WO2023150977A1

WO2023150977A1 - Electronic device and foldable-slidable device

Info

Publication number: WO2023150977A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/075909
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jintong ZHU; Hao Fan; Roberto Ruffoni; Massimo Marolda
Original assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd.
Priority date: 2022-02-10
Filing date: 2022-02-10
Publication date: 2023-08-17

Abstract

An electronic device includes a housing assembly, a display screen and a retraction mechanism. The housing assembly defines a cavity and includes a first housing portion configured to be foldable around a folding axis and a second housing portion connected to the first housing portion and being movable towards or away from the folding axis. The display screen includes a first display portion and a second display portion. The second display portion includes an expanding part connected to the first display portion. The retraction mechanism is received in the cavity, arranged opposite to the folding axis, being in contact with the second display portion and configured to release the expanding part to move out of the cavity when the second housing portion moves away from the folding axis, or take the expanding part into the cavity when the second housing portion moves towards the folding axis.

Description

ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND FOLDABLE-SLIDABLE DEVICE

TECHNICAL FIELD

The described embodiments relate to electronic products, and in particular to an electronic device and a foldable-slidable device.

BACKGROUND

Nowadays, foldable electronic devices are becoming increasingly popular among users. In order to protect a display screen of an electronic device, the display screen is usually configured to be folded inside when the electronic device is closed, which reduces the convenience of the product.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device may be provided. The electronic device may include a housing assembly, a display screen and a retraction mechanism. The housing assembly may define a cavity and include a first housing portion configured to be foldable around a folding axis and a second housing portion connected to an end of the first housing portion and configured to be movable towards or away from the folding axis. The display screen may include a first display portion connected to the first housing portion and configured to be foldable with the first housing portion and second display portion. The second display portion may include an expanding part connected to the first display portion, and an internal part connected to an end of expanding part away from the first display portion. The internal part has a connecting end opposite to the expanding part. The retraction mechanism may be received in the cavity and arranged opposite to the folding axis. The retraction mechanism may be in contact with the second display portion and configured to release the expanding part to move out of the cavity when the second housing portion moves away from the folding axis, or take the expanding part into the cavity when the second housing portion moves towards the folding axis.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a foldable-slidable device may be provided. The foldable-slidable device may include a first part having a first display screen and configured to be foldable around a folding axis, second part having a second display screen and connected to the first part and a movable part. The second part is configured to slide relative to the first part between a first state in which the second display screen is unviewable, and a second state in which the second display screen is viewable. The movable part is connected to an end of the second part away from the folding axis, and being in contact with the second display screen. The second part slides between the first state and the second state, the movable part is configured to move relative to second display screen to drive the second display screen to change between being unviewable and being viewable.

According to further another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device may be provided. The electronic device may include a housing assembly, a flexible display, and an adjustment assembly. The housing assembly may include a first folding part, a second folding part and a third folding part connected between the first folding part and the second folding part. The second folding part is configured to move between an expanded state and an unexpanded state. The flexible display may be connected to the housing assembly and cover the first folding part, the second folding part and the foldable part. A viewable area of the flexible display when the second folding part is in the expanded state is larger than that when the second folding part is in the unexpanded state. The adjustment assembly may be connected to the second folding part and opposite to the third folding part, and being in contact with the flexible display. The adjustment assembly is configured to move with the second folding part to adjust the viewable area of the flexible display.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to make the technical solution described in the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the drawings used for the description of the embodiments will be briefly described. Apparently, the drawings described below are only for illustration but not for limitation. It should be understood that, one skilled in the art may acquire other drawings based on these drawings, without making any inventive work.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the electronic device being changed in different states.

FIG. 3 is a front schematic view of the electronic device in a folded-unexpanded state.

FIG. 4 is a bottom schematic view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a front schematic view of the electronic device in a half folded-unexpanded state.

FIG. 6 is a bottom schematic view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a front schematic view of the electronic device in an unfolded-unexpanded state.

FIG. 8 is a bottom schematic view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a front schematic view of the electronic device in a folded-expanded state.

FIG. 10 is a bottom schematic view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a front schematic view of the electronic device in a half folded-expanded state.

FIG. 12 is a bottom schematic view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a front schematic view of the electronic device in an unfolded-expanded state.

FIG. 14 is a bottom schematic view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a rear schematic view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of a display screen of the electronic device shown FIG. 4.

FIG. 17 is a schematic view of the display screen of the electronic device shown FIG. 8.

FIG. 18 is a schematic view of the display screen of the electronic device shown FIG. 10.

FIG. 19 is a schematic view of the display screen of the electronic device shown FIG. 14.

FIG. 20 is a schematic view of a supporting member of the electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 21 is a partial cross-section view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 4 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 22 is a partial cross-section view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 8 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 23 is an enlarged view of a part of the electronic device shown in FIG. 22 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 24 is a partial cross-section view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 25 is a partial cross-section view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 14 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 26 is an enlarged view of a part of the electronic device shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is perspective view of a rolling assembly of the electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 28 is a front view of the rolling assembly shown in FIG. 27.

FIG. 29 is a left view of the rolling assembly shown in FIG. 27.

FIG. 30 is a rear view of the rolling assembly shown in FIG. 27.

FIG. 31 is a right view of the rolling assembly shown in FIG. 27.

FIG. 32 is a top view of the rolling assembly shown in FIG. 27.

FIG. 33 is a bottom view of the rolling assembly shown in FIG. 27.

FIG. 34 is an exploded view of the rolling assembly shown in FIG. 27.

FIG. 35 is a perspective view of a rolling assembly of the electronic device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 36 is a partial cross-section view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 4 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 37 is a partial cross-section view of a sliding assembly and the display screen of the electronic device shown in FIG. 36.

FIG. 38 is a perspective vies of the sliding assembly and the display screen of the electronic device shown in FIG. 37.

FIG. 39 is a partial cross-section view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 10 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 40 is a partial cross-section view of the sliding assembly and the display screen of the electronic device shown in FIG. 39.

FIG. 41 is a perspective view of the sliding assembly and the display screen of the electronic device shown in FIG. 40.

FIG. 42 is a partial cross-section view of the sliding assembly and the display screen according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 43 is a partial cross-section view of the sliding assembly and the display screen according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 44 is a partial cross-section view of the sliding assembly and the display screen according to further another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 45 is a partial cross-section view of the sliding assembly and the display screen according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 46 is a perspective view of a supporting assembly and a first sliding part of the electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 47 is a partial cross-section view of a sliding assembly and a display screen according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to understand the objective more clearly, the features and advantages of the present disclosure, the present disclosure will be described in details with reference to the drawings and the embodiments. It should be noted that, the embodiments and the features recited in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be combined with each other without confliction.

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of an electronic device. The electronic device, also named as a foldable-slidable device, may be a portable electronic device such as a cellular telephone, a tablet, an e-reader, or the like.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the electronic device may include a housing assembly 10 and a display screen 20. The housing assembly 10 may serve as a supporting frame and be configured to mount the display screen 20. The display screen 20 may be connected to the housing assembly 10 and viewable through a side of the electronic device.

In the present disclosure, unless specified or limited, otherwise, terms “mounted” , “connected” , “coupled” , “disposed” , “arranged” , and the like are used in a broad sense, and may include, for example, fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; may also be mechanical or electrical connections; may also be direct connections or indirect connections via intervening structures; may also be inner communications of two elements, as can be understood by those skilled in the art depending on specific contexts. Moreover, the terms “comprise” , “include” or any other variations thereof are meant to cover non-exclusive including, so that the process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements do not only include those elements, but also include other elements that are not explicitly listed or also include the inherent elements of the process, method, article or device. In the case that there are no more restrictions, an element qualified by the statement “comprises a…” does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device that includes the said element.

The housing assembly 10 may be formed of materials such as polymer, glass, metal, crystalline materials such as sapphire, ceramic, fabric, foam, wood, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials. In some situations, parts of housing assembly 10 may be formed from dielectric or other low-conductivity material. In other situations, the housing assembly 10 or at least some of the structures that make up the housing assembly 10 may be formed from metal elements.

