Supporting device and folding electronic equipment
By using support devices composed of inner and outer support plates and support members in folding electronic devices, the problems of complex and overlapping parts of the multi-link shaft structure are solved, and the smoothing and comfortable use of the flexible display is achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202311558806.8
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-11-22
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-23
AI Technical Summary
In existing folding electronic devices, the multi-link shaft has a complex structure and high cost, and there are easy overlapping parts when the screen is spread out, resulting in discomfort when the user touches it.
The support device consisting of an inner support plate, an outer support plate and a plurality of support members is elastically deformed, so that the inner support plate and the outer support plate can rotate arbitrarily in the second direction to meet different bending and folding needs.
The support device has a wide application range, the flexible display is flat when flat, and the user feels smooth when touched, which improves the comfort in use.
Smart Images
Figure CN120027127A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a supporting device and a foldable electronic device having the supporting device, and in particular to a supporting device used for bending a flexible display and a foldable electronic device having the supporting device. Background Art
[0002] In order to make electronic devices with large screens (such as mobile phones) easy to carry, electronic devices are usually designed to be foldable, and a flexible display is used as the screen of the electronic device. Existing foldable electronic devices usually place a support platform behind each side of the screen, and the support platform can be driven by a multi-link shaft to rotate relative to each other, thereby driving the two sides of the screen to flatten or overlap. However, the structure of the multi-link shaft is complex and requires a high degree of customization, which makes assembly difficult and the cost relatively high. In addition, the multi-link shaft is prone to partial overlap when the screen is flattened, causing the user to feel the height difference at the overlap when touching the screen, which makes it uncomfortable to use. Summary of the invention
[0003] The object of the present invention is to provide a support device that can solve at least one of the above problems.
[0004] The support device of the present invention is suitable for a flexible display that can be bent. The flexible display extends along a first direction and can be flattened or bent in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The support device includes an inner support plate, an outer support plate and a plurality of support members.
[0005] The inner support plate can be bent and adhered to one side of the flexible display.
[0006] The outer supporting plate is bendable and is disposed outside a side of the inner supporting plate away from the flexible display and is spaced apart from the inner supporting plate.
[0007] The support members are disposed between the inner support plate and the outer support plate and are spaced apart along the second direction. Each support member has a first end connected to the inner support plate, a second end connected to the outer support plate, and a main body having two opposite sides respectively connected to the first end and the second end.
[0008] Among them, when the supporting device rotates with the bending line parallel to the first direction as the axis and the two opposite sides of the supporting device in the second direction are brought closer to each other, the first end and the second end of the supporting member will be deformed respectively during the process of bending the flexible display, and the inclination degree of the main body of the supporting member relative to the inner supporting plate and the outer supporting plate will change, thereby causing the outer supporting plate and the inner supporting plate to bend.
[0009] In the support device described in the present invention, the outer support plate and the inner support plate have different curvatures.
[0010] In the support device described in the present invention, the thickness of the first end of the support member in the second direction is smaller than the thickness of the main body of the support member in the second direction, so that during the rotation of the support device, the first end of the support member will deform before the main body of the support member.
[0011] In the support device described in the present invention, the thickness of the second end of the support member in the second direction is smaller than the thickness of the main body of the support member in the second direction, so that during the rotation of the support device, the second end of the support member will deform before the main body of the support member.
[0012] In the support device of the present invention, the first end and the second end of the support member can be elastically deformed, so that during the rotation of the support device, the first end and the second end of the support member can be deformed.
[0013] In the support device of the present invention, the outer support plate has two side support parts arranged side by side in the second direction and connected to each other in an integral manner, and the distance between each side support part and the inner support plate increases gradually from the direction adjacent to the bending line to the direction away from the bending line.
[0014] Another object of the present invention is to provide a foldable electronic device that can solve at least one of the aforementioned problems.
[0015] The foldable electronic device of the present invention comprises a bendable flexible display, a housing unit and the aforementioned supporting device.
[0016] The flexible display extends along a first direction and can be flattened or bent in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.
[0017] The housing unit includes two housings arranged side by side in the second direction. Each housing is recessed in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction along a side parallel to the first direction and the second direction to form an accommodation space. The accommodation spaces of the housings are interconnected and the flexible display is flatly placed therein.
[0018] The supporting device is located between the flexible display and the housing unit and is disposed in the accommodating space of the housing.
[0019] Among them, when at least one of the shells is subjected to force and changes from a state in which the shells are arranged in parallel in the second direction to a state in which the shells overlap in the third direction, at least one of the shells will apply force to the outer support plate, causing the outer support plate to rotate around the bending line as the axis so that the two opposite sides of the supporting device in the second direction are brought closer to each other, and the flexible display is bent.
