Hinge mechanism and electronic device

Abstract

The invention discloses a hinge mechanism and electronic equipment, and belongs to the field of electronic equipment. The hinge mechanism comprises a base, a floating plate, shell connecting pieces and linkage swing arms, the shell connecting pieces are arranged on the two opposite sides of the base, the linkage swing arms are arranged between any shell connecting piece and the base, one end of each linkage swing arm is rotationally connected with the base, and the other end of each linkage swing arm is in sliding fit with the corresponding shell connecting piece; the floating plate is located on the side, facing the display screen, of the base, the linkage swing arm is matched with the floating plate so as to drive the floating plate to move relative to the base in the process that the linkage swing arm rotates relative to the base, and the floating plate is used for supporting the display screen when the hinge mechanism is in the unfolded state; when the hinge mechanism is in the folded state, the distance between the surface of the side, away from the floating plate, of the base and the floating plate is a first distance, when the hinge mechanism is in the folded state, the distance between the surface of the base and the floating plate is a second distance, and the second distance is smaller than the first distance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the technical field of electronic devices, and particularly relates to a hinge mechanism and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] Due to having both a large display area and strong portability, folding-screen mobile phones are becoming increasingly popular among users. The hinge mechanism is a device used to provide folding and unfolding capabilities in a folding-screen mobile phone, and two adjacent housings in an electronic device are rotatably connected through the hinge mechanism.

[0003] Currently, in order to increase the accommodation space for the display screen, the swing arm in the hinge mechanism usually uses a bushing to rotatably connect with the base, so that the rotation axis of the swing arm is located above the base, and the rotation angle of the swing arm can be greater than 90°. Furthermore, when the hinge mechanism is in the folded state, the bases on both sides of the swing arm can form a flared structure, and the flare faces the base, so as to provide a relatively large accommodation space for the bent and folded part of the display screen.

[0004] However, in the case of adopting the above technical solution, the screen accommodation space of the electronic device is still relatively limited, and there is still a risk that the display screen is squeezed, which has an adverse impact on the service life of the display screen. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the embodiments of this application is to provide a hinge mechanism and an electronic device to solve the problem that the current hinge mechanism has relatively low reliability.

[0006] In a first aspect, the embodiments of this application provide a hinge mechanism, which includes a base, a floating plate, a housing connecting member, and a linkage swing arm. Among them, The housing connecting members are provided on both opposite sides of the base, and a linkage swing arm is provided between any one of the housing connecting members and the base. One end of each linkage swing arm is rotatably connected to the base, and the other end of each linkage swing arm is slidably matched with the housing connecting member; The floating plate is located on the side of the base facing the display screen. The linkage swing arm cooperates with the floating plate to drive the floating plate to move relative to the base during the rotation of the linkage swing arm relative to the base. Among them, When the hinge mechanism is in the unfolded state, the floating plate is used to support the display screen, and the distance between the surface of the base facing away from the floating plate and the floating plate is a first distance. When the hinge mechanism is in the folded state, the distance between the surface of the base and the floating plate is a second distance, and the second distance is less than the first distance.

[0007] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, which includes a housing, a display screen, and the above hinge mechanism. The two housings are rotatably connected through the hinge mechanism, and the display screen is disposed on one side of the housing.

[0008] An embodiment of the present application discloses a hinge mechanism. A linkage swing arm is provided between any housing connecting member and the base. Each linkage swing arm is rotatably connected to the base, and each linkage swing arm is slidably engaged with the housing connecting member. The linkage swing arm is used to cooperate with a floating plate disposed on the side of the base facing the display screen, so that during the rotation of the linkage swing arm relative to the base, the floating plate is driven to move relative to the base. Thus, when the hinge mechanism is in the unfolded state, the floating plate can support the display screen, and the distance between the surface of the base facing away from the floating plate and the floating plate is a first distance. Correspondingly, when the linkage swing arm rotates relative to the base, the hinge mechanism can be switched from the unfolded state to the folded state. In this case, the floating plate is driven by the linkage swing arm and moves relative to the base, so that the distance between the surface of the base facing away from the floating plate and the floating plate is switched to a second distance, and the second distance is smaller than the first distance. This makes the distance between the floating plate and the base smaller when the hinge mechanism is in the folded state, so that the accommodating space on the side of the floating plate facing away from the base is relatively larger. In this case, the space inside the hinge mechanism in the folded state for accommodating the display screen is relatively larger, thereby reducing the risk of the display screen being squeezed during the folding process and improving the service life of the display screen. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a part of the hinge mechanism disclosed in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 2 is an exploded schematic diagram of a part of the hinge mechanism disclosed in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the hinge mechanism including an eccentric driving member disclosed in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the hinge mechanism including a floating plate disclosed in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 5 is Figure 4 a partial enlarged view of; Figure 6 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the hinge mechanism disclosed in an embodiment of the present application in the folded state; Figure 7 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the hinge mechanism disclosed in an embodiment of the present application in the unfolded state; Figure 8 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another position of the hinge mechanism disclosed in an embodiment of the present application in the folded state; Figure 9It is a schematic cross-sectional view of another position of the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application in the deployed state; Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the cooperation between the synchronizing member and the linkage swing arm in the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application; Figure 11 It is a schematic diagram of a partial structure including a synchronizing member in the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application; Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the linkage swing arm in the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application; Figure 13 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application in the folded state; Figure 14 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application in the deployed state; Figure 15 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application; Figure 16 It is an exploded schematic diagram of the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application; Figure 17 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic device disclosed in the embodiment of the present application.

