Terminal equipment

Abstract

The present invention relates to a terminal device, comprising: a main body; a flexible display screen, which is laid on the main body, the flexible display screen can be bent along a set center line and includes a display area, the display area has a bendable portion corresponding to the center line, and a first through hole is provided at the bendable portion; and a physical button, which is installed in the first through hole and connected to the main body. Since the first through hole is provided on the display area of ​​the flexible display screen, the physical button is installed in the first through hole, and the physical button makes full use of the accommodation space of the first through hole, that is, makes full use of the thickness dimension of the flexible display screen itself, and the length dimension of the physical button partially overlaps with the thickness dimension of the flexible display screen, so that the dimension occupied by both the physical button and the flexible display screen in the thickness direction of the entire terminal device is reduced, thereby reducing the total thickness of the terminal device, which meets the thin design concept of the terminal device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of terminal equipment, and in particular to a terminal equipment. Background Art

[0002] For terminal devices such as mobile phones, the thickness of the entire foldable terminal device is relatively large, which does not conform to the development trend of thin design of foldable terminal devices. Summary of the invention

[0003] A technical problem solved by the present invention is how to achieve a thin design of a terminal device.

[0004] A terminal device, comprising:

[0005] Main body;

[0006] A flexible display screen is laid on the main body, the flexible display screen can be bent along a set center line and includes a display area, the display area has a bendable portion corresponding to the center line, and a first through hole is opened at the bendable portion; and

[0007] A physical button is installed in the first through hole and connected to the main body.

[0008] A technical effect of an embodiment of the present invention is: since a first through hole is opened at the bendable portion on the display area, the physical button is installed in the first through hole, and the physical button makes full use of the accommodation space of the first through hole, that is, makes full use of the thickness dimension of the flexible display screen itself, and the length dimension of the physical button partially overlaps with the thickness dimension of the flexible display screen, so that the size occupied by the physical button and the flexible display screen in the thickness direction of the entire terminal device is reduced, thereby reducing the total thickness of the terminal device, which is in line with the thin design concept of the terminal device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided by an embodiment in a fully unfolded state;

[0010] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic front view of a flexible display screen;

[0011] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided by an embodiment in a fully folded state. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] In order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be described more fully below with reference to the relevant drawings. The preferred embodiments of the present invention are given in the drawings. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the disclosure of the present invention more thoroughly understood.

[0013] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. The terms "inside", "outside", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only implementation method.

[0014] See also Figures 1 to 3 An embodiment of the present invention provides a terminal device 10, which may be a smart phone or a tablet computer, etc. The terminal device 10 includes a flexible display screen 100, a physical button 200 and a main body 400. The flexible display screen 100 can be bent along a set center line 101. The flexible display screen 100 includes a display area 140. Through the display area 140, an image displayed by the flexible display screen 100 can be observed. The display area 140 has a bendable portion corresponding to the center line 101. A first through hole 110 is provided at the bendable portion on the display area 140, and the physical button 200 is installed in the first through hole 110.

[0015] Compared with the physical button 200 being installed at the side of the terminal device 10, in this case, both the physical button 200 and the flexible display screen 100 occupy the thickness direction of the terminal device 10 (eg Figure 1 When the physical button 200 is mounted on the display area 140 of the flexible display screen 100, the physical button 200 cooperates with the first through hole 110, and the physical button 200 fully utilizes the accommodation space of the first through hole 110, that is, fully utilizes the thickness of the flexible display screen 100 itself, and the length of the physical button 200 partially overlaps with the thickness of the flexible display screen 100, so that the size occupied by the physical button 200 and the flexible display screen 100 in the thickness direction of the entire terminal device 10 is reduced, and the internal structural layout of the terminal device 10 is also optimized. Therefore, the total thickness of the entire terminal device 10 is reduced in this way, which meets the thin design theory of the terminal device 10.

[0016] At the same time, when the flexible display screen 100 is bent around the center line 101, the physical buttons 200 cannot be observed when observing the display area 140 of the flexible display screen 100 from the front and back sides of the entire terminal device 10, so that the display area 140 of the flexible display screen 100 on the front and back sides of the terminal device 10 is maximized, thereby improving the display effect of the flexible display screen 100 and the user experience of the entire terminal device 10.