The housing assembly 10 may form at least a portion of an exterior surface of the electronic device. In some embodiments, the housing assembly 10 may at least partially surround the display screen 20. In some embodiments, the housing assembly 10 may form a backing or backing layer along a back face of the display screen 20. In some cases, at least a part of the housing assembly 10 may be integrally formed with the display screen 20.

In details, the electronic device may have a front face F, an opposing rear face R, and several sidewalls W. The rear face R may be formed by a back face of the housing assembly 10 away from the display screen 20, and the front face F may be constituted of a display surface of the display screen 20 and an extension of the back face of the housing assembly 10. The extension of the back face of the housing assembly 10 may surround the display surface. In some embodiments, the front face F may be only formed by the display surface of the display screen 20, and not by the extension of the back face of the housing assembly 20.

In the specification, it can be understood that, directional terms recited in the present disclosure, such as “top” , “bottom” , “upper” , “lower” , “front” , “rear” , “left” , “right” , “inner” , “outer” , “side plate” , “above” , “under” , and the like, refer to the orientations in the accompanying drawings. Thus, the directional terms used here are only for better and more clearly describing and understanding the present disclosure, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the devices or the elements are disposed to locate at the specific directions or are structured and performed in the specific directions, which could not to be understood as limiting the present disclosure.

Sidewalls W may be formed by an extension of the housing assembly 10, an extension of the display screen 20, or combinations of the extension of the housing assembly 10 and the extension of the display screen 2, and/or may be formed using one or more separate sidewall members (as examples) . Sidewalls W may be planar (e.g., to form vertical sidewalls extending between front F and rear R) and/or may have curved cross-sectional profiles. As a case, input-output devices such as one or more physical buttons may be mounted on the sidewalls W.

In addition, each of the housing assembly 10 and the display screen 20 may have a planar shape, a shape with a curved cross-sectional profile, or other suitable shape. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, each of the front face F and the rear face R may have a planar shape and lie in the X-Y plane. The display screen 20 may have a rectangular or a rectangular-like outline or other suitable outline. The electronic device may be elongated along the X axis. A thickness of the electronic device in dimension Z may be less than a length of the electronic device in dimension X and less than a width of the electronic device in dimension Y. For convenience of description, a direction of the Y axis may be defined as a first direction, a direction of the X axis may be defined as a second direction and a direction of the Z axis may be defined as a third direction.

To help satisfy a user's desire for compactness and portability while satisfying a user's desire for large-screen display, the electronic device can have structures that allow the shape and size of the electronic device to be adjusted. In particular, the structures can support folding motions, expanding motions and/or other behavior that allows the electronic device to be adjusted during use.

When a compact size is desired, the electronic device can be adjusted to be compact. The electronic device may, as an example, be folded inwardly or outwardly around a folding axis 13. The folding axis 13 may extend along the first direction. When a large screen size is desired, the housing assembly 10 and the display screen 20 can be unfolded in one or more directions such as a first direction or a second direction.

In addition, when the large screen size is desired, the housing assembly 10 and the display screen 20 could also be expanded to exhibit an expanded viewable area in one or more directions such as the second direction or the first direction. Therefore, a portion of the display screen 20 that is viewable by a user of the electronic device when the electronic device is expanded is larger than the portion of the display screen 20 that is presented to the user of electronic device when the electronic device is unexpanded. When the compact size is desired, the housing assembly 10 and the display screen 20 could be shortened to hide the expanded viewable area.

In general, the electronic device may use any suitable arrangement that allows the electronic device to be adjusted in size and/or shape. The electronic device may be adjusted to be in a plurality of states. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates changes between the plurality of states, in the present disclosure, the electronic device of the present disclosure could be adjusted to a folded state, an unfolded state or a half-folded sate no matter the electronic device is in an expanded state or an unexpanded state; or be adjusted to the expanded state or the unexpanded state no matter the electronic device is in the folded state, the unfolded state or the half-folded sate.

As shown in state 2a in FIG. 2, the electronic device is compact with the housing assembly 10 and the display screen 20 being folded and unexpanded, in other words, the electronic device is completely closed, this state could be called as a folded-unexpanded state or a full closed state.

As shown in state 2b in FIG. 2, the electronic device is expanded to exhibit the expanded viewable area from the folded-unexpanded state to a folded-expanded state.

As shown in state 2c in FIG. 2, the electronic device is unfolded or opened to form a right folded angle from the folded-expanded state, with the expanded state being unchanged. A state shown in state 2c in FIG. 2 could be referred as a half folded-expanded state, or half open-expanded state.

As shown in state 2d in FIG. 2, the electronic device is further unfolded or opened from the half folded-expanded state, such that both the housing assembly 10 and the display screen 20 lie in a plane, that is, the folded angle is 0°. The expanded state remains unchanged. This state could be called as an unfolded-expanded state, or an open-expanded state.

As shown in 2e in FIG. 2, the electronic device is s unfolded or opened to form a right folded angle from the folded-unexpanded state to form a right folded angle, with the unexpanded state being unchanged. This state could be called as a half folded-unexpanded state, or half open-unexpanded state.

As shown in 2f in FIG. 2, the electronic device is further unfolded or opened from the half open-unexpanded state, such that both the housing assembly 10 and the display screen 20 lie in the plane, that is, the folded angle is 0°. The unexpanded state remains unchanged. This state could be called as an unfolded-unexpanded state, or an open-unexpanded state.

The electronic device could change from any one of preceding described states to another state. For example, the electronic device could be changed from the half folded-unexpanded state to the half folded-expanded state, such as from the state 2e to state 2c, by expanding the housing assembly 10 and the display screen 20; be changed from the unfolded-expanded state to the unfolded-unexpanded state, such as from the state 2d to state 2f, by shortening the housing assembly 10 and the display screen 20; or be changed from the unfolded-expanded state to the folded-unexpanded state, for example, from the state 2d to state 2a, by folding and shortening the housing assembly 10 and the display screen 20.

Details of a structure of the electronic device in some embodiments of the present disclosure are described as follows.

In the embodiment shown in FIGs. 1, 20, 21 and 36, the electronic device, which could be adjusted to be any one of the above-described states, may include the housing assembly 10, the display screen 20 and a retraction mechanism 30. The retraction mechanism 30 is arranged in the housing assembly 10 and opposite to the folding axis 13 and configured to adjust the state of the electronic device with the housing assembly 10.

It should be understood that terms such as “first” , “second” , “third” , and the like are used herein for purposes of description, and are not intended to indicate or imply relative importance or significance or to imply the number of indicated technical features. Thus, the feature defined with “first” , “second” , “third” , and the like may include one or more of such a feature. In the description of the present disclosure, “multiple” means two or more, unless specified otherwise.

The housing assembly 10 may be separated to an interior region (not labelled) of the electronic device from an exterior region (not labelled) surrounding the electronic device by the front face F, the rear face R, and the sidewalls W. The interior region may be configured to receive components (not shown) . The components may include integrated circuits, discrete components, a battery, wireless circuit components such as a wireless power coil, and/or other components.

Specifically, the housing assembly 10 may define a cavity 14 (as shown in FIGs. 21 and 36) , and include a first housing portion 11 configured to be foldable around a folding axis 13 and a second housing portion 12 connected to an end of the first housing portion 11 and configured to be movable towards or away from the folding axis 13 (as illustrate in FIG. 4) .

The first housing portion 11 may include a first case 111, a second case 112 and a third case 113 connected between the first case 111 and the second case 112, as shown in FIGs. 3 to 8. Each of the first case 111, the second case 112 and the third case 113 may have a rectangular shape. A size of the first case 111 along the second direction (X axis) may be larger than that of the second case 112. A size of the second case 112 along the second direction may be larger than that of the third case 113. A rotatable structure (not shown) , such as a hinge, may be received in the third case 113. The first case 111 and the second case 112 may be connected to the rotatable structure, such that the first case 111 and the second case 112 could rotate towards or away from each other, to realize a folding or an unfolding of the electronic device. When the electronic device is in the folded state, the first housing portion 11 is also in the folded state, and the second case 112 may be overlapped with the first case 111, as shown in FIGs. 3 and 4. When the electronic device is in the unfolded state, the first housing portion 11 is also in the unfolded state, and the second case 112 and the first case 111 may lie in a same plane, as shown in FIGs. 7 and 8.