[0020] In the foldable electronic device of the present invention, each of the support members further has a through hole. The through hole of each of the support members extends along the second direction and passes through two opposite surfaces of the support member.
[0021] In the foldable electronic device of the present invention, the through hole of each of the supporting members is formed at the first end portion and at the connection between the main body portion and the first end portion.
[0022] The beneficial effect of the present invention is that: through the deformation characteristics of the first end and the second end of the support member, the inner support plate and the outer support plate can be rotated arbitrarily in the second direction, so that the support device can be applied to the flexible display with different bending and folding requirements, and the application range is wide. On the other hand, by the inner support plate being attached to the part of the flexible display that will be bent, the flexible display can be flat when flattened, so that the user feels smooth when touching, thereby improving the comfort of use. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a foldable electronic device of the present invention in a state of being unfolded for use;
[0024] Figure 2 is corresponding to Figure 1 3D exploded view of
[0025] Figure 3 is along Figure 2 The enlarged three-dimensional cross-sectional view obtained along line III-III in the figure illustrates the internal details of the support device of the embodiment;
[0026] Figure 4 It corresponds to Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of
[0027] Figure 5 is corresponding to Figure 4 An enlarged view of the circled area A;
[0028] Figure 6 is a three-dimensional diagram illustrating an implementation mode of the embodiment in a state of being folded in half and stored;
[0029] Figure 7 It corresponds to Figure 6 A cross-sectional view of
[0030] Figure 8 is corresponding to Figure 7 Enlarged view of circled area B. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0031] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.
[0032] See also Figure 1 and Figure 6 , is an embodiment of a foldable electronic device 100 of the present invention. The foldable electronic device 100 is, for example, a mobile phone, a tablet, or a laptop computer, but is not limited thereto, and is provided with components such as electronic components and wires not shown in the figure. The foldable electronic device 100 can be unfolded for use or folded in half for storage. In this embodiment, the foldable electronic device 100 is exemplified by a foldable electronic device 100 folded in half left and right, but the foldable electronic device 100 can also be a foldable electronic device 100 folded in half front and back, and is not limited to a specific folding direction.
[0033] See also Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 The foldable electronic device 100 includes a flexible display 1 that can be bent, a housing unit 2, two panels 3 and a supporting device 4. The flexible display 1 is in the form of a thin plate, such as an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel or electronic paper, but not limited thereto. Specifically, the flexible display 1 extends along a first direction X and can be flattened or bent in a second direction Y that is perpendicular to the first direction X. That is, when the foldable electronic device 100 is unfolded for use, the flexible display 1 appears as follows: Figure 1 When the foldable electronic device 100 is folded in half along an imaginary bending line L parallel to the first direction X and stored, the flexible display 1 appears as shown in the flattened state. Figure 7 The bent state shown in the figure makes two sides of the flexible display 1 (the left and right sides are used as examples in the figure) overlap in a third direction Z that is perpendicular to the first direction X and the second direction Y.
[0034] See also Figure 1 , Figure 2 The housing unit 2 includes two housings 21 arranged side by side in the second direction Y. Each housing 21 is similar to a rectangular parallelepiped but is not limited thereto. Each housing 21 is parallel to the first direction X and the second direction Y along a surface (i.e. Figure 1 , Figure 2The top surface of each of the shells 21 is recessed in the third direction Z to form a receiving space 211. The adjacent sides of the receiving spaces 211 of the shells 21 are connected to each other and the flexible display 1 is flatly placed therein. The plate 3 is, for example, a rectangular hard plastic plate or a metal plate but is not limited thereto, and is respectively installed in the receiving space 211. The plate 3 is respectively flatly attached to the portion of the flexible display 1 that will not be bent (i.e. Figure 1 , Figure 2 The left and right sides of the flexible display 1 are formed so that only the middle part of the flexible display 1 can be bent. The adjacent sides of the plate 3 are each recessed in the second direction Y in a direction away from each other to form a flat cable outlet 31 through which a power supply line (not shown) passes.
[0035] See also Figures 1 to 4 , the support device 4 is installed between the panels 3, and the two sides of the support device 4 are respectively located in the accommodating space 211. That is to say, the support device 4 is aligned with the portion of the flexible display 1 that will be bent (i.e., the middle of the flexible display 1). The support device 4 includes a bendable inner support plate 41, a bendable outer support plate 42, and a plurality of support members 43. The inner support plate 41 is in the shape of a thin plate (sheet) and is attached to the side of the flexible display 1 facing the bottom wall of the accommodating space 211. In this embodiment, the side of the inner support plate 41 facing the flexible display 1 is flush with the side of the panel 3 facing the flexible display 1, so that the flexible display 1 does not give the user a sense of height difference when being touched.
