Rotating shaft assembly and foldable electronic equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of electronic equipment, aims to solve the problem that a rotating shaft assembly of foldable electronic equipment is poor in supporting effect on a flexible screen, and provides the rotating shaft assembly and the foldable electronic equipment. The rotating shaft assembly comprises a middle beam and door plate assemblies connected to the two sides of the middle beam respectively. The door plate assembly comprises an inner door plate and an outer door plate, the inner door plate is rotatably connected to the middle beam, and the outer door plate is rotatably connected to the side, away from the middle beam, of the inner door plate. Wherein the inner door plate comprises an inner plate body and an arc-shaped sliding tongue, and the arc-shaped sliding tongue is connected to the inner plate body. The outer door plate is provided with an arc-shaped sliding groove. The inner plate body is rotatably connected with the middle beam through shaft hole matching, and the arc-shaped sliding tongue is slidably matched with the arc-shaped sliding groove, so that the outer door plate is rotatably matched with the inner door plate by taking a virtual axis limited by the arc-shaped sliding tongue and the arc-shaped sliding groove as a rotating shaft. The beneficial effects of the invention are that the rotating shaft assembly has fewer gaps in the unfolded state, and the supporting effect on the flexible screen is good.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of electronic devices, and in particular to a hinge assembly and a foldable electronic device. Background Art

[0002] Foldable electronic devices such as foldable mobile phones generally use a hinge assembly to achieve rotation, folding and unfolding between two or more bodies.

[0003] In some known technologies, there are many gaps in the hinge assembly when it is unfolded, so that the hinge assembly has a poor supporting effect on the flexible screen of the foldable electronic device. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a hinge assembly and a foldable electronic device to solve the problem that the hinge assembly of the foldable electronic device has poor supporting effect on the flexible screen.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a rotating shaft assembly, which includes a center beam and a door panel assembly respectively connected to both sides of the center beam. The door panel assembly includes an inner door panel and an outer door panel, the inner door panel can be rotatably connected to the center beam, and the outer door panel is rotatably connected to the side of the inner door panel away from the center beam. Among them, the inner door panel includes an inner panel body and an arc-shaped sliding tongue, and the arc-shaped sliding tongue is connected to the inner panel body; the outer door panel is provided with an arc-shaped sliding groove; the inner panel body and the center beam are rotatably connected through an axis hole, and the arc-shaped sliding tongue can be slidably matched with the arc-shaped sliding groove, so that the outer door panel is rotatably matched with the inner door panel with the virtual axis defined by the arc-shaped sliding tongue and the arc-shaped sliding groove as the rotating axis.

[0006] The rotating shaft assembly in the embodiment of the present application has the following technical effects by making the inner door panel and the middle beam form a rotational fit around the real axis in the form of an axis hole, and the inner door panel and the outer door panel form a rotational fit around the virtual axis in the form of an arc-shaped sliding tongue and an arc-shaped sliding groove. First, the middle beam does not need to be provided with a groove for rotating and matching the arc-shaped sliding tongue, and the structural strength of the middle beam is easily guaranteed; secondly, the inner door panel and the middle beam are rotated in the form of a real axis rather than a virtual axis, and the inner door panel and the middle beam can be set to abut against each other, reducing or directly eliminating the gap between the middle beam and the inner door panel in the unfolded state, improving the support capacity at the bend of the flexible screen, helping to reduce the crease light and shadow of the flexible screen, and reducing the risk of arrow impact on the flexible screen. The middle beam and inner door panel that are closer together can also improve the resistance to the sudden impact of the flexible screen in the folded state. In addition, in the unfolded state, the inner door panel can be reliably stopped and limited by the middle beam, reducing the possibility that the rotating shaft assembly and the flexible screen are bent beyond the set angle to damage the rotating shaft assembly or the flexible screen.

[0007] In one possible embodiment, the hinge assembly has a front and a back side opposite to each other in the thickness direction, and the front side of the hinge assembly is used to support a flexible screen of a foldable electronic device; the hinge assembly has a folded state and an unfolded state; in the unfolded state, the front surfaces of the center beam, inner door panel and outer door panel of the hinge assembly jointly support the bending part of the flattened flexible screen, and the front surface of the center beam and the front surface of the inner door panel are spliced ​​in the width direction, and the front surface of the outer door panel and the front surface of the inner door panel are spaced apart to form a gap; in the folded state, the front surfaces of the center beam, inner door panel and outer door panel of the hinge assembly jointly support the bending part of the bent flexible screen, and the front surface of the inner door panel and the front surface of the outer door panel are spliced ​​in sequence in the width direction.

[0008] In this embodiment, in the unfolded state, the inner door panel and the center beam are spliced ​​together, which can improve the supporting effect of the shaft assembly on the flexible screen, and the center beam can better stop and limit the inner door panel, reducing the risk of excessive rotation there.