In some embodiments, combining FIGs. 3 to 8 and FIGs. 36 and 39, the second case 112 may include a side wall 1121 (which is a part of the sidewall W) and a bottom wall 1122 connected to the side wall 1121. The side wall 1121 and the bottom wall 1122 define a first chamber 1123. The bottom wall 1122 defines a recess 1124 in a side opposite to the chamber 1123.

The second housing portion 12 may be connected to an end of the second case 112 away from the third case 113, as shown in FIGs. 3 to 8. When an end of the second housing portion 12 close to the first housing portion 11 are adjacent to the first housing portion 11, the housing assembly 10 is in the unexpanded state, and the electronic device is in the unexpanded state (as shown in FIGs. 3 to 8) ; when the end of the second housing portion 12 close to the first housing portion 11 are spaced apart from the first housing portion 11, the housing assembly 10 is in the expanded state, and the electronic device is in the expanded state (as shown in FIGs. 9 to 15) .

FIG. 10 illustrates that the second housing portion 12 includes an end part 121 arranged away from the folding axis 13, a bottom part 122 connected to the end part 121 and a side wall 123 (which is a part of the sidewall W) connected to the bottom part 122 and the end part 121. When the electronic device is in the unexpanded state, the bottom part 122 of the second housing portion 12 may be received in the recess 1124 of the second case 112, and cover a bottom wall 1122 of the second case 112 (as shown in FIGs. 4, 6 and 8) . When the electronic device is in the expanded state, the bottom part 122 of the second housing portion 12 may move out of the recess 1124, and the bottom wall 1122 of the second case 112 may be exposed from the bottom part 122 of the second housing portion 12 (as shown in FIGs. 10, 12, 14 and 15) .

In some embodiments, the cavity 14 may be defined by the end part 121 (as shown in FIGs. 21 to 26) . In other embodiments, the second housing portion 12 may define a second chamber 124 communicated with the first chamber 1123 to form the cavity 14 (as shown in FIGs. 36 and 39) , the cavity 14 may be referred as an interior space in some embodiments.

When the second housing portion 12 moves away from the folding axis 13, the housing assembly 10 changes from the unexpanded state to the expanded state; when the second housing portion 12 moves towards the folding axis 13, the housing assembly 10 changes from the expanded state to the unexpanded state.

When the electronic device is in the folded-unexpanded state (as shown in FIG. 3 and 4) , an end 120 of the second housing portion 12 away from the folding axis 13 and an end 110 of the first case 111 away from the folding axis 13 may be flush with each other. In other words, the end 120 of the second housing portion 12 and the end 110 of the first case 111 may overlapped with each other in the third direction. When the electronic device is in the folded-expanded state (as shown in FIGs. 9 and 10) , the end 120 of the second housing portion 12 may protrude relative to the first case 111, that is, in the third direction, the end 120 of the second housing portion 12 and the end 110 of the first case 111 may misalign with each other, and a distance between the end 120 of the second housing portion 12 and the folding axis 13 may be larger than a distance between the end 110 of the first case 111 and the folding axis 13.

The display screen 20 may be a flexible display and include any type of display screen, for example, a liquid crystal display, a light emitting diode display, an organic light-emitting diode display, a 3D display, and so on. In some embodiments, different parts of the display screen 20 may be of different types. The display screen 20 may be visible on front face F of the electronic device and/or other part of the electronic device. For example, a viewer who is viewing the electronic device in the third direction (e.g., a user viewing device from the front) may view the display screen 20. FIG. s11 to 14 illustrate that the display screen 20 may include a first display portion 21 and a second display portion 22 connected to the first display portion 21.

The first display portion 21 may be connected to and cover the first housing portion 11 and configured to be foldable with the first housing portion 11. Referring to FIG. 3, 4 and 16, when the electronic device is in the folded state, the first display portion 21 is in the folded state by being folded outwardly so that upper and lower halves of the first display portion 21 in FIG. 16 face away from each other. In some embodiments, the first display portion 21 may also be folded inwardly so that the upper and lower halves of the first display portion 21 face each other. If desired, electronic device may support both inward and outward folding. Referring to FIG. 7, 8 and 17, when the electronic device is in the unfolded state, the first display portion 21 is also in the unfolded state, so that the upper and lower halves of the first display portion 21 may lie in a same plane.

Please referring to FIGs. 16 to 19, the second display screen 22 may include an expanding part 221 connected to the first display portion 21, and an internal part 222 connected to an end of expanding part 221 away from the first display portion 21. The internal part 222 may have a connecting end 2220 opposite to the expanding part 221.

The internal part 222 may be always in the interior region of the housing assembly 10, while the expanding part 221 could be in the interior region of the housing assembly 10 and extend to the exterior region of the housing assembly 10. For example, the expanding part 221 could move into the interior region of the housing assembly 10 or move to the exterior region of the housing assembly 10, while the internal part 222 could only move in the interior region of the housing assembly 10.

The expanded viewable area of the second display portion 22 is in the expanding part 221. When the electronic device is in the unexpanded state, the expanding part 221 is in the interior region of the housing assembly 10, for example, the expanding part 221 is received in the cavity 14, and could not be seen by the user (as shown in FIGs. 21, 22 and 36) . When the electronic device is in the expanded state, the expanding part 221 is in the exterior region of the housing assembly 10, such as out of the cavity 14, and could be viewable by a user (as shown in FIGs. 24, 25 and 39) .

If desired, the presentation of content on the first display portion 21 and the second display portion 22 (especially the expanding part 221) could be coordinated so that the first display portion 21 and the second display portion 22 operate as a seamless unitary display surface. Configurations in which the first display portion 21 and the second display portion 22 display separate images that do not mate with each other along the seam between the first display portion 21 and the second display portion 22 may also be used.

The electronic device may further include a supporting assembly 40 configured to support the display screen 20. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 20, the supporting assembly 40 may include a first supporting member 41 (also be called as a supporting member 41 in some embodiments) and a second supporting member 42 capable of moving towards and away from each other.

The first supporting member 41 may be connected to the first housing portion 11 and configured to support a part of the first display portion 21. In some embodiments, the first supporting member 41 may be connected to the second case 112. In some embodiments, the first supporting member 41 may be received in the first chamber 1123, and arranged on the bottom wall 1122 of the second case 112, as shown in FIGs. 20, 36 and 39. The first supporting member 41 may define a notch 411 towards the second housing portion 12.

Please referring to FIG. 20, the second supporting member 42 may be connected to the second housing portion 12, and configured to move into or out of the notch 411 with the moving of the second housing portion 12. When the second housing portion 12 moves away from the folding axis 13, the second supporting member 42 moves out of the notch 411, the expanding part 221 of the second display portion 22 moves out of the cavity 14, and the expanding part 221 is supported by the second supporting member 42 (combining with FIGs. 24 to 26) . When the second housing portion 12 moves towards the folding axis 13, the second supporting member 42 moves into the notch 411, and the expanding part 221 of the second display portion 22 moves into the cavity 14. In this situation, the second supporting member 42 may support the first display portion 21 with the first supporting member 41 (combining with FIGs. 21 to 23) . In some embodiments, the second supporting member 42 may be arranged on the bottom part 122 and adjacent to the end part 121.

In some embodiments, the notch 411 may include a plurality of notches 411, and the second supporting member 42 may include a plurality of second supporting members 42. The plurality of notches 411 and the plurality of second supporting members 42 may have a one-on-one correspondence. That is, each one of the plurality of second supporting members 42 may be configured to move into or out of a corresponding notch 411.

