Electronic device

Abstract

The embodiment of the utility model provides electronic equipment. The electronic equipment comprises a first shell, a rotating shaft, a second shell, a first circuit assembly, a second circuit assembly and an optical fiber, the rotating shaft is connected with the first shell and the second shell, the first circuit assembly is fixed to the first shell, and the second circuit assembly is fixed to the second shell; the optical fiber comprises a first section, a shaft penetrating section and a second section which are connected in sequence, the first section is installed on the first shell and connected with the first circuit assembly, the shaft penetrating section is installed on the rotating shaft, and the second section is installed on the second shell and connected with the second circuit assembly; in the relative rotation process of the first shell and the second shell, the first section and the second section rotate relative to each other, and at least part of the shaft penetrating section is twisted. The electronic equipment realizes shaft-penetrating signal transmission through the optical fiber, and is high in reliability and relatively long in service life.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] With the increasing demand for large-screen display and easy portability of terminal devices, foldable electronic devices are increasingly widely used. Foldable electronic devices usually include a flexible screen and a folding device, and the folding device is used to carry the flexible screen. The folding device includes two shells and a rotating shaft for connecting the two shells. The electronic device also includes a plurality of components respectively installed in the two shells. When signals need to be transmitted between components installed in different shells, a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) is currently generally used for electrical connection and signal transmission.

[0003] Since the flexible circuit board needs to pass through the shaft to extend to the two housings respectively, the flexible circuit board needs to be able to meet the needs of repeated bending. However, the flexible circuit board uses its internal copper wire as a signal transmission channel, and the copper wire has the risk of breaking during a large number of repeated bending. As the wiring signal of the flexible circuit board increases and the carrying bandwidth increases, the risk of copper wire breaking in the flexible circuit board also increases, resulting in lower reliability of the flexible circuit board and shortened service life of electronic equipment. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide an electronic device that realizes signal transmission through an axis through an optical fiber, has high reliability and a long service life.

[0005] The electronic device provided in the embodiment of the present application includes a first housing, a rotating shaft, a second housing, a first circuit assembly, a second circuit assembly and an optical fiber. The rotating shaft connects the first housing and the second housing, the first circuit assembly is fixed to the first housing, and the second circuit assembly is fixed to the second housing. One end of the optical fiber is located in the first housing and electrically connected to the first circuit assembly, and the other end of the optical fiber passes through the rotating shaft, is located in the second housing, and is electrically connected to the second circuit assembly.

[0006] In the embodiment of the present application, the first circuit component and the second circuit component can realize the signal transmission through the axis through the optical fiber, so as to realize the signal transmission between the two parts of the electronic device that can be folded with each other. Among them, the first circuit component can convert between the electrical signal and the optical signal, and the second circuit component can also convert between the electrical signal and the optical signal. The optical signal is transmitted in the optical fiber to realize the signal transmission between the first circuit component and the second circuit component.

[0007] Among them, the signal transmission through the optical fiber is better in bending resistance. When the optical fiber is used as the transmission medium, the light is not easily damaged when the electronic device is repeatedly bent, and relatively reliable transmission performance is still guaranteed. In addition, what is transmitted in the optical fiber is an optical signal rather than an electrical signal. The optical signal will not be interfered by other components or electrical signals in the electronic device, nor will it interact with the antenna. Therefore, the signal transmission quality is good, which is also conducive to reducing the risk of electromagnetic interference in electronic equipment, and no additional shielding measures are required for electronic equipment. The optical fiber uses optical signals for transmission, which can also achieve low latency and low power consumption in signal transmission.

[0008] In some possible implementations, the optical fiber includes a first section, a shaft-penetrating section, and a second section that are sequentially connected, the first section is mounted on the first housing and connected to the first circuit assembly, the shaft-penetrating section is mounted on the rotating shaft, and the second section is mounted on the second housing and connected to the second circuit assembly. During the relative rotation of the first housing and the second housing, the first section and the second section rotate relative to each other, and at least part of the shaft-penetrating section is twisted. The twisting of at least part of the shaft-penetrating section includes the situation where all the shaft-penetrating sections are twisted and part of the shaft-penetrating sections are twisted.

[0009] In this implementation, during the folding or unfolding of the electronic device, the first shell and the second shell rotate relative to each other, the first section of the optical fiber moves with the first shell, the second section of the optical fiber moves with the second shell, and the second section rotates relative to the first section. By twisting at least part of the through-axis section of the optical fiber, the relative rotational movement between the second section and the first section can be smoothly realized, and the risk of damage to the optical fiber during repeated bending can be effectively reduced, further improving the bending resistance of the optical fiber, so that when the electronic device transmits signals through the optical fiber through the axis, the reliability is high and the service life is long.

[0010] Exemplarily, when the first section and the second section of the optical fiber rotate relative to each other along with the first shell and the second shell, the maximum angle of relative rotation can reach 180°.

[0011] In some possible implementations, the extension direction of the shaft-penetrating section is parallel to the length extension direction of the rotating shaft. In this case, the shaft-penetrating section can not only smoothly twist when the first shell and the second shell rotate relative to each other, but also the layout structure of the shaft-penetrating section in the rotating shaft is easier to implement, and the spatial characteristics of the rotating shaft itself can be fully utilized for layout, which is conducive to reducing the difficulty of design and installation. Among them, the two directions are parallel, including the two directions coincident and the two directions do not coincident.

[0012] In some possible implementations, the rotating shaft has a center line in the direction from the first shell to the second shell, and the extension direction of the through-shaft section coincides with the center line of the rotating shaft. The direction from the first shell to the second shell is perpendicular to the length extension direction of the rotating shaft, and when the electronic device is opened, the direction from the first shell to the second shell can be the width direction of the electronic device. The center line of the rotating shaft is parallel to the length extension direction of the rotating shaft, and the distance from the center line of the rotating shaft to the first shell is equal to the distance from the center line of the rotating shaft to the second shell.

[0013] In this implementation, the extension direction of the optical fiber's threading section is set to coincide with the center line of the rotating shaft, so that during the folding or unfolding of the electronic device, the main movement of the threading section is torsional movement, and the risk of the threading section being pulled by the first section and the second section and being displaced in the direction from the first shell to the second shell is relatively small. The folding or unfolding action of the electronic device has little effect on the signal transmission of the optical fiber, thereby reducing the risk of damage or breakage of the threading section, thereby improving reliability.

[0014] In some embodiments, the through-axis section of the optical fiber has a certain length in a length extension direction parallel to the rotation axis to achieve sufficient twisting, thereby facilitating relative rotation of the second section and the first section.

[0015] In some possible implementations, the shaft is provided with a slot or a hole, and the extending direction of the slot or the hole is parallel to the length extension direction of the shaft. The slot or the hole may be a continuous integral structure, and the integral structure extends in a direction parallel to the length extension direction of the shaft; or the slot or the hole may include a plurality of parts arranged at intervals, and the plurality of parts are arranged in a direction parallel to the length extension direction of the shaft.

[0016] The shaft-penetrating section is installed and limited in the slot or hole, a gap is formed between the shaft-penetrating section and the wall of the slot or hole, and the shaft-penetrating section can be twisted in the slot or hole. In this implementation, the shaft is limited by the slot or hole, so that the shaft-penetrating section can be installed on the shaft and can be twisted relative to the shaft when the electronic device is unfolded or folded. The diameter of the slot or hole can be slightly larger than the diameter of the optical fiber, for example, the ratio can be in the range of 0.8 to 1.2.

[0017] In some possible implementations, the diameter of the optical fiber is less than or equal to 2 mm. In this case, since the diameter of the optical fiber is small, it is not only conducive to the realization of the layout structure of the optical fiber in the shaft, but also the optical fiber is easy to rotate and twist, which is conducive to ensuring the reliability and service life of the optical fiber.

[0018] In some possible implementations, the optical fiber further includes a first connecting section, which is connected between the first section and the shaft-penetrating section. The first connecting section is an arc section or a curve section. In this case, the optical fiber can be bent through the first connecting section, so that the shaft-penetrating section can be bent relative to the first section and extend in the rotating shaft.

[0019] The radius of the first connecting section is greater than or equal to 4 mm. In this implementation, the optical fiber is provided with the first connecting section between the first section and the shaft-threading section, and the radius of the first connecting section is greater than or equal to 4 mm, thereby reducing the risk of signal leakage when the signal is transmitted in the bending portion between the first section and the shaft-threading section, which is conducive to ensuring the transmission quality of the signal in the optical fiber. In addition, the large bending radius of the first connecting section can also ensure the reliability of the structure of the electronic device during the unfolding or folding process.