[0010] The description of the drawings is as follows: 1 - hinge mechanism, 2 - housing, 3 - display screen, 31 - first display area, 32 - second display area, 33 - third display area, 100 - base, 110 - avoidance groove, 210 - floating plate, 220 - fitting, 221 - track groove, 310 - connecting swing arm, 311 - first arc connecting part, 312 - second arc connecting part, 320 - linkage swing arm, 320a - first arm body, 320b - second arm body, 321 - rotating part, 322 - sliding part, 323 - spiral groove, 331 - rotating shaft, 332 - eccentric driving part, 340 - synchronizing member, 341 - translation part, 342 - synchronizing pin, 350 - elastic pushing part, 361 - guiding shaft, 362 - stepped part, 371 - cam part, 372 - elastic damping part, 373 - bracket, 380 - snap ring, 400 - housing connecting piece, 510 - screen support plate. Detailed implementation manners

[0011] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0012] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, rather than to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first", "second", etc. are usually of the same category, and the number of objects is not limited. For example, the first object can be one or multiple. In addition, "and / or" in the specification and claims means at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally means that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0013] As Figures 1 - 16 shown, an embodiment of the present application discloses a hinge mechanism, which can be applied to an electronic device to enable the electronic device to have the ability to fold and unfold, so that the electronic device is a foldable electronic device, taking into account portability and a large display area. The hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application includes a base 100, a floating plate 210, a housing connector 400, and a linkage swing arm 320. Of course, the hinge mechanism may also include other mechanisms such as a connecting swing arm 310 and a device providing a damping effect.

[0014] Among them, the base 100 is a basic device in the hinge mechanism, and devices such as the floating plate 210, the connecting swing arm 310, and the linkage swing arm 320 can be directly or indirectly mounted on the base 100. Both the connecting swing arm 310 and the linkage swing arm 320 are used to provide a connection function for the base 100 and the housing connector 400. Specifically, in the embodiment of the present application, housing connectors 400 are provided on both opposite sides of the base 100 so that each housing connector 400 can be respectively connected to the corresponding housing in the electronic device, so that under the action of the hinge mechanism, the adjacent two housings have the ability to rotate relative to each other to switch between the folded state and the unfolded state.

[0015] More specifically, a connecting swing arm 310 and a linkage swing arm 320 are provided between any housing connecting member 400 and the housing. Of course, since the functions provided by the connecting swing arm 310 and the linkage swing arm 320 are not exactly the same, the specific assembly methods of the two are also different. One end of each connecting swing arm 310 and each linkage swing arm 320 is rotatably connected to the base 100. At the same time, the other end of each connecting swing arm 310 is also rotatably connected to the housing connecting member 400, while the other end of each linkage swing arm 320 is in sliding fit with the housing connecting member 400.

[0016] Of course, the reason for the above situation is that the rotation axes formed by the connecting swing arm 310 and the linkage swing arm 320 with the base 100 are not collinear. Among them, the connecting swing arm 310 is rotatably connected to the base 100 by an arc-shaped connecting structure such as a bearing bush, so that the rotation axis between the connecting swing arm 310 and the base 100 is not located on the base 100. This enables the connecting swing arm 310 to have a relative rotation range of more than 90° with the base 100. Furthermore, when the hinge mechanism is in the folded state, a flared structure can be formed between the connecting swing arms 310 on the opposite sides of the base 100 to provide a relatively larger accommodation space for the display screen. For the linkage swing arm 320, its relative rotation range with the base 100 is usually about 90°, generally 90°. At the same time, in the distribution direction of the linkage swing arms 320 on the opposite sides of the base 100, or rather, in the width direction of the hinge mechanism, relative to the rotation axis between the connecting swing arm 310 and the base 100, since the rotation axis between the linkage swing arm 320 and the base 100 is arranged more outward, even if the rotation range between the linkage swing arm 320 and the base 100 is 90°, the situation where the linkage swing arm 320 squeezes the display screen will not occur.

[0017] More specifically, in the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application, the connecting swing arm 310 includes a first arc-shaped connecting portion 311. The connecting swing arm 310 is rotatably connected to the base 100 through its first arc-shaped connecting portion 311. The structure on the base 100 specifically used to cooperate with the first arc-shaped connecting portion 311 can be an arc-shaped sliding groove. At the same time, in the embodiment of the present application, in order to reduce the width dimension of the entire hinge mechanism, the connecting swing arm 310 can also include a second arc-shaped connecting portion 312. The second arc-shaped connecting portion 312 is also a structural member such as a bearing bush. That is, in the embodiment of the present application, the rotation axes between the base 100 and the housing connecting member 400 and the connecting swing arm 310 are all virtual axes. This makes the rotation axis between the connecting swing arm 310 and the housing connecting member 400 also located outside the housing connecting member, so that the entire width dimension of the hinge mechanism can be further reduced.