It should be understood that, the first supporting member 41 may include a series of elongated members (sometimes referred to as fingers) such as members 413. The notch 411 may be defined by the series of elongated members and formed between adjacent members 413. The plurality of second supporting members 42 may be a series of interlocking offset elongated members (fingers) . Adjacent second supporting members 42 may also define receiving notches 421. Each of the notches 411 are configured to receive a corresponding second supporting member 42, and each of the receiving notches 421 are configured to receive a corresponding member 413. The elongated members of the first supporting member 41 and the elongated members of the second supporting members 42 form an interlocking structure configured to slidably engage so that the first housing portion 11 and the second housing portion 12 slide with respect to each other while serving as a robust support for the display screen 20.

Sizes of each member 413 and each second supporting member 42 may be equal, or the size of each member 413 may be larger or smaller than that of each second supporting member 42. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 20, the size of each second supporting member 42 may be the same, while sizes of some members 413 may be different from that of other members 413. In the example of FIG. 20, the size of each of two members 413 arranged on two ends of the first supporting member 41 respectively is smaller than that of each second supporting member 42, while the size of each of the members 413 arranged between the two ends is equal to that of each second supporting member 42. There are four of members 413 and three of second supporting members 42 in the example of FIG. 20, but in general, the first supporting member 41 and the second supporting members 42 may have any suitable number of elongated members. The members 413 of the first supporting member 41 and the second supporting members 42 may extend at least 10%of the length of the housing assembly, at least 25%, at least 30%, at least 50%, at least 75%, less than 100%, less than 70%, less than 60%, or other suitable amounts.

When the housing assembly 10 is in the expanded state, the expanding part 221 is in the exterior of the housing assembly 10, an end of the second supporting member 42 is in contact with an inner wall 412 of the notch 411, and the bottom part 122 of the second housing portion 12 is in contact with the first housing portion 11 (e.g., the second case 112) . In other words, a length of the second supporting member 42 may be longer than a moving direction of the second housing apportion 12, such that the second supporting member 42 would not be completely separated from the first housing portion 11. The inner wall 412 of the first supporting member 41 may be configured as a guiding rail for the moving of the second supporting member 42, such that the second supporting member 42 could move along the inner wall 412 of the first supporting member 41.

The retraction assembly 30 may be in contact with the second display portion 22 and configured to release the expanding part 22 to move out of the cavity 41 when the second housing portion 22 moves away from the folding axis 13, or take the expanding part 22 into the cavity 41 when the second housing portion 22 moves towards the folding axis 13.

In some embodiments, a distance between the connecting end 2220 of the internal part 222 and the folding axis 13 may be unchanged or changes periodically with the second housing portion moving away from the folding axis. In other words, in some embodiments, during the expanding part 221 moves into or out of the cavity, the distance between the connected end 2220 and the folding axis 13 remains the same. In other embodiments, during the expanding part 221 moves into or out of the cavity, the distance between the connected end 2220 and the folding axis 13 changes periodically, for example, the distance may increase firstly, then decrease, and then increase, and so on.

In some embodiments, as illustrate in FIGs. 20 to 26, the retraction mechanism 30 may be a rolling assembly 31 rotatable connected to the second housing portion 12, and configured to rotate in a direction to release the expanding part 221 by unrolling the expanding part 221, or rotate in an opposing direction to take the expanding part 221 into the cavity 14 by rolling up the expanding part 221. The connecting end 2220 of the internal part 222 is connected to the rolling assembly 31.

When the housing assembly 10 is in the unexpanded state, the expanding part 221 is in the cavity 14, a part of the second display portion 22 (the internal part 222 and a part of the expanding part 221) may be rolled by the rolling assembly 31, as shown in FIGs. 21 to 23. With the expanding part 221 moving out of the cavity 14, the part of the expanding part 221 and the internal part 222 rolled by the rolling assembly 31 may be unrolled, therefore, the part of the second display portion 22 rolled by the rolling assembly 31 may gradually decrease, as shown in FIGs. 24 to 26.

In some embodiments, please referring to FIGs. 27 to 34, the rolling assembly 31 may include a fixing member 313, a torsion spring 315 and a rotatable tube 317. The fixing member 313 may be fixed on the second housing portion 12. The torsion spring 315 may sleeve on the fixing member 313. The rotatable tube 317 may sleeve on the torsion spring 315 and configured to rotate around the fixing member 313. The connecting end 2220 of the internal part 222 may be fixed on the rotatable tube 317. An end of the torsion spring 315 may be connected to the rotatable tube 317, another end of the torsion spring 315 may be connected to the fixing member 313.

Specifically, the rolling assembly 31 may further include a first fixing component 314 and a second fixing component 316. The first fixing component 314 may be arranged between the rotatable tube 317 and the torsion spring 315, and configured to fix an end of the torsion spring 315 to an inner wall of an end of the rotatable tube 317, such that the end of the torsion spring 315 could rotate as the rotatable tube 317 rotates. The second fixing component 316 may be arranged between the torsion spring 315 and the fixing member 313, and configured to fix the other end of the torsion spring 315 to an outer wall of the fixing member 313. When the rotatable tube 317 rotates, the end of the torsion spring 315 may rotate with the rotating of the rotatable tube 317 since the end of the torsion spring 315 is fixed on the rotatable tube 317, and the other end of the torsion spring 315 would not rotate since the other end of the torsion spring 315 is fixed on the fixing member 313 and free from the rotatable tube 317. Therefore, torsion spring 315 is deformed when the rotatable tube 317 rotates.

When the second housing potion 12 moves away from the folding axis 13, the second display portion 22 moves. Since the connecting end 2220 of the second display portion 22 is fixed on the rotatable tube 317, and the part of the second display portion 22 is rolled on the rotatable tube 317, the rotatable tube 317 will rotate with the moving of the second display portion 22. As a result, the torsion spring 315 may be deformed. When the second housing portion 12 moves towards the folding axis 13, the torsion spring 315 may restore to drive the rotatable tube 317 to rotate in the opposing direction, so as to reroll the part of the second display portion 22 and pull the second display portion 22 into the cavity 14.

In this embodiment, since the connecting end 2220 is fixed on the rotatable tube 317, instead of being fixed on a spring or other elastic members directly, the second display portion 22 may rolled by the rotatable tube 317, instead of being dragged by the spring or other elastic members directly. Therefore, a moving distance of the connecting end 2220 of the second display portion 22 may be reduced, and a space provided for the second display portion 22 to move may also be reduced. Therefore, a size of the electronic device could be reduced.

In some embodiments, please referring to FIG. 35, the rolling assembly 31 may include a rotating shaft 311 and an elastic member 312. The rotating shaft 311 may be rotatably connected to the second housing portion 12, for example, the side wall 123 of the second housing portion 12. The connecting end 2220 of the internal part 222 is fixed on the rotating shaft 311. The elastic member 312 may be connected to the second housing portion 12, specifically, the side wall 123, and at least one end of the rotating shaft 311. The elastic member 312 is configured to help tension the second display portion 22 and thereby maintain the second display portion 22 in a desired shape (e.g., a planar shape on the surface of housing assembly 10) . As shown in FIG. 35, the elastic member 312 may be a torsion spring, an end of the torsion spring may be fixed on the end of the rotating shaft 311, the other end of the torsion spring may be fixed on the side wall 123 of the second housing portion 12. A number of the elastic member 312 may be two, and two ends of the rotating shaft 311 may be fixed with a corresponding elastic member 312.

When the second housing potion 12 moves away from the folding axis 13, the second display portion 22 moves. Since the connecting end 2220 of the second display portion 22 is fixed on the rotating shaft 311, and the part of the second display portion 22 is rolled on the rotating shaft 311, the rotating shaft 311 will rotate with the moving of the second display portion 22. As a result, the elastic member 312 may be deformed. When the second housing portion 12 moves towards the folding axis 13, the elastic member 312 may restore to drive the rotating shaft 311 to rotate in the opposing direction, so as to reroll the part of the second display portion 22 and pull the second display portion 22 into the cavity 14.

