove 201 is also related to the sliding path of the first support plate 13a relative to the first housing 20. If the sliding path is a curve, the first sliding groove 201 may be a curved groove body or a special shape. Slot; if the sliding path is a straight line, the first sliding slot 201 can be a straight slot as shown in Figure 8b. Furthermore, the first chute 201 may be a closed chute or an open chute, which is not specifically limited in this application.

Further, referring to FIG. 5, in a possible implementation manner, at least one connecting rod 131 may be provided on each supporting plate. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a connecting rod may be provided on both sides of the supporting plate. The rod 131 is used to maintain a stable connection relationship, but the connecting rod 131 in the embodiment of the present application may also have other arrangements, which are not specifically limited here. The connecting rod 131 realizes the rotational connection with the main shaft assembly 11 and the sliding connection with the housing or the swing arm on the same side. Since the structure of each connecting rod 131 is the same, the connection relationship with the main shaft assembly 11 and the housing or swing arm on the corresponding side is also the same. Therefore, a connecting rod 131 of a first support plate 13a is used below to connect to the first housing. The body 20 is taken as an example for specific description.

With specific reference to Figures 10a, 10b and 10c, Figure 10a shows a schematic diagram of the connection between the connecting rod and the housing and the spindle assembly, Figure 10b shows a schematic diagram of the fit between the connecting rod and the first chute, and Figure 10c The schematic diagram of the assembly between the connecting rod and the housing is shown. The connecting rod 131 is fixedly connected to one side of the first supporting plate 13a. During the specific fixing and assembly, as shown in FIG. After the connecting rod 131 is fixed to the first support plate 13a, both ends of the connecting rod 131 and the surface of the first support plate supporting the flexible screen 200 can be approximately flush to maintain the appearance of the whole machine. Further, the first housing 20 is provided with a first sliding groove 201, one end of the connecting rod 131 is slidably connected to the first sliding groove 201 through a first pin 1311, and the other end of the connecting rod 131 can be connected to the main shaft through a second pin 1312. The assembly 11 is connected in rotation. 9b shows the relative position of the first support plate 13a and the first housing 20 away from the surface supporting the flexible screen 200, that is to say, in specific settings, the first sliding groove 201 may be provided in the first housing Below the body 20, the connecting rod 131 is arranged in an "L"-shaped design as shown in FIG.

It can be understood that the manner of rotating connection between the connecting rod 131 and the spindle assembly 11 is not limited to the connection manner shown in FIGS.

From the above description, it can be seen that when the electronic device is turned from the flat state to the closed state, the housings on both sides will drive the fixed swing arm and the support plate slidably connected to it to rotate together. The housings located on both sides of the spindle assembly 11 ( (Or swing arm) to the first position, the corresponding housing (or swing arm) drives the two support plates to rotate to the second position, so that the support plate and the spindle assembly 11 enclose the folding space for the flexible screen of the mobile terminal ; When the electronic device is turned from the closed state to the flat state, the shells (or swing arms) on both sides of the main shaft assembly rotate to the third position, and the corresponding shells (or swing arms) drive the support plate on the same side to rotate To the fourth position, and the support plate and the spindle assembly are used to support the flexible screen with a flat surface.

In this technical solution, there is no relative sliding between the bending area of the flexible screen 200, the support plates on both sides and the surface of the spindle assembly 11, and the housing and the two support plates jointly support the bending of the flexible screen 200 during the entire process. Folding to relieve the bending stress of the screen; at the same time, in the closed state, the housing and two supporting plates also provide enough concave space for the flexible screen 200, so that the bending area of the flexible screen 200 is in the shape of a droplet or a semi-circular arc. It is hidden in the concave space, so that the whole machine is of the same thickness in the closed state, and there is no large gap between the shells on both sides, which improves the appearance of the electronic device and the life of the flexible screen.