[0018] As described above, the housing connector 400 can be connected to the housing of the electronic device. In order to improve the support effect of the position where the housing connector 400 is located on the display screen, in the embodiment of the present application, the hinge mechanism may further include a screen support plate 510, and screen support plates 510 are provided on both opposite sides of the base 100. The screen support plate 510 can provide a support effect for the corresponding area in the display screen. Correspondingly, in order to ensure that the screen support plate 510 can provide a stable support function, in the embodiment of the present application, by using connecting parts such as screws, the screen support plate 510 can be fixedly connected to the connecting swing arm 310. Further, when the hinge mechanism is in the unfolded state, the screen support plate 510 can be parallel to and in contact with the display screen, so as to provide a good support function for the display screen. At the same time, since the rotation range of the connecting swing arm 310 relative to the base 100 is greater than 90°, in this case, when the hinge mechanism is in the folded state, the screen support plates 510 respectively cooperating with the connecting swing arms 310 on both opposite sides of the base 100 can form a flared structure, and the flare faces the direction where the base 100 is located. This can increase the accommodation space for the bent and folded part of the display screen, thereby preventing the display screen from being squeezed by the connecting swing arm 310 and the screen support plate 510.

[0019] In order to further improve the accommodation space provided by the hinge mechanism for the display screen, as described above, the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application includes a floating plate 210. The hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application is specifically an in-fold hinge, that is, when applied to an electronic device and the electronic device is in the folded state, the display screen can be clamped inside by the housing of the electronic device and structures such as the linkage swing arm 320 in the hinge mechanism. Correspondingly, when the hinge mechanism is in the folded state, the entire display screen is located on one side of the base 100. At the same time, at least a part of each of the linkage swing arm 320, the rotating swing arm, and the housing connector 400 is also located on the side of the base 100 where the display screen is located, and the aforementioned side is the screen support side of the base 100.

[0020] Based on the above situation, as Figure 6 and Figure 7 shown, in the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application, the floating plate 210 is located on the side of the base 100 facing the display screen. At the same time, in order to enable the floating plate 210 to form a linkage relationship with the folded and unfolded states of the hinge mechanism and ensure that the floating plate 210 can provide an avoidance space for the display screen in the folded state, in the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application, the linkage swing arm 320 cooperates with the floating plate 210 to drive the floating plate 210 to move relative to the base 100 during the rotation of the linkage swing arm 320 relative to the base 100. The relative movement direction of the two is the support direction of the display screen, or in other words, the thickness direction of the base 100 and the floating plate 210.

[0021] Wherein, when the hinge mechanism is in the unfolded state, the floating plate 210 is used to support the display screen, and the distance between the surface of the base 100 facing away from the floating plate 210 and the floating plate 210 is the first distance. When the hinge mechanism is in the folded state, the distance between the surface of the base 100 and the floating plate 210 is the second distance, and the second distance is less than the first distance. Specifically, the surface of the base 100 facing away from the floating plate 210 is specifically Figure 6 the lower surface of the base 100 in Figure 6 , and the actual values of the first distance and the second distance can be flexibly selected according to specific situations.

[0022] That is to say, in the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application, the floating plate 210 can move along with the relative rotation of the linkage swing arm 320 with respect to the base 100. When the hinge mechanism is switched to the folded state, the floating plate 210 moves away from the display screen, or rather, moves in the direction close to the base 100 (i.e., Figure 6 the downward direction in Figure 6 ) to increase the space between the side of the floating plate 210 facing away from the base 100 and the display screen, so as to avoid the display screen and prevent the display screen from being squeezed. When the hinge mechanism is switched to the unfolded state, the floating plate 210 can move in the direction away from the base 100 (i.e., Figure 6 the upward direction in Figure 6 ) to reduce the space between the side of the floating plate 210 facing away from the base 100 and the display screen, so as to contact the display screen and further support the display screen, ensuring that the overall supporting effect of the display screen is relatively good.

[0023] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, structures such as upper and lower holders can be provided on the part of the linkage swing arm 320 that directly forms a rotational cooperation relationship with the base 100. The floating plate 210 can be stuck between the upper and lower holders. At the same time, according to the rotation range of the linkage swing arm 320, the setting position of the upper and lower holders in the supporting direction of the display screen can be designed, so that the upper and lower holders provided on the linkage swing arm 320 can drive the floating plate 210 to move up or down correspondingly during the rotation of the linkage swing arm 320 with respect to the base 100.

[0024] An embodiment of the present application discloses a hinge mechanism. A linkage swing arm 320 is provided between any housing connecting member 400 and the base 100. Each linkage swing arm 320 is rotatably connected to the base 100, and each linkage swing arm 320 is slidably engaged with the housing connecting member 400. The linkage swing arm 320 is used to cooperate with a floating plate 210 provided on the side of the base 100 facing the display screen. During the rotation of the linkage swing arm 320 relative to the base 100, the floating plate 210 is driven to move relative to the base 100. Thus, when the hinge mechanism is in the unfolded state, the floating plate 210 can support the display screen, and the distance between the surface of the base 100 facing away from the floating plate 210 and the floating plate 210 is a first distance. Correspondingly, when the linkage swing arm 320 rotates relative to the base 100, the hinge mechanism can be switched from the unfolded state to the folded state. In this case, the floating plate 210 is driven by the linkage swing arm 320 and moves relative to the base 100, so that the distance between the surface of the base 100 facing away from the floating plate 210 and the floating plate 210 is switched to a second distance, and the second distance is smaller than the first distance. This makes the distance between the floating plate 210 and the base 100 smaller when the hinge mechanism is in the folded state, so that the accommodating space on the side of the floating plate 210 facing away from the base 100 is relatively larger. In this case, the space inside the hinge mechanism in the folded state for accommodating the display screen is relatively larger, thereby reducing the risk of the display screen being squeezed during folding and improving the service life of the display screen.