In some embodiments, please referring to FIGs. 36 to 41, the retraction mechanism 30 may be a sliding assembly 32 configured to be slidable away from or towards the folding axis 13 to release the expanding part 221 or take the expanding part 221 into the cavity 14. The cavity 14 may be defined by the first housing portion 21 and the second housing portion 22, that is, the first chamber 1123 and the second chamber 124 are communicated with each other to form the cavity 14.

In some embodiments, the connecting end 2220 of the internal part 222 may be fixed on the first housing portion 11. For example, the connecting end 2220 may be fixed on the bottom wall 1122 of the second case 112. The second display portion 22 may be bent twice in the cavity 14. For example, the second display portion 22 may be bent outwardly first, and then be bent inwardly, to form a shape of substantially S. In other embodiments, the second display portion 22 may be bent twice inwardly. In summary, the second display portion 22 may have two bending parts, for example, a first bending part 223 and a second bending part 224. The first bending part 223 may be close to the first display portion 21, and the second bending part 224 may be close to the connecting end 2220. When the expanding part 221 is in the cavity 14, a length of second display portion 22 from the connecting end 2220 to a bending position close to the connecting end 2220, that is, the distance between the connecting end 2220 to the second bending part 224, may be greater than or equal to a maximum moving distance of the second housing portion 22 relative to the folding axis 13. Therefore, when the second housing portion 12 is move to a maximum moving distance, there may be enough second display portion 22 to be released to the outside of the second housing portion 12, thereby preventing the second display portion 22 from being damaged.

The sliding assembly 32 may include a first sliding part 321 and a second sliding part 322, and both the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 are connected to the second housing portion 12, and configured to slide with a moving of the second housing portion 12. In some embodiments, in the first direction, two opposite ends of the first sliding part 321 are connected to the second housing portion 12, and two opposite ends of the second sliding part 322 are connected to the second housing portion 12. In some embodiments, the two opposite ends of the second sliding part 322 may be connected to the two ends of the first sliding part 321, such that the second sliding part 322 is connected to the second housing portion 12 through the first sliding part 321.

In some embodiments, a space 320 may be defined between the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322. The second display portion 22 may be bent around the first sliding part 321, passe through the space 320 and be bent around the second sliding part 322.

The first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 may be arranged misaligned with each other in both the second direction and the third direction, such that the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 forms a S-curve structure. For example, as shown in FIG. 36 to 41, in the second direction, a distance between a left end of the first sliding part 321 and an end of the second case 112 close to the folding axis 13 is greater than a distance between a left end of the second sliding part 322 and the end of the second case 112 close to the folding axis 13. A distance between a right end of the first sliding part 321 and the end of the second case 112 is greater than a distance between a right end of the second sliding part 322 and the end of the second case 112. In the third direction, a distance between an upper end of the first sliding part 321 and the first display portion 21 is closer than a distance between an upper end of the second sliding part 322 and the first display portion 21. A distance between a lower end of the first sliding part 321 and the first display portion 21 is closer than a distance between a lower end of the second sliding part 322 and the first display portion 21. In some embodiments, a right portion of the first sliding part 321 may overlap with a left portion of the second sliding part 322. In other embodiments, a lower portion of the first sliding part 321 may overlap with an upper portion of the second sliding part 322. In some embodiments, the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 may have no overlap with each other no matter in the second direction or in the third direction.

In theses embodiments, the connecting end 2220 of the internal part 222 is fixed on the first housing portion 11, the moving of the second display portion 22 may be pushed by the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding prat 322, and the tension for the second display portion 22 may be maintained constant by the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding prat 322, no elastic member is needed.

In some embodiments, when the second housing portion 12 moves towards or away from the folding axis 13, a relative motion between the second display portion 22 and the sliding assembly 32 may be sliding, that is, the second display portion 22 may slide on a surface of the sliding assembly 32.

For example, as shown in FIGs. 36 to 41, each of the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 is a sliding plate, at least a part of the second sliding part 322 is received in the first housing portion 11. As shown in FIGs. 36 and 39, in a side of the second case 112 away from the first display portion 21, at least a part of the second sliding part 322 may be covered by the bottom wall 1122 of the second case 112 no matter the electronic device is in the expanded state or the unexpanded state, such that the connecting end 2220 could fixed on the first housing portion 11, such as the second case 112, after the second display portion 22 is bent twice in the cavity 14.

When the electronic device changes from the unexpanded state to the expanded state, as illustrate in FIG. 36 and FIG. 41, the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 move to the left with the second housing portion 12, and an end of the second display portion 22 connected to the first display portion 21 may be pushed by a left end of the first sliding prat 321, the internal part 222 of the second display portion 22 may be released by the second sliding part 322, and position of the connecting end 2220 of the second display portion 22 remains unchanged. Therefore, the expanding part 221 moves to an upper side of the first sliding part 321 to the exterior of the housing assembly and becomes viewable by the user.

When the electronic device changes from the expanded state to the unexpanded state, the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 move to the right with the second housing portion 12, and the internal part 322 may be pushed by a right end of the second sliding part 322, the expanding part 221 may be released by the first sliding part 321, and position of the connecting end 2220 of the second display portion 22 remains unchanged. Therefore, the expanding part 221 moves to a lower side of the first sliding part 321 and into the cavity 14, such that the expanding part 221 becomes unviewable.

In other embodiments, FIG. 42 illustrates each of the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 is a post. Two ends of the post are fixed on the second housing portion 22. The second sliding part 322 is received in the first housing portion 11. In some embodiments, one of the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 is a post, the other one of the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 is a sliding plate, as shown in FIG. 43, the first sliding part 321 is a sliding plate, the second sliding part 322 is a post. In theses embodiments, when the second housing portion 22 moves, the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 may move. The first sliding part 321, the second sliding part 322 and the second housing portion 22 remain relatively stationary.

In some embodiments, when the second housing portion 12 moves towards or away from the folding axis 13, a relative motion between the second display portion 12 and the sliding assembly 32 may be rolling. In some embodiments, each of the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 is a rolling shaft, and the second sliding part 322 is received in the first housing portion 11, the rolling shaft rolls with a moving of the second display portion 22. Structure of the rolling shaft may be the same or similar as that of the previously described embodiments, as shown in FIG. 44. In these embodiments, the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 may move as the second housing portion 22 moves, at the same time, the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 could rotate relative the second housing portion 22.

In some embodiments, when the second housing portion 12 moves towards or away from the folding axis 13, relative motions between the second display portion 22 and the sliding assembly 32 may include rolling and sliding. In this situation, one of the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 is a rolling shaft, the rolling shaft moves with a moving of the second display portion 22, and rolls at the same time. The other one of the first sliding part 321 and the second sliding part 322 may be a sliding plate or a post. At least a part of the second sliding part 322 is received in the first housing portion 11. As shown in FIG. 45, the first sliding part 321 is a sliding plate, the second sliding part 322 is a rolling shaft. Structure of the rolling shaft may be the same or similar as that of the previously described embodiments, as shown in FIG. 44.

In the embodiments that the first sliding part 321 is a sliding plate, the first sliding part 321 may act as the second supporting member. Specifically, as shown in FIGs. 35 to 41, in this situation, the electronic device may include a supporting member 41, which has a same structure and provides a same function with the first supporting member 41 as described above. For example, the supporting member 41 is connected to the first housing portion 11 and configured to support the first display portion 21. The supporting member 41 may define a notch 411 towards the second housing portion 12 in an end of the supporting member 41 close to the second housing portion 12.

Please referring to FIGs. 39 to 41, the first sliding part 321 may include an end member 3211 arranged away from the folding axis 13, an elongate member 3212 connected to the end member 3211 and a bottom member 3213 connected to the end member 3211. The elongate member 3212 may be arranged on the bottom member 3213, and configured to move into or out of the notch 411 along an inner wall 412 of the notch 411 with the moving of the second housing portion 12, and to support the first display portion 21 when the expanding part 221 is in the cavity 14 and support the expanding part 221 when the expanding part 221 is out of the cavity 14. The bottom member 3213 may be in contact with a side of the supporting member 41 away from the first display portion 21.