When the spindle assembly 11 is specifically set, as shown in Figures 11a and 11b, Figure 11a shows a schematic diagram of the connection relationship between the swing arm assembly, the sliding assembly and the spindle assembly, and Figure 11b shows the swing arm assembly, the sliding assembly and the Schematic diagram of assembly between spindle components. In order to allow the swing arm assembly to be exposed outside the main shaft assembly 11 and to be connected to the housing, a notch is provided on the main outer shaft 111 (located near the end of the first arc-shaped sliding groove 113). The gap will be exposed and affect the appearance of the mobile terminal. Therefore, a flexible shield 16 is also provided in the hinge mechanism 10 provided in the embodiment of the present application. The flexible shielding member 16 can be made of an elastic material, such as an elastic steel plate or an elastic plastic plate. When the electronic device is folded, the flexible shielding member 16 can follow the rotating shaft mechanism 10 to rotate and bend, so as to follow the change of the rotating shaft mechanism 10 and always cover the outer side of the main outer shaft 111. In order to achieve this function, the shaft mechanism 10 of the embodiment of the present application may further include a sliding assembly, which will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Continuing to refer to FIGS. 11a and 11b, the sliding assembly provided by the embodiment of the present application includes two main structures: a connecting arm group and a sliding plate group. Among them, the connecting arm group is used to connect the main shaft assembly and the sliding plate group, and the sliding plate group is used to connect the flexible shield 16. The number of connecting arm groups and skateboard groups can be determined according to needs, such as one connecting arm group and one skateboard group, or two connecting arm groups and two skateboard groups, or two connecting arms combined with three skateboard groups, etc. . Therefore, it can be seen that the corresponding relationship between the connecting arm group and the sliding plate group can be one-to-one correspondence, or one connecting arm group can be used to correspond to multiple sliding plate groups, and the specific setting can be determined according to actual needs. As shown in FIG. 7, two connecting arm groups and two sliding plate groups are used, and there is a one-to-one correspondence between the connecting arm groups and the sliding plate groups, but it is not limited to this arrangement.

First, the connecting arm group will be explained. In this application, the structure of the connecting arm group is the same. Figures 11a and 11b show the connecting structure of the two connecting arm groups and the spindle assembly 11. The two connecting arm groups are connected with the spindle assembly 11 and the sliding plate The connection methods of the groups are the same, so take a connection arm group as an example. As shown in FIGS. 11a and 11b, the connecting arm set includes two connecting arms. For the convenience of description, the two connecting arms are named as the first connecting arm 141a and the second connecting arm 141b, respectively. When the first connecting arm 141a and the second connecting arm 141b are arranged, the two connecting arms are correspondingly arranged on both sides of the main shaft assembly 11. As shown in FIG. 11b, the first connecting arm 141a and the second connecting arm 141b are along the main shaft The length direction of the assembly 11 is arranged on both sides of the assembly 11 and is rotatably connected with the main shaft assembly 11. Among them, in the arrangement shown in FIG. 11b, the first connecting arm 141a and the second connecting arm 141b are arranged symmetrically on both sides. It can be understood that the first connecting arm 141a and the second connecting arm 141b can also be arranged along The longitudinal direction of the main shaft assembly 11 is staggered, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Since the first connecting arm 141a and the second connecting arm 141b are connected to the main shaft assembly and the sliding plate group in the same manner, the following takes the first connecting arm 141a as an example for description. In order to facilitate the description of the rotational relationship between the connecting arm assembly and the main shaft assembly 11, the main shaft assembly 11 includes a main outer shaft 111 and a main inner shaft 112 as an example for description. In a possible connection mode, continue to refer to Figure 5, where the main outer shaft 111 is an arc-shaped shell, and there is a concave notch 115 in the arc-shaped shell, continue to refer to Figures 7 and 11b, in the main When the outer shaft 111 and the main inner shaft 112 are fixedly connected together, the part of the main inner shaft 112 covering the concave notch 115 and the main outer shaft 111 together form an accommodation space, and one end of the first connecting arm 141a is inserted into In the accommodating space, the third pin shaft 1411 passes through one end of the first connecting arm 141a to realize the rotational connection with the main inner shaft 112 and the main outer shaft 111. Specifically, both ends of the third pin shaft 1411 extend into the accommodating space, and are fixedly connected to the main inner shaft 112 and the main outer shaft 111. When the first connecting arm 141a rotates, the first connecting arm 141a can rotate around the third pin shaft 1411, so as to achieve the effect of rotating relative to the main shaft assembly 11. In another possible connection mode, one end of the first connecting arm 141a can also form an arc-shaped arm structure similar to the first swing arm 12a, and the arc-shaped arm is inserted into the main outer shaft 111, the main inner shaft 112 or the main outer shaft. In the arc-shaped sliding groove jointly formed by the shaft 111 and the main inner shaft 112, the rotation connection between the first connecting arm 141a and the main shaft assembly 11 is realized. In yet another possible connection manner, the first connection arm 141a may also be rotationally connected to the main shaft assembly 11 by means of gears and guide grooves. For the last two connection modes described above, reference may be made to the rotational connection mode of the swing arm group and the main shaft assembly 11, which will not be repeated here.

