Hinge assembly and electronic device

Abstract

The present application discloses a hinge assembly and an electronic device. The hinge assembly comprises a slide groove support and swing arms. The slide groove support comprises a first support and a second support which are connected to each other, and two arc-shaped slide grooves are formed in the first support and the second support. A first abutment surface is formed on the side of the first support facing the second support, and is located between the two arc-shaped slide grooves. The swing arms are provided with two arc-shaped sliding blocks, and the arc-shaped sliding blocks are slidably connected to the arc-shaped slide grooves, such that the swing arms can rotate relative to the slide groove support to a flattened state or a folded state. A first stop surface is formed on the side of each swing arm facing the first support, and is located between the two arc-shaped sliding blocks, and when the swing arms rotate to the flattened state, the first stop surfaces abut against the first abutment surface. The hinge assembly provided by the present application can distribute the acting force applied by arc-shaped sliding blocks onto arc-shaped slide grooves, thereby guaranteeing the reliability of a slide groove support and preventing the arc-shaped slide grooves from being prone to deformation.

Description

Hinge assembly and electronic device

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410918251.1, filed on July 5, 2024, and entitled "Hinge assembly and electronic device", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of hinge assemblies, and more particularly, to a hinge assembly and a foldable electronic device. BACKGROUND

[0003] A hinge assembly is provided in a foldable electronic device. An arm is a key moving part in the hinge assembly for switching between unfolded and folded states, and is rotationally connected to a sliding groove support through a virtual pivot axis, which is defined by an arc-shaped sliding groove provided on the sliding groove support and an arc-shaped sliding block provided on the arm. In order to prevent the user from excessively rotating the arm and affecting the unfolding degree of the electronic device, a stop structure needs to be added to the movement track of the arm.

[0004] Currently, the main problem of the conventional stop structure is that when the user's unfolding force is too large or the whole machine is impacted by falling, the arc-shaped sliding groove is easily deformed, which will affect or even disable the rotation function of the virtual pivot axis. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application aims to provide a hinge assembly and an electronic device. Compared with related technologies, the present application adds a set of stop surfaces, which can share the force applied by the arc-shaped sliding block to the arc-shaped sliding groove when the arm is subjected to an excessive unfolding force or the whole machine is impacted by falling, thereby ensuring the reliability of the sliding groove support and preventing the arc-shaped sliding groove from being deformed.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a hinge assembly, comprising a sliding groove support and an arm.

[0007] The sliding groove support comprises a first support and a second support which are spliced with each other, and the first support and the second support form two arc-shaped sliding grooves. The first support is provided with a first abutting surface on the side facing the second support, and the first abutting surface is located between the two arc-shaped sliding grooves.

[0008] The arm is provided with two arc-shaped sliding blocks, and the arc-shaped sliding blocks are slidably connected with the arc-shaped sliding grooves, so that the arm can be rotated to an unfolded state or a folded state relative to the sliding groove support. The arm is provided with a first stop surface on the side facing the first support, and the first stop surface is located between the two arc-shaped sliding blocks. When the arm is rotated to the unfolded state, the first stop surface abuts against the first abutting surface.

[0009] Compared with the related art, in addition to the main abutting surface and the main stop surface abutting to prevent the swing arm from continuing to rotate, the first stop surface and the first abutting surface abut to further prevent the swing arm from continuing to rotate. When the user opens the foldable mobile phone, if the unfolding force applied to the swing arm is too large, or when the whole machine falls, the swing arm is subjected to a larger impact force, which will make the swing arm form a lever action with the abutting place of the main abutting surface and the main stop surface as the fulcrum, so that the arc-shaped sliding block on the swing arm exerts an upward tilting force on the first support. Since the first stop surface and the first abutting surface abut to share part of the force, the force exerted by the arc-shaped sliding block on the part of the first support having the arc-shaped sliding groove will be reduced, thereby avoiding excessive concentration of force and causing deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove, ensuring that the arc-shaped sliding groove and the arc-shaped sliding block can better adapt to each other, ensuring the reliability of the hinge assembly and avoiding affecting the opening and closing feeling of the user when folding the mobile phone. Moreover, since the force exerted by the swing arm on the first support can be evenly shared, the strength requirement of the part of the first support can be reduced, and thus the thickness of the base material of the part of the first support can be reduced, thereby facilitating the miniaturization and thinning of the hinge assembly.

[0010] In addition, at the moment when the swing arm is subjected to an impact force, when the first stop surface and the first abutting surface abut, the two arc-shaped sliding blocks will impact the first support under the action of inertia, and the first stop surface is located between the two arc-shaped sliding blocks and can balance the impact effect of the arc-shaped sliding blocks on the first support, avoiding that the impact of the arc-shaped sliding blocks on the first support is too strong on one side, thereby further ensuring the reliability of the hinge assembly.

[0011] In a possible design, the swing arm is provided with a protrusion, and the first stop surface is located on the surface of the protrusion facing the first support.

[0012] The swing arm is additionally provided with the protrusion, which can improve the structural strength of the swing arm, and the first stop surface is directly formed by the protrusion, without the need for separately installing structural members such as bolts and pins, thereby being capable of reducing the processing and assembly difficulty of the first stop surface.

[0013] In a possible design, the side of the first support facing the second support is provided with a boss, and the side of the boss facing the swing arm is provided with a second abutting surface; the protrusion is provided with a second stop surface, the swing arm is provided with a groove for avoiding the boss, and the groove of the swing arm is provided with a third stop surface, and the second stop surface and / or the third stop surface abut with the second abutting surface when the swing arm rotates to the unfolded state.

[0014] The swing arm is additionally provided with the second stop surface and / or the third stop surface, which abut with the second abutting surface of the first support to achieve stopping, so that there are more contact positions and contact areas between the swing arm and the first support, thereby being capable of more fully sharing the impact force of the swing arm applied to the first support, to reduce the probability of deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove, and improve the reliability of the hinge assembly.

[0015] In a possible design, the second abutting surface is parallel to the thickness direction of the hinge assembly.

[0016] The force of the swing arm on the first support in the longitudinal direction is reduced, and the stability of the arc-shaped sliding groove is ensured.

[0017] In a possible design, the swing arm is provided with an extension on one side of the arc-shaped sliding block, the first support is provided with a first through hole for avoiding the extension, the first support is provided with a third abutting surface on the side of the first through hole facing the extension, and the extension is provided with a fourth stop surface, which abuts against the third abutting surface when the swing arm is turned to the unfolded state.

[0018] The fourth stop surface and the third abutting surface are additionally arranged between the swing arm and the first support to achieve the stop function, so that there are more contact positions and contact areas between the swing arm and the first support, and the impact force of the swing arm on the first support can be more fully distributed, so as to reduce the probability of deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove and improve the reliability of the hinge assembly.

[0019] In a possible design, the third abutting surface is parallel to the thickness direction of the hinge assembly.

[0020] The force of the swing arm on the first support in the longitudinal direction is reduced, and the stability of the arc-shaped sliding groove is ensured.

[0021] In a possible design, the second support is provided with a main abutting surface between the two arc-shaped sliding grooves, and the swing arm is provided with a main stop surface on the side opposite to the first stop surface, the main stop surface is located between the two arc-shaped sliding blocks, and the main stop surface abuts against the main abutting surface when the swing arm is turned to the unfolded state.

[0022] By arranging the main stop surface between the two arc-shaped sliding blocks, the impact effect of the arc-shaped sliding blocks on the first support can be balanced, and the impact of the single-sided arc-shaped sliding block on the first support can be avoided, so as to further ensure the reliability of the hinge assembly.

[0023] In a possible design, the hinge assembly further comprises a hinge cover, the first support, the second support and the hinge cover are sequentially stacked, the hinge cover is connected with the first support through a fastener, and the fastener is arranged opposite to the first abutting surface in the width direction of the hinge assembly.

[0024] The fastener is arranged opposite to the first abutting surface, so that the fastener is close to the first abutting surface. When the first stop surface of the swing arm exerts a force on the first abutting surface of the first support, the first abutting surface can transmit the force to the fastener through a shorter path, so that the part of the support body of the first support from the fastener to the first abutting surface is not easy to deform, and the structural stability of the first support is further ensured, and the stability of the arc-shaped sliding groove is further ensured.

[0025] In a possible design, the first support is provided with a first mounting hole, the second support is provided with a second through hole, the hinge cover is provided with a first protrusion, the first protrusion is provided with a second mounting hole, the first protrusion is arranged in the second through hole, and the fastener is connected through the first mounting hole and the second mounting hole.

[0026] The embodiment shows a specific mounting scheme of the fastener, and has the advantages of simple implementation and convenience in assembling the hinge assembly.

[0027] In a possible design, the first support is provided with a first mounting hole, the second support is provided with a second protrusion, the second protrusion is arranged in the first mounting hole, and the second protrusion is connected with the hole wall of the first mounting hole.