[0036] The outer support plate 42 is also in the shape of a thin plate. The outer support plate 42 is disposed outside the side of the inner support plate 41 away from the flexible display 1 (i.e., the outer support plate 42 is located between the inner support plate 41 and the housing unit 2), and is spaced apart from the inner support plate 41. In this embodiment, the left and right sides of the outer support plate 42 are respectively connected to the adjacent side of the plate 3.
[0037] See also Figures 2 to 5 The support members 43 are disposed between the inner support plate 41 and the outer support plate 42 and are spaced apart along the second direction Y, so that the support device 4 has support in the third direction Z. Specifically, each support member 43 has a first end 431 connected to the inner support plate 41, a second end 432 connected to the outer support plate 42, and a main body 433 whose two opposite sides are respectively connected to the first end 431 and the second end 432. Figure 3As shown, in this embodiment, the support member 43 is in the form of a long thin sheet and extends along the first direction X and the third direction Z, but the support member 43 can also be a columnar structure extending along the third direction Z (not shown), not limited to the above description.
[0038] See also Figure 1 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 7 and Figure 8 , the housing 21 of the foldable electronic device 100 can be subjected to an inward force, so that the foldable electronic device 100 is Figure 4 The expanded state shown is transformed into Figure 7 The folded and stored state shown in the figure. When at least one of the shells 21 is subjected to force and the state in which the shells 21 are arranged in parallel in the second direction Y is changed to the state in which the shells 21 overlap in the third direction Z, at least one of the shells 21 will apply force to the outer support plate 42 to rotate the support device 4 with the bending line L as the axis. When the support device 4 rotates with the bending line L as the axis to bring the two opposite sides of the support device 4 in the second direction Y closer to each other, the first end 431 and the second end 432 of the support member 43 will be deformed respectively during the bending process of the flexible display 1, so that the inclination degree of the main body 433 of the support member 43 relative to the inner support plate 41 and the outer support plate 42 changes, thereby causing the outer support plate 42 and the inner support plate 41 to bend, and the curvature of the outer support plate 42 is different from that of the inner support plate 41. In this way, when the foldable electronic device 100 is transformed from an unfolded state to a folded state, the flexible display 1, the inner support plate 41 and the outer support plate 42 are bent into curved surfaces at the middle of the second direction Y, so that the two sides of the flexible display 1, the inner support plate 41 and the outer support plate 42 overlap. Figure 7 As shown, the support members 43 are arranged at intervals along a U-shaped curve (not shown) in the second direction Y and the third direction Z.
[0039] See also Figure 4 and Figure 5In this embodiment, the thickness of the first end portion 431 of the support member 43 in the second direction Y is smaller than the thickness of the main body 433 of the support member 43 in the second direction Y, that is, the first end portion 431 of the support member 43 is a necking structure of the support member 43. In this way, when the support member 43 is subjected to force, the first end portion 431 of the support member 43 will deform first compared to the main body 433 of the support member 43, thereby changing the inclination degree of the main body 433 of the support member 43 relative to the inner support plate 41. Similarly, the thickness of the second end portion 432 of the support member 43 in the second direction Y is also smaller than the thickness of the main body 433 of the support member 43 in the second direction Y, that is, the second end portion 432 of the support member 43 is also a necking structure of the support member 43. In this way, when the support member 43 is subjected to force, the second end portion 432 of the support member 43 will also deform before the main body 433 of the support member 43, thereby changing the inclination degree of the main body 433 of the support member 43 relative to the outer support plate 42. However, in other embodiments, the first end 431 and the second end 432 of the support member 43 can also be designed to be the same thickness as the main body 433 in the second direction Y, and can be elastically deformed through the material properties of the first end 431 and the second end 432 of the support member 43 (for example, the material of the support member 43 is rubber), so that when the support member 43 is subjected to force, the first end 431 and the second end 432 of the support member 43 can be deformed, so that the outer support plate 42 and the inner support plate 41 can be bent, and the manner in which the first end 431 and the second end 432 of the support member 43 are deformed is not limited to the above description.
[0040] See also Figure 1 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 7 and Figure 8 Preferably, the outer support plate 42 has two side support portions 421 which are arranged side by side in the second direction Y and are integrally connected to each other. The side support portions 421 are respectively arranged in the accommodating space 211 of the shell 21. Among them, one of the side support portions 421 is provided for several of the support members 43, and the other side support portion 421 is provided for the remaining support members 43. In addition, the distance between the side support portion 421 and the inner support plate 41 gradually increases from the position adjacent to the bending line L (i.e., the position where the side support portions 421 are connected) toward the direction away from the bending line L. In this way, when the side of the side support portions 421 that are away from each other is in a state of being inclined relative to the inner wall of the shell 21 (see Figure 4 ) is transformed into a state parallel to the inner wall of the housing 21 (see Figure 7), so that the outer support plate 42 appears as follows Figure 7 When the inner support plate 41 is in the U-shape shown in FIG. Figure 7 The water drop shape shown is to prevent the flexible display 1 from being damaged due to excessive bending.