When the first connecting arm 141a and the second connecting arm 141b are specifically arranged, the axis around which the first connecting arm 141a and the second connecting arm 141b are parallel to the length direction of the spindle assembly 11, and the first connecting arm 141a and the second connecting arm The axis around the arm 141b is symmetrical with respect to the main shaft assembly 11. However, the axis around which each connecting arm is rotationally connected to the main shaft assembly 11 and the axis around which each swing arm is rotationally connected to the main shaft assembly are different axes; for different connecting arm groups, the connecting arm positions on the same side are different. The axis around can be consistent.

In this application, the structure of the skateboard groups is the same. Figure 7 shows the connection structure of the two skateboard groups and the connecting arm group. Each skateboard group is connected to the corresponding connecting arm group in the same way, so take one skateboard group as an example. . As shown in Figures 11a and 11b, each sliding plate group includes sliding plates arranged on both sides of the spindle assembly. For the convenience of description, the two sliding plates are named the first sliding plate 142a and the second sliding plate 142b. . When the first sliding plate 142a and the second sliding plate 142b are set, the two sliding plates are correspondingly arranged on both sides of the connecting arm group. Since each sliding plate has the same structure, it is the same as the connecting arm group, the housing and the flexible shield. The connection relationship between is also the same. Therefore, the connection relationship between the first sliding plate 142a, the first connecting arm 141a, the first housing 20 and the flexible shielding member 16 will be described in detail below as an example.

Continuing to refer to FIGS. 11a and 11b, the first connecting arm 141a is rotatably connected with the first sliding plate 142a and can slide relatively. When the first connecting arm 141a is specifically assembled with the first sliding plate 142a, the third sliding groove 143 is provided on the first sliding plate 142a. When the sliding assembly is realized, the fourth pin 1412 passes through the first connecting arm 141a. Inserted into the third sliding groove 143, when the fourth pin shaft 1412 slides in the third sliding groove 143, the first sliding plate 142a can rotate relative to the third sliding groove 143 to realize the first connecting arm 141a and the first sliding plate 142a The rotating connection and relative sliding.

Continuing to refer to Figures 11a and 11b, and further reference to Figures 12a and 12b, Figure 12a shows a schematic diagram of the connection relationship between the sliding assembly and the housing, and Figure 12b shows the side of the sliding assembly facing away from the flexible screen and the housing Schematic diagram of the connection relationship between. The first sliding plate 142a is disposed between the first housing 20 and the flexible shielding member 16, that is, the first sliding plate 142 is located near the surface of the first housing 20 away from the flexible screen 200, and the first sliding plate 142a and the first housing The body 20 is slidably connected. When specifically setting the first sliding plate 142a and the first housing 20, at least one sliding block 1421 is provided on the first sliding plate 142a, and at least one second sliding groove 202 is provided on the first housing 20, wherein the sliding The blocks 1421 correspond to the second sliding grooves 202 one-to-one. In FIG. 12a, two sliding blocks 1421 are provided on each sliding plate, and two second sliding grooves 202 are provided at corresponding positions on the housing. However, it is understandable that the number of sliding blocks can be less or more. The corresponding second chute can also be set corresponding to the number of sliding blocks, which is not specifically limited in this application. When the sliding assembly is implemented, the sliding block 1421 on the first sliding plate 142a passes through the second sliding groove 202 and slides in the second sliding groove 202 to realize the sliding connection between the first sliding plate 142a and the first housing 20. Further, in order to ensure the stability of the sliding connection, the coverable area of the end of the sliding block 1421 passing through the second sliding groove 202 should be greater than the width of the second sliding groove 202, that is, the sliding block 1421 passing through one end of the second sliding groove 202 The edges of should be able to overlap on both sides of the length of the second chute 202. For example, when the sliding block 1421 is circular, its diameter may be greater than the width of the second sliding groove 202. Further in order to ensure the stability of the sliding connection, as shown in FIG. 11c, the connecting part of the first sliding plate 142a and the first connecting arm 141a rotating and slidingly connected can be provided with a certain height of protrusions, and at the same time, the first housing 20 corresponds to The raised area may also be provided with a notch, and the protrusion of the connecting part may be clamped to the corresponding notch position on the first housing 20, so that the first sliding plate 142a is not only held in contact with the first housing 20 by the sliding block 1421 Stable connection further increases the stability of the mechanism through the engagement of the protrusions and notches in the connection part.