[0028] Directly connecting the second protrusion with the hole wall of the first mounting hole can save the purchase cost and mounting steps of the fastener; and directly connecting the second protrusion with the first mounting hole can reduce the gap between the first support and the second support, so that the joint between the first support and the second support is a solid structure and has greater structural strength.

[0029] In a possible design, in the width direction of the hinge assembly, the second protrusion is arranged opposite to the first bearing surface.

[0030] Arranging the second protrusion opposite to the first bearing surface makes the second protrusion close to the first bearing surface, and when the first bearing surface exerts a force on the first bearing surface of the first support at the first stop surface of the swing arm, the first bearing surface can transmit the force to the welding position of the second protrusion and the first support through a shorter path, so that the part of the support body from the first mounting hole to the first bearing surface is not easy to deform, thereby further ensuring the structural stability of the first support and the stability of the arc-shaped sliding groove.

[0031] In a possible design, the transition surface is arranged at the transition of the groove of the swing arm, and the second transition surface is arranged at the transition of the boss and is shaped according to the first transition surface, and the first transition surface abuts against the second transition surface when the swing arm rotates to the flat state.

[0032] The abutting of the first transition surface and the second transition surface further increases the contact area of the swing arm and the boss, and can better share the impact force of the swing arm applied to the first support, so as to reduce the probability of deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove and improve the reliability of the hinge assembly.

[0033] In a possible design, the side of the first support facing the second support is provided with an arc-shaped first lap surface, the swing arm is provided with an arc-shaped second lap surface, and the first lap surface and the second lap surface slide in contact when the swing arm rotates relative to the sliding groove support.

[0034] The swing arm has more overlapping area or overlapping amount with the first support during rotation, thereby improving the rotation stability of the swing arm. In addition, the first overlapping surface and the second overlapping surface can abut against each other and share a part of the force, so that the force exerted by the arc-shaped sliding block on the part of the first support having the arc-shaped sliding groove is further reduced, the impact force on the part of the first support having the arc-shaped sliding groove is further reduced, thereby avoiding excessive concentration of force and deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove, ensuring that the arc-shaped sliding groove and the arc-shaped sliding block can be well adapted, and the reliability of the hinge assembly is ensured.

[0035] In a possible design, the side of the swing arm provided with the arc-shaped sliding block is provided with an extension, the first support is provided with a first through hole for avoiding the extension, and a notch is arranged at the top corner of the extension away from the second overlapping surface. When the swing arm is rotated to the flat state, the notch is used for avoiding the first support at the first through hole.

[0036] The base material between the first mounting hole and the first through hole is prevented from being easily broken, the structural strength of the first support is ensured, and meanwhile, the first overlapping surface of the swing arm and the second overlapping surface of the first support can be fully contacted, so that the overlapping area or overlapping amount of the swing arm and the first support during rotation is ensured, that is, the structural strength requirement of the first support and the overlapping area or overlapping amount requirement of the swing arm and the first support can be balanced through the above design.

[0037] In a possible design, the second stop surface and the third stop surface are coplanar.

[0038] The second stop surface and the third stop surface can be conveniently processed and formed, and the manufacturing difficulty of the swing arm is reduced.

[0039] In a possible design, the second protrusion is welded with the hole wall of the first mounting hole.

[0040] The second protrusion and the first support have greater connection strength.

[0041] In a second aspect, the application further provides an electronic device including the hinge assembly.

[0042] The electronic device provided by the application includes the hinge assembly. Compared with the related art, the hinge assembly increases a set of stop surfaces, so that a part of the force can be shared, the force exerted by the arc-shaped sliding block on the arc-shaped sliding groove is reduced, the impact effect of the arc-shaped sliding block on the first support, especially the part of the arc-shaped sliding groove, is weakened, the probability of deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove is reduced, the arc-shaped sliding groove and the arc-shaped sliding block can be well adapted, and the opening and closing feeling of the user or the reliability of the hinge assembly is avoided.

[0043] In a possible design, the electronic device further includes a first housing, a second housing, and a screen, the hinge assembly is connected between the first housing and the second housing, and the screen is arranged above the first housing, the hinge assembly, and the second housing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0044] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a foldable mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the foldable mobile phone in an unfolded state according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the foldable mobile phone in a folded state according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a hinge assembly in the prior art;

[0048] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of P-P in FIG. 4;

[0049] FIG. 6 is a sectional view of Q-Q in FIG. 4;

[0050] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a swing arm in the prior art;

[0051] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a hinge assembly according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG. 9 is a partial schematic diagram of the hinge assembly in FIG. 8;

[0053] FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the hinge assembly in FIG. 9;

[0054] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an example of a first support according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of an example of a second support according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of an example of a swing arm according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of another view of the swing arm in FIG. 13;

[0058] FIG. 15 is a structural diagram of the swing arm and a sliding slot support according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG. 16 is a sectional view of A-A in FIG. 9;

[0060] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of another example of a swing arm according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG. 18 is an enlarged view of an example at E in FIG. 14;

[0062] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of another example of a first support according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Fig. 20 is a schematic view of an example of the swing arm and the first support according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Fig. 21 is a schematic view of the swing arm in Fig. 20 in a flattened state;

[0065] Fig. 22 is a sectional view of H-H in Fig. 21;

[0066] Fig. 23 is an enlarged view of another example of E in Fig. 14;

[0067] Fig. 24 is a schematic view of another example of the swing arm according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] Fig. 25 is a schematic view of the swing arm in Fig. 24 from another perspective;

[0069] Fig. 26 is a top view of another example of the hinge assembly according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] Fig. 27 is a sectional view of C-C in Fig. 26;

[0071] Fig. 28 is a sectional view of B-B in Fig. 26;

[0072] Fig. 29 is a schematic view of another example of the swing arm according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] Fig. 30 is a schematic view of another example of the hinge assembly according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] Fig. 31 is a schematic view of an example of the second support according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] Fig. 32 is a sectional view of D-D in Fig. 30;

[0076] Fig. 33 is a schematic view of another example of the swing arm according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] Fig. 34 is a schematic view of another example of the swing arm and the first support according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] Fig. 35 is a structural diagram of the swing arm and the first support in Fig. 34;

[0079] Fig. 36 is a structural diagram of the swing arm without the first transition surface and the first support without the second transition surface in Fig. 34;

[0080] Fig. 37 is an enlarged view of a portion in Fig. 35;

[0081] Fig. 38 is a schematic view of another example of the swing arm according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] Fig. 39 is a schematic view of the swing arm in Fig. 38 from another perspective;

[0083] Figure 40 is a schematic diagram of another example of the first support provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0084] Figure 41 is a cross-sectional view of the swing arm and the first bracket provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0085] Figure 42 is a schematic diagram of the first support in Figure 40 from another perspective;

[0086] Figure 43 is a schematic diagram of the swing arm in a flattened state relative to the first support provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0087] Figure 44 is a schematic diagram of another example of the swing arm and first bracket provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0088] Figure 45 is an enlarged view of point N in Figure 44;

[0089] Figure 46 is a schematic diagram of the swing arm in Figure 45 without a notch.

[0090] Reference numerals: 10. Slide bracket; 11. First bracket; 11a. First groove wall; 111. First abutment surface; 112. Boss; 113. Second abutment surface; 114. Second transition surface; 115. First through hole; 116. Fourth transition surface; 117. Third abutment surface; 118. First mounting hole; 119. First overlapping surface; 12. Second bracket; 12a. Second groove wall; 121. Second through hole; 122. Second protrusion; 123. Main abutment surface; 124. Through hole; 125. Step; 13. Arc-shaped slide; 20. Swing arm; 21. Arc-shaped slider; 22. First stop surface; 23. Protrusion; 24. Second stop surface; 25. Groove; 26. Third stop surface; 27. First transition surface; 28. Fourth stop surface; 29. ​​Third transition surface; 201. Main stop surface; 202. Second overlapping surface; 203. Notch; 204. Extension; 205. Fifth stop surface; 30. Hinge cover; 31. First protrusion; 311. Second mounting hole; 40. Connecting block; 41. Pin; 50. Fastener; 51. Screw; 60. Door panel; 100. Hinge assembly; 200. First housing; 300. Second housing; 400. Screen; 100'. Hinge assembly; 10'. Slide bracket; 11'. First bracket; 12'. Second bracket; 13'. Arc-shaped slide; 20'. Swing arm; 21'. Arc-shaped slider; 201'. Stop surface; 30'. Hinge cover. Detailed Implementation

[0091] The following are exemplary descriptions of relevant content that may be involved in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments.

[0092] In the description of the application, it is necessary to point out that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connection", "connecting" should be understood broadly, for example, it can be fixed connection, or detachable connection, or integral connection; it can be mechanical connection, or electrical connection or can communicate with each other; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through intermediate medium, it can be the internal communication of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0093] In the description of the application, it is necessary to understand that the terms "upper", "lower", "side", "inner", "outer", "top", "bottom" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the installation, and are only for the convenience of describing the application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, therefore it cannot be understood as a limitation on the application.