[0041] See also Figures 2 to 5 Preferably, each of the support members 43 also has a through hole 434 (see Figure 5 The through hole 434 of each support member 43 extends along the second direction Y and passes through two opposite surfaces (i.e. Figure 5 The through hole 434 of each support member 43 is formed at the first end 431 and at the connection between the main body 433 and the first end 431, so that the wire passing through the through hole 434 is less stretched when the support device 4 is bent. Figure 3 , Figure 5 As shown, in this embodiment, the through hole 434 of each support member 43 is formed at the middle section of the first end 431 in the first direction X, but the through hole 434 can also be formed at other locations of the support member 43 in the first direction X, and is not limited to a specific position.
[0042] In summary, the first end 431 and the second end 432 of the support member 43 can be deformed, so that the inner support plate 41 and the outer support plate 42 can be rotated arbitrarily in the second direction Y, so that the support device 4 can be applied to the flexible display 1 with different bending and folding requirements, and has a wide range of applications. On the other hand, by having the inner support plate 41 attached to the part of the flexible display 1 that will be bent, the flexible display 1 can be flat when flattened, so that the user feels smooth when touching it, thereby improving the comfort of use, and thus the purpose of the present invention can be achieved.
Claims
1. A support device, suitable for a flexible display capable of bending, wherein the flexible display extends along a first direction and can be flattened or bent in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; Features: The supporting device comprises: An inner support plate, capable of bending and being attached to one side of the flexible display; An outer support plate, which is bendable and disposed outside a side of the inner support plate away from the flexible display and spaced apart from the inner support plate; and A plurality of support members are disposed between the inner support plate and the outer support plate and are spaced apart along the second direction, each of the support members having a first end connected to the inner support plate, a second end connected to the outer support plate, and a main body having two opposite sides respectively connected to the first end and the second end. Among them, when the supporting device rotates with the bending line parallel to the first direction as the axis and the two opposite sides of the supporting device in the second direction are brought closer to each other, the first end and the second end of the supporting member will be deformed respectively during the process of bending the flexible display, so that the inclination degree of the main body of the supporting member relative to the inner supporting plate and the outer supporting plate changes, thereby causing the outer supporting plate and the inner supporting plate to bend.
2. The support device according to claim 1, Features: The outer support plate and the inner support plate have different curvatures.
3. The support device according to claim 1, Features: The thickness of the first end of the support member in the second direction is smaller than the thickness of the main body of the support member in the second direction, so that during the rotation of the support device, the first end of the support member will deform before the main body of the support member.
4. The support device according to claim 1, Features: The thickness of the second end of the support member in the second direction is smaller than the thickness of the main body of the support member in the second direction, so that during the rotation of the support device, the second end of the support member will deform before the main body of the support member.
5. The support device according to claim 1, Features: The first end and the second end of the support member can be elastically deformed, so that during the rotation of the support device, the first end and the second end of the support member can be deformed.
6. The support device according to claim 2, Features: The outer support plate has two side support portions which are arranged in parallel in the second direction and are integrally connected to each other. The distance between each side support portion and the inner support plate increases gradually from a position adjacent to the bending line toward a direction away from the bending line.
7. A foldable electronic device, comprising: A bendable flexible display extending in a first direction and capable of being flattened or bent in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; A housing unit, comprising two shells arranged in parallel in the second direction, each of the shells is recessed in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction along a side parallel to the first direction and the second direction to form an accommodation space, the accommodation spaces of the shells are interconnected and the flexible display is flatly placed therein; and The supporting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is located between the flexible display and the housing unit and is arranged in the accommodating space of the housing, in, When force is applied to at least one of the shells to transform the state in which the shells are arranged in parallel in the second direction into the state in which the shells overlap in the third direction, at least one of the shells will apply force to the outer support plate, causing the outer support plate to rotate around the bending line as the axis so that the two opposite sides of the supporting device in the second direction are brought closer to each other and the flexible display is bent.
8. The foldable electronic device according to claim 7, Features: Each of the support members further has a through hole, and the through hole of each of the support members extends along the second direction and penetrates through two opposite surfaces of the support member.
9. The foldable electronic device according to claim 8, Features: The through hole of each supporting member is formed at the first end portion and at the connection between the main body portion and the first end portion.