Patent Publication Number: US-2023135495-A1

Title: Double-sided display apparatus

Description:
This application claims the priority of the Chinese patent application filed on Jun. 24, 2020 before the Chinese Patent Office with the application number of 202010590544.3, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to the technical field of display, and more particularly, to a double-sided display device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Smart terminals have been widely used in daily life, and users can get more information through the smart terminals. Moreover, in order to increase screen areas of the smart terminals, flexible screens with better flexibility are used in more smart terminals. 
     In the related art, screen folding is the general way to change the screen areas of the mart terminals. A housing of the smart terminal is divided into a first housing and a second housing. The first housing and the second housing can be folded and extended by a bending structure arranged therebetween, and a flexible screen covers an upper surface of the first housing and an upper surface of the second housing. When a screen with a larger area is needed, the first housing or the second housing is bent, so that the upper surface of the first housing and the upper surface of the second housing are in the same horizontal plane and in an extended state. In this case, the whole flexible screen can be used to display images. When a screen with a smaller area is needed, the first housing or the second housing is bent, so that the first housing is located below the second housing and in a folded state. In this case, a part of the flexible screen located on the upper surface of the second housing in the entire flexible screen can display images. 
     However, the related art only covers two cases of the screen area of the smart terminal, one is the area of the whole flexible screen, and the other is the area of a half flexible screen, which leads to lower flexibility of adjusting the screen area of the smart terminal and smaller application range. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure provides a double-sided display device, which improves the flexibility of adjusting a display area, enlarges an application range of the double-sided display device, and is convenient for users to use. 
     A double-sided display device includes: 
     a housing, including a first housing and a second housing slidingly connected with the first housing; 
     a first flexible screen having a first display surface facing one side, one end of the first flexible screen being connected in the first housing and the other end being wound in the second housing; 
     a second flexible screen arranged opposite to the first flexible screen and having a second display surface facing the other side, one end of the second flexible screen being fixed in the second housing, and the other end being wound in the first housing; and 
     a flexible screen drive part, the flexible screen drive part being configured for driving winding parts of the first flexible screen and the second flexible screen to wind when the second housing slides relative to the first housing, so as to change a display area. 
     Optionally, a housing drive part is further included, wherein the housing drive part is configured for driving the second housing to slide relative to the first housing. 
     Optionally, the housing drive part includes a housing drive motor and a rack assembly driven to slide by the housing drive motor. 
     Optionally, the rack assembly includes a fixed seat, a first rack, a second rack and a gear meshed with the first rack and the second rack simultaneously, the fixed seat is fixed to the first housing, the first rack and the second rack are both slidably arranged on the fixed seat, and the second rack is connected with the second housing, and the housing drive motor is connected with the first rack and configured for driving the first rack to slide. 
     Optionally, the flexible screen drive part includes first roll shafts and a flexible screen drive motor configured for driving the first roll shafts to rotate, and the other end of the flexible screen is wound on the two first roll shafts. 
     Optionally, the flexible screen drive part further includes a second roll shaft, the other end of the second flexible screen is wound on the second roll shaft, and the flexible screen drive motor is further configured for driving the second roll shaft to rotate. 
     Optionally, the flexible screen drive part further includes a roller, the roller is located between the first flexible screen and the second flexible screen, and teeth are evenly distributed on an outer side of the roller in a circumferential direction; an inner side of the first flexible screen is provided with a plurality of first tooth sockets, the teeth are meshed with the first tooth sockets, and the flexible screen drive motor is further configured for driving the roller to rotate. 
     Optionally, an inner side of the second flexible screen is provided with a plurality of second tooth sockets, and the teeth can be meshed with the second tooth sockets. 
     Optionally, an elastic structure and two fixing structures are further included, wherein the elastic structure and the two fixing structures are all located between the first flexible screen and the second flexible screen, two ends and a middle of the elastic structure are spiral, and one end of the elastic structure is arranged on the first flexible screen through one of the fixing structures, and the other end of the elastic structure is arranged on the second flexible screen through the other of the fixing structures. 