[0094] It should be further pointed out that the same reference signs in the embodiments of the application represent the same component or the same part, and for the same parts in the embodiments of the application, only one part or component may be labeled with a reference sign in the drawing, and it should be understood that the reference sign is also applicable to other identical parts or components.

[0095] In the description of the application, it should be pointed out that the term "and / or" is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent the three cases of A alone, A and B together, and B alone.

[0096] The flexible screen is a soft screen as its name implies, and its manufacturing principle is to replace the screen substrate from the original rigid material to flexible material. The flexible screen has the characteristics of being bendable, and has been applied to electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablet computers, game consoles and wearable devices. The display screen of such electronic devices can increase the size of the screen without increasing the volume, and also has high screen ratio and clarity. Taking foldable mobile phones as an example, after folding, it can only have the size of a traditional mobile phone, which is convenient to carry, while after unfolding, it can have the display size of a tablet computer. These characteristics make foldable electronic devices very popular with consumers.

[0097] The electronic device in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as a mobile device, a terminal device, a mobile terminal or a terminal. The electronic device includes but is not limited to a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem. For example, the electronic device can be a foldable mobile phone, a foldable tablet computer, a foldable game console, a foldable e-reader, a foldable wearable device, etc., and can also be other electronic devices with foldable functions. In order to more conveniently describe the electronic device provided by the embodiments of the present application, as an example but not limitation, the technical solutions of the present application will be described in detail below with the electronic device being a foldable mobile phone.

[0098] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a foldable mobile phone provided by the embodiments of the present application. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the foldable mobile phone in a flat state provided by the embodiments of the present application. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the foldable mobile phone in a folded state provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0099] As shown in FIGS. 1-3, taking the electronic device being a foldable mobile phone as an example, the foldable mobile phone includes a first housing 200, a second housing 300, a screen 400 and a hinge assembly 100, the hinge assembly 100 is connected between the first housing 200 and the second housing 300, and the screen 400 is arranged above the first housing 200, the hinge assembly 100 and the second housing 300.

[0100] In order to facilitate the description of each embodiment below, an XYZ coordinate system is established for the foldable mobile phone. Specifically, the extension direction of the rotation axis of the foldable mobile phone is defined as the Y direction, the thickness direction of the foldable mobile phone is defined as the Z direction, and the direction perpendicular to the Y direction and the Z direction is defined as the X direction. In addition, the XYZ coordinate system can also be defined as: the length direction or axial direction of the hinge assembly 100 is the Y direction, the width direction of the hinge assembly 100 is the X direction, and the thickness direction of the hinge assembly 100 is the Z direction.

[0101] The first housing 200 and the second housing 300 are used to carry the screen 400 and protect the internal functional elements of the foldable mobile phone. The parts of the screen 400 at both ends are fixed by adhesive bonding with the first housing 200 and the second housing 300, respectively. The first housing 200 can be a hard shell, and the second housing 300 can also be a hard shell, so that the first housing 200 and the second housing 300 can stably support both ends of the screen 400.

[0102] The hinge assembly 100 can be deformed with the folding or unfolding of the second housing 300 relative to the first housing 200, and restricts the second housing 300 from being separated from the first housing 200. Specifically, the opposite sides of the hinge assembly 100 are connected to the first housing 200 and the second housing 300 respectively, and the hinge assembly 100 utilizes its rotatable property to enable the first housing 200 to be flipped relative to the second housing 300, so that the first housing 200 is in a folded state relative to the second housing 300, or in an unfolded state, or in a state between the folded and unfolded states.

[0103] The first housing 200 and the second housing 300 can be folded or unfolded relative to each other, so that the foldable mobile phone provided in the embodiments has multiple modes to meet the user's needs in different scenarios. For example, the first housing 200 and the second housing 300 can be folded relative to each other, as shown in FIG. 3, so that the screens 400 can be attached to each other, and the foldable mobile phone switches to a closed mode, at which time the foldable mobile phone has a smaller volume, so that the user can conveniently store and carry it.

[0104] The first housing 200 and the second housing 300 can also be unfolded relative to each other, for example, forming an included angle of 90-120 degrees between them, so that the foldable mobile phone switches to a use mode that can be placed on a desktop. At this time, the first housing 200 and the screen 400 thereon can face the user, and the second housing 300 is placed on a placement surface such as a table or desk, and the second housing 300 has a function similar to a counterweight base, which can ensure that the foldable mobile phone is placed stably.

[0105] The first housing 200 and the second housing 300 can also be unfolded relative to each other, for example, forming an included angle of 180 degrees between them, as shown in FIG. 2, to achieve large-screen display, which can provide more information to the user and provide a better user experience.

[0106] It can be understood that when the user holds the foldable mobile phone, the position of the earpiece module of the foldable mobile phone can be defined as the upper edge of the foldable mobile phone, the position of the microphone module of the foldable mobile phone can be defined as the lower edge of the foldable mobile phone, and the two sides held by the user's left and right hands can be defined as the left and right edges of the foldable mobile phone.

[0107] In an embodiment of the present application, the first housing 200 and the second housing 300 are arranged in an up-down manner, so that the foldable mobile phone can be folded up and down.

[0108] In another embodiment of the present application, the first housing 200 and the second housing 300 are arranged in a left-right manner, so that the foldable mobile phone can be folded left and right.

[0109] In another embodiment of the present application, the foldable mobile phone can also be a three-fold or more structure, i.e., the foldable mobile phone includes three or more housing parts, two adjacent housing parts are connected by the hinge assembly 100, and the two adjacent housing parts can be relatively rotated to be stacked or relatively rotated to be flat. When the foldable mobile phone is a three-fold or more structure, the hinge assembly 100 used by the foldable mobile phone can be adaptively designed according to the description of the two-fold structure of the present embodiment, and the present application will not be repeated here.

[0110] Optionally, the hinge assembly 100 is also used to support the screen 400 to prevent the screen 400 from collapsing. Specifically, the hinge assembly 100 is provided with a screen 400 support assembly that can rise to support the screen 400 as the hinge assembly 100 is flattened, and can lower to leave space for the screen 400 as the hinge assembly 100 is folded.

[0111] Optionally, the screen 400 can be a flexible screen that can be folded as a whole, or the screen 400 can also be a combination of a flexible screen in the middle area and a rigid screen at both ends, which is not limited by the present application.

[0112] Optionally, the foldable mobile phone can also include multiple modules, and the multiple modules can be accommodated inside the first housing 200 and the second housing 300. The multiple modules of the foldable mobile phone can include, but are not limited to, a mainboard, a processor, a memory, a battery, a camera module, an earpiece module, a speaker module, a microphone module, an antenna module, a sensor module, etc., and the present application does not specifically limit the number, type, and position of the modules of the foldable mobile phone.

[0113] The swing arm is a key moving part in the hinge assembly 100 for switching between the flattened and folded states, and is rotationally connected to the slide bracket through a virtual pivot shaft, which is defined by an arc-shaped slide groove provided on the slide bracket and an arc-shaped slide block provided on the swing arm.

[0114] In order to prevent the user from excessively rotating the swing arm and affecting the flattening degree of the foldable mobile phone, a stop structure needs to be added to the motion track of the swing arm. Currently, the conventional stop structure is prone to deformation of the arc-shaped slide groove when the user's flattening force is too large or the whole machine is dropped and impacted, which will affect the rotation function of the virtual pivot shaft, and even possibly fail. The specific introduction is as follows.

[0115] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a hinge assembly 100' in the related art. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of P-P in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of Q-Q in FIG. 4. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a swing arm 20' in the related art. Among them, FIG. 7(a) and (b) are schematic diagrams of the swing arm 20' from different angles.

[0116] As shown in FIGS. 4-6, the hinge assembly 100' mainly comprises a sliding groove support 10', a swing arm 20' and a hinge cover 30'. The sliding groove support 10' further comprises a first support 11' and a second support 12', and the first support 11', the second support 12' and the hinge cover 30' are sequentially installed to form an arc-shaped sliding groove 13' enclosed by the first support 11' and the second support 12', and the swing arm 20' has an arc-shaped sliding block 21' capable of adapting to and slidingly connecting with the arc-shaped sliding groove 13'. As shown in FIG. 7, the back side of the swing arm 20' is provided with a stop surface 201', and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the second support 12' at the position indicated by G' can cooperate with the stop surface 201' of the swing arm 20'. When the user opens the foldable mobile phone, if the unfolding force F1 applied to the swing arm 20' is too large, or when the whole machine falls, the swing arm 20' is subjected to a larger impact force F1, which will make the swing arm 20' form a lever action with G' as the fulcrum and exert an upward action force F2 on the first support 11'. As can be seen from the comparison between FIGS. 5 and 6, since only the arc-shaped sliding block 21' on the swing arm 20' is in contact with the first support 11', the action force F2 is entirely exerted on the part of the first support 11' where the arc-shaped sliding groove 13' is located, which leads to the action force F2 being too concentrated and easily causing the arc-shaped sliding groove 13' to deform, which will make the arc-shaped sliding groove 13' and the arc-shaped sliding block 21' fail to adapt to each other well, thereby causing the swing arm 20' to jam or vibrate when rotating, or even the rotating function of the swing arm 20' completely fails, thereby affecting the user's opening and closing feeling or the reliability of the hinge assembly 100'. Moreover, with the development demand for the thinness of the foldable mobile phone, the thickness of the first support 11' is continuously reduced, and the strength is also continuously reduced, which further increases the probability of deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13'.