[0020] In some possible implementations, the optical fiber further includes a second connecting segment, which is connected between the second segment and the shaft-penetrating segment. The second connecting segment is an arc segment or a curve segment. In this case, the optical fiber can be bent by the second connecting segment, so that the second segment can be bent relative to the shaft-penetrating segment and extend out of the rotating shaft.

[0021] The radius of the second connecting section is greater than or equal to 4 mm. The optical fiber is provided with a second connecting section between the second section and the through-axis section, and the radius of the second connecting section is greater than or equal to 4 mm, thereby reducing the risk of signal leakage when the signal is transmitted at the bending portion between the second section and the through-axis section, which is conducive to ensuring the transmission quality of the signal in the optical fiber. In addition, the second connecting section has a large bending radius, which can also ensure the reliability of the structure of the electronic device during the unfolding or folding process.

[0022] In this implementation, by setting the shapes and radii of the first connecting segment and the second connecting segment, the optical fiber can enter the shaft vertically or approximately vertically, which helps to reduce the difficulty of designing the shaft and assembling the optical fiber.

[0023] In some possible embodiments, the optical fiber also includes a first connecting segment, which is connected between the first segment and the through-axis segment, the first connecting segment is a straight segment, the angle between the first connecting segment and the first segment is greater than 90°, and the angle between the first connecting segment and the through-axis segment is greater than 90°.

[0024] The optical fiber also includes a second connecting segment, which is connected between the second segment and the axis-penetrating segment. The second connecting segment is a straight segment, and the angle between the second connecting segment and the second segment is greater than 90°, and the angle between the second connecting segment and the axis-penetrating segment is greater than 90°.

[0025] In this implementation, the optical fiber is provided with a first connecting section between the first section and the axis-threading section, and the angles between the first connecting section and the first section and the axis-threading section are all greater than 90°, thereby reducing the risk of signal leakage when the signal is transmitted between the first section and the axis-threading section, which is beneficial to ensuring the transmission quality of the signal in the optical fiber. The optical fiber is provided with a second connecting section between the second section and the axis-threading section, and the angles between the second connecting section and the second section and the axis-threading section are all greater than 90°, thereby reducing the risk of signal leakage when the signal is transmitted between the second section and the axis-threading section, which is beneficial to ensuring the transmission quality of the signal in the optical fiber. In addition, the provision of the first connecting section and the second connecting section can also facilitate the relative rotation of the first section and the second section during the unfolding or folding process of the electronic device, thereby ensuring the structural reliability of the optical fiber and the reliability of signal transmission.

[0026] In some possible implementations, the first circuit assembly includes a first photoelectric conversion assembly and a first circuit board, the first circuit board is fixed to the first housing, the first photoelectric conversion assembly is fixed to the first circuit board, and is connected to the optical fiber. The first photoelectric conversion assembly is used to realize the conversion between optical signals and electrical signals. The first circuit board can be a printed circuit board, a flexible circuit board, or a combination of hard and soft circuit boards.

[0027] The first photoelectric conversion component can be directly fixed to the first circuit board by welding, or a flange can be fixed on the first circuit board, and the first photoelectric conversion component is plugged into the flange to achieve relative fixation with the first circuit board. The flange is set so that the first photoelectric conversion component can be detachably connected to the first circuit board. In some other embodiments, the first photoelectric conversion component can be provided with another flange so that the optical fiber can be detachably connected to the first photoelectric conversion component, and can also be used for limiting and aligning the optical fiber and the first photoelectric conversion component, which is beneficial to improving the transmission quality of the optical signal.

[0028] The first optoelectronic conversion component includes a plurality of optical transmitters and a multiplexer. The plurality of optical transmitters are used to emit light of different wavelengths. The multiplexer is used to combine the light of different wavelengths into a combined light. The optical fiber is used to transmit the combined light.

[0029] In this implementation, the first optoelectronic conversion component can convert multiple electrical signals into optical signals of different wavelengths, and transmit them to the optical fiber after merging, so as to be transmitted through the optical fiber, which is conducive to achieving a larger transmission bandwidth of the optical fiber.

[0030] In the embodiment of the present application, transmission through optical fiber can meet the large bandwidth transmission requirements, and the optical fiber occupies less space, which is conducive to the design of the whole machine architecture. In addition, when the same transmission bandwidth is met, the cost of optical fiber is also lower than that of flexible circuit board.

[0031] In some possible implementations, the first photoelectric conversion component further includes a substrate and a package, a plurality of light emitters are fixed to the substrate at intervals from each other, the multiplexer is located at the light output side of the plurality of light emitters, and the package is fixedly connected to the substrate and wraps the plurality of light emitters and the multiplexer.

[0032] In this implementation, the first photoelectric conversion component encapsulates the substrate, multiple light emitters and multiplexer through a package, which not only protects these structural components but also forms an integrated module, which is beneficial to the subsequent assembly and application of the first photoelectric conversion component.

[0033] In some possible implementations, the optical transmitter uses VCSEL. In this implementation, the first photoelectric conversion component uses VCSEL through its optical transmitter, and VCSEL has a low threshold current and low power consumption, so that the power consumption of the transmitted optical signal can be constrained to achieve low power consumption. In addition, the optical transmitter is small in size, has a high modulation bandwidth, can form a circular light beam, is easy to couple with optical fiber, has low cost, strong versatility, and does not interfere with the radio frequency signal, which is also conducive to the optimized design of the first photoelectric conversion component.

[0034] In some possible implementations, the electronic device further includes a first chip, which is fixed to the first housing. The first chip includes a first port and a second port, the first port is electrically connected to the first photoelectric conversion component for transmitting a first signal with the first photoelectric conversion component, and the second port is electrically connected to the first photoelectric conversion component for transmitting a second signal with the first photoelectric conversion component.

[0035] In this implementation, the transmission bandwidth of a single port of the first chip is limited, and the first chip can improve the total transmission bandwidth of the first chip by simultaneously providing the first port and the second port. In some examples, the first chip can also be provided with a third port or more ports.

[0036] In the embodiment of the present application, a single optical fiber can achieve a large transmission bandwidth, so the number of optical fibers required for the entire electronic device is small, and the space occupied by the optical fiber is small, which is conducive to the design of the entire machine architecture.

[0037] In some possible implementations, the electronic device further includes a second chip, the second chip is fixed to the first housing, the second chip is electrically connected to the first photoelectric conversion component, and is used to transmit a third signal with the first photoelectric conversion component.

[0038] In this implementation, the first optoelectronic conversion component can convert and merge signals transmitted by multiple ports of the first chip, and can also convert and merge signals transmitted by the second chip. That is, the first optoelectronic conversion component can convert and merge multiple signals from different sources, so as to transmit them through the same optical fiber, which is beneficial to the design of the overall machine architecture.

[0039] In some possible implementations, the electronic device further includes a third shell, a second rotating shaft, a third circuit assembly and a second optical fiber, the second rotating shaft connects the third shell and the second shell, the third circuit assembly is fixed to the third shell, and both ends of the second optical fiber are respectively connected to the first circuit assembly and the third circuit assembly.

[0040] In the embodiment of the present application, the electronic device realizes signal transmission between the components located in the first shell and the components located in the third shell through the second optical fiber. The second optical fiber has good bending performance, which is conducive to ensuring the quality of the transmitted signal and has a large transmission bandwidth. In addition, the second optical fiber is small in size, which is conducive to realizing the lightweight and thin electronic device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] In order to illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the background technology, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application or the background technology will be described below.

[0042] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present application when it is in an open state;

[0043] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic device shown when it is in a closed state;

[0044] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a partial structure of the electronic device shown in some embodiments;

[0045] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 The structural schematic diagram of the assembly structure of the rotating shaft and the optical fiber in some embodiments;

[0046] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 Schematic diagrams of partial structures of the electronic device shown in other embodiments;

[0047] Figure 6 yes Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the structure of the first photoelectric conversion component in some embodiments is shown;

[0048] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 The schematic arrangement structure of the light emitter of the first photoelectric conversion component in various implementations is shown;

[0049] Figure 8 yes Figure 3 A schematic block diagram of the first photoelectric conversion component and the second photoelectric conversion component in some embodiments;

[0050] Fig. 9 yes Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of a partial structure of an electronic device in some embodiments;

[0051] Fig.10 yes Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the electronic device shown in some embodiments;

[0052] Fig.11 yes Fig.10 The schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic device shown in some embodiments;

[0053] Fig.12 It is a schematic diagram of the electronic device provided in the embodiments of the present application in other embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] The embodiments of the present application are described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0055] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installation" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, "connection" can be a detachable connection or an undetachable connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. Among them, "multiple" means at least two.