12b and FIG. 13 together, FIG. 13 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of the flexible shielding member. The flexible shielding member 16 may be provided on the side of the main shaft assembly 11 facing away from the flexible screen 200, specifically may be the outer side of the main outer shaft 111, for covering the notch or groove of the main outer shaft 111 as shown in FIG. 12b. The relationship between the first sliding plate 142a, the first housing 20 and the flexible shielding member 16 is still taken as an example for description. Specifically, the first sliding plate 142 a is disposed between the first housing 20 and one side of the flexible shield 16, is slidably connected to the first housing 20, and is fixedly connected to one side of the flexible shield 16. As shown in FIG. 13, when the flexible shielding member 16 is specifically provided, the two sides of the flexible shielding member 16 are respectively fixedly connected to the side of the sliding plate group facing away from the flexible screen. The specific fixed connection method can be glue, riveting, welding and so on. Consistent with the first sliding plate 142a, the second sliding plate 142b is arranged between the second housing 30 and the other side of the flexible shield 16, is slidably connected to the second housing 30, and is connected to the other side of the flexible shield 16. Side fixed connection. Therefore, in the process of folding or unfolding the housings on both sides, the first connecting arm 141a and the second connecting arm 142a rotate relative to the main shaft assembly 11, and the first sliding plate 142a and the second sliding plate 142b rotate relative to the corresponding connecting arms. While sliding, the first sliding plate 142a slides relative to the first housing 20, and the second sliding plate 142b slides relative to the second housing 30, so that the first sliding plate 142a and the second sliding plate 142b together drive the two flexible shielding members 16 The side deforms together with the folding or unfolding of the shells on both sides, and always matches the contour of the main shaft assembly 11 to shield the notches, grooves, etc. on the outside of the main outer shaft 111. Further, when the flexible shielding member 16 is specifically provided, its length can be similar to the length of the main shaft 11, so as to completely cover the appearance of the entire main shaft assembly 11.

Further, in order to ensure a more stable fixation of the flexible shielding member 16, a part of the middle of the flexible shielding member 16 may be fixed to the outside of the main outer shaft 111.

Furthermore, due to the short length of the sliding plate, the contact surface when fixedly connected to the flexible shielding member 16 is limited. Therefore, the rotating shaft mechanism 10 of the embodiment of the present application may also be provided with a fixed component. Continue to describe with reference to FIG. 12b and FIG. 13. Specifically, the fixing assembly includes fixing frames arranged on both sides of the main shaft assembly 11, and for the convenience of description, the two fixing frames are respectively named the first fixing frame 15a and the second fixing frame 15b. When the first fixing frame 15a and the second fixing frame 15b are set, since the structure of each fixing frame is the same, the connection relationship with the sliding plate and the flexible shield is also the same. Therefore, the first sliding plate 142a, the first sliding plate 142a and the first The connection relationship between the fixing frame 15a and the flexible shielding member 16 is taken as an example for specific description. The first fixing frame 15a is fixedly connected to the first sliding plate 142a on the same side facing away from the flexible screen 200, and one side of the flexible shielding member 16 is fixedly connected to the first fixing frame 15a on the same side. In the specific setting, the length of the first fixing frame 15a can be similar to the length of the main shaft assembly 11, so that the flexible shielding member 16 can be fixed to the fixing frame more firmly than directly fixing the sliding plate.