     Optionally, a control switch fixed on the housing is further included, wherein the control switch is connected with the flexible screen drive motor, and is configured for controlling the flexible screen drive motor to be enabled and stopped. 
     Optionally, one end of the first flexible screen is wound in the first housing. 
     According to the double-sided display device provided by the present disclosure, double-sided display of the double-sided display device is implemented by arranging the first flexible screen and the second flexible screen on the front and rear sides of the housing respectively, so that the display area of the double-sided display device is increased; the second flexible screen is driven to be extended by the housing drive part, and the first flexible screen is driven to be extended by the flexible screen drive part, so that the display area of the double-sided display device can be controlled, and thus, the display area of the double-sided display device can have various situations, which improves the flexibility of adjusting the display area of the double-sided display device, enlarges an application range of the double-sided display device, and is convenient for users to use. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic structural diagram of a double-sided display device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic diagram of a decomposition structure of a double-sided display device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic diagram of a decomposition structure of another double-sided display device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  4    is a front view of a double-sided display device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  5    is a sectional view A-A shown in  FIG.  4    of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  6    is a sectional view B-B shown in  FIG.  4    of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  7    is a schematic diagram of a double-sided display device that does not include a first flexible screen provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  8    is a schematic structural diagram of a first flexible screen, a roller and a first roll shaft provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  9    is an enlarged schematic diagram of a position C shown in  FIG.  8    of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  10    is a rear view of a double-sided display device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  11    is a reference diagram of a usage state of a double-sided display device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG.  12    is a reference diagram of a usage state of another double-sided display device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     In the drawings: 
     1 refers to housing;  11  refers to first housing;  12  refers to second housing;  2  refers to first flexible screen;  21  refers to first tooth socket;  3  refers to second flexible screen;  4  refers to housing drive part;  41  refers to fixed seat;  42  refers to first rack;  43  refers to second rack;  44  refers to gear;  45  refers to housing drive motor;  5  refers to flexible screen drive part;  51  refers to first roll shaft;  52  refers to flexible screen drive motor;  53  refers to second roll shaft;  54  refers to roller;  541  refers to tooth;  6  refers to elastic structure;  7  refers to fixing structure;  8  refers to control switch;  9  refers to braced frame; and  10  refers to camera module. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The technical solutions of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and through the embodiments hereinafter. The embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. For ease of description, the accompanying drawings only show the parts related to the present disclosure, but not all of the present disclosure. 
     In the description of the present disclosure, it should be noted that the orientations or positional relationships indicated by the terms such as “center”, “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “inner”, “outer” and the like, refer to the orientations or positional relationships shown the drawings, are only intended to facilitate describing the present disclosure and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the indicated devices or elements must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation of the present disclosure. Moreover, the terms “first” and “second” are used for descriptive purposes only, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. 
     In the description of the present disclosure, it should be noted that unless expressly stipulated and defined otherwise, the terms “installation”, “connected” and “connection” should be understood broadly, for example, the connection may be fixed connection, and may also be detachable connection; may be mechanical connection, and may also be electrical connection; and may be direct connection, may also be indirect connection through an intermediate medium, and may also be internal communication of two elements. The meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood according to the detailed situations. 
     This embodiment provides a double-sided display device, the two sides of which are both provided with a flexible screen, and display areas of the flexible screens at the two sides can be adjusted, so that the double-sided display device has higher flexibility. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1    to  FIG.  12   , the double-sided display device includes a housing  1 , a first flexible screen  2  configured for displaying in a front side of the housing  1 , a second flexible screen  3  configured for displaying in a rear side of the housing  1 , and a flexible screen drive part  5  configured for driving the first flexible screen  2  to be extended. 