In the embodiments shown in FIG. 39 to 41, the supporting member 41 defines one notch 411, and the first sliding part 321 may include one elongate member 3212. As shown in FIG. 46, the supporting member 41 defines a plurality of notches 411, the elongate member 3212 may include a plurality of elongate members 3212. The plurality of notches 411 and the plurality of elongate members 3212 may have a one-on-one correspondence.

When the expanding part 221 is out of the cavity 14, an end the elongate member 3212 is in contact to the inner wall 412 of the notch 411, and the bottom member 3213 is in contact with the side of the support member 41.

In some embodiments, the sliding assembly 32 may include a sliding member 323 connected to the second housing portion 12. In the first direction, two ends of the sliding member 323 may be fixed on the side wall 123 of the second housing potion 12. As shown in FIG. 47, the sliding member 323 may have a first guiding end 3231 and a second guiding end 3232 opposite to each other. The first guiding end 3231 may be received in the second housing portion 12, and the second guiding end 3232 may be received in the first housing portion 11. The second display portion 22 is bent around the first guiding end 3231, and bent around the second guiding end 3232, and then the connecting end 2220 is fixed on the first housing portion 11. In this case, the second display portion 22 is bent inwardly twice around the sliding member 323, and the connecting end 2220 may be fixed on the supporting member 41.

When the second housing portion 12 moves to the left, the sliding member 323 may move to the left. As the sliding member 323 moves to the left, the expanding part 221 of the second display portion 22 may be pushed by the first guiding end 3231 of the sliding member 323, and the internal part 222 may be released by the second guiding end 3232 of the sliding member 323, such that the expanding part 221 move to an upper side of the sliding member 323, and could be seen by the user. When the second housing portion 12 moves to the right, the sliding member 323 may move to the right. As the sliding member 323 moves to the right, the internal part 222 of the second display portion 22 may be pushed by the second guiding end 3232 of the sliding member 323, and the expanding part 221 may be released by the first guiding end 3231 of the sliding member 323. Therefore, the expanding part 221 moves to a lower side of the sliding member 323, and is received in the cavity 14.

In some embodiments, the first display portion 21 (sometimes referred as a first display screen) and the first housing portion 11 may form a first part of the electronic device, and the first part may be foldable around the folding axis 13. The second display portion 22 (sometimes referred as a second display screen) and the second housing portion 12 may form a second part of the electronic device, and the second part may be connected to the first part. The second part may be configured to slide relative to the first part between a first state in which the second display screen is unviewable, and a second state in which the second display screen is viewable. The retraction mechanism 30 (sometimes referred as a movable part) may be connected to an end of the second part away from the folding axis 13, and being in contact with the second display screen. When the second part slides between the first state and the second state, the movable part is configured to move relative to second display screen to drive the second display screen to change between being unviewable and being viewable.

In some embodiments, the housing assembly 10 may include a first folding part (also be called as the first case 111) , a second folding part (acombination of the second case 112 and the second housing portion 12) and a third folding part (also be called as the third case 113) connected between the first folding part and the second folding part. The display screen 20 may also be called as a flexible display, the flexible display may be connected to the housing assembly 10 and cover the first folding part, the second folding part and the foldable part. A viewable area of the flexible display when the second folding part is in the expanded state is larger than that when the second folding part is in the unexpanded state. The retraction mechanism, which is called as an adjustment assembly, may be connected to the second folding part and opposite to the foldable part, and being in contact with the flexible display. The adjustment assembly may be configured to move with the second folding part to adjust the viewable area of the flexible display.

In the related art, a foldable device either use full sized or small external displays to allow the use when the device is in the folded state or with one hand, external displays are glass based and prone to breakage. In the present disclosure, the electronic device not only could be changed between folded state and unfolded sate, but also could be changed between expanded state and unexpanded state. On one hand, when the electronic device is in a folded state as it does not need to feature an external front display, the user can instead quickly slide the front side to reveal an interaction window. On the other hand, the electronic device provides more protected and private feeling since it does not require an external display, promoting a mindful user experience when the device is closed.

The use of external front displays and cameras in current foldable devices implies increase on BOM and redundancies at system level, the use of an electronic device capable of expanding could remove the need of those and may result in reduced costs and redundancies at system level.

In ergonomic terms opening foldable devices often requires users to use two hands due to the common use of hard geared hinges. Using the electronic device capable of expanding makes the entry point into the device faster and easier to be performed with one hand reducing the complexity of a full screen secondary front display or the limitations of a small notification display.

Revealing a portion of underlying display that is big enough for key interactions on the go with a dedicated UI simplifies the user experience, since the user does not have to navigate a full “second phone” on the external display.

Other reasons for the related art to feature external displays are the need to let the user read notifications, access tools such as camera and payment, type and use apps with one hand when the device is closed. In the present disclosure, the sliding action reveals an area of the underlying display big enough to perform key actions on the go such as reading notifications, using quick replies, adjusting settings, accessing camera and performing payments. When typing or more in depth one-handed app use is required, the present disclosure allows the user to continue the opening from slide-open state into a half-open state where half of the foldable display can be used for one hand operation.

The present disclosure allows to extend a section of the display to expose a dedicated interaction area as well as expanding the total size of the fully open display while reducing the size of the closed state.

In addition, when the electronic device is not directly in use, e.g. when stored in pocket, the electronic device could be changed in the folded-unexpanded state, the retraction mechanism, display screen or other elements of the electronic device could be fully protected by the housing assembly, thereby allowing implementation and usage of rollable display without concerns for durability.

In some embodiments, a distance between the connecting end of the internal part and the folding axis is unchanged or changes periodically with the second housing portion moving away from the folding axis.

In some embodiments, the retraction mechanism is a rolling assembly rotatable connected to the second housing portion, and configured to rotate in a direction to release the expanding part, or rotate in an opposing direction to take the expanding part into the cavity.

In some embodiments, the connecting end of the internal part is connected to the rolling assembly; when the expanding part is in the cavity, a part of the second display portion is rolled by the rolling assembly; the part of the second display portion rolled by the rolling assembly gradually decreases with the expanding part moving out of the cavity.

In some embodiments, the rolling assembly includes a rotating shaft rotatably connected to the second housing portion, the connecting end of the internal part is fixed on the rotating shaft, and an elastic member connected to the second housing portion and at least one end of the rotating shaft, and configured to drive the rotating shaft to rotate in the opposing direction to pull the second display into the cavity.

In some embodiments, the rolling assembly includes a fixing member fixed on the second housing portion, a torsion spring sleeving on the fixing member, and a rotatable tube sleeving on the torsion spring and configured to rotate around the fixing member, the connecting end of the internal part is fixed on the rotatable tube; an end of the torsion spring is connected to the rotatable tube; another end of the torsion spring is connected to the fixing member.

In some embodiments, the retraction mechanism is a sliding assembly configured to be slidable away from or towards the folding axis to release the expanding prat or take the expanding part into the cavity.

In some embodiments, the cavity is defined by the first housing portion and the second housing portion; the connecting end of the internal part is fixed on the first housing portion, the second display portion is bent twice in the cavity.

In some embodiments, when the expanding part is in the cavity, a length of second display portion from the connecting end to a bending position close to the connecting end, is greater than or equal to a maximum moving distance of the second housing portion relative to the folding axis.

In some embodiments, the sliding assembly comprises a first sliding part and a second sliding part; both the first sliding part and the second sliding part are connected to the second housing portion, and configured to slide with a moving of the second housing portion; a space is defined between the first sliding part and the second sliding part; the second display portion is bent around the first sliding part, passes through the space and is bent around the second sliding part.

In some embodiments, an extending direction of the folding axis is a first direction, a moving direction of second housing portion is a second direction, a direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the second direction is a third direction; the first sliding part and the second sliding part are arranged misaligned with each other in both the second direction and the third direction.