[0056] In the embodiments of the present application, the limitations of the relative position relationship mentioned, such as parallel, vertical, aligned, etc. These limitations are all for the current state of the art, rather than absolutely strict limitations, and a small amount of deviation is allowed, and it is possible to be approximately parallel, approximately vertical, approximately aligned, etc. For example, A and B are parallel, which means that A and B are parallel or approximately parallel, and the angle between A and B can be between 0 and 10 degrees. For example, A and B are perpendicular, which means that A and B are perpendicular or approximately perpendicular, and the angle between A and B can be between 80 and 100 degrees.

[0057] In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth", etc. are used only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first", "second", "third", "fourth" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features.

[0058] Please also read Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 1 is a structural diagram of an electronic device 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application when it is in an open state. Figure 2 yes Figure 1The electronic device 100 is a schematic diagram of a structure when it is in a closed state. The electronic device may be a foldable electronic product such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a camera, a wearable device, etc. The wearable device may be a smart watch, a smart bracelet, etc. The embodiment of the present application is described by taking the electronic device as a mobile phone as an example.

[0059] In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 may include a folding device 10 and a screen 20, wherein the screen 20 is mounted on the folding device 10. The screen 20 is used to display an image. Figure 1 As shown, the folding device 10 can be unfolded to an open state; Figure 2 As shown, the folding device 10 can also be folded to a closed state; the folding device 10 can also be unfolded or folded to an intermediate state, and the intermediate state can be any state between the open state and the closed state. The screen 20 is a flexible screen, and the screen 20 will move with the folding device 10. Driven by the folding device 10, the screen 20 can also be unfolded or folded, so that the entire electronic device 100 is unfolded to an open state or folded to a closed state. In this embodiment, when the electronic device 100 is in a closed state, the screen 20 is located on the inner side of the folding device 10, and the electronic device 100 is a folding device with an inward folding screen. It can be understood that in some other embodiments, when the electronic device 100 is in a closed state, the screen 20 can also be located on the outer side of the folding device 10, and at this time, the electronic device 100 is a folding device with an outward folding screen.

[0060] The folding device 10 may include a first shell 1, a second shell 2 and a rotating shaft 3, wherein the rotating shaft 3 connects the first shell 1 and the second shell 2. Through the movement of the rotating shaft 3, the first shell 1 and the second shell 2 can be relatively unfolded to an open state or relatively folded to a closed state. Figure 1 As shown, the first shell 1 and the second shell 2 can be relatively unfolded to an open state, so that the folding device 10 and the electronic device 100 are both in an open state, and the screen 20 is unfolded along with the folding device 10. Exemplarily, when the folding device 10 is in an open state, the angle between the first shell 1 and the second shell 2 can be 180°, and the screen 20 is in a flat state. Figure 2As shown, the first shell 1 and the second shell 2 can be folded relative to each other to a closed state, so that the folding device 10 and the electronic device 100 are both in a closed state, and the screen 20 folds along with the folding device 10. Exemplarily, when the folding device 10 is in a closed state, the screen 20 can be located between the first shell 1 and the second shell 2, that is, the screen 20 can be located inside the folding device 10 and wrapped by the folding device 10. It can be understood that when the first shell 1 and the second shell 2 are in a closed state, the angle between the first shell 1 and the second shell 2 can be approximately 0°. The first shell 1 and the second shell 2 can also be relatively unfolded or relatively folded to an intermediate state, so that the folding device 10 and the electronic device 100 are both in an intermediate state. The intermediate state can be any state between the open state and the closed state, and the screen 20 will also change accordingly.

[0061] In this embodiment, the screen 20 can be unfolded or folded along with the folding device 10. When the electronic device 100 is in an open state, the screen 20 is in a flat state, and the screen 20 can be displayed in full screen, so that the electronic device 100 has a larger display area to improve the user's viewing experience and operating experience. When the electronic device 100 is in a closed state, the plane size of the electronic device 100 is small, which is convenient for the user to carry and store.

[0062] Exemplarily, the first housing 1 may include a first middle frame, the second housing 2 may include a second middle frame, and the screen 20 may be mounted on the first middle frame and the second middle frame. In some examples, the first housing 1 may further include a first back plate fixed to a side of the first middle frame facing away from the screen 20, and the second housing 2 may further include a second back plate fixed to a side of the second middle frame facing away from the screen 20.

[0063] In some embodiments, the screen 20 may be integrated with a display function and a touch sensing function. The display function of the screen 20 is used to display text, images, videos, etc., and the touch sensing function of the screen 20 is used to detect the user's touch action to achieve information interaction between man and machine. Among them, the screen 20 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode or an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display, a mini organic light-emitting diode display, a micro light-emitting diode display, a micro organic light-emitting diode display, or a quantum dot light emitting diode (QLED) display.

[0064] In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 may also include multiple components (not shown in the figure), and the multiple components are mainly housed inside the first shell 1 and the second shell 2, and some components may also be at least partially installed on the rotating shaft 3, which is not strictly limited in the embodiment of the present application. The multiple components of the electronic device 100 may include but are not limited to a processor, an internal processor, an external storage interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a charging management module, a power management module, a battery, an antenna, a communication module, a camera module, an audio module, a speaker, a receiver, a microphone, an earphone interface, a sensor module, a subscriber identification module (SIM) card interface, one or more rigid circuit boards or flexible circuit boards, etc. Among them, the electronic device 100 may have more or fewer components than described above, may combine two or more components, or may have different component configurations. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the number, type, position, etc. of the modules of the electronic device 100.

[0065] See also Figure 3 , Figure 3 yes Figure 1 The illustrated diagram is a simplified schematic diagram of a partial structure of the electronic device 100 in some embodiments.

[0066] In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 may further include a first circuit component 4, a second circuit component 5, and an optical fiber 6. The first circuit component 4 is fixed to the first housing 1, and the second circuit component 5 is fixed to the second housing 2. Among them, multiple components installed in the first housing 1 can be electrically connected to the first circuit component 4 to converge signals to the first circuit component 4. Multiple components installed in the second housing 2 can be electrically connected to the second circuit component 5 to converge signals to the second circuit component 5. Among them, one end of the optical fiber 6 is located in the first housing 1 and is electrically connected to the first circuit component 4, and the other end of the optical fiber 6 passes through the rotating shaft 3, is located in the second housing 2, and is electrically connected to the second circuit component 5.

[0067] In this embodiment, the first circuit component 4 and the second circuit component 5 can realize the signal transmission through the optical fiber 6, so as to realize the signal transmission between the two parts of the electronic device 100 that can be folded with each other. Among them, the first circuit component 4 can convert between electrical signals and optical signals, and the second circuit component 5 can also convert between electrical signals and optical signals. The optical signal is transmitted in the optical fiber 6 to realize the signal transmission between the first circuit component 4 and the second circuit component 5.

[0068] In the scheme of signal transmission through the flexible circuit board, since the foldable electronic device has many wiring signals, basically more than 100 (for example, including more than 60 low-speed signals and more than 20 high-speed signals), and the main material of the flexible circuit board is copper foil, the reliability of the wiring of the flexible circuit board is greatly reduced during a large number of bending processes, and it is easy to be damaged. Moreover, when the electrical signal is transmitted in the flexible circuit board, it is easily interfered by other devices and signals in the electronic device, resulting in a decrease in transmission quality. In addition, the antenna of the electronic device will also interfere with the transmission signal (such as clock signal, high-speed signal, radio frequency signal, etc.) in the flexible circuit board, resulting in a high risk of electromagnetic interference in the electronic device, and usually requires a more complex shielding structure.

[0069] In the embodiment of the present application, the optical fiber 6 is used for signal transmission through the axis. The optical fiber 6 has good bending resistance. When the optical fiber 6 is used as the transmission medium, the light is not easily damaged when the electronic device 100 is repeatedly bent, and a relatively reliable transmission performance is still guaranteed. In addition, what is transmitted in the optical fiber 6 is an optical signal rather than an electrical signal. The optical signal will not be interfered by other components or electrical signals in the electronic device 100, nor will it interact with the antenna. Therefore, the signal transmission quality is good, which is also conducive to reducing the risk of electromagnetic interference in the electronic device 100, and the electronic device 100 does not need to set additional shielding measures. The optical fiber 6 uses optical signals for transmission, which can also achieve low latency and low power consumption in signal transmission.

[0070] Exemplarily, the first circuit assembly 4 may include a first photoelectric conversion assembly 41 and a first circuit board 42, wherein the first circuit board 42 is fixed to the first housing 1, and the first photoelectric conversion assembly 41 is fixed to the first circuit board 42 and connected to the optical fiber 6. The first photoelectric conversion assembly 41 is used to realize the conversion between optical signals and electrical signals. The first circuit board 42 may be a printed circuit board, a flexible circuit board, or a combination of hard and soft circuit boards.