[0017] When the flexible display screen 100 is folded, Figure 3 For the terminal device 10 in the folded state, images can be displayed on both the front and back sides, see Figure 1 When the terminal device 10 is fully unfolded, the display surface of the display area 140 is in the same plane, and the area of ​​the display area 140 that the user can observe at the same position is increased, which enhances the image display effect of the terminal device 10 and ensures its user experience. More importantly, for the terminal device 10, its thickness value in a fully folded state is equal to twice the thickness value in a fully unfolded state. Since the thickness of the terminal device 10 in the fully unfolded state is reduced, the thickness of the terminal device 10 in the fully folded state will be greatly reduced. Usually, when the terminal device 10 stops working, the terminal device 10 is in a fully folded state. Since the thickness of the terminal device 10 in this state is reduced, it is convenient to carry and store the terminal device 10, further enhancing the user experience of the terminal device 10.

[0018] The flexible display screen 100 can use an OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display screen to display graphic information. The OLED display screen can be an AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) screen or a Super AMOLED (Super Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) screen or a SuperAMOLED Plus (Super Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode Plus) screen.

[0019] In some embodiments, the ratio of the length and width of the flexible display screen 100 can be close to one, that is, the two can be roughly equal, and the display area 140 of the flexible display screen 100 can be a square. The flexible display screen 100 also includes a non-display area 130, which cannot display images. The non-display area 130 is commonly known as a black edge because it cannot display images. The display area 140 includes four side edges 141, which are connected end to end in sequence to form a closed body. The non-display area 130 is connected to one of the side edges 141 in the display area 140, which can reduce the occupied area of ​​the non-display area 130 and optimize the layout of other components in the terminal device 10, so that the structure of the entire terminal device 10 becomes more compact. The non-display area 130 includes a display and touch IC 131 (integrated circuit, integrated circuit), which is used to control the touch function and pixel display function of the display area 140.

[0020] In some embodiments, the non-display area 130 may be bent relative to the display area 140, for example, the non-display area 130 may be bent 180° relative to the display area 140 and completely folded on the display area 140; or, the non-display area 130 may be bent 90° relative to the display area 140, that is, the cross-section of the entire flexible display screen 100 in the fully unfolded state is roughly L-shaped, or, the non-display area 130 may be bent relative to the display area 140 by a value greater than 90° and less than 180°. By bending the non-display area 130 relative to the display area 140 at a set angle, the vertical projection of the non-display area 130 on the flexible display screen 100 may all fall within the range of the display area 140, and the non-display area 130 may not occupy the length dimension of the terminal device 10. When the length dimension of the entire terminal device 10 is constant, the area of ​​the display area 140 of the flexible display screen 100 may be increased, and the ratio of the area of ​​the display area 140 to the area of ​​the terminal device 10 may be increased, thereby increasing the screen-to-body ratio of the terminal device 10. At the same time, through the covering effect of the display area 140 on the non-display area 130, the user will not be able to observe the existence of the non-display area 130, that is, the black edge of the flexible display screen 100 is eliminated, the image display effect of the flexible display screen 100 is enhanced, and the user experience of the terminal device 10 is ensured.

[0021] In some embodiments, the physical button 200 includes a power button and a volume button. There are two first through holes 110, one of which is used to install a power button, and the other is used to install a volume button. The terminal device 10 also includes a card tray 300, which is used to install a SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card. A second through hole 120 is also provided on the display area 140 of the flexible display 100, and the card tray 300 is installed in the second through hole 120. Similarly, the card tray 300 makes full use of the accommodation space of the second through hole 120, and the length of the card tray 300 partially overlaps with the thickness of the flexible display 100, reducing the size occupied by both the flexible display 100 and the card tray 300 in the thickness direction of the terminal device 10, further reducing the total thickness of the entire terminal device 10, and ensuring the thinness of the terminal device 10.

[0022] The first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 are both arranged at intervals on the display area 140 of the flexible display screen 100. In some embodiments, the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 are arranged on the center line 101 of the flexible display screen 100, and the center line 101 passes through the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 at the same time. In other words, the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 are arranged in series on the center line 101. The first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 both have openings 102 on the outer surface of the display area 140, and the openings 102 are arranged axially symmetrically relative to the center line 101. In layman's terms, the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 are located in the center of the display area 140. When the flexible display screen 100 is folded, the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 will not be folded relative to the center line 101. Regardless of whether the flexible display screen 100 is in an unfolded or folded state, the power button, the volume button and the card tray 300 are always located at the center line 101, which is convenient for user operation. In other embodiments, the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 may not be located at the center line 101 , and both may maintain an appropriate distance from the center line 101 .

[0023] See also Figure 2 The first through hole 110 includes an elongated hole, which may be a right-angled rectangular hole, a rounded rectangular hole, a waist-shaped hole or an elliptical hole. The length of the major axis of the elongated hole is A, and the value range of A is 5mm≤A≤15mm. For example, according to the actual needs, the value of A may be 5mm, 7mm, 10mm or 15mm. The length of the minor axis of the elongated hole is B, and the value range of B is 2mm≤B≤5mm. For example, according to the actual needs, the value of B may be 2mm, 3mm, 4.5mm or 5mm. The shape of the second through hole 120 may be exactly the same as that of the first through hole 110.