In the process of folding and unfolding the electronic device, in order to ensure that the flexible screen is not squeezed or stretched and has a better user experience, it is necessary to keep the housing on both sides rotating while the other side rotates synchronously with it to ensure The shells on both sides are folded and unfolded synchronously. Therefore, the embodiment of the present application also provides a synchronization mechanism. Refer to FIG. 7 and FIG. 14 together. FIG. 14 shows a schematic structural diagram of the synchronization mechanism. In the specific setting, a transmission wheel 18 is arranged between the two first arc-shaped arms 121 staggered in each swing arm group, the transmission wheel 18 is rotatably connected with the main shaft assembly 11, and the transmission wheel 18 and the main shaft assembly 11 rotate The axis around which the connection is connected is perpendicular to the length direction of the main shaft assembly 11. Since the transmission wheel 18 has the same connection relationship with each swing arm group and the main shaft assembly 11, a swing arm group is taken as an example for description. When the main shaft assembly 11 includes the main outer shaft 111 and the main inner shaft 112, the transmission wheel 18 can be arranged between the main outer shaft 111 and the main inner shaft 112 opposite sides, and is rotatably connected with the main outer shaft 111 or the main inner shaft 112 . For example, as shown in FIG. 14, a protrusion 116 is provided on the main outer shaft 111, and the transmission wheel 18 is fixed and relatively rotates with the main shaft assembly 11 through the protrusion 116. The main inner shaft can be fitted and fixed to match the protrusion 116. hole. Further, the surface of each first arc-shaped arm 121 opposite to the transmission wheel 18 is respectively provided with a first protrusion and a first notch that engage with each other. In the specific setting, taking a swing arm group as an example, the first arc-shaped arm 121 of the first swing arm 12a opposite to the transmission wheel 18 can be provided with a first protrusion 1211 with a spherical structure, and the transmission wheel 18 is provided The first notch 181 meshed with the first protrusion 1211; the first arc-shaped arm 121 of the second swing arm 12b opposite to the transmission wheel 18 may be provided with a spherical structure of the first protrusion 1212, and the transmission wheel 18 is provided The first notch 182 engaged with the spherical structure 1212. Since the first swing arm 12a and the second swing arm 12b move in opposite directions relative to the spindle assembly 11 when folded and unfolded, the first swing arm 12a slides in the first direction in the corresponding first arc-shaped sliding groove 113 At this time, the first protrusion 1211 of the spherical structure on the first arc-shaped arm 121 of the first swing arm 12a will rotate together, thereby driving the transmission wheel 18 to rotate to push the first arc-shaped arm 121 of the second swing arm 12b. The first protrusion 1212 of the spherical structure on the upper part, so that the first arc-shaped arm 121 of the second swing arm 12b slides in the second direction in the corresponding first arc-shaped sliding groove 113, and the first direction and the second direction On the contrary (as shown by the arrow in FIG. 14), the synchronous rotation of the first swing arm 12a and the second swing arm 12b is realized, that is, the synchronous movement between the first housing 20 and the second housing 30 is realized.

In order to have a better user experience and maintain a sense of damping during folding and unfolding (a sense of resistance generated when the user rotates the housing), the shaft mechanism 10 may further include a damping mechanism. Refer to FIGS. 7 and 15 together, and FIG. 15 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of the damping mechanism. The damping mechanism is located between the first arc-shaped arm 121 of each swing arm and the main inner shaft 112, and may specifically include a damping pressure piece 172 and a first elastic member 171. In the specific arrangement, the damping pressing piece 172 is placed on the first arc-shaped arm 121, and the two ends of the first elastic member 171 are in pressure contact with the main inner shaft 112 and the damping pressing piece 172, respectively. In the specific arrangement, a groove for accommodating the first elastic member 171 is provided on the surface of the main inner shaft 112 opposite to the main outer shaft. Taking one swing arm in a swing arm group as an example, when the first arc-shaped arm 121 of the first swing arm 12a slides relative to the main shaft assembly 11, the main inner shaft 112 and the first arc-shaped arm 121 are opposed to the first elastic member. The mortgage force of 171 will cause the damping pressure piece 172 to generate frictional force on the first arc-shaped arm 121 to hinder its sliding, so that the user can feel the damping force during the process of folding and unfolding the shells on both sides, and can also avoid Excessive pulling or squeezing of the flexible screen caused by the excessively fast folding or unfolding speed.