[0009] In a possible embodiment, the side surface of the center beam along the width direction of the center beam includes a first surface and a second surface, and the second surface obliquely intersects with the first surface. The side surface of the inner plate body along the width direction close to the center beam is a third surface. In the unfolded state of the rotating shaft assembly, the third surface abuts against the first surface, and the front surface of the inner door panel is spliced ​​with the front surface of the center beam. In the folded state of the rotating shaft assembly, the inner plate body rotates toward the side close to the second surface.

[0010] In this embodiment, the first surface of the center beam can reliably achieve the stopping and limiting of the inner door panel.

[0011] In a possible embodiment, the center beam is provided with a plug hole extending along the length direction of the center beam. The inner door panel is also provided with a plug shaft connected to the inner panel body. The plug shaft is rotatably plugged into the plug hole to realize the rotatable connection between the inner door panel and the shaft hole of the center beam.

[0012] In this embodiment, the rotational connection between the inner door panel and the center beam can be achieved through the cooperation of the socket and the plug shaft, and the rotational cooperation of the socket and the plug shaft allows the inner door panel and the center beam to be closer, so that the two can fit together or have only a small gap, which is beneficial to the support of the flexible screen.

[0013] In a possible embodiment, the third surface of the inner plate body is provided with an inner groove formed by an inward concave, and the insertion shaft is at least partially located in the inner groove. The inner plate body includes a lateral protrusion protruding from the first surface, and the insertion hole is at least partially located in the lateral protrusion. The outer side surface of the lateral protrusion and the bottom surface of the inner groove are arc surfaces that match each other.

[0014] In this embodiment, the insertion shaft portion is embedded in the inner groove, so that the inner plate body and the middle beam can be closer to the ground, which is beneficial for using the middle beam to stop the inner plate body, and a gap-free abutment can be achieved between the two or the gap can be controlled to be smaller.

[0015] In a possible implementation, there are multiple side protrusions, which are spaced apart along the length direction of the center beam. There are multiple inner grooves and multiple insertion shafts, which are rotatably matched with the insertion holes on the multiple side protrusions.

[0016] In this embodiment, the inner door panel can be reliably connected to the two sides of the middle beam by arranging the insertion holes on the multiple side protrusions. When installing, the inner door panel is pushed in along the length direction of the middle beam until the insertion shaft is inserted into the insertion hole to complete the connection between the inner door panel and the middle beam, which is convenient and quick to install.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the outer door panel includes an outer panel body and a swing arm connected to the outer panel body, and the arc-shaped slide groove is provided on a side of the swing arm close to the inner door panel.

[0018] In this embodiment, the outer plate body and the swing arm can be integrally formed, or can be formed separately and then connected to each other.

[0019] In a possible implementation, a concave mounting groove is provided on the back surface of the outer plate body. The swing arm includes a connecting plate portion and a matching end, the connecting plate portion matches the mounting groove and is detachably connected to the outer plate body, and the arc-shaped sliding groove is provided at the matching end.

[0020] In this embodiment, a mounting groove is provided to accommodate the connecting plate portion, making full use of the space in the thickness direction of the outer door plate, which is conducive to the thinning design of the rotating shaft assembly. The detachable connection between the swing arm and the outer plate body facilitates the assembly of the rotating shaft assembly.

[0021] In a possible embodiment, the inner door panel includes a front surface and a back surface facing each other, and the side surface of the inner panel body close to the outer panel body along the width direction thereof is a fourth surface; the fourth surface and the back surface of the inner door panel are connected to form a V shape. The side surface of the outer panel body close to the inner door panel along the width direction thereof is provided with a concave V-shaped notch. In the folded state of the rotating shaft assembly, the front surface of the inner door panel and the front surface of the outer door panel are spliced, and the fourth surface and the back surface of the inner door panel are respectively matched with the two groove surfaces of the notch.

[0022] The structural setting of this embodiment allows the inner door panel to fit into the notch of the outer door panel after folding, making the two more closely combined, which is beneficial to reducing the gap between the two and improving the support effect on the flexible screen.

[0023] In one possible embodiment, the front surface of the inner door panel is an arc-shaped surface, so that the front surface of the inner door panel is connected in an arc transition between the front surface of the center beam and the front surface of the outer door panel to form a U-shaped support surface to form a U-shaped support for the flexible screen.

[0024] In this embodiment, the U-shaped support for the flexible screen can reduce the creases that appear on the flexible screen.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the rotating shaft assembly further includes sliding blocks respectively located on both sides of the middle beam, one end of the sliding block being rotatably connected to the middle beam and the other end being slidably connected to the outer door panel.

[0026] In this embodiment, by providing a slider, it is possible to ensure that the shaft assembly rotates with a single degree of freedom. Of course, in other embodiments, other structures may also be provided to limit the degree of freedom of the shaft assembly.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the middle beam includes a bottom beam and a cap beam, and the cap beam is detachably covered on a back side of the bottom beam. One end of the slider is rotatably disposed between the bottom beam and the cap beam.

[0028] In this embodiment, the detachable bottom beam and cover beam facilitate the rotation and installation of the sliding block.

[0029] In a possible implementation, during the process of folding the rotating shaft assembly from the unfolded state to the folded state, the rotation angle of the inner panel relative to the center beam is greater than the rotation angle of the outer door panel relative to the inner door panel.