     As shown in  FIG.  3   , the housing  1  includes a first housing  11  and a second housing  12  slidingly connected with the first housing  11 . The first flexible screen  2  has a first display surface facing one side of the housing  1 , the first flexible screen  2  is located at a front side of the double-sided display device, and one end of the first flexible screen  2  is connected in the first housing  11  and the other end of the first flexible screen  2  is wound in the second housing  12 . In other words, the first flexible screen  2  includes a flat part tiled on one side of the first housing  11  and a winding part wound in the second housing  12 . The second flexible screen  3  is arranged opposite to the first flexible screen  2 , and has a second display surface facing the other side of the housing  1 , the second flexible screen  3  is located at a rear side of the double-sided display device, one end of the second flexible screen  3  is fixed in the second housing  12 , and the other end of the second flexible screen  3  is wound in the first housing  11 . In other words, the second flexible screen  3  also includes a winding part, and the winding part of the second flexible screen  3  is located in the first housing  11 . The second display surface and the first display surface can display the same image, or the second display surface and the first display surface can also display different images. Optionally, a bottom wall of the first housing  11  may also be provided with a camera module  10 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  2   , the flexible screen drive part  5  is located in the first housing  11 , and is close to a left end of the first housing  11 . The flexible screen drive part  5  is configured for driving the winding parts of the first flexible screen  2  and the second flexible screen  3  to wind and unwind when the second housing  12  slides relative to the first housing  11 , so as to change a display area. In addition, because one end of the second flexible screen  3  is fixed in the second housing  12 , when the second housing  12  slides, one end of the second flexible screen  3  can be driven to move, so that the winding part of the second flexible screen  3  can be wound and unwound, that is, the second housing  12  and the flexible screen drive part  5  can simultaneously drive the winding part of the second flexible screen  3  to wind. 
     The double-sided display device provided by this embodiment has a plurality of display states, which are respectively a normal display state, an extended display state and a transitional display state between the two display states. When the double-sided display device is in the normal display state, the flat part of the first flexible screen  2  on the front side of the housing  1  is exposed and used to display images (as shown in  FIG.  1   ), while the second flexible screen  3  on the rear side of the housing  1  is not exposed out of the housing  1 , that is, the second flexible screen  3  is shaded by the first housing  11  and the second housing  12  (as shown in  FIG.  10   ) and cannot display images. When the double-sided display device is in the extended display state, the flat part of the first flexible screen  2  on the front side of the housing  1  and a part of the winding part are both exposed out of the housing  1  and used to display images (as shown in  FIG.  11   ). In this case, the display area is larger, and the part of the second flexible screen  3  on the rear side of the housing  1  is not exposed out of the housing  1 , and can be used to display images (as shown in  FIG.  12   ), which increases the display area of the double-sided display device. When the double-sided display device is in the transitional display state, the display area of the double-sided display device is between the display area in the normal display state and the display area in the extended display state. 
     When it is necessary to control the double-sided display device to change from a normal display state to an extended display state, the second housing  12  is driven to slide away from the first housing  11  first, so that the second housing  12  can pull the second flexible screen  3  to extend, which is, to pull the winding part of the second flexible screen  3  to unwind, and meanwhile, drive the winding parts of the first flexible screen  2  and the second flexible screen  3  to unwind through the flexible screen drive part  5 , so that a second part of the first flexible screen  2  is extended. In this process, the action of the flexible screen drive part  5  may be stopped at any time to obtain a corresponding display area of the first flexible screen  2  and a corresponding display area of the second flexible screen  3  as needed. In this embodiment, the second housing  12  can be manually pulled by a user to slide relative to the first housing  11 , and the second housing  12  can also be driven to slide relative to the first housing  11  by a driver, which is not limited in this embodiment. 
     According to the double-sided display device provided by the present disclosure, double-sided display of the double-sided display device is implemented by arranging the first flexible screen  2  and the second flexible screen  3  on the front and rear sides of the housing  1  respectively, so that the display area of the double-sided display device is increased; the winding part of the first flexible screen  2  and the second flexible screen  3  are driven to wind and unwind by the housing drive part  5 , so that the display area of the double-sided display device can be controlled, and thus, the display area of the double-sided display device can have various situations, which improves the flexibility of adjusting the display area of the double-sided display device, enlarges an application range of the double-sided display device, and is convenient for users to use. 
     Optionally, as shown in  FIG.  2   , the double-sided display device may also include a braced frame  9  located in the housing  1 , the braced frame  9  is configured for bracing the first flexible screen  2  and the second flexible screen  3 , so as to prevent the first flexible screen  2  and the second flexible screen  3  from being excessively bent to affect the use. 