[0071] The second circuit assembly 5 may include a second photoelectric conversion assembly 51 and a second circuit board 52. The second circuit board 52 is fixed to the second housing 2. The second photoelectric conversion assembly 51 is fixed to the second circuit board 52 and connected to the optical fiber 6. The second photoelectric conversion assembly 51 is used to realize the conversion between optical signals and electrical signals. The second circuit board 52 may be a printed circuit board, a flexible circuit board, or a hard-soft circuit board.

[0072] The first photoelectric conversion component 41 can be directly fixed to the first circuit board 42 by welding, or a flange can be fixed on the first circuit board 42, and the first photoelectric conversion component 41 can be plugged into the flange to achieve relative fixation with the first circuit board 42. The setting of the flange enables the first photoelectric conversion component 41 to be detachably connected to the first circuit board 42. In some other embodiments, the first photoelectric conversion component 41 can be provided with another flange so that the optical fiber 6 can be detachably connected to the first photoelectric conversion component 41, and can also be used for limiting and aligning the optical fiber 6 and the first photoelectric conversion component 41, which is beneficial to improving the transmission quality of the optical signal. The relevant design of the second circuit component 5 can refer to the above-mentioned relevant description of the first circuit component 4, and will not be repeated here.

[0073] In some embodiments, the optical fiber 6 may include a first section 61, a shaft-penetrating section 62, and a second section 63 connected in sequence. The first section 61 is mounted on the first housing 1 and connected to the first circuit assembly 4; the shaft-penetrating section 62 is mounted on the rotating shaft 3; the second section 63 is mounted on the second housing 2 and connected to the second circuit assembly 5. During the relative rotation of the first housing 1 and the second housing 2, the first section 61 and the second section 63 rotate relative to each other, and at least part of the shaft-penetrating section 62 is twisted. The twisting of at least part of the shaft-penetrating section 62 includes the twisting of all the shaft-penetrating sections 62 and the twisting of part of the shaft-penetrating sections 62.

[0074] In this embodiment, during the folding or unfolding of the electronic device 100, the first shell 1 and the second shell 2 rotate relative to each other, the first section 61 of the optical fiber 6 moves with the first shell 1, and the second section 63 of the optical fiber 6 moves with the second shell 2. The second section 63 rotates relative to the first section 61, and at least part of the through-axis section 62 of the optical fiber 6 is twisted, so that the relative rotational movement between the second section 63 and the first section 61 can be smoothly realized, and the risk of damage to the optical fiber 6 during repeated bending can be effectively reduced, and the bending resistance of the optical fiber 6 is further improved, so that when the electronic device 100 performs through-axis signal transmission through the optical fiber 6, the reliability is high and the service life is long.

[0075] Exemplarily, when the first section 61 and the second section 63 of the optical fiber 6 rotate relative to each other along with the first shell 1 and the second shell 2 , the maximum angle of relative rotation can reach 180°.

[0076] In some embodiments, the extension direction of the shaft-threading section 62 of the optical fiber 6 can be parallel to the length extension direction of the shaft 3. In this case, the shaft-threading section 62 can not only be smoothly twisted when the first housing 1 and the second housing 2 rotate relative to each other, but also the layout structure of the shaft-threading section 62 in the shaft 3 is easier to implement, and the spatial characteristics of the shaft 3 itself can be fully utilized for layout, which is conducive to reducing the difficulty of design and installation. Among them, the two directions are parallel, including the two directions coincident and the two directions do not coincident.

[0077] In some embodiments, the shaft 3 has a center line 31 in the direction from the first housing 1 to the second housing 2, and the extension direction of the shaft section 62 of the optical fiber 6 coincides with the center line 31 of the shaft 3. The direction from the first housing 1 to the second housing 2 is perpendicular to the length extension direction of the shaft 3. When the electronic device 100 is opened, the direction from the first housing 1 to the second housing 2 can be the width direction of the electronic device 100, for example Figure 3 The center line 31 of the rotating shaft 3 is parallel to the length extension direction of the rotating shaft 3 , and the distance from the center line 31 of the rotating shaft 3 to the first housing 1 is equal to the distance from the center line 31 of the rotating shaft 3 to the second housing 2 .

[0078] In this embodiment, by setting the extension direction of the through-shaft segment 62 of the optical fiber 6 to coincide with the center line 31 of the rotating shaft 3, during the folding or unfolding of the electronic device 100, the main movement of the through-shaft segment 62 is torsional movement, and the risk of the through-shaft segment 62 being pulled by the first segment 61 and the second segment 63 and being displaced in the direction from the first shell 1 to the second shell 2 is relatively small. The folding or unfolding action of the electronic device 100 has little effect on the signal transmission of the optical fiber 6, thereby reducing the risk of damage or breakage of the through-shaft segment 62, thereby improving reliability.

[0079] In some embodiments, the through-shaft section 62 of the optical fiber 6 has a certain length in the length extension direction parallel to the rotation axis 3 to achieve sufficient twisting, thereby facilitating the relative rotation of the second section 63 and the first section 61 .

[0080] Please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 , Figure 4 yes Figure 3 The illustrated structure is a schematic diagram of the assembly structure of the rotating shaft 3 and the optical fiber 6 in some embodiments.

[0081] In some embodiments, the rotating shaft 3 may be provided with a slot or a hole 32, and the extending direction of the slot or the hole 32 is parallel to the length extension direction of the rotating shaft 3. The slot or the hole 32 may be a continuous integral structure, and the integral structure extends in a direction parallel to the length extension direction of the rotating shaft 3; or the slot or the hole 32 may also include a plurality of parts arranged at intervals, and the plurality of parts are arranged in a direction parallel to the length extension direction of the rotating shaft 3.

[0082] The shaft-penetrating section 62 is installed and limited in the slot or hole 32, and a gap is formed between the shaft-penetrating section 62 and the wall of the slot or hole 32, so that the shaft-penetrating section 62 can be twisted in the slot or hole 32. In this embodiment, the shaft 3 limits the shaft-penetrating section 62 through the slot or hole 32, so that the shaft-penetrating section 62 can be installed in the shaft 3 and can be twisted relative to the shaft 3 when the electronic device 100 is unfolded or folded. The diameter of the slot or hole 32 can be slightly larger than the diameter of the optical fiber 6, for example, the ratio can be in the range of 0.8 to 1.2.

[0083] Exemplarily, the rotating shaft 3 may include a first shaft body 3a and a second shaft body 3b, and the second shaft body 3b is fixedly connected to the first shaft body 3a. The slot or hole 32 may be partially formed on the first shaft body 3a and partially formed on the second shaft body 3b, and is formed by the assembly structure of the first shaft body 3a and the second shaft body 3b. In this case, the processing difficulty of the slot or hole 32 is low and easy to implement.

[0084] The width direction of the shaft 3 is perpendicular to the length extension direction of the shaft 3 and parallel to the direction from the first housing 1 to the second housing 2, and the thickness direction of the shaft 3 is perpendicular to the length extension direction and the width direction of the shaft 3. In some examples, in the width direction of the shaft 3, the card slot or card hole 32 is located at the center of the shaft 3 to reduce the influence of the unfolding or folding action of the electronic device 100 on the signal transmission of the optical fiber 6.

[0085] In some embodiments, the diameter of the optical fiber 6 may be less than or equal to 2 mm. In this case, since the diameter of the optical fiber 6 is small, it is not only conducive to the realization of the layout structure of the optical fiber 6 in the rotating shaft 3, but also the optical fiber 6 is easy to rotate and twist, which is conducive to ensuring the reliability and service life of the optical fiber 6.

[0086] The optical fiber 6 may include a core and a protective sleeve, wherein the protective sleeve is arranged outside the core and is used to protect the core. The number of cores may be single or multiple, that is, the optical fiber 6 may be a single-core optical fiber or a multi-core optical fiber.

[0087] Please refer again Figure 3 In some embodiments, at least a portion of the structure of the first section 61 of the optical fiber 6 can be fixed to the first housing 1, for example, by means of snap-fitting, bonding, etc., so that during the folding or unfolding process of the electronic device 100, the first section 61 moves with the first housing 1, and the first section 61 moves less relative to the first housing 1, so as to ensure the stability and reliability of the first section 61. Similarly, at least a portion of the structure of the second section 63 of the optical fiber 6 can be fixed to the second housing 2, for example, by means of snap-fitting, bonding, etc., so that during the folding or unfolding process of the electronic device 100, the second section 63 moves with the second housing 2, and the second section 63 moves less relative to the second housing 2, so as to ensure the stability and reliability of the second section 63.