[0030] In this embodiment, for the rotating shaft assembly that is rotatably connected in the form of inner solid and outer virtual (inner real axis rotationally cooperates, outer virtual axis rotationally cooperates), the non-equal angle design with larger inside and smaller outside can ensure that the rotating shaft assembly can be smoothly folded and unfolded and has a smaller support gap.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the inner panel body rotates at an angle of 48-53° relative to the center beam, and the outer door panel rotates at an angle of 42-37° relative to the inner door panel.

[0032] This embodiment provides a design range of two optional rotation angles, which can ensure smooth unfolding and folding of the shaft assembly and have a better supporting effect.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the inner panel body rotates at an angle of 50° relative to the center beam, and the outer door panel rotates at an angle of 40° relative to the inner door panel.

[0034] In this embodiment, by setting the two rotation angles to 50° and 40° respectively, it is possible to ensure that the rotating shaft assembly can be smoothly unfolded and folded, and has a better supporting effect.

[0035] In one possible embodiment, the radius of the axis of the inner panel body matching the axial hole of the center beam is smaller than the rotation radius of the outer door panel relative to the inner door panel. In the process of folding from the unfolded state to the folded state, the inner panel body rotates relative to the center beam before the outer door panel rotates relative to the inner door panel.

[0036] In this embodiment, the inner real axis of the rotating shaft assembly rotates first in rotation cooperation, and the outer virtual axis rotates later in rotation cooperation, which can provide a better folding operation feel.

[0037] In a second aspect, the present application also provides a foldable electronic device, which includes a flexible screen, the aforementioned hinge assembly and two middle frames, the two middle frames are respectively connected to two outer door panels. The flexible screen is stacked on one side of the front surface of the hinge assembly and the two middle frames.

[0038] The foldable electronic device in this embodiment adopts the aforementioned hinge assembly and also has the technical effects of the aforementioned hinge assembly, and its flexible screen can be reliably supported.

[0039] The foldable electronic device is an outward-foldable foldable mobile phone.

[0040] This embodiment provides an application form of the foldable electronic device as an outward-folding foldable mobile phone. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show certain embodiments of the present application and therefore should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For ordinary technicians in this field, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0042] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a foldable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A bottom view of a foldable electronic device (the flexible screen is hidden and not shown);

[0044] Figure 3 for Figure 2 An exploded view of a foldable electronic device;

[0045] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Another perspective view of a foldable electronic device;

[0046] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the shaft assembly of an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 6 for Figure 5A top view of a rotating shaft assembly;

[0048] Figure 7 for Figure 6 A top view of a rotating shaft assembly;

[0049] Figure 8 for Figure 7 An exploded view of a shaft assembly;

[0050] Fig. 9 for Figure 8 A partially expanded view of a shaft assembly;

[0051] Fig.10 for Figure 7 A cross-sectional view of the rotating shaft assembly along line AA;

[0052] Fig.11 for Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the shaft assembly after hiding the slider;

[0053] Fig.12 for Fig.11 A schematic diagram of a shaft assembly in an intermediate state between an unfolded state and a folded state;

[0054] Fig.13 for Fig.11 Schematic diagram of the shaft assembly in a folded state.

[0055] Description of main component symbols:

[0056] Foldable electronic device 100

[0057] Middle frame 110

[0058] Connection block 111

[0059] Flexible screen 120

[0060] Rotating shaft assembly 10

[0061] Zhongliang 11

[0062] Door panel assembly 12

[0063] Inner door panel 13

[0064] External door panel 14

[0065] Inner plate 15

[0066] Curved sliding tongue 16

[0067] Outer plate body 17

[0068] Swing arm 18

[0069] Connecting plate portion 19

[0070] Mating end 20

[0071] Plug shaft 21

[0072] Side protrusion 22

[0073] Slider 23

[0074] Bottom beam 24

[0075] Cap beam 25

[0076] Connection slot C1

[0077] Arc chute C2

[0078] Mounting slot C3

[0079] Inner groove C4

[0080] Slide slot C5

[0081] Missing slot C6

[0082] Gap f1

[0083] Socket K1

[0084] First surface P1

[0085] Second surface P2

[0086] The third surface P3

[0087] Fourth surface P4

[0088] Front S1

[0089] Back S2

[0090] Length direction X

[0091] Width direction Y

[0092] Thickness direction Z DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0093] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all of the embodiments.

[0094] 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 also be a centered element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may also be a centered element. When an element is considered to be "set on" another element, it may be directly set on the other element or there may also be a centered element. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only.

[0095] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art of the present application. The terms used herein in the specification of the present application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present application. The term "or / and" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items.

[0096] Some embodiments of the present application are described in detail. In the absence of conflict, the following embodiments and features of the embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0097] Example

[0098] Foldable electronic devices, such as some foldable mobile phones, tablet computers, smart wearable devices (such as smart watches), etc., are folded or unfolded through a hinge assembly.