Further, the hinge mechanism 10 may also include an opening and closing mechanism, which is used to expand or fold by itself when the side shells are folded or unfolded to a certain extent, so as to provide a better user experience. Referring to FIGS. 7, 16a and 16b together, FIG. 16a shows a schematic diagram of the positional relationship of the opening and closing mechanism in the closed state, and FIG. 16b shows a schematic diagram of the positional relationship of the opening and closing mechanism in the unfolded state. In a specific setting, the opening and closing mechanism is located between the main shaft assembly 11 and the first arc-shaped arm 121 of at least one swing arm of each swing arm group, and specifically includes a cam 191 and a second elastic member 192. The side of the cam 191 opposite to the first arc-shaped arm 121 is provided with a second protrusion 1911. The first arc-shaped arm 121 is provided with a second notch 1213 and a third notch 1214 that engage with the second protrusion 1911. The second notch Both the 1213 and the third notch 1214 and the second protrusion 1911 can be engaged. Two ends of the second elastic member 192 are in pressing contact with the main shaft assembly 11 and the cam 191, and are used to push the cam 191 and the first arc-shaped arm 121 to slide toward each other, so as to realize the engagement and disengagement between the notch and the protrusion. Further, in order to connect the cam 191 with the second elastic member 192, a cam shaft 1912 may be provided on the cam 191, and the second elastic member 192 may be sleeved on the cam shaft 1912. Further, when the camshaft 1912 and the second elastic member 192 are specifically set, the number of the camshaft 1912 and the second elastic member 192 can be changed according to the situation, and the corresponding relationship between the camshaft 1912 and the second elastic member 192 can be a one-to-one correspondence. It may also be that multiple camshafts 1912 correspond to one second elastic member 192, or multiple camshafts 1912 correspond to multiple second elastic members 192 (for example, three camshafts 1912 correspond to two elastic members 192). There is no specific limitation.

Take a swing arm in a swing arm group as an example. Figure 16a shows the relative positional relationship between the first arcuate arm 121 and the cam 191 in the flattened state. At this time, the second notch 1213 is engaged with the second protrusion 1911. When the first housing 20 is folded, the first swing arm 12a The first arc-shaped arm 121 slides to the outside relative to the main shaft assembly. At this time, under the action of force, the second protrusion 1911 escapes from the second notch 1213 and gradually slides toward the third notch 1214. When it is about to reach the closed state, due to the second The pushing force of the elastic member 192 pushes the second protrusion 1911 of the cam 191 along the shape edge of the third notch 1214, so that the cam 191 and the first arc-shaped arm 121 slide toward each other, so that there is no need to manually give too much force in the future. , The opening and closing mechanism can make the second protrusion 1911 and the third notch 1214 reach the engaged state (as shown in FIG. 16b), that is, the closed state is automatically reached. On the contrary, when expanding from the closed state to the unfolded state, the second protrusion 1911 is disengaged from the engaged state with the third notch 1214, and slides toward the second notch 1213 until it passes through the thrust of the second elastic member 192 and the first The two notches 1213 engage to realize automatic flattening.

Further, the cam 191 of the opening and closing mechanism cooperates with the second elastic member 192, and when the second protrusion 1911 slides between the second notch 1213 and the third notch 1214, it can also provide a certain damping force to reach the damping mechanism. Similar effect.

In the case of both an opening and closing mechanism and a damping mechanism, when the second protrusion 1911 of the cam 191 reaches the second notch 1213 and the third notch 1214, it will still be resisted by the damping mechanism instead of quickly reaching The flat state or the closed state can also avoid excessive pulling or squeezing of the flexible screen due to the excessively fast folding or unfolding speed.

Based on the above-mentioned folding device 100, the connection relationship between the flexible screen 200 and the folding device 100 is further explained.

Specifically, the flexible screen 200 is divided into 5 areas, which are bounded by the dashed line in FIG. 1, which are respectively A1 area, B1 area, C area, B2 area and A2 area. Among them, the A1 area and the A2 area are respectively fixedly connected to the first housing 20 and the second housing 30, and are attached to the upper surfaces of the two housings through adhesives during the specific fixed connection. In addition, the B1 area and the B2 area correspond to the areas of the first support plate 13a and the second support plate 13b, and the C area corresponds to the area of the first surface of the spindle assembly 11. There are two specific adhesive methods when the B1, B2, and C areas are connected to the first surface of the spindle assembly 11, the first support plate 13a, and the second support plate 13b. The cross-sectional views of the closed state of the two adhesive methods are as follows: Figures 17a and 17b will be described below respectively.