[0025] As described above, the linkage swing arm 320 is slidably engaged with the housing connecting member 400. To improve the cooperation stability between the two, the linkage swing arm 320 can include a first arm body 320a and a second arm body 320b, and the two are arranged at intervals or in contact along the rotation axis direction of the connecting swing arm 310. At the same time, the first arm body 320a and the second arm body 320b of the same linkage swing arm 320 are both rotatably connected to the base 100, and the first arm body 320a and the second arm body 320b of the same linkage swing arm 320 are both slidably engaged with the same housing connecting member 400. In this case, the cooperation dimension of the entire linkage swing arm 320 and the housing connecting member 400 in the rotation axis direction can be increased, thereby enhancing the action stability between the entire linkage swing arm 320 and the housing connecting member 400.

[0026] To further reduce the width dimension of the hinge mechanism, in another embodiment of the present application, the hinge mechanism can include a rotating shaft 331 and an eccentric driving member 332. The rotating shaft 331 is rotatably connected to the base 100, and in the rotation direction of the linkage swing arm 320, the linkage swing arm 320 is relatively fixed to the rotating shaft 331. Thus, during the rotation of the linkage swing arm 320 relative to the base 100, the linkage swing arm 320 can drive the rotating shaft 331 to rotate relative to the base 100 together. At the same time, as Figure 3As shown, by fixedly arranging the eccentric drive member 332 on the rotating shaft 331, during the rotation process, the rotation can drive the eccentric drive member 332 to perform eccentric rotational motion.

[0027] Correspondingly, as Figure 4 and Figure 5 shown, the floating plate 210 is provided with a fitting member 220, and the fitting member 220 has a track groove 221. During the assembly process of the hinge mechanism, as Figure 8 and Figure 9 shown, the eccentric drive member 332 is at least partially located in the track groove 221, and during the rotation of the linkage swing arm 320 relative to the base 100, the eccentric drive member 332 moves within the track groove 221 to drive the floating plate 210 to move relative to the base 100. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the extension direction of the track groove 221 needs to be designed corresponding to the relative movement direction between the floating plate 210 and the base 100. More specifically, in the embodiments of the present application, the relative movement direction between the floating plate 210 and the base 100 is specifically the thickness direction of the floating plate 210, so as to improve the driven efficiency of the floating plate 210 and reduce the control difficulty of the floating plate 210.

[0028] Based on the above solution, in the embodiments of the present application, the extension direction of the track groove 221 can include the width direction of the hinge mechanism, that is, Figure 8 the left - right direction in Figure 8 . In this case, during the rotation of the rotating shaft 331 with the linkage swing arm 320 relative to the base 100, the eccentric drive member 332 can be driven to move in the track groove 221 of the fitting member 220, thereby driving the floating plate 210 to move relative to the base 100 in the thickness direction of the floating plate 210.

[0029] Furthermore, in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 331, that is, in the rotation direction of the connecting swing arm 310 relative to the base 100, the relative two ends of the entire hinge mechanism are both provided with the above - mentioned eccentric drive member 332. Correspondingly, the relative two ends of the floating plate 210 are also both provided with the above - mentioned fitting member 220. By making the eccentric drive member 332 cooperate with the corresponding fitting member 220, the cooperation stability between the floating plate 210 and the linkage swing arm 320 can be further improved.

[0030] When eccentric driving components 332 are provided at both opposite ends of the rotating shaft 331, the rotating shaft 331 can be made into a segmented structure as a whole. For example, a plurality of rotating shafts 331 can be provided in the rotating axis direction connected to the swing arm 310, wherein the left end of a rotating shaft 331 located relatively to the left of the entire hinge mechanism can be fixedly connected with the above-mentioned eccentric driving component 332, and correspondingly, the right end of a rotating shaft 331 located relatively to the right of the entire hinge mechanism can be fixedly connected with the above-mentioned eccentric driving component 332. In this case, components such as the linkage swing arm 320 can be passed through the rotating shaft 331 through the end of the rotating shaft 331 on which the eccentric driving component 332 is not provided, thereby ensuring that the linkage swing arm 320 and the base 100 can form a more reliable rotational matching relationship through the rotating shaft 331.

[0031] In another embodiment of the present application, whether the rotating shaft 331 is an integral through-type or a segmented docking type, both opposite ends of the rotating shaft 331 can be provided with eccentric driving members 332, wherein the first end of the rotating shaft 331 is fixedly connected with the eccentric driving member 332, and the second end of the rotating shaft 331 is connected to another eccentric driving member 332 by a key connection, and each eccentric driving member 332 is provided with a matching member 220. In the case of adopting this technical solution, it can also be ensured that the linkage swing arm 320 and other devices can be passed through the rotating shaft 331 through the second end of the rotating shaft 331, and by providing the eccentric driving members 332 at both opposite ends of the rotating shaft 331, the matching stability between the rotating shaft 331 and the floating plate 210 can be further improved, so that the movement accuracy and reliability of the floating plate 210 are relatively higher. In addition, the key connection method can ensure that the rotating shaft 331 and the eccentric driving member 332 form a relatively reliable relative fixed relationship in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft 331, and can make the processing and connection between the two relatively easy.