[0099] Figure 1 and Figure 2 A foldable electronic device 100 is shown, which is specifically a foldable mobile phone. The foldable electronic device 100 mainly includes a flexible screen 120, a hinge assembly 10 and two middle frames 110. The two middle frames 110 are respectively connected to the two sides of the hinge assembly 10, and the flexible screen 120 covers the hinge assembly 10 and the two middle frames 110. Through the hinge assembly 10, the two middle frames 110 of the foldable electronic device 100 can be relatively unfolded or folded, and at the same time drive the flexible screen 120 to unfold or fold. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The foldable electronic device 100 is shown in an unfolded state.

[0100] In this embodiment, the flexible screen 120 is used to display images, videos, etc. The flexible screen 120 in this embodiment can be an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode or an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display screen, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display screen, a mini organic light-emitting diode (mini organic light-emitting diode) display screen, a micro organic light-emitting diode (microorganic light-emitting diode) display screen, a quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED) display screen, etc.

[0101] Other possible components of the foldable electronic device 100, such as a battery, a mainboard, a camera component, etc., can be arranged on the middle frame 110, and the specific stacking architecture can be selected or designed as needed.

[0102] Figure 1 and Figure 2 The foldable electronic device 100 shown is an outward-folding device, that is, the folded flexible screen 120 is located outside the two middle frames 110. For the outward-folding foldable electronic device 100, its hinge assembly 10 has a front side S1 and a back side S2 opposite to each other along the thickness direction Z, and the front surface of the hinge assembly 10 (referring to the surface facing the front side S1) is used to support the flexible screen 120.

[0103] In other embodiments, the foldable electronic device 100 may also be a device that can be folded twice or more. In this case, the foldable electronic device 100 may include two or more hinge assemblies 10 .

[0104] See also Figure 3 and Figure 4 In this embodiment, a protruding connection block 111 may be provided on one side of the middle frame 110 close to the shaft assembly 10, and correspondingly, the shaft assembly 10 may be provided with a connection groove C1 to cooperate with the connection block 111, thereby achieving the connection between the middle frame 110 and the shaft assembly 10. The number of the connection block 111 and the connection groove C1 may be multiple.

[0105] See also Figure 5-Figure 8 In this embodiment, the shaft assembly 10 includes a middle beam 11 and door panel assemblies 12 rotatably connected to both sides of the middle beam 11. The two middle frames 110 (see Figure 2) are respectively connected to the door panel assemblies 12 on both sides, so that the two middle frames 110 can be folded and unfolded relative to each other to realize the folding and unfolding of the hinge assembly 10, thereby realizing the folding and unfolding of the foldable electronic device 100.

[0106] The door panel assembly 12 includes an inner door panel 13 and an outer door panel 14. The inner door panel 13 is rotatably connected to the middle beam 11, and the outer door panel 14 is rotatably connected to the side of the inner door panel 13 away from the middle beam 11. The two middle frames 110 are respectively connected to the outer door panels 14 on both sides (see Figure 2 ).

[0107] In the unfolded state, the front surfaces of the middle beam 11, the inner door panel 13 and the outer door panel 14 of the hinge assembly 10 can jointly support the bending part of the flattened flexible screen 120, and the support here can be surface contact support or line contact support; in the folded state, the middle beam 11, the inner door panel 13 and the outer door panel 14 of the hinge assembly 10 can jointly support the bending part of the bent flexible screen 120.

[0108] In some known pivot assemblies, the inner door panel is connected to the center beam and the outer door panel by rotating through a double-rotating swing arm. In this pivot assembly, in order to make the inner door panel tightly spliced ​​between the outer door panel and the center beam in the folded state, there will be large gaps between the inner door panel and the center beam and the outer door panel in the unfolded state. This causes the pivot assembly to have two gaps on one side and four gaps on both sides, which greatly increases the risk of sharp impact on the flexible screen. In particular, the gap between the inner door panel and the center beam, which is very close to the center beam, will greatly affect the support effect of the flexible screen, and easily cause creases and shadows to appear on the flexible screen in the unfolded state. In addition, the center beam needs to be grooved to cooperate with the swing arm on the corresponding side of the inner door panel, which will have a greater impact on the strength of the center beam, and thus affect the overall strength of the pivot assembly.

[0109] See also Figure 8-Figure 10 In this embodiment, the inner door panel 13 includes an inner panel body 15 and an arc-shaped sliding tongue 16, and the arc-shaped sliding tongue 16 is connected to the inner panel body 15. The inner panel body 15 is used to support the flexible screen 120, and the arc-shaped sliding tongue 16 is used to rotate with the outer door panel 14. The outer door panel 14 is provided with an arc-shaped sliding groove C2. The inner panel body 15 is rotatably connected with the middle beam 11 through the shaft hole, and the arc-shaped sliding tongue 16 can be slidably matched with the arc-shaped sliding groove C2, so that the outer door panel 14 rotates and cooperates with the inner door panel 13 with the virtual axis defined by the arc-shaped sliding tongue 16 and the arc-shaped sliding groove C2 as the rotation axis. In this embodiment, the central axis of the circle where the arc-shaped sliding tongue 16 and the arc-shaped sliding groove C2 are located is the virtual axis.