[0088] The first section 61 extends from the location of the first circuit assembly 4 to the direction close to the rotating shaft 3. The first section 61 can be a straight line section, a combination of a straight line section and a curved line section, or a curved line section. The second section 63 extends from the location of the second circuit assembly 5 to the direction close to the rotating shaft 3. The second section 63 can be a straight line section, a combination of a straight line section and a curved line section, or a curved line section.

[0089] In some embodiments, the optical fiber 6 may further include a first connecting segment 64, which is connected between the first segment 61 and the shaft-penetrating segment 62. The first connecting segment 64 is an arc segment or a curve segment. At this time, the optical fiber 6 can be bent by the first connecting segment 64, so that the shaft-penetrating segment 62 can be bent relative to the first segment 61 and extend in the shaft 3. The radius R1 of the first connecting segment 64 may be greater than or equal to 4 mm. Among them, when the first connecting segment 64 is a curve segment, the radius R1 of the first connecting segment 64 can be understood as the radius of curvature of the first connecting segment 64. Among them, a small part of the first segment 61 can extend into the shaft 3, and the first connecting segment 64 is located inside the shaft 3.

[0090] The optical fiber 6 may further include a second connecting segment 65, which is connected between the second segment 63 and the shaft-penetrating segment 62. The second connecting segment 65 is an arc segment or a curve segment. At this time, the optical fiber 6 can be bent by the second connecting segment 65, so that the second segment 63 can be bent relative to the shaft-penetrating segment 62 and extend out of the rotating shaft 3. The radius R2 of the second connecting segment 65 may be greater than or equal to 4 mm. Among them, when the second connecting segment 65 is a curve segment, the radius R2 of the second connecting segment 65 can be understood as the radius of curvature of the second connecting segment 65. Among them, a small part of the second segment 63 can extend into the rotating shaft 3, and the second connecting segment 65 is located inside the rotating shaft 3.

[0091] In this embodiment, the optical fiber 6 is provided with a first connecting section 64 between the first section 61 and the shaft-threading section 62, and the radius of the first connecting section 64 is greater than or equal to 4 mm, thereby reducing the risk of signal leakage when the signal is transmitted at the bending portion between the first section 61 and the shaft-threading section 62, which is beneficial to ensuring the transmission quality of the signal in the optical fiber 6. In addition, the first connecting section 64 has a large bending radius, which can also ensure the reliability of the structure of the electronic device 100 during the unfolding or folding process.

[0092] The optical fiber 6 is provided with a second connecting section 65 between the second section 63 and the shaft-threading section 62, and the radius of the second connecting section 65 is greater than or equal to 4 mm, thereby reducing the risk of signal leakage when the signal is transmitted at the bending portion between the second section 63 and the shaft-threading section 62, which is beneficial to ensuring the transmission quality of the signal in the optical fiber 6. In addition, the second connecting section 65 has a large bending radius, which can also ensure the reliability of the structure of the electronic device 100 during the unfolding or folding process.

[0093] In this embodiment, by setting the shape and radius of the first connecting section 64 and the second connecting section 65, the optical fiber 6 can enter the shaft 3 vertically or approximately vertically, which helps to reduce the design difficulty of the shaft 3 and the assembly difficulty of the optical fiber 6.

[0094] In some examples, the radius of the first connecting segment 64 may be greater than or equal to 10 mm, and the radius of the second connecting segment 65 may be greater than or equal to 10 mm, so as to further increase the transmission performance and anti-bending performance of the first connecting segment 64 and the second connecting segment 65 .

[0095] In some other embodiments, the first connecting segment 64 of the optical fiber 6 may also extend from the first housing 1 into the shaft 3, and the first segment 61 does not enter the shaft 3; the second connecting segment 65 may also extend from the shaft 3 into the second housing 2, and the second segment 63 does not enter the shaft 3. The present application does not strictly limit the specific positions of the first connecting segment 64 and the second connecting segment 65 of the optical fiber 6 relative to the shaft 3.

[0096] It is understandable that, at other positions of the optical fiber 6, the bending of the optical fiber 6 can also be achieved by other arc segments or curve segments, and the radius of these parts can also be set to be greater than or equal to 4 mm to reduce the risk of signal leakage and ensure the reliability of signal transmission. Of course, when these parts are fixed parts and do not deform during the unfolding or folding process of the electronic device 100, the radius of these parts can also be less than 4 mm under the condition of meeting the low risk of signal leakage, and the embodiment of the present application does not strictly limit this.

[0097] See also Figure 5 , Figure 5 yes Figure 1 The diagrams are schematic diagrams of partial structures of the electronic device 100 in other embodiments. Figure 5 The illustrated embodiment may include Figure 3 Most of the technical features of the illustrated embodiments are described below, and the differences between the two are mainly described below. Most of the technical features that are the same between the two are not repeated here.

[0098] In some embodiments, the optical fiber 6 further includes a first connecting segment 64, the first connecting segment 64 is connected between the first segment 61 and the shaft-penetrating segment 62, the first connecting segment 64 is a straight segment, the angle A between the first connecting segment 64 and the first segment 61 is greater than 90°, and the angle B between the first connecting segment 64 and the shaft-penetrating segment 62 is greater than 90°. For example, the angle A may be in the range of 120° to 150°, and the angle B may be in the range of 120° to 150°. The first connecting segment 64 may extend from the first housing 1 to the inside of the rotating shaft 3.

[0099] The optical fiber 6 also includes a second connecting segment 65, which is connected between the second segment 63 and the shaft-penetrating segment 62. The second connecting segment 65 is a straight segment, and the angle C between the second connecting segment 65 and the second segment 63 is greater than 90°, and the angle D between the second connecting segment 65 and the shaft-penetrating segment 62 is greater than 90°. For example, the angle C can be in the range of 120° to 150°, and the angle D can be in the range of 120° to 150°. The second connecting segment 65 can extend from the rotating shaft 3 to the second housing 2.

[0100] In this embodiment, the optical fiber 6 is provided with a first connecting section 64 between the first section 61 and the shaft-threading section 62, and the angles between the first connecting section 64 and the first section 61 and the shaft-threading section 62 are all greater than 90°, thereby reducing the risk of signal leakage when the signal is transmitted between the first section 61 and the shaft-threading section 62, which is conducive to ensuring the transmission quality of the signal in the optical fiber 6. The optical fiber 6 is provided with a second connecting section 65 between the second section 63 and the shaft-threading section 62, and the angles between the second connecting section 65 and the second section 63 and the shaft-threading section 62 are all greater than 90°, thereby reducing the risk of signal leakage when the signal is transmitted between the second section 63 and the shaft-threading section 62, which is conducive to ensuring the transmission quality of the signal in the optical fiber 6. In addition, the provision of the first connecting section 64 and the second connecting section 65 can also facilitate the relative rotation of the first section 61 and the second section 63 during the unfolding or folding process of the electronic device 100, thereby ensuring the structural reliability and signal transmission reliability of the optical fiber 6.

[0101] In this embodiment, the optical fiber 6 is designed in shape and position of the first connecting section 64 and the second connecting section 65 so that the optical fiber 6 can enter at an oblique angle relative to the rotating shaft 3, which is beneficial to the diversification of the arrangement of the optical fiber 6.

[0102] In some other embodiments, a small portion of the first section 61 of the optical fiber 6 may extend into the rotating shaft 3, and the first connecting section 64 is located inside the rotating shaft 3; a small portion of the second section 63 may extend into the rotating shaft 3, and the second connecting section 65 is located inside the rotating shaft 3. The specific positions of the first connecting section 64 and the second connecting section 65 of the optical fiber 6 relative to the rotating shaft 3 are not strictly limited in the present application.

[0103] In an embodiment of the present application, the first optoelectronic conversion component 41 and the second optoelectronic conversion component 51 can convert multiple electrical signals into multiple optical signals of different wavelengths, and combine the multiple optical signals into a composite optical signal or split a composite optical signal into multiple optical signals for transmission through the same optical fiber 6, thereby realizing link transmission modes of different rates or different combinations, thereby realizing concurrent link transmission, independent non-interference, and low power consumption, thereby improving the transmission bandwidth of optical fiber 6.

[0104] See also Figure 6 , Figure 6 yes Figure 3 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first photoelectric conversion component 41 in some embodiments.

[0105] In some embodiments, the first optoelectronic conversion component 41 may include a plurality of optical transmitters 411 and a multiplexer 412, wherein the plurality of optical transmitters 411 are used to emit light of different wavelengths, the multiplexer 412 is used to combine the light of different wavelengths into a combined light, and the optical fiber 6 is used to transmit the combined light. The multiplexer 412 may be used for combining wavelengths.