In some embodiments, two opposite ends of the first sliding part in the first direction are connected to the second housing portion; and two opposite ends of the second sliding part in the first direction are connected to the second housing portion.

In some embodiments, when the second housing portion moves towards or away from the folding axis, a relative motion between the second display portion and the sliding assembly is sliding.

In some embodiments, each of the first sliding part and the second sliding part is a sliding plate, at least a part of the second sliding part is received in the first housing portion; or each of the first sliding part and the second sliding part is a post, the second sliding part is received in the first housing portion.

In some embodiments, when the second housing portion moves towards or away from the folding axis, a relative motion between the second display portion and the sliding assembly is rolling.

In some embodiments, each of the first sliding part and the second sliding part is a rolling shaft, and the second sliding part is received in the first housing portion; the rolling shaft rolls with a moving of the second display portion.

In some embodiments, when the second housing portion moves towards or away from the folding axis, relative motions between the second display portion and the sliding assembly comprises rolling and sliding.

In some embodiments, one of the first sliding part and the second sliding part is a rolling shaft, the rolling shaft rolls with a moving of the second display portion; the other one of the first sliding part and the second sliding part is a sliding plate or a post; and at least a part of the second sliding part is received in the first housing portion.

In some embodiments, the electronic device may further include a supporting member connected to the first housing portion and configured to support the first display portion; the supporting member defines a notch towards the second housing portion in an end of the supporting member close to the second housing portion; the first sliding part includes an end member arranged away from the folding axis and an elongate member connected to the end member; the elongate member is configured to move into or out of the notch along an inner wall of the notch with the moving of the second housing portion, and to support the first display portion when the expanding part is in the cavity and support the expanding part when the expanding part is out of the cavity.

In some embodiments, the notch comprises a plurality of notches; the elongate member comprises a plurality of elongate members; the plurality of notches and the plurality of elongate members have a one-on-one correspondence.

In some embodiments, the first sliding part further comprises a bottom member connected to the end member, the elongate member is arranged on the bottom member; the bottom member is in contact with a side of the supporting member away from the first display portion.

In some embodiments, when the expanding part is out of the cavity, an end the elongate member is in contact to the inner wall of the notch, and the bottom member is in contact with the side of the support member.

In some embodiments, the sliding assembly comprises a sliding member connected to the second housing portion; the sliding member has a first guiding end and a second guiding end opposite to each other, the first guiding end is received in the second housing portion, and the second guiding end is received in the first housing portion; and the second display portion is bent around the first guiding end, and bent around the second guiding end.

In some embodiments, the electronic device may include a first supporting member connected to the first housing portion, and configured to support the first display portion; wherein the first supporting member defines a notch towards the second housing portion; and a second supporting member connected to the second housing portion, and configured to move into or out of the notch with the moving of the second housing portion, and to support the first display portion when the expanding part is in the cavity and support the expanding part when the expanding part is out of the cavity.

In some embodiments, the notch includes a plurality of notches; the second supporting member comprises a plurality of second supporting members; the plurality of notches and the plurality of second supporting members have a one-on-one correspondence.

In some embodiments, the second housing portion comprises an end part arranged away from the folding axis and a bottom part connected to the end part; the cavity is defined by the end part; and the second supporting member is arranged on the bottom part and adjacent to the end part.

In some embodiments, when the expanding part is out of the cavity, an end of the second supporting member is in contact with an inner wall of the notch, and the bottom part of the second housing portion is in contact with the first housing portion.

In some embodiments, the first housing portion comprises a first case, a second case and a third case connected between the first case and the second case; the second housing portion is connected to an end of the second case away from the third case; when the expanding prat is in the cavity and the first housing portion is folded, an end of the second housing portion away from the folding axis and an end of the first case away from the folding axis are flush with each other; and when the second housing portion moves away from the folding axis, the expanding part is exposed from the first case, and the end of the second housing portion away from the folding axis protrude relative to the end of the first case away from the folding axis.

In some embodiments, the second housing portion comprises an end part arranged away from the folding axis and a bottom part connected to the end part; a bottom wall of the second case defines a recess; when the expanded part is in the cavity, the bottom part of the second housing portion is received in the recess of the second case and cover a part of the bottom wall of the second case; when the expanded part is out of the cavity, the bottom wall of the second case is exposed from the bottom part of the second housing portion.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a foldable-slidable device may be provided. The foldable-slidable device may include a first part having a first display screen and configured to be foldable around a folding axis, second part having a second display screen and connected to the first part and a movable part. The second part is configured to slide relative to the first part between a first state in which the second display screen is unviewable, and a second state in which the second display screen is viewable. The movable part is connected to an end of the second part away from the folding axis, and being in contact with the second display screen. The second part slides between the first state and the second state, the movable part is configured to move relative to second display screen to drive the second display screen to change between being unviewable and being viewable.

In some embodiments, the second display screen is connected to the first display screen, a distance between the folding axis and an end of the second display screen away from the first display screen is unchanged or changes periodically with the second part sliding from the first state to the second state.

In some embodiments, a relative motion between the movable part and the second display screen comprises at least one of rolling and sliding.

In some embodiments, the movable part is a rolling member rotatably connected to the second part, and configured to rotate in a direction to unroll the second display screen, or rotate in an opposing direction to roll up the second display screen.

In some embodiments, an end of the second display screen away from the first display screen is fixed on the first part; the first part and the second part define an interior space; when in the first state, the second display screen is received in the interior space; and when in the second state, the second display screen is outside of the first part and the second part; the movable part is a sliding member configured to slide with the second part to release the second display screen from the interior space to outside, or pull the second display screen from the outside to the interior space.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device may be provided. The electronic device may include a housing assembly, a flexible display, and an adjustment assembly. The housing assembly may include a first folding part, a second folding part and a third folding part connected between the first folding part and the second folding part. The second folding part is configured to move between an expanded state and an unexpanded state. The flexible display may be connected to the housing assembly and cover the first folding part, the second folding part and the foldable part. A viewable area of the flexible display when the second folding part is in the expanded state is larger than that when the second folding part is in the unexpanded state. The adjustment assembly may be connected to the second folding part and opposite to the third folding part, and being in contact with the flexible display. The adjustment assembly is configured to move with the second folding part to adjust the viewable area of the flexible display.

It should be noted that, the foregoing disclosed is merely exemplary implementations and it is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Although the present disclosure is described in details with reference to the above embodiments, however, one skilled in the art may make any modification or equivalence based on the technical solution and the inventive concept of the present disclosure. All these modifications and equivalences shall all be covered within the protection claimed in the claims of the present disclosure.

Claims

An electronic device, comprising:

a housing assembly, defining a cavity and comprising:

a first housing portion, configured to be foldable around a folding axis; and

a second housing portion, connected to an end of the first housing portion and configured to be movable towards or away from the folding axis;

a display screen, comprising:

a first display portion, connected to the first housing portion and configured to be foldable with the first housing portion;

a second display portion, comprising an expanding part connected to the first display portion, and an internal part connected to an end of expanding part away from the first display portion, wherein the internal part has a connecting end opposite to the expanding part; and

a retraction mechanism, received in the cavity and arranged opposite to the folding axis;

wherein the retraction mechanism is in contact with the second display portion and configured to release the expanding part to move out of the cavity when the second housing portion moves away from the folding axis, or take the expanding part into the cavity when the second housing portion moves towards the folding axis.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a distance between the connecting end of the internal part and the folding axis is unchanged or changes periodically with the second housing portion moving away from the folding axis.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the retraction mechanism is a rolling assembly rotatable connected to the second housing portion, and configured to rotate in a direction to release the expanding part, or rotate in an opposing direction to take the expanding part into the cavity.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the connecting end of the internal part is connected to the rolling assembly;

when the expanding part is in the cavity, a part of the second display portion is rolled by the rolling assembly; the part of the second display portion rolled by the rolling assembly gradually decreases with the expanding part moving out of the cavity.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the rolling assembly comprises:

a rotating shaft, rotatably connected to the second housing portion, the connecting end of the internal part is fixed on the rotating shaft; and

