Infolding Screen Hinge Structure for Straight Fold Seams
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile terminals with infolding flexible screens face challenges in avoiding a droplet shape when folded, which restricts the design of a narrow frame and thin shape due to existing hinge structures.
Innovation Solution
A hinge with a push-pull rod mechanism, rotation member, movable guide rail, and rotation support plate that synchronously rotate and slide to support the flexible screen, avoiding bulging when folded, and incorporating a synchronous reverse rotation connection and operation feedback mechanism to maintain a thin design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If a rotating plate is provided in the middle to avoid droplet shape, then the folded middle seam can be straight, but the narrow border design is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge is divided into left and right side structures, each with independent push-pull rods, rotation members, and movable guide rails. This segmentation allows each component to perform specific functions while working together to achieve the overall goal of straightening the folded seam without requiring a complex central rotating plate.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotation members are connected to movable guide rails that enable sliding motion perpendicular to the rotation axis. This adds a dimensional aspect to the rotation mechanism, allowing the housing connectors to both rotate and slide, thereby achieving straight folded seams through a combination of rotational and translational movements rather than simple rotation.
2Shape
If existing hinge structures are used to avoid droplet shape, then the flexible screen can be folded, but the frame cannot be narrow and the terminal cannot be thin
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge employs dynamic components including push-pull rods that extend and retract, rotation members that rotate, and movable guide rails that slide. These dynamic elements allow the hinge to adapt its configuration during folding and unfolding, enabling the flexible screen to fold properly while maintaining a compact form factor with narrow frame and thin profile when unfolded.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotation members are slidably connected to housing connectors, and the movable guide rails are connected to the rotation members, creating a nested arrangement where components are housed within each other. This nesting allows the hinge mechanism to be compact, enabling narrow frame and thin terminal design while still providing the necessary folding functionality.
3Ease of operation
If the housing connector and rotation member synchronously rotate, then the folding motion is coordinated, but the mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The housing connector and rotation member are combined into a single synchronous rotation unit, where both components rotate together about the same axis. This merging ensures coordinated folding motion without requiring separate control mechanisms for each component, simplifying the overall system while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable guide rail acts as an intermediary between the rotation member and the housing connector, enabling their synchronous rotation through slidable connection. The guide rail translates the rotational motion into coordinated movement, ensuring that both the housing connector and rotation member rotate synchronously without requiring complex direct coupling mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A hinge and a mobile terminal including an infolding flexible screen. A left side structure and a right side structure in the hinge each include a mechanism composed of a push-pull rod and a fixed base, to push/pull a housing connector to slide, a rotation member, a movable guide rail, and a rotation support plate. The rotation member is slidably connected to the housing connector. The movable guide rail and the housing connector synchronously slide and synchronously rotate about the same axis. The inner end of the rotation support plate is a rotation connection end, and the outer end is movably connected to the movable guide rail by means of a shaft pin. Moreover, the movable guide rail provided on a sliding structure combines with the design of each axis.