[0106] In this embodiment, the first optoelectronic conversion component 41 can convert multiple electrical signals into optical signals of different wavelengths, and transmit them to the optical fiber 6 after merging, so as to be transmitted through the optical fiber 6, which is conducive to achieving a larger transmission bandwidth of the optical fiber 6. For example, Figure 6 In the embodiment, two optical transmitters 411 can be used to separate two optical signals (λ1 and λ2) with different wavelengths, and a multiplexer 412 combines the optical signals (λ1 and λ2) into a composite signal (λ1+λ2).

[0107] In the scheme of signal transmission through the flexible circuit board, with the continuous iteration of the components of the foldable electronic device, the transmission bandwidth of the flexible circuit board needs to be continuously increased, resulting in the need to set up multiple flexible circuit boards in the electronic device. The flexible circuit boards occupy more and more space in the whole machine, which is not conducive to the design of the whole machine architecture and the cost is getting higher and higher. In addition, based on the space limitation of electronic equipment, the layout quantity and volume of the flexible circuit board are also limited, which will also lead to the limitation of the transmission bandwidth.

[0108] In the embodiment of the present application, transmission through optical fiber 6 can meet the large bandwidth transmission requirements, and optical fiber 6 occupies less space, which is conducive to the design of the whole machine architecture. In addition, when the same transmission bandwidth is met, the cost of optical fiber 6 is also lower than that of flexible circuit board.

[0109] Exemplarily, the optical transmitter 411 may adopt VCSEL (Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser). In the present embodiment, the first photoelectric conversion component 41 adopts VCSEL through its optical transmitter 411. VCSEL has a low threshold current and low power consumption, so that the power consumption of the transmitted optical signal can be constrained to achieve low power consumption. In addition, the optical transmitter 411 is small in size, has a high modulation bandwidth, can form a circular light beam, is easy to couple with the optical fiber 6, has low cost, strong versatility, and does not interfere with the radio frequency signal, which is also conducive to the optimized design of the first photoelectric conversion component 41.

[0110] In some embodiments, the first photoelectric conversion component 41 also includes a substrate 413 and a package 414, a plurality of light emitters 411 are fixed to the substrate 413 at intervals from each other, the multiplexer 412 is located at the light emitting side of the plurality of light emitters 411, and the package 414 is fixedly connected to the substrate 413 and wraps the plurality of light emitters 411 and the multiplexer 412.

[0111] In this embodiment, the first photoelectric conversion component 41 encapsulates the substrate 413, multiple light emitters 411 and the multiplexer 412 through the packaging component 414, which can not only protect these structural components but also form an integrated module, which is beneficial to the subsequent assembly and application of the first photoelectric conversion component 41.

[0112] See also Figure 7 , Figure 7 yes Figure 6 The schematic arrangement structure of the light emitter 411 of the first photoelectric conversion component 41 in various implementations is shown.

[0113] In some implementations, the first photoelectric conversion component 41 may include two light emitters 411 , the substrate 413 may be rectangular, and the two light emitters 411 may be arranged at diagonal positions of the substrate 413 .

[0114] In some other implementations, the first photoelectric conversion component 41 may include four light emitters 411 , the substrate 413 may be rectangular, and the four light emitters 411 may be arranged in a 2×2 array, with the row and column directions of the array corresponding to the length and width of the substrate 413 .

[0115] In other implementations, the first photoelectric conversion component 41 may include a plurality of light emitters 411 , the substrate 413 may be rectangular, and the plurality of light emitters 411 may be arranged in an N×M array, where N is an integer greater than 2, M is an integer greater than 2, and the row and column directions of the array correspond to the length and width of the substrate 413 .

[0116] It is understandable that the multiple light emitters 411 of the first photoelectric conversion component 41 may also have other arrangements, and the embodiment of the present application does not strictly limit this.

[0117] The design of the second photoelectric conversion component 51 may refer to the relevant description of the first photoelectric conversion component 41 , and will not be described in detail here.

[0118] See also Figure 8 , Figure 8 yes Figure 3 Schematic block diagram of the first photoelectric conversion component 41 and the second photoelectric conversion component 51 in some embodiments.

[0119] In some embodiments, the first photoelectric conversion component 41 may include a forward error correction (FEC) 41a, a transmitting digital signal processor (DSP) 41b, K digital-to-analog (D / A) converters 41c, a first multiplexer 41d, a receiving digital signal processor 41e, K analog-to-digital (A / D) converters 41f, and a second multiplexer 41g. K may be an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0120] Among them, the forward error corrector 41a is used to manage the first optoelectronic conversion component 41, including power management, signal debugging, and management of the digital signal processor (41b, 41e). The sending digital signal processor 41b and the receiving digital signal processor 41e are used to be electrically connected to components outside the first optoelectronic conversion component 41 for digital signal processing. The digital-to-analog converter 41c is used to convert digital signals into analog signals, and the analog-to-digital converter 41f is used to convert analog signals into digital signals. The first multiplexer 41d is used to combine multiple optical signals of different wavelengths to enter the optical fiber 6; the second multiplexer 41g is used to demultiplex the signal output by the optical fiber 6 into multiple optical signals of different wavelengths.

[0121] The second photoelectric conversion component 51 may also include a forward error corrector 51a, a transmitting digital signal processor 51b, K digital-to-analog converters 51c, a first multiplexer 51d, a receiving digital signal processor 51e, K analog-to-digital converters 51f, and a second multiplexer 51g. The description of each component of the second photoelectric conversion component 51 may refer to the first photoelectric conversion component 41.

[0122] For example, Figure 8 As shown, K is 4 for example. The sending digital signal processor 41b of the first photoelectric conversion component 41 processes the digital signal to be transmitted, and the four digital-to-analog converters 41c convert the digital signal into four analog signals, and then the first photoelectric conversion component 41 forms four optical signals of different wavelengths (λ1, λ2, λ3, λ4) correspondingly, and the first multiplexer 41d combines the above optical signals and transmits them to the second photoelectric conversion component 51 through the optical fiber 6; the second multiplexer 51g of the second photoelectric conversion component 51 demultiplexes the received optical signal into four optical signals of different wavelengths (λ1, λ2, λ3, λ4), and the four digital-to-analog converters 51c convert the four analog signals corresponding to the above optical signals into four digital signals, which are then processed by the receiving digital signal processor 51e to realize the signal transmission from the first photoelectric conversion component 41 to the second photoelectric conversion component 51. The signal transmission process from the second photoelectric conversion component 51 to the first photoelectric conversion component 41 is similar to the signal transmission process from the first photoelectric conversion component 41 to the second photoelectric conversion component 51, which will not be repeated here.

[0123] In an embodiment of the present application, optical signals of different wavelengths can be used to carry different types of electrical signals, so that the electronic device 100 can realize the through-axis transmission of various types of electrical signals to meet the transmission requirements of signals in different scenarios.

[0124] See also Fig. 9 , Fig. 9 yes Figure 1 The illustrated diagram is a schematic block diagram of a partial structure of the electronic device 100 in some embodiments. Fig. 9The illustrated embodiment can be combined with the embodiments shown above, for example Fig. 9 The optical fiber 6 is used to illustrate the connection relationship. The optical fiber 6 can be used Figure 3 The structure shown or Figure 5 The structure shown, Fig. 9 The first photoelectric conversion component 41 and the second photoelectric conversion component 51 can be Figures 6 to 8 The structure shown, etc.

[0125] In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 may further include a first chip 71, and the first chip 71 is fixed to the first housing 1. The first chip 71 may be fixed to the first circuit board 42 (see Figure 3 ), or may be fixed to other circuit boards. The first chip 71 may include a first port 711 and a second port 712, the first port 711 is electrically connected to the first photoelectric conversion component 41, and is used to transmit a first signal to the first photoelectric conversion component 41, and the second port 712 is electrically connected to the first photoelectric conversion component 41, and is used to transmit a second signal to the first photoelectric conversion component 41.

[0126] In this embodiment, the transmission bandwidth of a single port of the first chip 71 is limited, and the first chip 71 can improve the total transmission bandwidth of the first chip 71 by simultaneously providing the first port 711 and the second port 712. In some examples, the first chip 71 can also be provided with a third port or more ports.

[0127] Among them, the first port 711 of the first chip 71 transmits a first signal with the first photoelectric conversion component 41, and the second port 712 transmits a second signal with the first photoelectric conversion component 41. The first photoelectric conversion component 41 can convert both the first signal and the second signal into optical signals and transmit them through the optical fiber 6, so that the single optical fiber 6 of the electronic device 100 can transmit more signals.