[0032] In addition, it should be noted that shell connectors 400 are provided on opposite sides of the base 100, and the number of linkage swing arms 320 between any shell connector 400 and the base 100 can be multiple. In this case, multiple linkage swing arms 320 between the same shell connector 400 and the base 100 can be rotatably connected to the base 100 through a rotating shaft 331, or multiple linkage swing arms 320 can also be rotatably connected to the base 100 through multiple rotating shafts 331 respectively. In this case, eccentric driving members 332 can be provided at opposite ends of each rotating shaft 331. At the same time, under the action of the rotating shafts 331 between the linkage swing arms 320 and the base 100 on opposite sides of the base 100, as shown in FIG. Figure 5As shown, in the width direction of the hinge mechanism, the floating plate 210 is provided with two adjacent mating parts 220. This enables the floating plate 210 to hardly shake or the like during the process of moving relative to the base 100, thereby further improving the movement stability of the floating plate 210 and the supporting effect on the display screen.

[0033] In order to further expand the space for accommodating the display screen when the hinge mechanism is in the folded state, in a specific embodiment of the present application, as Figure 7 shown, a relief groove 110 is provided on the side of the base 100 facing the display screen. The relief groove 110 is formed by recessing downward from the screen support side of the base 100. Of course, parameters such as the size and shape of the relief groove 110 can be correspondingly designed according to the size and shape of the floating plate 210, so that at least a part of the floating plate 210 is located in the relief groove 110 along the thickness direction of the floating plate 210 when the hinge mechanism is in the folded state. In the case of adopting the above technical solution, the hinge mechanism in the folded state can provide a relatively larger accommodation space for the display screen. In addition, by adopting the above technical solution, the weight of the entire hinge mechanism can also be reduced to a certain extent, facilitating the development of the electronic device towards light weight.

[0034] As described above, housing connectors 400 are provided on both opposite sides of the base 100, and each of the housing connectors 400 can be connected to the housing, so that a relative rotational mating relationship can be formed between two adjacent housings by using the hinge mechanism. In order to enable the two housings connected to the same hinge mechanism to have the ability to rotate synchronously towards or away from the base 100 relative to each other, so that the bending symmetry of the display screen is relatively better and the service life of the display screen is improved, in a specific embodiment of the present application, a synchronous rotation relationship can be formed between the linkage swing arms 320 that are opposite to each other on both opposite sides of the base 100 by using a gear set or other structures.

[0035] In order to further reduce the width dimension of the hinge mechanism while ensuring relatively high synchronous stability between the corresponding linkage swing arms 320, in another embodiment of the present application, the hinge mechanism can include a rotating shaft 331 and a synchronizing member 340, and the linkage swing arm 320 includes a rotating part 321 and a sliding part 322 that are connected to each other. Among them, as Figures 10 - 12As shown, the rotating part 321 is provided with a spiral groove 323, and the rotating part 321 is rotatably connected to the base 100 through a rotating shaft 331. The sliding part 322 is slidably matched with the housing connecting part 400. In this case, as the rotating part 321 rotates relative to the base 100, the sliding part 322 can move relative to the housing connecting part 400. Moreover, during the rotation of the rotating part 321, the spiral groove 323 of itself can also move relative to the base 100, thereby exerting a driving effect on the synchronizing part 340. When the linkage swing arm 320 includes a first arm body 320a and a second arm body 320b, both the first arm body 320a and the second arm body 320b can include a rotating part 321 and a sliding part 322 that are connected to each other.

[0036] Meanwhile, as Figure 11 shown, the synchronizing part 340 includes a translation part 341 and a synchronizing pin 342. Among them, synchronizing pins 342 are fixed on both opposite sides of the translation part 341. The two synchronizing pins 342 are respectively matched with two corresponding linkage swing arms 320, and each synchronizing pin 342 is inserted into the spiral groove 323. So as to drive the synchronizing part 340 to move along the axial direction of the rotating shaft 331 during the rotation of the linkage swing arm 320 on one side of the base 100 relative to the base 100, and drive the linkage swing arm 320 on the other side of the base 100 to rotate synchronously relative to the base 100.

[0037] That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, the synchronizing part 340 can insert the synchronizing pins 342 located on its opposite sides into the spiral grooves 323 of the linkage swing arms 320 located on the opposite sides of the base 100 respectively. During the rotation of the synchronizing swing arm relative to the base 100, the spiral groove 323 can be used to drive the corresponding synchronizing pin 342 on the synchronizing part 340 to move relative to the base 100 along the rotation axis direction of the connecting swing arm 310. During this process, the synchronizing pin 342 on the other side of the synchronizing part 340 can also be matched with the spiral groove 323 of another linkage swing arm 320, so as to achieve the purpose of driving another linkage swing arm 320 to rotate relative to the base 100.

[0038] In the case of adopting the embodiment of the present application, the size of the synchronizing part 340 does not need to be too large, so that the overall width size of the hinge mechanism can be appropriately reduced. Moreover, the spiral groove 323 itself does not occupy the space of the hinge mechanism in its width direction. At the same time, since at least a part of the synchronizing pin 342 can extend into the spiral groove 323, the space occupied by the synchronizing pin 342 in the width direction of the hinge mechanism is also relatively small, and even hardly occupies the space in the width direction. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, the overall space occupied by the synchronizing part 340 in the width direction is relatively small. And because a plug-in fit relationship is formed between the synchronizing pin 342 and the spiral groove 323, the cooperation stability between the two is relatively high, so that the synchronization effect and reliability of the synchronizing part 340 can be ensured to be relatively good.

