Foldable Terminal Sliding Bar Structure for Wrinkle-Free Unfolding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Foldable terminals with flexible screens often develop wrinkles at the bending location when unfolded due to a radius difference between the outer and inner surfaces, leading to reduced durability and increased damage risk.
Innovation Solution
A foldable terminal design featuring a body with a first and second structural member and a coupling assembly, where sliding bars are rotatably and slidably coupled to support the flexible screen assembly, allowing the structure to unfold without wrinkles by reducing the length of the folding outer side surface and maintaining the flexible screen's contact with a flat surface for improved support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a flexible screen is bent in a foldable terminal, then the terminal achieves foldability and compact form factor, but wrinkles appear at the bending location when unfolded
Solution Approach 1:
A filling component is introduced as an intermediary element between the flexible screen and the outer casing. This filling component fills the space formed by the bent flexible screen, providing support and preventing wrinkles from forming on the outer surface when the terminal is unfolded.
Solution Approach 2:
The problematic bending radius constraint is effectively removed by introducing the filling component. The filling component allows the flexible screen to maintain its bent configuration without transmitting the curvature stress to the outer surface, thereby extracting the wrinkle-forming mechanism from the system.
2Volume of moving object
If the flexible screen is bent tightly to achieve compact folding, then the folded size is reduced, but the outer surface becomes wrinkled when unfolded
Solution Approach 1:
The filling component serves as a mediator that decouples the tight bending configuration from the outer surface. It allows the flexible screen to be bent tightly for compact folding while the filling component maintains the outer surface smoothness and prevents wrinkle formation that would compromise durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The filling component provides beforehand cushioning by pre-filling the space that would otherwise be empty when the flexible screen is bent. This cushioning effect prevents the flexible screen from forming sharp creases that would lead to durability issues.
3Device complexity
If the bending area is left unsupported to maintain simplicity, then the device structure is simpler, but the flexible screen develops wrinkles and loses press sensitivity
Solution Approach 1:
The filling component acts as a simple intermediary that provides support to the bending area without requiring complex mechanisms. It passively maintains the flatness of the flexible screen when unfolded while adding minimal structural complexity to the overall device.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design ensures the foldable terminal unfolds without wrinkles, enhancing durability and reducing damage risk by maintaining the flexible screen's flatness and press sensitivity, thereby improving the overall performance and usability of the device.
Implementation Method 1
first ends of the two sliding bars are rotatably coupled to two opposite side walls of the fixed member correspondingly
Implementation Method 2
second ends of the two sliding bars are slidably coupled to the first sliding cavity and the second sliding cavity correspondingly
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4~5
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a foldable terminal, including a body and a flexible screen assembly. The body includes a first structural member, a second structural member and a bending assembly. The bending assembly includes a fixed member and two sliding bars. The two sliding bars are rotatably coupled to two side walls of the fixed member correspondingly and coupled to the first structural member and the second structural member correspondingly. The flexible screen assembly is disposed to a folding inner side surface of the body, and a bending area of the flexible screen assembly is right opposite to the fixed member. In the present disclosure, second ends of the sliding bars can gradually get close to bottoms of the sliding cavities, so as to enable a length of a folding outer side surface of the body to be reduced gradually, thereby allowing the folding outer side surface of the body to be flat and straight without wrinkles, after the foldable terminal is unfolded. The present disclosure also provides another foldable terminal.