     In this embodiment, as shown in  FIG.  5    and  FIG.  6   , one end of the first flexible screen  2  is wound in the first housing  11 . In other words, the two ends of the first flexible screen  2  are both provided with a winding part, and one winding part is wound in the first housing  11 , and the other winding part is wound in the second housing  12 . When the first flexible screen  2  is extended, the two winding parts of the first flexible screen can be extended at the same time, or one of the two winding parts of the first flexible screen  2  is extended and the other one is kept in a wound state, which is not limited in this embodiment. 
     Optionally, as shown in  FIG.  2   , the double-sided display device further includes a housing drive part  4  configured for driving the housing  1  to extend. In an embodiment, the housing drive part  4  is fixedly connected with the second housing  12  and is configured for driving the second housing  12  to slide relative to the first housing  11 . The housing drive part  4  can drive the second housing  12  to slide close to or away from the first housing  11 . 
     In an embodiment, the housing drive part  4  may include a housing drive motor  45  and a rack assembly driven to slide by the housing drive motor  45 . The rack assembly is connected with the second housing  12 . When the housing drive motor  45  drives the rack assembly to move, the rack assembly can drive the second housing  12  to slide relative to the first housing  11 . 
     Optionally, as shown in  FIG.  7   , the rack assembly includes a fixed seat  41 , a first rack  42 , a second rack  43  and a gear  44  meshed with the first rack  42  and the second rack  43  simultaneously. The fixed seat  41  is fixed to the first housing  11 , the first rack  42  and the second rack  43  are both slidably arranged on the fixed seat  41 , and the second rack  43  is connected with the second housing  12 . When the first rack  42  slides in a first direction, the second rack  43  can be driven by the gear  44  to slide in a second direction, so that the second rack  43  drives the second housing  12  to slide in the second direction, and then the second flexible screen  3  can be extended or contracted. The second direction is opposite to the first direction. For example, in  FIG.  7   , when the first rack  42  moves upward, the second rack  43  moves downward under the action of the gear  44 . In this case, the second rack  43  drives the second housing  12  to move downward, so as to be away from the first housing  11 , and the second housing  12  pulls one end of the second flexible screen  3  to move downward, so that the winding part of the second flexible screen  3  is unwound, and thus, the second flexible screen  3  is extended. However, the contracted process of the second flexible screen  3  is opposite to this process, and will not be elaborated in this embodiment here. 
     Optionally, the fixed seat  41  may be provided with a slide track, and bottoms of the first rack  42  and the second rack  43  may be provided with runners which can be slidably arranged on the slide track, so as to realize the sliding of the first rack  42  and the second rack  43  relative to the fixed seat  41 , and the slide track can also guide a slide direction of the first rack  42  and the second rack  43 . 
     Optionally, please continuously refer to  7 . The flexible screen drive part  5  may include two first roll shafts  51  and a flexible screen drive motor  52  for driving the two first roll shafts  51  to rotate. Two ends of the first flexible screen  2  (i.e., two winding parts of the first flexible screen  2 ) are wound on the two first roll shafts  51  respectively. When the first roll shaft  51  rotates in a first rotation direction, winding of the winding part of the first flexible screen  2  can be realized. 
     When the first roll shaft  51  rotates in a direction opposite the first rotation direction, unwinding of the winding part of the first flexible screen  2  can be realized. Optionally, an outer surface of the first roller shaft  51  may be circumferentially provided with a plurality of bulges to better wind up the first flexible screen  2 . The first roll shaft  51  is rotatably connected to the first housing  11 , so that one end of the first flexible screen  2  is connected to the first housing  11  through the first roll shaft  51 . 
     For example, the flexible screen drive motor  52  can be connected with the first roll shaft  51  through a conversion structure. The conversion structure is respectively connected with a telescopic end of the flexible screen drive motor  52  and the first roll shaft  51 , and is configured for converting linear displacement generated by the telescopic end into rotation. For example, when the telescopic end is extended, the conversion structure can drive the first roll shaft  51  to rotate in the first rotation direction, and when the telescopic end is retracted, the conversion structure can drive the first roll shaft  51  to rotate in the direction opposite to the first rotation direction. Optionally, the conversion structure may be a gear structure with teeth inside and outside, and the telescopic end may be a rack. 