[0039] In addition, when the linkage swing arm 320 includes the first arm body 320a and the second arm body 320b, for the same linkage swing arm 320, the spiral groove 323 can be provided only on the first arm body 320a thereof, which can appropriately reduce the number of the synchronizing members 340 provided and can reduce the assembly difficulty of the entire hinge mechanism.

[0040] As described above, during the rotation of the linkage swing arm 320 relative to the base 100, the synchronizing pin 342 can be driven to move relative to the base 100 along the rotation axis direction. Obviously, during the movement of the synchronizing pin 342, the entire synchronizing member 340 moves linearly relative to the base 100. Further, in order to further improve the movement stability of the synchronizing member 340 and thus improve the driving reliability of the synchronizing member 340, in the embodiment of the present application, the hinge mechanism may further include a guide shaft 361, and the guide shaft 361 can be arranged on the base 100. Specifically, a jack can be provided on the base 100, and the guide shaft 361 can be inserted into the jack, and by making the two in interference fit, the relatively high fitting stability between the guide shaft 361 and the base 100 can be ensured.

[0041] In the case of adopting the above technical solution, the translation part 341 in the synchronizing member 340 can be passed through the guide shaft 361, so as to use the guide shaft 361 to guide and limit the translation part 341, so that the translation part 341 can only move relative to the base 100 in the rotation axis direction. Correspondingly, in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction of the connecting swing arm 310 and in the direction around the rotation axis direction, the translation part 341 and the guide shaft 361 are relatively fixed to each other.

[0042] Specifically, the guide shaft 361 can be a circular rod-shaped structure, and the number of the guide shafts 361 can be one or more. In the case where the number of the guide shafts 361 is multiple, the movement stability of the translation part 341 can be further improved. Of course, the guide shaft 361 can also be a square columnar structure, which is not limited herein. In addition, in order to further limit the movement range of the translation part 341, a step part 362 can be provided on the guide shaft 361, and the step part 362 protrudes from the outer surface of the guide shaft 361, so that the translation part 341 can form a limiting fit relationship with the step part 362 in the axial direction (i.e., the rotation axis direction) of the guide shaft 361 to limit the maximum movement range of the translation part 341 and prevent the translation part 341 from moving excessively, resulting in the abnormal operation of the hinge mechanism.

[0043] In order to make the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application have a damping feeling, so that the hinge mechanism can achieve the purpose of hovering within the designed angle range, the hinge mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application may also include a cam member 371 and an elastic damping member 372, wherein the cam member 371 is passed through the rotating shaft 331, and the cam member 371 and the base 100 are relatively fixed in the rotation direction of the linkage swing arm 320, one end of the cam member 371 cooperates with the cam of the linkage swing arm 320, and the other end of the cam member 371 is squeezed and fitted with the elastic damping member 372.

[0044] In this case, when the linkage swing arm 320 rotates relative to the base 100, the linkage swing arm 320 can form a cam matching relationship with the cam member 371, so that the cam member 371 moves along the rotation axis in the direction away from the linkage swing arm 320. In this process, the cam member 371 squeezes the elastic damping member 372, so that the cam member 371 and the linkage swing arm 320 squeeze each other in the rotation axis to generate a damping feeling. Under the action of friction, if no rotation driving force is applied, or the applied rotation driving force is smaller than the aforementioned friction force, the hinge mechanism can be maintained at the aforementioned unfolding angle, so that the hinge mechanism has the ability to hover at any time within the preset angle range. Among them, one end of the elastic damping member 372 can abut against the end of the cam member 371 away from the linkage swing arm 320, and for the other end of the elastic damping member 372, the purpose of abutting against the elastic damping member 372 can be achieved by setting a protruding structure on the base 100. In another embodiment of the present application, the hinge mechanism can also include a retaining spring 380. By making the retaining spring 380 and the rotating shaft 331 limited, the elastic damping member 372 can be sleeved on the rotating shaft 331 and elastically squeezed between the cam member 371 and the retaining spring 380.

[0045] In order to further enhance the elastic damping effect, a pin shaft can be provided on the cam member 371, and the pin shaft is located between the rotating shafts 331 respectively matched with the linkage swing arms 320 on the opposite sides of the base 100. At the same time, by making the hinge mechanism also include a bracket 373, the bracket 373 is mounted on two rotating shafts 331 distributed along the width direction, and the bracket 373 can also be correspondingly provided with the aforementioned pin shaft. In this case, other elastic damping members 372 can be further provided between the two rotating shafts 331, and the opposite ends of the aforementioned elastic damping member 372 can be respectively mounted on the pin shafts of the cam member 371 and the bracket 373, and provide elastic damping effect for the cam member 371.

[0046] Specifically, a plurality of linkage swing arms 320 located between any housing connector 400 and the base 100 can be correspondingly provided with cam members 371 and elastic damping members 372 to enhance the damping effect of the hinge mechanism. Alternatively, one or several of the plurality of linkage swing arms 320 can be provided with cam members 371 and elastic damping members 372 to reduce the number of components in the hinge mechanism, lower the assembly difficulty and the overall cost.