an elastic member, connected to the second housing portion and at least one end of the rotating shaft, and configured to drive the rotating shaft to rotate in the opposing direction to pull the second display into the cavity.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the rolling assembly comprises:

a fixing member, fixed on the second housing portion;

a torsion spring, sleeving on the fixing member; and

a rotatable tube, sleeving on the torsion spring and configured to rotate around the fixing member;

wherein the connecting end of the internal part is fixed on the rotatable tube; an end of the torsion spring is connected to the rotatable tube; another end of the torsion spring is connected to the fixing member.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the retraction mechanism is a sliding assembly configured to be slidable away from or towards the folding axis to release the expanding prat or take the expanding part into the cavity.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the cavity is defined by the first housing portion and the second housing portion; the connecting end of the internal part is fixed on the first housing portion, the second display portion is bent twice in the cavity.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 8, wherein when the expanding part is in the cavity, a length of second display portion from the connecting end to a bending position close to the connecting end, is greater than or equal to a maximum moving distance of the second housing portion relative to the folding axis.
The electronic device as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the sliding assembly comprises a first sliding part and a second sliding part; both the first sliding part and the second sliding part are connected to the second housing portion, and configured to slide with a moving of the second housing portion; a space is defined between the first sliding part and the second sliding part;

the second display portion is bent around the first sliding part, passes through the space and is bent around the second sliding part.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 10, wherein an extending direction of the folding axis is a first direction, a moving direction of second housing portion is a second direction, a direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the second direction is a third direction;

the first sliding part and the second sliding part are arranged misaligned with each other in both the second direction and the third direction.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 11, wherein two opposite ends of the first sliding part in the first direction are connected to the second housing portion; and

two opposite ends of the second sliding part in the first direction are connected to the second housing portion.
The electronic device as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein when the second housing portion moves towards or away from the folding axis, a relative motion between the second display portion and the sliding assembly is sliding.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 13, wherein each of the first sliding part and the second sliding part is a sliding plate, at least a part of the second sliding part is received in the first housing portion; or

each of the first sliding part and the second sliding part is a post, the second sliding part is received in the first housing portion.
The electronic device as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein when the second housing portion moves towards or away from the folding axis, a relative motion between the second display portion and the sliding assembly is rolling.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 15, wherein each of the first sliding part and the second sliding part is a rolling shaft, and the second sliding part is received in the first housing portion; the rolling shaft rolls with a moving of the second display portion.
The electronic device as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein when the second housing portion moves towards or away from the folding axis, relative motions between the second display portion and the sliding assembly comprises rolling and sliding.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 17, wherein one of the first sliding part and the second sliding part is a rolling shaft, the rolling shaft rolls with a moving of the second display portion;

the other one of the first sliding part and the second sliding part is a sliding plate or a post; and

at least a part of the second sliding part is received in the first housing portion.
The electronic device as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 12, further comprising a supporting member connected to the first housing portion and configured to support the first display portion; the supporting member defines a notch towards the second housing portion in an end of the supporting member close to the second housing portion;

the first sliding part comprises an end member arranged away from the folding axis and an elongate member connected to the end member; the elongate member is configured to move into or out of the notch along an inner wall of the notch with the moving of the second housing portion, and to support the first display portion when the expanding part is in the cavity and support the expanding part when the expanding part is out of the cavity.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 19, wherein the notch comprises a plurality of notches; the elongate member comprises a plurality of elongate members; the plurality of notches and the plurality of elongate members have a one-on-one correspondence.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 19, wherein the first sliding part further comprises a bottom member connected to the end member, the elongate member is arranged on the bottom member; the bottom member is in contact with a side of the supporting member away from the first display portion.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 20, wherein when the expanding part is out of the cavity, an end the elongate member is in contact to the inner wall of the notch, and the bottom member is in contact with the side of the support member.
The electronic device as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the sliding assembly comprises a sliding member connected to the second housing portion; the sliding member has a first guiding end and a second guiding end opposite to each other, the first guiding end is received in the second housing portion, and the second guiding end is received in the first housing portion; and

the second display portion is bent around the first guiding end, and bent around the second guiding end.
The electronic device as claimed in any one of claims 1 and 3, further comprises:

a first supporting member connected to the first housing portion, and configured to support the first display portion; wherein the first supporting member defines a notch towards the second housing portion; and

a second supporting member connected to the second housing portion, and configured to move into or out of the notch with the moving of the second housing portion, and to support the first display portion when the expanding part is in the cavity and support the expanding part when the expanding part is out of the cavity.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 24, wherein the notch comprises a plurality of notches; the second supporting member comprises a plurality of second supporting members; the plurality of notches and the plurality of second supporting members have a one-on-one correspondence.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 24, wherein the second housing portion comprises an end part arranged away from the folding axis and a bottom part connected to the end part;

the cavity is defined by the end part; and

the second supporting member is arranged on the bottom part and adjacent to the end part.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 26, wherein when the expanding part is out of the cavity, an end of the second supporting member is in contact with an inner wall of the notch, and the bottom part of the second housing portion is in contact with the first housing portion.
The electronic device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first housing portion comprises a first case, a second case and a third case connected between the first case and the second case;

the second housing portion is connected to an end of the second case away from the third case;

when the expanding prat is in the cavity and the first housing portion is folded, an end of the second housing portion away from the folding axis and an end of the first case away from the folding axis are flush with each other; and when the second housing portion moves away from the folding axis, the expanding part is exposed from the first case, and the end of the second housing portion away from the folding axis protrude relative to the end of the first case away from the folding axis.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 28, wherein the second housing portion comprises an end part arranged away from the folding axis and a bottom part connected to the end part; a bottom wall of the second case defines a recess;

when the expanded part is in the cavity, the bottom part of the second housing portion is received in the recess of the second case and cover a part of the bottom wall of the second case;

when the expanded part is out of the cavity, the bottom wall of the second case is exposed from the bottom part of the second housing portion.
A foldable-slidable device, comprising:

a first part having a first display screen and configured to be foldable around a folding axis;

a second part having a second display screen and connected to the first part; wherein the second part is configured to slide relative to the first part between a first state in which the second display screen is unviewable, and a second state in which the second display screen is viewable; and

a movable part, connected to an end of the second part away from the folding axis, and being in contact with the second display screen;

wherein when the second part slides between the first state and the second state, the movable part is configured to move relative to second display screen to drive the second display screen to change between being unviewable and being viewable.
The foldable-slidable device as claimed in claim 30, wherein the second display screen is connected to the first display screen, a distance between the folding axis and an end of the second display screen away from the first display screen is unchanged or changes periodically with the second part sliding from the first state to the second state.
The foldable-slidable device as claimed in claim 30, wherein a relative motion between the movable part and the second display screen comprises at least one of rolling and sliding.
The foldable-slidable device as claimed in claim 30, wherein the movable part is a rolling member rotatably connected to the second part, and configured to rotate in a direction to unroll the second display screen, or rotate in an opposing direction to roll up the second display screen.
The foldable-slidable device as claimed in claim 30, wherein an end of the second display screen away from the first display screen is fixed on the first part; the first part and the second part define an interior space; when in the first state, the second display screen is received in the interior space; and when in the second state, the second display screen is outside of the first part and the second part;

the movable part is a sliding member configured to slide with the second part to release the second display screen from the interior space to outside, or pull the second display screen from the outside to the interior space.
An electronic device comprising:

a housing assembly, comprising a first folding part, a second folding part and a third folding part connected between the first folding part and the second folding part; wherein the second folding part is configured to move between an expanded state and an unexpanded state;

a flexible display, connected to the housing assembly and cover the first folding part, the second folding part and the foldable part; wherein a viewable area of the flexible display when the second folding part is in the expanded state is larger than that when the second folding part is in the unexpanded state; and

an adjustment assembly, connected to the second folding part and opposite to the third folding part, and being in contact with the flexible display;

wherein the adjustment assembly is configured to move with the second folding part to adjust the viewable area of the flexible display.