[0128] In the scheme of signal transmission through the flexible circuit board, with the continuous iteration of the components of the foldable electronic device, the transmission bandwidth of the flexible circuit board needs to be continuously increased, resulting in the need to set up multiple flexible circuit boards in the electronic device, and the flexible circuit boards occupy more and more space in the whole machine, which is not conducive to the design of the whole machine architecture. In the embodiment of the present application, a single optical fiber 6 can achieve a large transmission bandwidth, so the number of optical fibers 6 required for the electronic device 100 is small, and the space occupied by the optical fiber 6 is small, which is conducive to the design of the whole machine architecture.

[0129] In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 may further include a second chip 72, and the second chip 72 is fixed to the first housing 1. The second chip 72 may be fixed to the first circuit board 42 (see Figure 3), and may also be fixed to other circuit boards. The second chip 72 is electrically connected to the first photoelectric conversion component 41, and is used to transmit the third signal with the first photoelectric conversion component 41.

[0130] In this embodiment, the first optoelectronic conversion component 41 can convert and merge signals transmitted by multiple ports of the first chip 71, and can also convert and merge signals transmitted by the second chip 72. That is, the first optoelectronic conversion component 41 can convert and merge multiple signals from different sources, thereby transmitting them through the same optical fiber 6, which is beneficial to the design of the overall machine architecture.

[0131] In some examples, the electronic device 100 may further include other chips or other components fixed to the first housing 1 , and these structures may also be electrically connected to the first photoelectric conversion component 41 to perform signal transmission with the first photoelectric conversion component 41 .

[0132] In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 further includes a third chip 73, and the third chip 73 is fixed to the second housing 2. The third chip 73 can be fixed to the second circuit board 52 (see Figure 3 ), or can be fixed to other circuit boards. The third chip 73 is electrically connected to the second photoelectric conversion component 51, and is used for signal transmission with the second photoelectric conversion component 51.

[0133] In this embodiment, the second photoelectric conversion component 51 can convert the signal transmitted by the third chip 73 to transmit the signal with the first photoelectric conversion component 41 through the optical fiber 6, thereby realizing signal interaction between the third chip 73 and the first chip 71 and the second signal.

[0134] In some other embodiments, the electronic device 100 may also include other chips or other components fixed to the second housing 2 , and these structures may also be electrically connected to the second photoelectric conversion component 51 to perform signal transmission with the second photoelectric conversion component 51 .

[0135] Please refer to Fig. 9 and Fig.10 , Fig.10 yes Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of an electronic device 100 in some embodiments is shown.

[0136] In some embodiments, the first chip 71 may be a convergence chip 81. The convergence chip 81 may be provided with a plurality of interfaces, and the convergence chip 81 may be electrically connected to components such as a screen connector 82, a camera module 83, and a sensor assembly 84 through different interfaces. Among them, the screen connector 82 may be located inside the first shell 1, and the camera module 83 and the sensor assembly 84 may be fixed to the first shell 1. Among them, a DSI (Display Serial Interface) signal may be transmitted between the screen connector 82 and the convergence chip 81; a CSI (Camera Serial Interface) signal may be transmitted between the camera module 83 and the convergence chip 81; the sensor assembly 84 may include at least one sensor, for example, a fingerprint sensor, a touch sensor, etc., and an SPI (Serial Peripheral interface) signal and / or an I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) signal may be transmitted between the sensor assembly 84 and the convergence chip 81. In addition, the aggregation chip 81 can also be electrically connected to the signal port of the electronic device 100 through an interface. The signal port can be, for example, a card socket, a plug-in port, etc. PCIE (peripheral component interconnect express, high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard) signals can be transmitted between the signal port and the aggregation chip 81.

[0137] In some other embodiments, the interface of the convergence chip 81 can also transmit MIPI (Mobile Industry Processor Interface) signals, Serdes (deserializer) signals, USB (Universal Serial Bus) signals, DP (DisplayPort) signals, eDP (Embedded DisplayPort) signals, HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) signals, GPIO (General-purpose input / output) signals, I3C (Improved Inter Integrated Circuit) signals, I2S (Inter-IC Sound) signals, UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter) signals, SPMI (Serial Peripheral Management Interface) signals and other signals with the above-mentioned components or other components.

[0138] Among them, the first convergence signal, the second convergence signal and / or other convergence signals can be transmitted between the convergence chip 81 and the first photoelectric conversion component 41. At this time, the first signal can correspond to the first convergence signal, and the second signal can correspond to the second convergence signal. In some examples, the port of the convergence chip 81 can be electrically connected to a serial interface (not shown in the figure), and the serial interface is used to realize serial signal transmission between the convergence chip 81 and the first photoelectric conversion component 41, that is, the first convergence signal and the second convergence signal are serial signals. The convergence chip 81 is used to converge signals of different protocols together to transfer signals of the same type, such as high-speed serial number signals to the serial interface. Among them, the serial interface can be integrated in the convergence chip 81, or it can be independent of the convergence chip 81.

[0139] Among them, the first optoelectronic conversion component 41 can convert different types of electrical signals into optical signals of different wavelengths accordingly. For example, the low-speed I2C\SPI signal uses the wavelength of λ1, and the high-speed MIPI signal uses the wavelength signal of λ2, so that non-interference parallel transmission can be achieved in the transmission of optical fiber 6.

[0140] The second chip 72 may be other chips or modules, which are not strictly limited here.

[0141] In some embodiments, the third chip 73 may be a system chip 85, and the system chip 85 may be integrated with a serial interface 86, and the serial interface 86 is used to implement serial signal transmission between the system chip 85 and the second photoelectric conversion component 51. In some other examples, the serial interface 86 may also be arranged outside the system chip 85.

[0142] In some other embodiments, the electronic device 100 may further include a system-level chip fixed to the first housing 1 , and the convergence chip 81 may also be integrated into the system-level chip.

[0143] See also Fig.11 , Fig.11 yes Fig.10 The illustrated diagram is a schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic device 100 in some embodiments.

[0144] In some embodiments, the convergence chip 81 can be fixed to the first circuit board 42. The camera module 83 can be electrically connected to the first circuit board 42 through the first flexible circuit board 91, so that the camera module 83 is electrically connected to the convergence chip 81. The screen connector 82 can be electrically connected to the first circuit board 42 through the second flexible circuit board 92, so that the camera module 83 is electrically connected to the convergence chip 81.

[0145] In some embodiments, the system-level chip 85 can be fixed to the second circuit board 52. The electronic device 100 can also include a second camera module 87, which is fixed to the second housing 2, and the second camera module 87 can be electrically connected to the second circuit board 52 through a third flexible circuit board 93, so that the second camera module 87 is electrically connected to the system-level chip 85.

[0146] In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 may further include a first battery 94 and a second battery 95, wherein the first battery 94 is fixed to the first housing 1 and the second battery 95 is fixed to the second housing 2. In this case, the overall battery capacity of the electronic device 100 is relatively large.

[0147] In the scheme of signal transmission through the flexible circuit board, the flexible circuit board is usually stacked with the battery of the electronic device, which affects the volume of the battery and further affects the battery capacity. In the embodiment of the present application, the optical fiber 6 itself is small in size. Fig.11 As shown, the optical fiber 6 can also be arranged staggered with the battery, so it will not affect the volume and capacity of the battery, which is beneficial to the large-capacity design of the battery of the electronic device 100.

[0148] In the above embodiments, the electronic device 100 is mainly described as a two-fold device, that is, the electronic device 100 includes two shells that can be bent relative to each other. In some other embodiments, the electronic device 100 can also be a three-fold device or a multi-fold device, that is, the electronic device 100 can include three or more shells that are bent relative to each other. This part of the device can include all or most of the technical features of the two-fold device, and can refer to the relevant descriptions of the two devices for adaptive design. The following takes a three-fold device as an example to mainly explain the difference between a three-fold device and a two-fold device.

[0149] See also Fig.12 , Fig.12 It is a schematic diagram of the electronic device 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application in other embodiments. Fig.12 The electronic device 100 shown may include most of the technical features of the electronic device 100 in the previous embodiment. The following mainly describes the differences between the two, and most of the same contents between the two are not repeated.

[0150] In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 may further include a third housing 30, a second shaft 40, a third circuit assembly 50, and a second optical fiber 60. The third housing 30 and the second shaft 40 are also part of the folding device of the electronic device 100. The second shaft 40 connects the third housing 30 and the second housing 2, the third circuit assembly 50 is fixed to the third housing 30, and the two ends of the second optical fiber 60 are respectively connected to the first circuit assembly 4 and the third circuit assembly 50.