[0117] In summary, how to optimize the stop design of the swing arm 20' to ensure the reliability of the first support 11' when the swing arm 20' is subjected to an excessive unfolding force or a whole machine falling impact, so that the arc-shaped sliding groove 13' is not prone to deformation, has become one of the problems to be solved in the industry.

[0118] To solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a hinge assembly 100. Compared with the related art, the present application adds a set of stop surfaces, which can share the action force exerted by the arc-shaped sliding block on the arc-shaped sliding groove when the swing arm is subjected to an excessive unfolding force or a whole machine falling impact, thereby ensuring the reliability of the sliding groove support and making the arc-shaped sliding groove not prone to deformation.

[0119] The hinge assembly 100 provided by the present application will be described in detail in combination with the accompanying drawings.

[0120] FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the hinge assembly 100 provided by the present application. FIG. 9 is a partial schematic view of the hinge assembly 100 in FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the hinge assembly 100 in FIG. 9.

[0121] As shown in FIGS. 8-10, the hinge assembly 100 provided by the embodiment of the present application includes a sliding groove support 10, a swing arm 20, a hinge cover 30, a door plate 60, and a connecting block 40. It should be noted that the door plate 60 is omitted in FIGS. 9 and 10 for the convenience of showing the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application.

[0122] The hinge cover 30 can also be referred to as a decorative cover or a protective cover, and is used to shield and protect the internal structure of the hinge assembly 100 in cooperation with the phone shell (the first shell 200 and the second shell 300). The connecting block 40 is rotationally connected with the swing arm 20 through a pin shaft 41, and the door plate 60 is also rotationally connected with the connecting block 40 through the pin shaft 41, so that the door plate 60 and the connecting block 40 can be linked with the swing arm 20, and the door plate 60 is used to support the screen 400 together with the phone shell. The hinge cover 30 will be described in more detail in the following embodiments.

[0123] FIG. 11 is a schematic view of an example of the first support 11 provided by the embodiment of the present application. FIG. 12 is a schematic view of an example of the second support 12 provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0124] As shown in FIGS. 11-12, the sliding groove support 10 in the embodiment includes the first support 11 and the second support 12 which are spliced with each other. The first support 11 has a first groove wall 11a with a convex arc surface structure, and the second support 12 has a second groove wall 12a with a concave arc surface structure. After the first support 11 and the second support 12 are assembled by splicing, the first groove wall 11a and the second groove wall 12a form an arc-shaped sliding groove 13. The second support 12 is provided with a main abutting surface 123. The edge of the second support 12 is provided with a square groove for avoiding the swing arm 20, and the main abutting surface 123 can be a part of the groove bottom surface of the square groove. The side of the first support 11 facing the second support 12 and being staggered from the position of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 is provided with a first abutting surface 111, and the first abutting surface 111 can be a part of the surface of the first support 11.

[0125] FIG. 13 is a schematic view of an example of the swing arm 20 provided by the embodiment of the present application. FIG. 14 is a schematic view of another view of the swing arm 20 in FIG. 13.

[0126] The number of swing arms 20 in the embodiment can be multiple, and the multiple swing arms 20 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the slide bracket 10 in the length direction of the hinge assembly 100, i.e., the Y direction in FIG. 9. As shown in FIGS. 13-14, each swing arm 20 is provided with an arc-shaped sliding block 21 corresponding to the position of the arc-shaped slide groove 13, and the swing arm 20 is slidingly connected to the arc-shaped slide groove 13 through the arc-shaped sliding block 21, so that the swing arm 20 can rotate relative to the slide bracket 10 to switch between the unfolded state and the folded state. The extension direction of the arc-shaped slide groove 13 and the arc-shaped sliding block 21 is towards the width direction of the hinge assembly 100.

[0127] FIG. 15 is a structural diagram of the swing arm 20 and the slide bracket 10 in the embodiment of the application. In FIG. 15, (a) is a structural diagram of the swing arm 20 in the folded state, and (b) is a structural diagram of the swing arm 20 in the unfolded state.

[0128] As shown in (a) of FIG. 15, the swing arm 20 in the folded state can be defined as: when the included angle ∠L between the swing arm 20 and the horizontal plane is about 88-92°, the position of the swing arm 20 is the position of the swing arm 20 in the folded state. As shown in (b) of FIG. 15, the swing arm 20 in the unfolded state can be defined as: when the included angle ∠L between the swing arm 20 and the horizontal plane is about -2-2°, the position of the swing arm 20 is the position of the swing arm 20 in the unfolded state.

[0129] Continuing to refer to FIGS. 13-14, the side of the swing arm 20 facing the second bracket 12 is provided with a main stop surface 201, and the side of the swing arm 20 facing the first bracket 11 is provided with a first stop surface 22.

[0130] The first stop surface 22 can be formed on the swing arm 20 in various ways, and in one embodiment provided by the application, the swing arm 20 is provided with a protrusion 23, and the first stop surface 22 is located on the surface of the protrusion 23 facing the first bracket 11. The first stop surface 22 can be part or all of the surface of the protrusion 23, which is not limited.

[0131] The shape of the protrusion 23 can be a cylinder, a cube, a strip, etc. FIG. 17 is a schematic view of another example of the swing arm 20 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 17, when the shape of the protrusion 23 is a cylinder, the first stop surface 22 is the end surface of the cylinder, and in this case, the shape of the first stop surface 22 is circular. When the shape of the protrusion 23 is a cube, the first stop surface 22 is the surface of the cube facing the first support 11, and in this case, the first stop surface 22 is square. As shown in FIG. 14, when the shape of the protrusion 23 is a strip, the first stop surface 22 is the partial surface of the strip facing the first support 11. When the shape of the protrusion 23 is a strip, the extension direction of the strip on the swing arm 20 is consistent with the width direction of the hinge assembly 100, so that the protrusion 23 can not only be used to form the first stop surface 22, but also can be used as a reinforcing rib of the swing arm 20 to improve the structural strength of the swing arm 20, so that the protrusion 23 has the effect of “one thing with two uses”.

[0132] In addition to the protrusion 23 being used to form the first stop surface 22 as described above, in other embodiments, the swing arm 20 can be provided with a bolt or a pin, and the first stop surface 22 can also be the top surface of the bolt or the pin.

[0133] Continuing to refer to FIG. 14, in order to enable the swing arm 20 to rotate stably and avoid the swing arm 20 from tilting, the number of the arc-shaped sliding blocks 21 of each swing arm 20 is two, and the two arc-shaped sliding blocks 21 can be arranged on the outer edge of the swing arm 20, and the arrangement direction of the two arc-shaped sliding blocks 21 on the swing arm 20 is towards the axial direction or the length direction of the hinge assembly 100, and the main stop surface 201 and the first stop surface 22 are located between the two arc-shaped sliding blocks 21. Correspondingly, the slide bracket 10 is provided with two arc-shaped sliding grooves 13 corresponding to each swing arm 20, and the arrangement direction of the two arc-shaped sliding grooves 13 on the slide bracket 10 is towards the axial direction or the length direction of the hinge assembly 100, and the main stop surface 123 and the first stop surface 111 are located between the two arc-shaped sliding grooves 13. At the moment when the swing arm 20 is impacted, when the first stop surface 22 abuts against the first stop surface 111, the two arc-shaped sliding blocks 21 will impact the first support 11 under the action of inertia, and the first stop surface 22 located between the two arc-shaped sliding blocks 21 can balance the impact effect of the arc-shaped sliding blocks 21 on the first support 11, so as to avoid the impact of the arc-shaped sliding blocks 21 on the first support 11 from being too strong on one side, thereby further ensuring the reliability of the hinge assembly 100.

[0134] FIG. 16 is a sectional view of A-A in FIG. 9. It should be noted that the A-A section line in FIG. 9 falls on the protrusion 23.

[0135] As shown in FIG. 16, when the swing arm 20 rotates to the unfolded state, the main stop surface 201 abuts against the main stop surface 123, and the first stop surface 22 abuts against the first stop surface 111 to prevent the swing arm 20 from continuing to rotate.