[0047] In addition, in the case where the linkage swing arm 320 includes a first arm body 320a and a second arm body 320b, cam structures can be provided on both the first arm body 320a and the second arm body 320b of the same linkage swing arm 320. Correspondingly, cam members 371 are correspondingly provided on both the first arm body 320a and the second arm body 320b to ensure relatively high hovering stability of the hinge mechanism. At the same time, since the space of the hinge mechanism in the rotational axial direction is relatively large and the size of the cam member 371 in the rotational axial direction is relatively small, even if a plurality of cam members 371 are provided, it will basically not additionally occupy the installation space of other components or structures in the hinge mechanism.

[0048] As described above, during the cooperation between the cam member 371 and the linkage swing arm 320, the cam member 371 will also generate a displacement along the rotational axial direction relative to the base 100. Furthermore, in order to improve the movement stability of the cam member 371, the cam member 371 can be inserted into the rotating shaft 331. At the same time, in order to ensure that the cam member 371 can be relatively fixed to the base 100 in the rotational direction of the connecting swing arm 310, the cam member 371 can be simultaneously inserted through the rotating shafts 331 that cooperate with the linkage swing arms 320 located on opposite sides of the base 100.

[0049] As described above, the hinge mechanism includes a guide shaft 361. Therefore, in another embodiment of the present application, one end of the guide shaft 361 can be inserted into the base 100, and the other end of the guide shaft 361 can be inserted into the cam member 371. In this case, on the one hand, the rotating shaft 331 and the guide shaft 361 can jointly provide a limiting effect for the cam member 371 to ensure that the cam member 371 can be relatively fixed to the base 100 in the rotational direction of the connecting swing arm 310. At the same time, in the case of adopting this technical solution, the opposite ends of the guide shaft 361 are also assembled with other components in the hinge mechanism, thereby making the cooperation reliability between the guide shaft 361 and the base 100 higher, and there is no need to further strengthen the connection reliability between the guide shaft 361 and the base 100 by means of interference fit or welding.

[0050] In addition, as described above, a step portion 362 may be provided on the guide shaft 361. For this purpose, during the assembly process, the step portion 362 may be located between the cam member 371 and the translation portion 341, so that the step portion 362 may provide limiting effects for the cam member 371 and the translation portion 341 at the same time, thereby ensuring that the cam member 371 and the translation portion 341 will not excessively move during the process of moving relative to the base 100 along the rotation axis.

[0051] As described above, the synchronizer 340 cooperates with the spiral groove 323 of the linkage swing arm 320 through its synchronizer pin 342, and the two are essentially a shaft-hole matching relationship. Furthermore, in order to ensure the smoothness of the relative movement between the two, it is usually necessary to make the size of the hole slightly larger than the size of the shaft, that is, to make the size of the spiral groove 323 slightly larger than the size of the synchronizer pin 342. In this case, the linkage swing arm 320 that uses the synchronizer 340 to form a synchronous rotation matching relationship may have a slight synchronization error during the movement due to the matching clearance.

[0052] Based on the above situation, in a further embodiment of the present application, the number of synchronizers 340 can be multiple, and the multiple synchronizers 340 are distributed along the axial direction of the rotating shaft 331 at intervals. A plurality of spiral grooves 323 distributed along the axial direction are provided on any rotating part 321, and the multiple synchronizers 340 correspond to the multiple spiral grooves 323 one by one. When the linkage swing arms 320 cooperate with each other through the multiple synchronizers 340, the synchronization error between the linkage swing arms 320 can be greatly reduced, thereby improving the synchronization accuracy between the linkage swing arms 320. Specifically, the structures and sizes of the multiple synchronizers 340 can be the same, which can reduce the difficulty of processing and assembling the synchronizers 340. Of course, when a guide shaft 361 is provided, each synchronizer 340 can be inserted on the guide shaft 361 to ensure that the movement linearity of each synchronizer 340 is better.

[0053] In order to further improve the synchronization accuracy between the linkage swing arms 320 on opposite sides of the base 100, as shown in FIG. Figure 11 As shown, an elastic pushing member 350 may be provided between the translation parts 341 of any two adjacent synchronizers 340, and the opposite ends of the elastic pushing member 350 are elastically abutted against the two translation parts 341. That is, in the embodiment of the present application, any elastic pushing member 350 is in a compressed state, so that the elastic pushing member 350 can apply an elastic squeezing effect to the synchronizers 340 on the opposite sides thereof, so that the aforementioned two synchronizers 340 are separated from each other, and then under the action of the spiral groove 323, the respective synchronization pins 342 of the aforementioned two synchronizers 340 can maintain a contact relationship with the side wall of the spiral groove 323, so that the action accuracy between the synchronizers 340 and the spiral groove 323 is relatively higher, and the synchronization accuracy between the two linkage swing arms 320 that cooperate with the aforementioned two synchronizers 340 is improved.

[0054] Specifically, the elastic pushing member 350 can be a compression spring, and structures such as grooves can be provided on the translation portion 341 of the synchronizing member 340, so that the end of the elastic pushing member 350 extends into the aforementioned groove. When the hinge mechanism includes the guiding shaft 361, the elastic pushing member 350 can be sleeved on the guiding shaft 361 to utilize the guiding shaft 361 to provide guiding and limiting effects for the elastic pushing member 350, further improving the compression stability of the elastic pushing member 350.