The first adhesive method is that the area A1 is glued to the first housing 20, the area A2 is connected to the second housing 30, and the areas B1, B2 and C are not glued, which is the non-adhesive of the flexible screen 200 Area. The closed state of the screen is shown in FIG. 17a, and the flexible screen 200 is in the shape of a water drop in the non-fitting area.

The second gluing method is that the screen A1 area is glued to the first housing 20, the screen A2 area is connected to the second housing 30, the B1 area is glued to the first support plate 13a of the shaft mechanism 10, and the B2 area is glued. It is connected with the second support plate 13b of the rotating shaft mechanism 10 with glue. Area C is not glued and is the non-adhesive area of the screen. The closed state of the screen is shown in Fig. 17b, and the non-adhesive area of the screen is in a semicircular arc shape.

In use, when the shaft mechanism 10 is unfolded, the main shaft assembly 11 and the support plate are used to support the flexible screen 200 of the electronic device; when the support plate rotates to the second position, due to relative sliding between the swing arm and the main shaft assembly 11, Therefore, when the support plate rotates to the second position, the spindle assembly 11 and the support plate enclose a space for accommodating the folded part of the flexible screen 200. And through the rotation of the support plate relative to the spindle assembly 11 and the sliding relative to the housing, the folded thickness of the hinge mechanism 10 is approximately equal to the thickness of the two housings stacked together, thereby improving the folding effect of the electronic device. In addition, the space for accommodating the flexible screen 200 is enclosed by the support plate and the main shaft assembly 11, which improves the bending effect of the flexible screen 200.

It can be seen from the above description that there is no relative sliding between the flexible screen 200 of the electronic device and the shells on both sides, and the hinge mechanism 10 provides enough concave space for the screen in the closed state, so that the flexible screen 200 is not attached to the area. It is hidden in the concave space in the shape of a drop or a semi-circular arc. In the closed state, the whole machine has the same thickness, and there is no large gap between the shells on both sides.

The above are only specific implementations of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited to this. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application, which shall cover Within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A folding device, characterized in that, the folding device is used to carry a flexible screen; the folding device includes:

A main shaft assembly and two shells, the two shells are arranged on both sides of the main shaft assembly;

The swing arm assembly includes at least one swing arm group, each swing arm group includes swing arms respectively arranged on both sides of the main shaft assembly, and each swing arm is rotatably connected with the main shaft assembly and is connected to a housing on the same side Fixed connection

The supporting assembly includes supporting plates correspondingly arranged on both sides of the main shaft assembly, each supporting plate is rotatably connected with the main shaft assembly, and is slidably connected with a swing arm or a housing on the same side;

Wherein, the axis around which each support plate is rotationally connected to the main shaft assembly and the axis around which each swing arm is rotationally connected to the main shaft assembly are respectively parallel to the length direction of the main shaft assembly;

When the housings on both sides of the main shaft assembly rotate to the first position, the housing drives the support plate on the same side to rotate to the second position, and the support plate and the main shaft assembly enclose the The accommodating space of the flexible screen; when the housings on both sides of the main shaft assembly rotate to the third position, the housing drives the support plate on the same side to rotate to the fourth position, and the support plate and the main shaft The component is used to support the flat surface of the flexible screen.
The folding device according to claim 1, wherein the two housings are respectively provided with first sliding grooves, and each support plate passes through the first sliding grooves of the same side housing through the first pin, and And the first pin shaft slides in the first sliding groove of the housing on the same side.
The folding device according to claim 2, wherein at least one connecting rod is provided on each support plate, and the connecting rod is fixedly connected to the support plate, and one end of the connecting rod is connected to the main shaft. The components are connected in rotation, the other end of the connecting rod passes through the first chute of the housing on the same side through the first pin, and the first pin slides in the first chute of the housing on the same side .
The folding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the axes around which the swing arms respectively arranged on both sides of the main shaft assembly are symmetrical with respect to the main shaft assembly.
The folding device according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the folding device further comprises:

The flexible shield is arranged on the side of the main shaft assembly away from the flexible screen;

The sliding assembly includes at least one connecting arm group and at least one sliding plate group; each connecting arm group includes connecting arms respectively arranged on both sides of the main shaft assembly and rotatably connected to the main shaft assembly, and each sliding plate group includes For the sliding plates on both sides of the main shaft assembly, each connecting arm is rotatably connected to the corresponding sliding plate and can be slid relatively; The shells on the same side are slidably connected and fixedly connected to one side of the flexible shielding member;

Wherein, the axis around which each connecting arm is rotationally connected with the main shaft assembly is parallel to the length direction of the main shaft assembly, and the axis around which each connecting arm is rotationally connected with the main shaft assembly is connected to each swing arm and the main shaft assembly. The axes around which the main shaft assembly is rotationally connected are different axes.
The folding device according to claim 5, wherein the two housings are respectively provided with second sliding grooves, and each sliding plate is provided with a sliding block slidably fitted in the second sliding groove.
The folding device according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising:

The fixing assembly includes fixing frames arranged on both sides of the main shaft assembly, and each fixing frame is fixedly connected with a sliding plate on the same side facing away from the flexible screen;

The two sides of the flexible shielding member are respectively fixedly connected with the fixing frame on the same side.
The folding device according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein the main shaft assembly is provided with a first arc-shaped sliding groove corresponding to each swing arm; and each swing arm is provided with The first arc-shaped arm is slidably assembled in the corresponding first arc-shaped chute.
8. The folding device according to claim 8, wherein the axis around the first arc-shaped arm is located near the surface of the support plate supporting the flexible screen.
The folding device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the main shaft assembly includes a main outer shaft and a main inner shaft fixedly connected to the main outer shaft; the first arc-shaped chute is provided in the On the main outer shaft, or the first arc-shaped sliding groove is provided on the main outer shaft and the main inner shaft.
The folding device according to any one of claims 8-10, wherein the first arc-shaped arms on the two corresponding swing arms in each swing arm group are arranged staggered.
The folding device according to claim 11, wherein a transmission wheel is provided between the two first arc-shaped arms staggered in each swing arm group, and the transmission wheel rotates with the main shaft assembly Connected, and the axis around which the transmission wheel is rotationally connected with the main shaft assembly is perpendicular to the length direction of the main shaft assembly; each first arc-shaped arm is provided with a meshing first on the opposite side of the transmission wheel A protrusion and a first notch; when any one of the first arc-shaped arms slides in the first direction in the corresponding first arc-shaped chute, the first arc-shaped arm drives the transmission wheel to rotate to push The other first arc-shaped arm slides in the corresponding first arc-shaped sliding groove in a second direction, and the first direction is opposite to the second direction.
The folding device according to any one of claims 10-12, further comprising:

The damping mechanism is located between the first arc-shaped arm of each swing arm and the main inner shaft, and includes a damping press piece and a first elastic member, the damping press piece is placed on the first arc-shaped arm, so Both ends of the first elastic member are in pressure contact with the main inner shaft and the damping pressure piece respectively.
The folding device according to claim 13, wherein the surface of the main inner shaft opposite to the main outer shaft is provided with a groove for accommodating the first elastic member.
The folding device according to any one of claims 8-14, further comprising:

The opening and closing mechanism is located between the main shaft assembly and the first arc arm of at least one swing arm of each swing arm group, and includes a cam and a second elastic member; the cam and the first arc arm A second protrusion is provided on the opposite surface, and a second notch and a third notch that engage with the protrusion are provided on the first arc-shaped arm; two ends of the second elastic member are respectively connected to the main shaft The assembly and the cam are in pressing contact, and are used to push the cam and the first arc-shaped arm to slide toward each other; the housings on both sides of the main shaft assembly are respectively rotated to the first position and the second position In the position, the second protrusions are respectively located at positions engaged with the second notch and the third notch.
The folding device according to claim 15, wherein a camshaft is provided on the cam, and the second elastic member is partially sleeved on the camshaft.
An electronic device, comprising the folding device according to any one of claims 1-16, and further comprising a flexible screen covering the folding device, and the flexible screen is fixedly connected to the two shells .
The electronic device according to claim 17, wherein the flexible screen is also fixedly connected to the support plate.