[0136] Compared with the related art, in addition to the main abutting surface 123 and the main stop surface 201 abutting to prevent the swing arm 20 from continuing to rotate, the first stop surface 22 and the first abutting surface 111 further abut to prevent the swing arm 20 from continuing to rotate. When the user opens the foldable mobile phone, if the unfolding force F1 applied to the swing arm 20 is too large, or when the whole machine falls, the swing arm 20 is subjected to a larger impact force F1, which will make the swing arm 20 form a lever action with G as the fulcrum, that is, the abutting place of the main abutting surface 123 and the main stop surface 201 as the fulcrum, so that the arc-shaped sliding block 21 on the swing arm 20 exerts an upward lifting force F3 on the first support 11. Since the first stop surface 22 and the first abutting surface 111 abut to share part of the force F3, the force exerted by the arc-shaped sliding block 21 on the part of the first support 11 having the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 will be reduced, thereby avoiding the deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 caused by the excessive concentration of the force F3, ensuring that the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 and the arc-shaped sliding block 21 can better adapt to each other, ensuring the reliability of the hinge assembly 100 and avoiding affecting the opening and closing feeling of the user when folding the mobile phone. Moreover, since the force F3 exerted by the swing arm 20 on the first support 11 can be evenly shared, the strength requirement of the part of the first support 11 can be reduced, and thus the thickness of the base material of the part of the first support 11 can be reduced, thereby facilitating the miniaturization and thinning of the hinge assembly 100.

[0137] In summary, in the embodiment of the present application, when the swing arm 20 is subjected to an excessive unfolding force or a whole machine falling impact, the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 can be prevented from deforming, the hinge assembly 100 has higher reliability, the opening and closing feeling of the user can be ensured, and the development demand of the thinning of the foldable mobile phone can be met.

[0138] As shown in FIGS. 10 and 16, in an embodiment provided by the present application, the hinge assembly 100 further comprises a hinge cover 30, and the first support 11, the second support 12 and the hinge cover 30 are sequentially stacked. The hinge cover 30 is fixedly connected with the first support 11 through a fastener 50, and the fastener 50 is opposite to the position of the first abutting surface 111 in the width direction of the hinge assembly 100. The width direction of the hinge assembly 100 is the X direction in FIG. 16.

[0139] In the embodiment, the hinge cover 30 cooperates with the phone shell to shield and protect the internal structure of the hinge assembly 100, such as the second support 12, the swing arm 20, etc. The hinge cover 30 is fixedly connected with the first support 11 through the fastener 50, so that the second support 12 is clamped and fixed between the first support 11 and the hinge cover 30. In the width direction of the hinge assembly 100, the fastener 50 is opposite to the position of the first abutting surface 111. The design makes the fastener 50 close to the position of the first abutting surface 111. When the first abutting surface 111 exerts a force on the first abutting surface 111 of the first support 11, the first abutting surface 111 can transmit the force to the fastener 50 through a shorter path, so that the part of the first support 11 from the fastener 50 to the first abutting surface 111 is not easy to deform, thereby further ensuring the stability of the structure of the first support 11, and further ensuring the stability of the shape of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13.

[0140] As shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 16, in an embodiment, the first support 11 is provided with a first mounting hole 118, the second support 12 is provided with a second through hole 121, the hinge cover 30 is provided with a first protruding block 31, the first protruding block 31 is provided with a second mounting hole 311, the first protruding block 31 is arranged in the second through hole 121, and the fastener 50 is connected through the first mounting hole 118 and the second mounting hole 311.

[0141] The embodiment provides a specific mounting scheme of the fastener 50, so that the second support 12 is clamped and fixed between the first support 11 and the hinge cover 30, which has the advantages of simple implementation and convenient assembly of the hinge assembly 100.

[0142] The first mounting hole 118 can be arranged at the boss 112 of the first support 11. The fastener 50 can be a bolt or a pin, and correspondingly, the second mounting hole 311 can be a threaded hole or a pin hole.

[0143] In the above embodiment, the second support 12 is clamped and fixed between the first support 11 and the hinge cover 30. The first support 11 and the second support 12 can be further locked by the screw 51. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, in an embodiment, the second support 12 is provided with a via hole 124, the first support 11 is provided with a threaded blind hole at the position corresponding to the via hole 124, and the screw 51 is locked with the blind hole after passing through the via hole 124, so that the second support 12 is further fixed with the first support 11.

[0144] FIG. 18 is an enlarged view of an example at E in FIG. 14. FIG. 19 is a schematic view of another example of the first support 11 according to the embodiment.

[0145] As shown in FIGS. 18-19, in an embodiment provided by the present application, the first support 11 is provided with a boss 112 on the side facing the second support 12, the boss 112 is adjacent to the first abutting surface 111, the boss 112 is provided with a second abutting surface 113 on the side facing the swing arm 20, and the protrusion 23 is provided with a second stop surface 24. The swing arm 20 is provided with a groove 25 for avoiding the boss 112, when the swing arm 20 rotates relative to the slide support 10, the groove 25 formed on the swing arm 20 can avoid the boss 112, so as to avoid the interference between the swing arm 20 and the boss 112, and make the swing arm 20 rotate to the unfolded state smoothly. The groove 25 of the swing arm 20 is provided with a third stop surface 26. The second abutting surface 113 can be the side surface of the boss 112, the second stop surface 24 can be the side surface of the protrusion 23, and the third stop surface 26 can be the bottom surface of the groove 25.

[0146] In order to conveniently form the second stop surface 24 and the third stop surface 26, as shown in FIG. 18, the second stop surface 24 and the third stop surface 26 are coplanar, so that the second stop surface 24 and the third stop surface 26 can be formed by directly cutting the swing arm 20. How to distinguish the second stop surface 24 and the third stop surface 26 is shown in FIG. 18 by a dashed line as a boundary, the upper part of the dashed line is the second stop surface 24, and the lower part of the dashed line is the third stop surface 26. In addition, the overall profile of the second stop surface 24 and the third stop surface 26 is similar to that of the second abutting surface 113, so that the second stop surface 24 and the third stop surface 26 can be in full contact with the second abutting surface 113, so as to better share the impact force applied by the swing arm 20 to the first support 11.

[0147] The action process of the embodiment is as follows: FIG. 20 is a schematic view of an example of the swing arm 20 and the first support 11 provided by the embodiment of the present application, and FIG. 20 omits the second support 12. FIG. 21 is a schematic view of the swing arm 20 in the unfolded state in FIG. 20. As shown in FIGS. 20-21, when the swing arm 20 rotates from the folded state to the unfolded state, the second stop surface 24 on the swing arm 20 abuts against the second abutting surface 113 on the first support 11, and the third stop surface 26 on the swing arm 20 also abuts against the second abutting surface 113 on the first support 11, so as to prevent the swing arm 20 from continuing to rotate relative to the first support 11.

[0148] In addition to the design that the first stop surface 22 is abutted against the first abutment surface 111 to achieve the stop between the swing arm 20 and the first support 11, in the embodiment, the swing arm 20 is additionally provided with a second stop surface 24 and a third stop surface 26, and the first support 11 is additionally provided with a second abutment surface 113, so that the swing arm 20 and the first support 11 are further abutted against each other by the second stop surface 24 and the second abutment surface 113 and by the third stop surface 26 and the second abutment surface 113 to achieve the stop, so that there are more contact positions and contact areas between the swing arm 20 and the first support 11, so that the impact force applied by the swing arm 20 to the first support 11 can be more fully shared, so as to reduce the probability of deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13, improve the reliability of the hinge assembly 100, and ensure the opening and closing feeling of the user.

[0149] In addition, the second abutment surface 113 formed by the boss 112 has sufficient thickness and large structural strength, and can resist the impact force applied by the swing arm 20 to the first support 11 without being deformed.

[0150] FIG. 22 is a sectional view of H-H in FIG. 21.

[0151] As shown in FIG. 22, in an embodiment provided by the present application, the plane in which the second abutment surface 113 is located is parallel to the thickness direction of the hinge assembly 100. The thickness direction of the hinge assembly 100 is the Z direction in FIG. 22.

[0152] In the embodiment, the plane in which the second abutment surface 113 is located is parallel to the thickness direction of the hinge assembly 100, so that the impact force applied by the swing arm 20 to the first support 11 can be transferred, and the probability of deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 can be further reduced. As shown in FIG. 22, when the swing arm 20 is subjected to the downward impact force F1, the resultant force of the impact force of the second stop surface 24 on the second abutment surface 113 and the impact force of the third stop surface 26 on the second abutment surface 113 is F4, which is perpendicular to the plane in which the second abutment surface 113 is located, i.e., the direction of the resultant force F4 is the X direction in FIG. 22, and no upward lifting force is applied to the first support 11, which reduces the impact force of the swing arm 20 on the first support 11 in the Z direction, so that the part of the first support 11 with the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 does not appear to be displaced in the Z direction, and the stability of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 is further ensured.

[0153] In other embodiments provided by the present application, the plane in which the second abutment surface 113 is located can have a slight inclination relative to the thickness direction of the hinge assembly 100, for example, the angle between the plane in which the second abutment surface 113 is located and the thickness direction of the hinge assembly 100 is -20°-20°.