[0055] Based on the hinge mechanism disclosed in any of the above embodiments, as Figure 17 shown, an embodiment of the present application also discloses an electronic device, specifically a foldable electronic device, that is, the electronic device has a folded state and an unfolded state and can be switched between the folded state and the unfolded state. As shown in the figure, the electronic device includes a housing 2, a display screen 3, and any of the above hinge mechanisms 1. Among them, any two housings 2 can form a rotational connection relationship through the hinge mechanism 1, and the display screen 3 can be disposed on one side surface of the hinge mechanism 1 and the housing 2 to form a foldable electronic device with folding ability.

[0056] In addition, the display screen 3 can be a flexible screen as a whole, or the display screen 3 can include a first display area 31, a second display area 32, and a third display area 33. Among them, the third display area 33 is connected between the first display area 31 and the second display area 32, and the first display area 31 and the second display area 32 are respectively supported on the two housings 2, and the two can be flexible structures or rigid structures. The third display area 33 faces the hinge mechanism 1, and the third display area 33 is a flexible structure.

[0057] It should be noted that in this article, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not expressly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. Without further limitation, the element defined by the statement "including one..." does not exclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element. In addition, it should be pointed out that the scope of the methods and devices in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in a reverse order according to the functions involved. For example, the described methods may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0058] The embodiments of the present application have been described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present application is not limited to the above specific embodiments. The above specific embodiments are merely illustrative rather than restrictive. Under the inspiration of the present application, those of ordinary skill in the art can also make many forms without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope protected by the claims, and all of them fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A hinge mechanism, characterized in that, It includes a base, a floating plate, a housing connecting member, and a linkage swing arm. Among them, The housing connecting members are provided on both opposite sides of the base, and a linkage swing arm is provided between any one of the housing connecting members and the base. One end of each linkage swing arm is rotatably connected to the base, and the other end of each linkage swing arm is in sliding fit with the housing connecting member; The floating plate is located on the side of the base facing the display screen. The linkage swing arm cooperates with the floating plate to drive the floating plate to move relative to the base during the rotation of the linkage swing arm relative to the base. Among them, When the hinge mechanism is in the unfolded state, the floating plate is used to support the display screen, and the distance between the surface of the base facing away from the floating plate and the floating plate is a first distance. When the hinge mechanism is in the folded state, the distance between the surface of the base and the floating plate is a second distance, and the second distance is less than the first distance.

2. The hinge mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, The hinge mechanism includes a rotating shaft and an eccentric driving member. The eccentric driving member is fixedly arranged on the rotating shaft. In the rotation direction of the linkage swing arm, the linkage swing arm is relatively fixed to the rotating shaft; The floating plate is provided with a fitting member. The fitting member has a track groove. At least a part of the eccentric driving member is located in the track groove. During the rotation of the linkage swing arm relative to the base, the eccentric driving member moves within the track groove to drive the floating plate to move relative to the base.

3. The hinge mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first end of the rotating shaft is fixedly connected with the eccentric driving member, the second end of the rotating shaft is connected with another eccentric driving member by key connection, and each eccentric driving member is correspondingly provided with the fitting member.

4. The hinge mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, A relief groove is provided on the side of the base facing the display screen. When the hinge mechanism is in the folded state, at least a part of the floating plate is located in the relief groove along the thickness direction of the floating plate.

5. The hinge mechanism according to claim 1, wherein The hinge mechanism includes a rotating shaft and a synchronizing member. The linkage swing arm includes a rotating part and a sliding part connected to each other. The rotating part is provided with a spiral groove, and the rotating part is rotatably connected to the base through the rotating shaft. The sliding part is in sliding fit with the housing connecting member; The synchronizing member includes a translation part and a synchronizing pin. Synchronizing pins are fixed on both opposite sides of the translation part. The two synchronizing pins are respectively matched with two corresponding linkage swing arms, and each synchronizing pin is inserted into the spiral groove to drive the synchronizing member to move along the axial direction of the rotating shaft and drive the linkage swing arm on the other side of the base to rotate synchronously relative to the base during the rotation of the linkage swing arm on one side of the base relative to the base.

6. The hinge mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that, It further includes a guide shaft. The guide shaft is arranged on the base. The translation part passes through the guide shaft, and the translation part is relatively fixed to the guide shaft in the rotation direction of the linkage swing arm.

7. The hinge mechanism according to claim 6, characterized in that It further includes a cam member and an elastic damping member. The cam member is sleeved on the rotating shaft, and the cam member and the base are relatively fixed in the rotating direction of the linkage swing arm. One end of the cam member is in cam cooperation with the linkage swing arm, and the other end of the cam member is in extrusion cooperation with the elastic damping member; One end of the guide shaft is inserted into the base, and the other end of the guide shaft is inserted into the cam member. A stepped portion is provided on the outer side of the guide shaft, and the stepped portion is located between the cam member and the translation portion.

8. The hinge mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that, The number of the synchronizing members is multiple, and the multiple synchronizing members are distributed at intervals along the axial direction of the rotating shaft. A plurality of spiral grooves distributed along the axial direction are provided on any one of the rotating portions, and the multiple synchronizing members correspond to the multiple spiral grooves one by one.

9. The hinge mechanism according to claim 8, characterized in that, An elastic pushing member is provided between the translation portions of any two adjacent synchronizing members, and the opposite ends of the elastic pushing member are elastically abutted against the two translation portions respectively.

10. An electronic device, characterized in that, It includes a housing, a display screen and the hinge mechanism according to any one of claims 1-9. The two housings are rotatably connected through the hinge mechanism, and the display screen is arranged on one side of the housing.

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