[0110] The rotating shaft assembly 10 in this embodiment has the following technical effects by making the inner door panel 13 and the middle beam 11 form a rotational fit around a real axis in the form of an axis hole fit, and the inner door panel 13 and the outer door panel 14 form a rotational fit around a virtual axis in the form of an arc-shaped sliding tongue 16 and an arc-shaped sliding groove C2 fit, firstly, the middle beam 11 does not need to be provided with a groove for a rotational fit sliding tongue, and the structural strength of the middle beam 11 is easily guaranteed; secondly, the inner door panel 13 and the middle beam 11 are rotationally fit in the form of a real axis rather than a virtual axis, and the inner door panel 13 and the middle beam 11 can be arranged to abut against each other, reducing or directly eliminating the gap between the middle beam 11 and the inner door panel 13 in the unfolded state, improving the support capacity of the bend of the flexible screen 120, helping to reduce the crease light and shadow of the flexible screen 120, and reducing the risk of sharp impact of the flexible screen 120. The middle beam 11 and the inner door panel 13 that are closer together can also improve the resistance to the sudden impact of the flexible screen 120 in the folded state. In addition, in the unfolded state, the inner door panel 13 can be reliably stopped and limited by the center beam 11, reducing the risk of the rotating shaft assembly 10 and the flexible screen 120 being bent beyond the set angle and damaging the rotating shaft assembly 10 or the flexible screen 120.

[0111] In this embodiment, the center beam 11, the inner door panel 13 and the outer door panel 14 can all be long strip structures, and the length direction X of the center beam 11, the inner door panel 13 and the outer door panel 14, the rotation direction of the inner door panel 13 relative to the center beam 11, and the rotation direction of the outer door panel 14 relative to the inner door panel 13 are all parallel to each other.

[0112] The coverage of the length direction X of the middle beam 11, the inner door panel 13 and the outer door panel 14 can be equivalent to that of the foldable electronic device 100. Among them, the middle beam 11, the inner door panel 13 and the outer door panel 14 can all be a single structural member or a structure of multiple sections spliced ​​along the length direction X, which is not limited here.

[0113] In this embodiment, the number of the arc-shaped sliding tongues 16 can be set as required, for example Figure 8 As shown in FIG. 1 , there are four arc-shaped sliding tongues 16 , and the four arc-shaped sliding tongues 16 are sequentially spaced apart along the length direction X of the inner plate body 15 .

[0114] In other embodiments, the inner door panel 13 and the outer door panel 14 can also be composed of multiple sections that are discontinuous in the length direction X. For example, the inner door panel 13 and the outer door panel 14 both include two sections spaced apart at both ends of the center beam 11 in the length direction X. In this case, the two sections of the inner door panel 13 are respectively connected to the center beam 11 and the outer door panel 14.

[0115] Continue to see Figure 8-Figure 10 In this embodiment, the outer door panel 14 optionally includes an outer panel body 17 and a swing arm 18 connected to the outer panel body 17, and the arc-shaped slide groove C2 is opened on the side of the swing arm 18 close to the inner door panel 13. The number of the swing arms 18 can be set to be consistent with the number of the arc-shaped slide tongues 16, such as Figure 8 Four on a single side are shown.

[0116] Optionally, the back surface of the outer plate body 17 (i.e., the surface facing the back side S1) is provided with an inwardly concave mounting groove C3, the swing arm 18 includes a connecting plate portion 19 and a mating end 20, the connecting plate portion 19 is matched with the mounting groove C3 and is detachably connected to the outer plate body 17, and the arc-shaped slide groove C2 is provided at the mating end 20. The swing arm 18 and the outer plate body 17 are connected in a detachable manner, which can reduce the difficulty of processing and facilitate assembly.

[0117] Of course, in other embodiments, the swing arm 18 and the outer plate body 17 may also be integrally formed.

[0118] Main references Fig. 9 and Fig.10 In this embodiment, the side surface of the center beam 11 along the width direction Y of the center beam 11 includes a first surface P1 and a second surface P2, and the second surface P2 obliquely intersects with the first surface P1. In this embodiment, the first surface P1 is closer to the front surface of the center beam 11, and the second surface P2 is closer to the back surface of the center beam 11. The side surface of the inner plate body 15 along its width direction Y close to the center beam 11 is the third surface P3.

[0119] In the unfolded state of the rotating shaft assembly 10, the third surface P3 abuts against the first surface P1, and the front surface of the inner door panel 13 is aligned with the front surface of the center beam 11. In this way, the first surface P1 can reliably support the third surface P3, so that the rotating shaft assembly 10 is not easily rotated after being unfolded, and the rotating shaft assembly 10 is prevented from being deformed or damaged due to excessive flipping.

[0120] In the folded state of the rotating shaft assembly 10, the inner plate body 15 rotates toward the second surface P2. After being folded into place, the second surface P2 can be designed to limit the position of the rear surface of the inner plate body 15 to limit the folded state position of the rotating shaft assembly 10.