[0154] In another embodiment provided by the present application, the second stop surface 24 can be designed on the swing arm 20 only, for example, the protrusion 23 extends to the direction of the recess 25, so that the side surface of the protrusion 23 is higher than the bottom surface of the recess 25, and when the swing arm 20 rotates to the unfolded state, only the second stop surface 24 and the second abutting surface 113 abut to prevent the swing arm 20 from continuing to rotate.

[0155] In another embodiment provided by the present application, the third stop surface 26 can be designed on the swing arm 20 only, for example, the protrusion 23 moves to the direction away from the recess 25, so that the protrusion 23 is spaced apart from the recess 25, and when the swing arm 20 rotates to the unfolded state, only the third stop surface 26 and the second abutting surface 113 abut to prevent the swing arm 20 from continuing to rotate.

[0156] FIG. 23 is an enlarged view of another example of E in FIG. 14.

[0157] As shown in FIG. 23, in another embodiment provided by the present application, the second stop surface 24 and the third stop surface 26 can not be coplanar, so that the second stop surface 24 and the third stop surface 26 form a stepped structure, and correspondingly, the second abutting surface 113 on the boss 112 also forms a stepped structure, so that the second abutting surface 113 can adapt to and abut the second stop surface 24 and the third stop surface 26.

[0158] In the embodiment, the second stop surface 24 and the third stop surface 26 form a stepped structure after being not coplanar, and the second abutting surface 113 on the boss 112 also forms a stepped structure, so that the contact area between the swing arm 20 and the first support 11 can be further increased, i.e., the abutting surface of the fifth stop surface 205 in FIG. 20 and the boss 112 is increased.

[0159] FIG. 24 is a schematic view of another example of the swing arm 20 provided by the embodiment of the present application. FIG. 25 is a schematic view of another view of the swing arm 20 in FIG. 24. FIG. 26 is a top view of another example of the hinge assembly 100 provided by the embodiment of the present application. FIG. 27 is a sectional view of C-C in FIG. 26, and it should be noted that the C-C cutting line in FIG. 27 falls on the extension 204.

[0160] As shown in FIGS. 24-27, in an embodiment provided by the present application, the swing arm 20 is provided with an extension 204 on one side of the arc-shaped sliding block 21, the first support 11 is provided with a first through hole 115 for avoiding the extension 204, and a third abutting surface 117 is arranged on the side of the first through hole 115 of the first support 11 facing the extension 204. The third abutting surface 117 can be a part of the surface of the first support 11 in the first through hole 115. The extension 204 is provided with a fourth stop surface 28, and the fourth stop surface 28 can be a side surface of the extension 204. When the swing arm 20 is rotated to the unfolded state, the fourth stop surface 28 abuts against the third abutting surface 117.

[0161] FIG. 28 is a sectional view of B-B in FIG. 26, and it is to be noted that the B-B cutting line in FIG. 28 falls on the protrusion 23.

[0162] As shown in FIGS. 27-28, the same as the previous embodiment, when the swing arm 20 is rotated to the unfolded state, the first stop surface 22 of the swing arm 20 abuts against the first abutting surface 111 of the first support 11 to prevent the swing arm 20 from continuing to rotate. The difference between the present embodiment and the previous embodiment is that the fourth stop surface 28 of the swing arm 20 also abuts against the third abutting surface 117 of the first support 11 to prevent the swing arm 20 from continuing to rotate.

[0163] In addition to the design that the first stop surface 22 abuts against the first abutting surface 111 to achieve stop between the swing arm 20 and the first support 11, in the present embodiment, the fourth stop surface 28 is additionally arranged on the swing arm 20, and the third abutting surface 117 is additionally arranged on the first support 11, so that the fourth stop surface 28 of the swing arm 20 also abuts against the third abutting surface 117 of the first support 11 to achieve stop, thereby increasing the contact positions and contact area between the swing arm 20 and the first support 11, so that the impact force applied by the swing arm 20 to the first support 11 can be more fully shared, the probability of deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 is reduced, the reliability of the hinge assembly 100 is improved, and the opening and closing feeling of the user when folding the mobile phone is ensured.

[0164] As shown in FIG. 27, in an embodiment provided by the present application, the plane where the third abutting surface 117 is located is parallel to the thickness direction of the hinge assembly 100. The thickness direction of the hinge assembly 100 is the Z direction in FIG. 27.

[0165] The impact force applied by the swing arm 20 to the first support 11 is also transferred in this embodiment, which can further reduce the probability of deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13. As shown in FIG. 27, when the swing arm 20 is subjected to a downward impact force F1, the direction of the force F4 applied by the fourth stop surface 28 to the third abutting surface 117 is perpendicular to the plane in which the third abutting surface 117 is located, i.e., the direction of the force F4 is the X direction in FIG. 27. This reduces the impact force of the swing arm 20 on the first support 11 in the Z direction, so that the part of the first support 11 with the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 does not displace in the Z direction, further ensuring the stability of the shape of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 and reducing the probability of deformation.

[0166] In some embodiments provided in the present application, the plane in which the third abutting surface 117 is located can have a slight inclination relative to the thickness direction of the hinge assembly 100, for example, the angle between the plane in which the third abutting surface 117 is located and the thickness direction of the hinge assembly 100 is -20°-20°.

[0167] FIG. 29 is a schematic view of another example of the swing arm 20 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0168] As shown in FIG. 29, in an embodiment provided in the present application, the swing arm 20 is provided with a protrusion 23, the first stop surface 22 and the second stop surface 24 are arranged on the protrusion 23, the swing arm 20 is provided with a groove 25, the third stop surface 26 is arranged in the groove 25 of the swing arm 20, and the swing arm 20 is further provided with a fourth stop surface 28.

[0169] Correspondingly, the side of the first support 11 facing the second support 12 is provided with the first abutting surface 111 and a boss 112, the boss 112 is provided with the second abutting surface 113, the first support 11 is further provided with the first through hole 115, and the third abutting surface 117 is arranged in the first through hole 115 of the first support 11. When the swing arm 20 rotates to the unfolded state, the first stop surface 22 abuts against the first abutting surface 111, the second stop surface 24 abuts against the second abutting surface 113, the third stop surface 26 abuts against the second abutting surface 113, and the fourth stop surface 28 abuts against the third abutting surface 117, so as to prevent the swing arm 20 from continuing to rotate.

[0170] In this embodiment, more contact positions and contact areas are provided between the swing arm 20 and the first support 11, so that the impact force applied by the swing arm 20 to the first support 11 can be better distributed, the probability of deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 is reduced, the reliability of the hinge assembly 100 is improved, and the user's opening and closing feeling is ensured.

[0171] FIG. 30 is a schematic view of another example of the hinge assembly 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 31 is a schematic view of an example of the second support 12 provided in an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 32 is a sectional view of D-D in FIG. 30.

[0172] As shown in FIGS. 30-32, in another embodiment provided by the present application, the first support 11 is provided with a first mounting hole 118, and the second support 12 is provided with a second protrusion 122, the second protrusion 122 is arranged in the first mounting hole 118 and the second protrusion 122 is fixedly connected with the hole wall of the first mounting hole 118.

[0173] The first mounting hole 118 can be arranged on the boss 112 of the first support 11. The second protrusion 122 and the first mounting hole 118 can be bonded by an adhesive, or the second protrusion 122 is clamped in the first mounting hole 118 by interference fit.

[0174] The second support 12 can be provided with a step 125 which is profiled with the boss 112, and the second protrusion 122 is arranged on the step 125. After the first support 11 and the second support 12 are assembled, the boss 112 abuts against the step 125, and when the second abutting surface 113 is impacted by the impact force of the swing arm 20, the impact force can be transmitted to the step 125 through the boss 112, so that the impact force can be dispersed, and the deformation probability of the first support 11 and the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 can be further reduced.

[0175] In the embodiment, the second protrusion 122 is directly fixedly connected with the hole wall of the first mounting hole 118, so that the purchase cost and the installation steps of the fastener 50 can be saved; and the second protrusion 122 is directly fixed with the first mounting hole 118, so that the gap between the first support 11 and the second support 12 can be reduced, and the spliced part of the first support 11 and the second support 12 has a solid structure and has greater structural strength.

[0176] In another embodiment provided by the present application, the second protrusion 122 is welded with the hole wall of the first mounting hole 118. Optionally, the welding method can be a penetration welding method and / or a laser welding method.

[0177] In the embodiment, the second protrusion 122 is welded with the hole wall of the first mounting hole 118, so that the connection strength of the second protrusion 122 and the first support 11 can be higher; and as shown in FIG. 32, the boss 112 abuts against the step 125, so that the connection part of the first support 11 and the second support 12 has a solid structure and has no gap, so that the structural strength of the connection part of the first support 11 and the second support 12 is greater, and when the second abutting surface 113 of the boss 112 abuts against the second stop surface 24 of the swing arm 20 and when the second abutting surface 113 of the boss 112 abuts against the third stop surface 26 of the swing arm 20, a better supporting effect can be achieved, the first support 11 is not deformed, so that the shape stability of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 is further ensured.