     In an embodiment, as shown in  FIG.  5   , the flexible screen drive part  5  may further include a second roll shaft  53 . The other end of the second flexible screen  3  (i.e., the winding part of the second flexible screen  3 ) is wound on the second roll shaft  53 . In this case, the flexible screen drive motor  52  is further configured for driving the second roll shaft  53  to rotate, so that the second flexible screen  3  is extended or contracted. Optionally, an outer surface of the second roll shaft  53  may be circumferentially provided with a plurality of bulges to better wind up the second roll shaft  53 . Moreover, in order to avoid interference between the movement of the first flexible screen  2  and the second flexible screen  3 , the second roll shaft  53  is located between the two first roll shafts  51 . Optionally, the second roll shaft  53  is rotatably arranged on the second housing  12 . 
     In an embodiment, as shown in  FIG.  8   , the flexible screen drive part  5  may also include a roller  54 . The roller  54  is located between the first flexible screen  2  and the second flexible screen  3 , and teeth  541  are evenly distributed on an outer side of the roller  54  in a circumferential direction. An inner side of the first flexible screen  2  (that is, the opposite side of the first display surface) is provided with a plurality of first tooth sockets  21 , and the teeth  541  can be meshed with the first tooth sockets  21 . The flexible screen drive motor  52  is further configured for driving the roller  54  to rotate, so that when the roller  54  rotates, the first flexible screen  2  can be driven to move by the teeth  541  and the first tooth sockets  21  which are meshed with each other. For example, when the roller  54  rotates along the first rotation direction, the first flexible screen  2  can be driven to move along the first direction. In this case, one winding part of the first flexible screen  2  is unwound. When the roller  54  rotates along a second rotation direction, the first flexible screen  2  can be driven to move along the second direction. In this case, the other winding part of the first flexible screen  2  is unwound. As shown in  FIG.  9   , the inner side of the first display screen  2  is provided with a plurality of bulge structures, and the plurality of bulge structures is arranged at intervals, and the first tooth socket  21  is formed between two adjacent bulge structures. Optionally, the flexible screen drive part  5  may include a plurality of rollers  54  to improve the stability and reliability when the rollers  54  drive the first flexible screen  2  to move. 
     Optionally, the inner side of the second flexible screen  3  may be provided with a plurality of second tooth sockets, and the teeth  541  can be meshed with the second tooth sockets. In this case, the roller  54  can also assist the second housing  12  to drive the second flexible screen  3  to move, so as to ensure that the second flexible screen  3  can be extended or contracted. 
     In this embodiment, as shown in  FIG.  2    and  FIG.  7   , the double-sided display device further includes an elastic structure and two fixing structures  7 . The elastic structure  6  and the two fixing structures  7  are all located between the first flexible screen  2  and the second flexible screen  3 , and, two ends and a middle of the elastic structure  6  are spiral, and one end of the elastic structure  6  is arranged on the first flexible screen  2  through one of the fixing structures  7 , and the other end of the elastic structure  6  is arranged on the second flexible screen  3  through the other of the fixing structures  7 . The elastic structure  6  is configured for elastically bracing the first flexible screen  2  and the second flexible screen  3 . Moreover, in the extended process of the first flexible screen  2  and the second flexible screen  3 , the elastic structure  6  can also control the strength and toughness during extending, and prevent the first flexible screen  2  and the second flexible screen  3  from being damaged due to quick bounce. 
     In an embodiment, as shown in  FIG.  7   , the double-sided display device further includes a control switch  8  fixed on the housing  1 . The control switch  8  is connected with the housing drive motor  45  and the flexible screen drive motor  52  respectively, and is configured for controlling the housing drive motor  45  and the flexible screen drive motor  52  to be enabled and stopped. Optionally, the control switch may be connected with the housing drive motor  45  and the flexible screen drive motor  52  in a wired or wireless manner, or the control switch may also be connected with the printed circuit board  45  and the flexible screen drive motor  52  through a printed circuit board.