[0121] Main references Fig. 9 (See also Figure 7 ), in this embodiment, the middle beam 11 is provided with a plug hole K1 extending along the length direction X of the middle beam 11, and the inner door panel 13 is also provided with an insertion shaft 21, and the insertion shaft 21 is connected to the inner plate body 15. The insertion shaft 21 is rotatably plugged into the plug hole K1 to achieve the rotatable connection between the inner door panel 13 and the shaft hole of the middle beam 11. The number of the insertion shaft 21 and the plug hole K1 can be set as needed.

[0122] For example Figure 8 As shown in FIG. 1 , the single-side inner door panel 13 includes four insertion shafts 21 , and correspondingly, the center beam 11 has four insertion holes K1 . The insertion shafts 21 and the insertion holes K1 are circular in cross section. When the insertion shafts 21 are inserted into the insertion holes K1 , the inner door panel 13 is rotated to fit the center beam 11 .

[0123] In this embodiment, the third surface P3 of the inner plate body 15 is provided with an inner groove C4 formed inwardly, the insertion shaft 21 is at least partially located in the inner groove C4, the inner plate body 15 includes a side convex portion 22 protruding from the first surface P1, the insertion hole K1 is at least partially located in the side convex portion 22, and the outer side surface of the side convex portion 22 and the groove bottom surface of the inner groove C4 are mutually adapted arc surfaces. The inner groove C4 is provided inwardly, and the insertion shaft 21 is partially inserted into the inner groove C4, so that after the insertion shaft 21 and the insertion hole K1 are plugged and matched, the inner door panel 13 and the center beam 11 are close enough, which is conducive to reducing the gap between the inner door panel 13 and the center beam 11. Optionally, there are multiple side convex portions 22, and the multiple side convex portions 22 are arranged at intervals along the length direction X of the center beam 11, and there are multiple inner grooves C4 and multiple insertion shafts 21, respectively, and the multiple insertion shafts 21 are respectively rotatably matched with the insertion holes K1 on the multiple side convex portions 22. The inner door panel 13 can be rotatably hung on the side of the center beam 11 by matching the multiple side protrusions 22 with the multiple insertion shafts 21 .

[0124] See again Figure 7 and Figure 8 In this embodiment, the shaft assembly 10 further includes sliders 23 located on both sides of the middle beam 11, one end of the slider 23 is rotatably connected to the middle beam 11, and the other end is slidably connected to the outer door panel 14. Fig. 9 Optionally, the middle beam 11 includes a bottom beam 24 and a cover beam 25, the cover beam 25 is detachably covered on the back side S2 of the bottom beam 24, and one end of the slider 23 is rotatably disposed between the bottom beam 24 and the cover beam 25. By providing the slider 23, it is ensured that the folding and unfolding of the shaft assembly 10 has a single degree of freedom, and the shaft assembly 10 is ensured to be accurately folded and unfolded.

[0125] Optionally, the back surface of the outer plate body 17 of the outer door panel 14 is concave to form a sliding groove C5 to slide with the slider 23. In some embodiments, a damping component (not shown in the figure) can be arranged between the slider 23 and the bottom surface of the sliding groove C5, and the damping component can be used to abut against at least part of the middle beam 11 in the unfolded state, thereby generating a damping force, preventing the shaft assembly 10 from being over-expanded, and maintaining the stability of the shaft assembly 10 in the unfolded state, thereby improving the reliability of the shaft assembly 10. Since the outer door panel 14 and the inner door panel 13 in the rotating shaft assembly 10 in this embodiment adopt the form of an arc-shaped sliding tongue and an arc-shaped sliding groove to form a rotational fit around the virtual axis, there is no need to adopt the common connecting rod compensation scheme to provide a space for the flexible screen. The damping assembly can be directly arranged between the slider 23 and the bottom surface of the sliding groove C5. The area where the damping assembly is located does not need to consider the thickness of other structures (such as the compensation connecting rod required by some schemes). The damping assembly can use a thicker damping spring to obtain a better damping effect, so that the rotating shaft assembly 10 has a better feel when used, or has a larger thinning design space.

[0126] In this embodiment, see Fig.11 In this embodiment, in the unfolded state of the shaft assembly 10, the front surface of the middle beam 11 and the front surface of the inner door panel 13 are spliced ​​along the width direction Y. The splicing mentioned here can be complete contact without a gap, or there can be a small gap within the allowable range (such as less than 0.1mm). Such a setting is more conducive to reducing the crease light and shadow of the flexible screen and reducing the risk of sharp impact of the flexible screen 120. The closer middle beam 11 and inner door panel 13 can also improve the resistance to the sudden impact of the flexible screen 120 in the folded state. In addition, in the unfolded state, the inner door panel 13 can be reliably stopped and limited by the middle beam 11, reducing the risk of the shaft assembly 10 and the flexible screen 120 being bent beyond the set angle to damage the shaft assembly 10 or the flexible screen 120. The front surface of the outer door panel 14 and the front surface of the inner door panel 13 are separated to form a gap f1, and the gap f1 mentioned here is determined by the rotation connection in the form of a virtual axis.