[0178] As shown in FIG. 32, in some embodiments, the second protrusion 122 is opposite to the first abutting surface 111 in the width direction of the hinge assembly 100. The width direction of the hinge assembly 100 is the X direction in FIG. 32.

[0179] In the present embodiment, the second protrusion 122 is opposite to the first abutting surface 111 in the width direction of the hinge assembly 100. This design makes the second protrusion 122 closer to the welding position of the first support 11 and the first abutting surface 111. When the first abutting surface 111 is subjected to a force from the first stop surface 22 of the swing arm 20, the first abutting surface 111 can transmit the force to the welding position of the second protrusion 122 and the first support 11 through a shorter path. This can prevent the first mounting hole 118 and the part of the first support 11 from deforming, thereby further ensuring the stability of the first support 11 and the arc-shaped sliding groove 13.

[0180] FIG. 33 is a schematic view of another example of the swing arm 20 according to the present application. FIG. 34 is a schematic view of another example of the swing arm 20 and the first support 11 according to the present application.

[0181] As shown in FIGS. 33 and 34, in one embodiment, the swing arm 20 is provided with a first transition surface 27 at the corner of the groove 25, and the boss 112 is provided with a second transition surface 114 which is shaped like the first transition surface 27. When the swing arm 20 is turned to the flat state, the first transition surface 27 abuts against the second transition surface 114. Alternatively, the first transition surface 27 and the second transition surface 114 can be inclined planes or arc surfaces. The first transition surface 27 and the second transition surface 114 are shaped, which means that the surface types and the inclination directions of the first transition surface 27 and the second transition surface 114 are the same.

[0182] In the foregoing embodiments, the second stop surface 24 and the third stop surface 26 of the swing arm 20 abut against the second abutting surface 113 of the boss 112 when the swing arm 20 is turned to the flat state. In the present embodiment, the first transition surface 27 abuts against the second transition surface 114, thereby further increasing the contact area between the swing arm 20 and the boss 112, which can better distribute the impact force applied by the swing arm 20 to the first support 11, thereby reducing the probability of deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13, improving the reliability of the hinge assembly 100, and ensuring the user's opening and closing experience. The above advantages can be better understood by referring to the following structural diagrams.

[0183] Fig. 35 is a structural diagram of the swing arm 20 and the first support 11 in Fig. 34. Fig. 36 is a structural diagram of the swing arm 20 without the first transition surface 27 and the first support 11 without the second transition surface 114 in Fig. 34. The positions indicated by K and L are the positions where the third stop surface 26 of the swing arm 20 and the second abutting surface 113 of the boss 112 abut. Comparing Fig. 35 and Fig. 36, it can be seen that although the length d1 at K in Fig. 35 is smaller than the length d2 at L in Fig. 36, in Fig. 35, on both sides of K are the positions where the first transition surface 27 and the second transition surface 114 abut. For example, if the first transition surface 27 and the second transition surface 114 are inclined planes, the abutting length of the first transition surface 27 and the second transition surface 114 is greater than the difference between the length d2 at L and the length d1 at K. Therefore, the present embodiment further increases the contact area of the swing arm 20 and the boss 112 by designing the first transition surface 27 and the second transition surface 114 to abut. The following will be explained in detail in combination with the drawings and trigonometric function calculation.

[0184] Fig. 37 is a partial enlarged view of Fig. 35. As shown in Fig. 37, the length at K is d1, the length at L is d2, the difference between the length at L and the length at K is d2-d1, and the length of the positions where the first transition surface 27 and the second transition surface 114 on both sides abut is 2xd3. Assuming that the angle between the second transition surface 114 and the second abutting surface 113 is a, it can be calculated that the difference between the length at L and the length at K is d2-d1=2(d3xcos a), 2(d3xcos a) < 2xd3, which can determine that the abutting length of the first transition surface 27 and the second transition surface 114 is greater than the difference between the length d2 at L and the length d1 at K, and the abutting area of the first transition surface 27 and the second transition surface 114 is greater than the difference between the area at L and the area at K. Therefore, it is concluded that the contact area of the swing arm 20 and the boss 112 is increased due to the design of the first transition surface 27 and the second transition surface 114.

[0185] The length d1 at K ranges from 2mm to 20mm. The length d3 of the positions where the first transition surface 27 and the second transition surface 114 abut ranges from 1mm to 5mm. The angle a between the second transition surface 114 and the second abutting surface 113 ranges from 20° to 60°.

[0186] Fig. 38 is a schematic view of another example of the swing arm 20 provided by the present embodiment. Fig. 39 is a schematic view of another perspective of the swing arm 20 in Fig. 38. Fig. 40 is a schematic view of another example of the first support 11 provided by the present embodiment. Fig. 41 is a sectional view of the swing arm 20 and the first support 11 provided by the present embodiment. In Fig. 41, (a) is a sectional view of the swing arm 20 rotated to a folded state, and (b) is a sectional view of the swing arm 20 rotated to an unfolded state.

[0187] As shown in FIGS. 38-41, in an embodiment provided by the present application, the first bracket 11 is provided with an arc-shaped first lapping surface 119 on the side facing the second bracket 12, and the swing arm 20 is provided with an arc-shaped second lapping surface 202, and the first lapping surface 119 and the second lapping surface 202 are in sliding contact when the swing arm 20 rotates relative to the slide bracket 10.

[0188] In the embodiment, the swing arm 20 is designed with the first lapping surface 119, the first bracket 11 is designed with the second lapping surface 202, and the second lapping surface 202 and the first lapping surface 119 are in sliding connection, so as to increase the lapping area or amount of the swing arm 20 with the first bracket 11 during rotation, thereby improving the rotation stability of the swing arm 20. In addition, as shown in (b) of FIG. 41, when the swing arm 20 is in the unfolded state, and when the swing arm 20 is subjected to a downward impact force F1, one end of the swing arm 20 having the arc-shaped sliding block 21 will exert an upward lifting force F3 on the first bracket 11, the first lapping surface 119 and the second lapping surface 202 can abut against each other and share part of the force F3, so that the force exerted by the arc-shaped sliding block 21 on the part of the first bracket 11 having the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 is further reduced, and the impact force on the part of the first bracket 11 having the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 is further reduced, thereby avoiding the deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 caused by the excessive concentration of the force F3, ensuring that the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 and the arc-shaped sliding block 21 can be well adapted, and ensuring the reliability of the hinge assembly 100 and avoiding affecting the opening and closing feeling of the user when folding the mobile phone. In addition, since the force F3 exerted by the swing arm 20 on the first bracket 11 is further shared, the strength requirement of the part of the first bracket 11 can be further reduced, and thus the thickness of the base material of the part of the first bracket 11 can be further reduced, which is beneficial to the miniaturization and thinning design of the hinge assembly 100.

[0189] FIG. 42 is a schematic view of another perspective view of the first bracket 11 in FIG. 40. FIG. 43 is a schematic view of the swing arm 20 provided by the embodiment of the present application relative to the first bracket 11 in the unfolded state.

[0190] As shown in FIGS. 42 and 43, and in combination with FIGS. 38 and 39, in an embodiment provided by the present application, the side of the swing arm 20 provided with the arc-shaped sliding block 21 is provided with an extension 204, the first bracket 11 is provided with a first through hole 115 for avoiding the extension 204, and the extension 204 is provided with a notch 203 at the top corner opposite to the second lapping surface 202, and the notch 203 is used for avoiding the base material of the first bracket 11 at the first through hole 115 when the swing arm 20 rotates to the unfolded state.

[0191] The notch 203 is designed at the top corner of the extension 204 in this embodiment, mainly for two purposes. One is to ensure the structural strength of the first support 11. When the first mounting hole 118 is located between the plurality of first through holes 115, in order to make the structural strength of the first support 11 between the first mounting hole 118 and the first through hole 115 large enough to avoid the fracture between the first mounting hole 118 and the first through hole 115, the thickness and width of the support substrate between the first mounting hole 118 and the first through hole 115 should be increased as much as possible. The other purpose is to ensure that when the swing arm 20 is rotated to the flat state or close to the flat state, the first lap surface 119 of the swing arm 20 can fully contact the second lap surface 202 of the first support 11.

[0192] To facilitate the understanding of the above, the following will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 44 is a schematic view of another example of the swing arm 20 and the first support 11 provided in the embodiment of the present application. In FIG. 44, (a) is a complete view of the swing arm 20 and the first support 11; (b) is a complete view of the swing arm 20 and a partially cut first support 11; and (c) is a front view of the swing arm 20 and the first support 11 in (b). FIG. 45 is an enlarged view of N in FIG. 44.