[0151] The second optical fiber 60 may be a single-core optical fiber or a multi-core optical fiber. The design of the second optical fiber 60 may refer to the relevant description of the optical fiber 6. For example, the design of the through-axis structure of the second optical fiber 60 at the shaft 3 and the through-axis design at the second shaft 40 may refer to the relevant description of the through-axis structure of the optical fiber 6 at the shaft 3, which will not be described in detail here. The third circuit component 50 may include a circuit board and a photoelectric conversion component fixed on the circuit board. The design of the photoelectric conversion component may refer to the relevant description in the previous text, which will not be described in detail here.

[0152] In the scheme of signal transmission through the flexible circuit board, as the electronic device develops into a multi-folding form, the transmission links of the flexible circuit board increase, which easily leads to the deterioration of the quality of the transmission signal. In the embodiment of the present application, the electronic device 100 realizes the signal transmission between the components located in the first shell 1 and the components located in the third shell 30 through the second optical fiber 60. The second optical fiber 60 has good bending performance, which is conducive to ensuring the quality of the transmission signal and has a large transmission bandwidth. In addition, the second optical fiber 60 is small in size, which is conducive to realizing the lightness and thinness of the electronic device 100.

[0153] Exemplarily, the electronic device 100 may further include a third optical fiber 70, and the two ends of the third optical fiber 70 are respectively connected to the second circuit component 5 and the third circuit component 50. The third optical fiber 70 may be a single-core optical fiber or a multi-core optical fiber. The design of the third optical fiber 70 may refer to the relevant description of the optical fiber 6, which will not be repeated here.

[0154] In the above embodiments, the thickness of the rotating shaft of the electronic device 100 can be in the range of 3 mm to 4 mm. In this case, using a single optical fiber or multiple optical fibers for signal transmission is not only beneficial to the design of the rotating shaft structure, but also can effectively ensure the signal transmission quality of each optical fiber. For example, in a three-fold electronic device 100, a rotating shaft with a smaller bending radius is usually included. The thickness of the rotating shaft is small, and the optical fiber can be smoothly arranged in the rotating shaft with good transmission quality.

[0155] In the above embodiment of the present application, the number of optical fibers connected to the two circuit board assemblies is one. In some other embodiments, the number of optical fibers connected to the same two circuit board assemblies may also be two or three, and the threading axes and arrangement paths of these optical fibers may be the same or different. The embodiments of the present application do not strictly limit the specific number and specific arrangement paths of the optical fibers.

[0156] In the above embodiments of the present application, the structure in which the optical fiber is installed inside the shaft is mainly used for description. In other embodiments, when the approximate path of the optical fiber meets the requirements, the optical fiber can be fixed or embedded on the surface of the shaft facing the screen.

[0157] In some other embodiments of the present application, the optical fiber can also be converted into other structures that can realize optical signal transmission, such as a transparent flexible light guide column, which can also perform rotation and twisting actions like the optical fiber. Other implementation methods of the structure of the present application are not strictly limited.

[0158] It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other, and any combination of features in different embodiments is also within the protection scope of the present application. In other words, the multiple embodiments described above can also be arbitrarily combined according to actual needs.

[0159] It should be noted that all the above drawings are illustrative illustrations of the present application and do not represent the actual size of the product. Moreover, the size ratio relationship between the components in the drawings is not intended to limit the actual product of the present application.

[0160] The above are only some embodiments and implementation methods of the present application, and the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the technical scope disclosed in the present application can easily think of changes or substitutions, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An electronic device (100), characterized in that: The optical fiber (6) comprises a first housing (1), a rotating shaft (3), a second housing (2), a first circuit assembly (4), a second circuit assembly (5) and an optical fiber (6), wherein the rotating shaft (3) connects the first housing (1) and the second housing (2), the first circuit assembly (4) is fixed to the first housing (1), and the second circuit assembly (5) is fixed to the second housing (2); The optical fiber (6) comprises a first section (61), a shaft-penetrating section (62) and a second section (63) which are connected in sequence, the first section (61) being mounted on the first housing (1) and connected to the first circuit component (4), the shaft-penetrating section (62) being mounted on the rotating shaft (3), and the second section (63) being mounted on the second housing (2) and connected to the second circuit component (5); During the relative rotation of the first shell (1) and the second shell (2), the first section (61) and the second section (63) rotate relative to each other, and at least part of the shaft-penetrating section (62) is twisted.

2. The electronic device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The extending direction of the shaft-penetrating section (62) is parallel to the length extending direction of the rotating shaft (3).

3. The electronic device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating shaft (3) has a center line (31) in the direction from the first shell (1) to the second shell (2), and the extending direction of the shaft-penetrating section (62) coincides with the center line (31) of the rotating shaft (3).

4. The electronic device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating shaft (3) is provided with a slot or a hole (32), the extension direction of the slot or the hole (32) is parallel to the length extension direction of the rotating shaft (3), the through-shaft section (62) is installed and limited in the slot or the hole (32), a gap is formed between the through-shaft section (62) and the wall surface of the slot or the hole (32), and the through-shaft section (62) can be twisted in the slot or the hole (32).

5. The electronic device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The diameter of the optical fiber (6) is less than or equal to 2 mm.

6. The electronic device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The optical fiber (6) further comprises a first connecting section (64), the first connecting section (64) being connected between the first section (61) and the shaft-penetrating section (62), the first connecting section (64) being a circular arc section or a curved section, the radius of the first connecting section (64) being greater than or equal to 4 mm; and / or, The optical fiber (6) further comprises a second connecting section (65), wherein the second connecting section (65) is connected between the second section (63) and the through-axis section (62), the second connecting section (65) is an arc section or a curve section, and the radius of the second connecting section (65) is greater than or equal to 4 mm.

7. The electronic device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The optical fiber (6) further comprises a first connecting section (64), the first connecting section (64) being connected between the first section (61) and the axis-penetrating section (62), the first connecting section (64) being a straight section, the angle between the first connecting section (64) and the first section (61) being greater than 90°, and the angle between the first connecting section (64) and the axis-penetrating section (62) being greater than 90°; and / or, The optical fiber (6) further comprises a second connecting segment (65), wherein the second connecting segment (65) is connected between the second segment (63) and the axis-penetrating segment (62), the second connecting segment (65) is a straight segment, the angle between the second connecting segment (65) and the second segment (63) is greater than 90°, and the angle between the second connecting segment (65) and the axis-penetrating segment (62) is greater than 90°.

8. The electronic device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The first circuit component (4) comprises a first photoelectric conversion component (41) and a first circuit board (42), wherein the first circuit board (42) is fixed to the first housing (1), and the first photoelectric conversion component (41) is fixed to the first circuit board (42) and connected to the optical fiber (6); The first photoelectric conversion component (41) comprises a plurality of light emitters (411) and a multiplexer (412), wherein the plurality of light emitters (411) are used to emit light of different wavelengths, the multiplexer (412) is used to combine the light of different wavelengths into a combined light, and the optical fiber (6) is used to transmit the combined light.

9. The electronic device (100) according to claim 8, characterized in that: The first photoelectric conversion component (41) further comprises a substrate (413) and a packaging component (414); the plurality of light emitters (411) are fixed to the substrate (413) at intervals from each other; the multiplexer (412) is located at the light emitting side of the plurality of light emitters (411); and the packaging component (414) is fixedly connected to the substrate (413) and encapsulates the plurality of light emitters (411) and the multiplexer (412).

10. The electronic device (100) according to claim 8, characterized in that: The optical transmitter (411) is a VCSEL.

11. The electronic device (100) according to claim 8, characterized in that: The electronic device (100) further comprises a first chip (71), the first chip (71) being fixed to the first housing (1), the first chip (71) comprising a first port (711) and a second port (712), the first port (711) being electrically connected to the first photoelectric conversion component (41) for transmitting a first signal with the first photoelectric conversion component (41), and the second port (712) being electrically connected to the first photoelectric conversion component (41) for transmitting a second signal with the first photoelectric conversion component (41).

12. The electronic device (100) according to claim 11, characterized in that: The electronic device (100) further comprises a second chip (72), wherein the second chip (72) is fixed to the first housing (1), and the second chip (72) is electrically connected to the first photoelectric conversion component (41) and is used for transmitting a third signal with the first photoelectric conversion component (41).

13. The electronic device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The electronic device (100) further comprises a third housing (30), a second rotating shaft (40), a third circuit assembly (50) and a second optical fiber (60); the second rotating shaft (40) connects the third housing (30) and the second housing (2); the third circuit assembly (50) is fixed to the third housing (30); and two ends of the second optical fiber (60) are respectively connected to the first circuit assembly (4) and the third circuit assembly (50).

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