[0127] See also Fig.13 In the folded state of the rotating shaft assembly 10, the front surfaces of the center beam 11, the inner door panel 13 and the outer door panel 14 of the rotating shaft assembly 10 jointly support the bending part of the flexible screen 120 after bending, and the front surface of the inner door panel 13 and the front surface of the outer door panel 14 are sequentially spliced ​​along the width direction Y. Optionally, the side surface of the inner plate body 15 close to the outer plate body 17 along the width direction Y is a fourth surface P4, and the fourth surface P4 and the back surface of the inner door panel 13 are connected to form a V shape. The side surface of the outer plate body 17 close to the inner door panel 13 along the width direction Y is provided with a concave V-shaped notch C6. In the folded state of the rotating shaft assembly 10, the front surface of the inner door panel 13 and the front surface of the outer door panel 14 are spliced, and the fourth surface P4 and the back surface of the inner door panel 13 are respectively matched with the two groove surfaces of the notch C6. Through this design, the outer door panel 14 and the inner door panel 13 can be assembled more tightly in the folded state, which is conducive to reliable support of the flexible screen 120.

[0128] In this embodiment, the front surface of the inner door panel 13 is an arc-shaped surface, so that the arc transition of the front surface of the inner door panel 13 is connected between the front surface of the central beam 11 and the front surface of the outer door panel 14, forming a U-shaped supporting surface, so as to support the flexible screen 120 into a U shape, which is beneficial to protecting the flexible screen 120.

[0129] See also Figure 11-13 In this embodiment, the two middle frames 110 of the foldable electronic device 100 need to rotate 90° respectively from the unfolded state to the folded state. To this end, during the process of folding the hinge assembly 10 from the unfolded state to the folded state, the sum of the rotation angle of the inner door panel 13 relative to the middle beam 11 and the rotation angle of the outer door panel 14 relative to the inner door panel 13 is 90°.

[0130] The present embodiment adopts a non-equal division method to design the two rotation angles. In the process of folding the shaft assembly 10 from the unfolded state to the folded state, the rotation angle of the inner plate body 15 relative to the center beam 11 is greater than the rotation angle of the outer door panel 14 relative to the inner door panel 13. Optionally, the rotation angle of the inner plate body 15 relative to the center beam 11 is set to 48-53° (such as 50°), and the rotation angle of the outer door panel 14 relative to the inner door panel 13 is set to 42-37° (such as 40°). In addition, in the present embodiment, the radius of the shaft (i.e., the plug shaft 21) of the inner plate body 15 and the shaft hole of the center beam 11 is smaller than the rotation radius of the outer door panel 14 relative to the inner door panel 13. In the process of folding from the unfolded state to the folded state, the rotation of the inner plate body 15 relative to the center beam 11 precedes the rotation of the outer door panel 14 relative to the inner door panel 13. Thus, during the folding process, the rotating shaft assembly 10 generally proceeds as follows: the inner door panel 13 and the outer door panel 14 are driven by the middle frame 110 to rotate to a larger angle (such as 50°) first, and then the inner door panel 13 is limited by the middle beam 11, and the outer door panel 14 rotates to a smaller angle (such as 40°) relative to the inner door panel 13 around the virtual axis of the arc-shaped sliding tongue 16 and the arc-shaped sliding groove C2 until the folded state. This non-uniform design form can improve the feel of the folding operation, and facilitate the front surfaces of the folded inner door panel 13, the middle beam 11, and the outer door panel 14 to be sufficiently close or directly spliced, which is conducive to improving the support capacity of the flexible screen 120.

[0131] Based on the above description, the hinge assembly 10 in the embodiment of the present application has a good supporting effect on the flexible screen through a rotating connection structure with a solid inside and a hollow outside, which is beneficial to reducing the creases of the flexible screen.

[0132] The above implementation modes are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the above preferred implementation modes, a person skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions of the present application may be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present application.

Claims

1. A rotating shaft assembly, characterized in that: include: Middle beam; Door panel assemblies respectively connected to both sides of the center beam; the door panel assembly comprises an inner door panel and an outer door panel, the inner door panel is rotatably connected to the center beam, and the outer door panel is rotatably connected to a side of the inner door panel away from the center beam; Among them, the inner door panel includes an inner panel body and an arc-shaped sliding tongue, and the arc-shaped sliding tongue is connected to the inner panel body; the outer door panel is provided with an arc-shaped sliding groove; the inner panel body is rotatably connected to the center beam through an axial hole, and the arc-shaped sliding tongue can be slidably matched with the arc-shaped sliding groove, so that the outer door panel can be rotatably matched with the inner door panel with the virtual axis defined by the arc-shaped sliding tongue and the arc-shaped sliding groove as the rotating axis.