[0024] In some embodiments, the first through hole 110 is a laser cut hole, that is, the first through hole 110 is made by a laser cutting process. Laser cutting has a fast drilling speed and can ensure the size accuracy and shape accuracy of the first through hole 110. At the same time, the laser will not generate cutting force to damage the flexible display 100 during the drilling process, and there is no need to design complex fixtures to clamp the flexible display. The laser drilling does not need to directly contact the flexible display 100, avoiding tool loss such as drill bit breakage. The laser can use continuous energy or pulse energy. To ensure the efficiency of drilling, the power density range of the laser can be 107W / cm 2 Up to 109W / cm 2 The forming time of the first through hole 110 is between 10s and 15s. The second through hole 120 can also be a laser cut hole, that is, the second through hole 120 is manufactured by a laser cutting process.

[0025] In other embodiments, for example, both the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 can be formed by mechanical processing, that is, drilling the flexible display screen 100 by a machine tool, and the mechanical processing can ensure the roughness of the inner wall surfaces of the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120. For another example, both the first through hole 110 and the second through hole 120 can also be formed by chemical etching processing method or water jet processing method.

[0026] In some embodiments, the main body 400 can be folded, and the main body 400 includes a first body 410 and a second body 420. The first body 410 is rotatably connected to the second body 420 at the center line 101. When the flexible display screen 100 is bent, the first body 410 rotates relative to the second body 420 to adapt to the bending of the flexible display screen 100. Specifically, one end of the flexible display screen 100 can be fixedly connected to the first body 410, and the other end of the flexible display screen 100 can be elastically connected to the second body 420. When the entire terminal device 10 is folded, the other end of the flexible display screen 100 moves relative to the second body 420, so that the terminal device 10 is smoothly folded. In other embodiments, the main body 400 may not be foldable.

[0027] As used herein, "terminal equipment" refers to, but is not limited to, a device capable of receiving and / or sending communication signals connected via any one or more of the following connection methods: (1) via a wired line connection method, such as via Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN), Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), digital cable, direct cable connection; (2) via a wireless interface method, such as a cellular network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a digital television network such as a DVB-H network, a satellite network, an AM-FM broadcast transmitter. A terminal device configured to communicate via a wireless interface may be referred to as a "mobile terminal". Examples of mobile terminals include, but are not limited to, the following electronic devices: (1) satellite phones or cellular phones; (2) personal communications system (PCS) terminals that can combine cellular radio telephones with data processing, fax, and data communications capabilities; (3) radio telephones, pagers, Internet / intranet access, web browsers, notepads, calendars, personal digital assistants (PDAs) equipped with global positioning system (GPS) receivers; (4) conventional laptop and / or palmtop receivers; (5) conventional laptop and / or palmtop radiotelephone transceivers, etc.

[0028] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0029] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present invention, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this field, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, characterized in that: include: Main body; A flexible display screen is laid on the main body, the flexible display screen can be bent along a set center line and includes a display area and a non-display area, the display area has a bendable portion corresponding to the center line, a first through hole is opened at the bendable portion, and the non-display area can be bent relative to the display area; and A physical button is installed in the first through hole and connected to the main body.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The physical keys include a power key and a volume key, the number of the first through holes is two, and the power key and the volume key are respectively installed in the two first through holes.

3. The terminal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A card tray is included, and a second through hole is also provided on the display area, and the card tray is installed in the second through hole.

4. The terminal device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first through hole and the second through hole are both arranged at intervals on the display area, and the center line passes through the first through hole and the second through hole at the same time.

5. The terminal device according to claim 4, characterized in that: Both the first through hole and the second through hole have openings on the outer surface of the display area, and the openings are symmetrical with respect to the center line.

6. The terminal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first through hole comprises an elongated hole, the length of the major axis of the elongated hole is A, the length of the minor axis of the elongated hole is B, wherein 5mm≤A≤15mm, and 2mm≤B≤5mm.

7. The terminal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main body includes a first body and a second body, and the first body is rotatably connected to the second body at the center line position.

8. The terminal device according to claim 7, characterized in that: One end of the flexible display screen is fixedly connected to the first body, and the other end of the flexible display screen is elastically connected to the second body.

9. The terminal device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The display area includes four side edges connected end to end in sequence, and the non-display area is connected to one of the side edges.

10. The terminal device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The non-display area includes a display and touch IC for controlling the display area.

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