[0193] As shown in FIGS. 44 and 45, the notch 203 is arranged at the top corner of the extension 204 facing away from the second lap surface 202, which does not affect the width of the first lap surface 119, thereby ensuring that the first lap surface 119 of the swing arm 20 can fully contact the second lap surface 202 of the first support 11. Assuming that the notch 203 is not designed on the swing arm 20, FIG. 46 is a schematic view of the swing arm 20 without the notch 203 in FIG. 45. As shown in FIG. 46, the width of the first lap surface 119 is not affected, which can ensure that the first lap surface 119 of the swing arm 20 has sufficient lap area or lap amount with the second lap surface 202 of the first support 11. However, looking at the bottom of the second lap surface 202, the substrate of the swing arm 20 occupies a large space, so when the swing arm 20 is rotated to the flat state, it will inevitably interfere with the substrate at the first through hole 115 of the first support 11, i.e., the position indicated by M in FIG. 42. Therefore, the part of the substrate of the first support 11 at M needs to be cut off, but this will affect the structural strength of the first support 11, and the fracture between the first mounting hole 118 and the first through hole 115 is prone to occur.

[0194] Therefore, in the embodiment, the gap 203 is designed on the swing arm 20 to avoid the base material of the first support 11 at the first through hole 115, thereby ensuring the structural strength of the first support 11, and enabling the first lapping surface 119 of the swing arm 20 to fully contact the second lapping surface 202 of the first support 11, and ensuring the lapping area or amount of the swing arm 20 and the first support 11 during rotation. Through the above design, the structural strength requirement of the first support 11 and the lapping area or amount requirement of the swing arm 20 and the first support 11 can be balanced.

[0195] In addition, as shown in FIGS. 38-40 and 43, after the gap 203 is arranged at the top corner of the extension 204 opposite the second lapping surface 202, the extension 204 can form an inclined third transition surface 29 at the gap 203, and the first through hole 115 of the first support 11 can be provided with a fourth transition surface 116 shaped like the third transition surface 29. The third transition surface 29 and the fourth transition surface 116 are shaped, that is, the surface type and inclination direction of the third transition surface 29 and the fourth transition surface 116 are consistent. In this way, when the swing arm 20 rotates to the folded state, the third transition surface 29 and the fourth transition surface 116 can abut against each other, thereby further increasing the stop contact area of the swing arm 20 and the first support 11, and better distributing the impact force of the swing arm 20 applied to the first support 11, to reduce the probability of deformation of the arc-shaped sliding groove 13 and improve the reliability of the hinge assembly 100.

[0196] In another embodiment provided in the present application, when the swing arm 20 rotates to the folded state, the third transition surface 29 and the fourth transition surface 116 can have a slight gap therebetween, without abutting against each other. At this time, the third transition surface 29 and the fourth transition surface 116 are in a relationship of mutual avoidance.

[0197] Optionally, each component in the hinge assembly 100 can be manufactured by a powder injection molding process. The powder injection molding process is a branch of metallurgy and material science, which mainly uses metal powder (including a small amount of non-metal powder) as raw material to manufacture materials and products by a “shaping + sintering” method, and is a near-net shaping process for producing complex components at a relatively low cost.

[0198] According to the classification of materials, powder injection molding can be divided into two categories: metal injection molding (MIM) and ceramic injection molding (CIM). The powder injection molding process has obvious advantages in manufacturing high-precision, high-strength, and high-precision structural components and appearance components with fine appearance.

[0199] Optionally, each part in the hinge assembly 100 can be made of aluminum alloy material. The aluminum alloy material has the advantages of good heat dissipation effect, strong compression and bending resistance, and good scratch and scratch resistance. The appearance of the foldable mobile phone using the aluminum alloy material is more fashionable and beautiful, the body is thinner, and the texture is better.

[0200] Finally, it should be noted that the above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any change or replacement within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A hinge assembly, characterized by The utility model relates to a kind of folding chair, including: Chute support (10), including mutually spliced first support (11) and second support (12), the first support (11) and the second support (12) are formed with two arc-shaped chutes (13);The side of the first support (11) towards the second support (12) is provided with first abutting face (111), and the first abutting face (111) is located between two arc-shaped chutes (13); Swing arm (20) is provided with two arc-shaped sliding blocks (21), and the arc-shaped sliding block (21) is slidably connected with the arc-shaped chute (13), so that the swing arm (20) can be rotated to flat state or folding state relative to the chute support (10);The side of the swing arm (20) towards the first support (11) is provided with first stop surface (22), and the first stop surface (22) is located between two arc-shaped sliding blocks (21), and when the swing arm (20) is rotated to the flat state, the first stop surface (22) is abutted with the first abutting face (111).

2. The hinge assembly of claim 1, wherein, The swing arm (20) is provided with protrusion (23), and the first stop surface (22) is located on the surface of the protrusion (23) towards the first support (11).

3. The hinge assembly of claim 2, wherein, The side of the first support (11) towards the second support (12) is provided with boss (112), and the side of the boss (112) towards the swing arm (20) is provided with second abutting face (113);The protrusion (23) is provided with second stop surface (24), and the swing arm (20) is provided with recess (25) for avoiding the boss (112), and the recess (25) of the swing arm (20) is provided with third stop surface (26), and when the swing arm (20) is rotated to the flat state, the second stop surface (24) and / or the third stop surface (26) is abutted with the second abutting face (113).

4. The hinge assembly of claim 3, wherein, The second abutting face (113) is parallel to the thickness direction of the hinge assembly (100).

5. The hinge assembly of any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The side of the swing arm (20) provided with the arc-shaped sliding block (21) is provided with extension (204), and the first support (11) is provided with first through hole (115) for avoiding the extension (204), and the side of the first through hole (115) of the first support (11) towards the extension (204) is provided with third abutting face (117), and the extension (204) is provided with fourth stop surface (28), and when the swing arm (20) is rotated to the flat state, the fourth stop surface (28) is abutted with the third abutting face (117).

6. The hinge assembly of claim 5, wherein, The third abutting face (117) is parallel to the thickness direction of the hinge assembly (100).

7. The hinge assembly of any one of claims 1-6, wherein, The second support (12) is provided with a main abutting surface (123) between the two arc-shaped sliding grooves (13), and the side of the swing arm (20) opposite to the first stop surface (22) is provided with a main stop surface (201) between the two arc-shaped sliding blocks (21), and the main stop surface (201) abuts against the main abutting surface (123) when the swing arm (20) rotates to the unfolded state.

8. The hinge assembly of any one of claims 1-7, wherein, Further comprising: The first support (11), the second support (12) and the hinge cover (30) are sequentially stacked, the hinge cover (30) is connected with the first support (11) through a fastener (50), and the fastener (50) is arranged opposite to the first abutting surface (111) in the width direction of the hinge assembly (100).

9. The hinge assembly of claim 8, wherein, The first support (11) is provided with a first mounting hole (118), the second support (12) is provided with a second through hole (121), the hinge cover (30) is provided with a first protrusion (31), the first protrusion (31) is provided with a second mounting hole (311), the first protrusion (31) is arranged in the second through hole (121), and the fastener (50) is connected through the first mounting hole (118) and the second mounting hole (311).

10. The hinge assembly of any one of claims 1-7, wherein, The first support (11) is provided with a first mounting hole (118), the second support (12) is provided with a second protrusion (122), the second protrusion (122) is arranged in the first mounting hole (118), and the second protrusion (122) is connected with the hole wall of the first mounting hole (118).

11. The hinge assembly of claim 10, wherein, In the width direction of the hinge assembly (100), the second protrusion (122) is arranged opposite to the first abutting surface (111).

12. The hinge assembly of claim 3, wherein, The corner of the groove (25) of the swing arm (20) is provided with a first transition surface (27), the corner of the boss (112) is provided with a second transition surface (114) which is shaped according to the first transition surface (27), and the first transition surface (27) abuts against the second transition surface (114) when the swing arm (20) rotates to the unfolded state.

13. The hinge assembly of any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The side of the first support (11) facing the second support (12) is provided with an arc-shaped first lapping surface (119), and the swing arm (20) is provided with an arc-shaped second lapping surface (202), and the first lapping surface (119) and the second lapping surface (202) slide in contact when the swing arm (20) rotates relative to the sliding groove support (10).

14. The hinge assembly of claim 13, wherein, The swing arm (20) is provided with an extension (204) on one side of the arc-shaped sliding block (21), the first support (11) is provided with a first through hole (115) for avoiding the extension (204), and a notch (203) is arranged at a top corner of the extension (204) away from the second lap joint surface (202), so that the notch (203) is used for avoiding the first support (11) at the first through hole (115) when the swing arm (20) rotates to the unfolded state.

15. The hinge assembly of claim 3 or 4, wherein, The second stop surface (24) and the third stop surface (26) are coplanar.

16. The hinge assembly of claim 10, wherein, The second protrusion (122) is welded with a hole wall of the first mounting hole (118).

17. An electronic device, comprising: The hinge assembly (100) as claimed in any one of claims 1-16 is included.

18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein, Further included are a first housing (200), a second housing (300), and a screen (400), the hinge assembly (100) is connected between the first housing (200) and the second housing (300), and the screen (400) is arranged on one side of the first housing (200), the hinge assembly (100) and the second housing (300).

Images