2. The shaft assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hinge assembly has a front side and a back side facing each other in the thickness direction, and the front side of the hinge assembly is used to support a flexible screen of a foldable electronic device; the hinge assembly has a folded state and an unfolded state; In the unfolded state, the central beam of the rotating shaft assembly, the front surfaces of the inner door panel and the outer door panel jointly support the bending part of the flattened flexible screen, and the front surface of the central beam and the front surface of the inner door panel are spliced ​​in the width direction, and the front surface of the outer door panel and the front surface of the inner door panel are spaced to form a gap; In the folded state, the center beam of the shaft assembly, the front surfaces of the inner door panel and the outer door panel jointly support the bending point of the bent flexible screen, and the front surface of the inner door panel and the front surface of the outer door panel are sequentially spliced ​​along the width direction.

3. The shaft assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The side surface of the middle beam along the width direction of the middle beam includes a first surface and a second surface, and the second surface obliquely intersects with the first surface; The side surface of the inner plate body along the width direction close to the middle beam is the third surface; In the unfolded state of the rotating shaft assembly, the third surface abuts against the first surface, and the front surface of the inner door panel is joined with the front surface of the center beam; In the folded state of the rotating shaft assembly, the inner plate body rotates toward the side close to the second surface.

4. The shaft assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that: The middle beam is provided with an insertion hole extending along the length direction of the middle beam; The inner door panel is also provided with an insertion shaft, and the insertion shaft is connected to the inner panel body; The insertion shaft can be rotatably inserted and matched with the insertion hole to realize the rotational connection between the inner door panel and the shaft hole of the center beam.

5. The shaft assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that: The third surface of the inner plate body is provided with an inner groove formed by an inward concave shape, and the insertion shaft is at least partially located in the inner groove; The inner plate body comprises a side protrusion protruding from the first surface, and the insertion hole is at least partially located on the side protrusion; The outer side surface of the side protrusion and the bottom surface of the inner groove are arc surfaces that match each other.

6. The shaft assembly according to claim 5, characterized in that: There are a plurality of side protrusions, and the plurality of side protrusions are arranged at intervals along the length direction of the middle beam; There are a plurality of inner grooves and a plurality of insertion shafts, and the plurality of insertion shafts are rotatably matched with the insertion holes on the plurality of side protrusions.

7. The shaft assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer door panel comprises an outer panel body and a swing arm connected to the outer panel body, and the arc-shaped slide groove is arranged on a side of the swing arm close to the inner door panel.

8. The shaft assembly according to claim 7, characterized in that: The back surface of the outer plate body is provided with a concave mounting groove; The swing arm includes a connecting plate portion and a mating end, the connecting plate portion is mated with the mounting groove and is detachably connected to the outer plate body, and the arc-shaped sliding groove is arranged at the mating end.

9. The shaft assembly according to claim 7, characterized in that: The inner door panel comprises a front surface and a back surface facing each other, and the side surface of the inner panel body along the width direction thereof close to the outer panel body is a fourth surface; the fourth surface and the back surface of the inner door panel are connected to form a V shape; The outer plate body is provided with a V-shaped notch on the side of the outer plate body close to the inner door plate along the width direction thereof; In the folded state of the rotating shaft assembly, the front surface of the inner door panel and the front surface of the outer door panel are joined together, and the fourth surface and the back surface of the inner door panel are respectively matched with the two groove surfaces of the notch.

10. The shaft assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The front surface of the inner door panel is an arc-shaped surface, so that the front surface of the inner door panel is connected in an arc transition between the front surface of the center beam and the front surface of the outer door panel to form a U-shaped supporting surface to form a U-shaped support for the flexible screen.

11. The shaft assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating shaft assembly also includes sliding blocks respectively located on both sides of the middle beam; One end of the slider is rotatably connected to the center beam, and the other end is slidably connected to the outer door panel.

12. The shaft assembly according to claim 11, characterized in that: The middle beam comprises a bottom beam and a cap beam, and the cap beam is detachably covered on the back side of the bottom beam; One end of the sliding block is rotatably arranged between the bottom beam and the cap beam.

13. The shaft assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: During the process of folding the rotating shaft assembly from the unfolded state to the folded state, the rotation angle of the inner panel relative to the center beam is greater than the rotation angle of the outer door panel relative to the inner door panel.

14. The shaft assembly according to claim 13, characterized in that: The inner panel body rotates at an angle of 48-53° relative to the center beam, and the outer door panel rotates at an angle of 42-37° relative to the inner door panel.

15. The shaft assembly according to claim 13, characterized in that: The radius of the axis of the inner plate body that cooperates with the axis hole of the center beam is smaller than the rotation radius of the outer door panel relative to the inner door panel. During folding from the unfolded state to the folded state, the inner plate body rotates relative to the center beam before the outer door panel rotates relative to the inner door panel.

16. A foldable electronic device, characterized in that: include: The shaft assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 15; Two middle frames, the two middle frames are respectively connected to the two outer door panels; A flexible screen is stacked on one side of the front surface of the hinge assembly and the two middle frames.

17. The foldable electronic device according to claim 16, characterized in that: The foldable electronic device is an outward-foldable foldable mobile phone.

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