Patent Description:
Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in the present disclosure and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

Foldable electronic devices such as foldable organic light omitting diode (FOLED) or a dual display system may include at least two panels that are coupled by a hinge mechanism. In these devices, it may be desirable to place electrically coupled components on either side of the hinge.

<CIT> describes a hinge connector including, a hinge that includes a rotation shaft and a support cylinder rotatably supporting the rotation shaft, a cable that is wound on an outer periphery of the hinge, and a spring that biases one end side of the cable in a longitudinal direction thereof toward a side away from the hinge along a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the hinge.

<CIT> describes an electronic device comprising: a body portion comprising a first surface facing in a first direction, a second surface facing in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction, and a seating groove arranged in an inner peripheral area thereof in the longitudinal direction; a display portion rotatably coupled to the body portion; and a connector module arranged in the seating groove of the body portion so as to provide electric coupling between the body portion and the display portion, at least a part of the connector module being configured to rotate. The connector module may comprise: a support portion fixed/coupled inside the seating groove, the support portion comprising an opening arranged therein; a link portion rotatably coupled to the support portion, the center area of the link portion being open so as to correspond to the opening of the support portion; at least one elastic member arranged between the support portion and the link portion so as to provide elastic restoration power caused by rotation of the link portion; and at least one cable connected from the body portion to the display portion through the opening of the link portion, the cable being folded or unfolded by rotation of the link portion.

<CIT> describes a portable information handling system housing that rotationally couples first and second housing portions with a hinge assembly having first and second axles held in a parallel fixed lateral disposition by interaction of a gear chassis, a drive carriage and an idler assembly. The first and second axles expand to increase the distance between the first and second housing portions in the event that the housing portions close over an object disposed between them. The idler assembly couples to the gear chassis and drive carriage to rotate with the second axle as it moves relative to the first axle.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout, and in which is shown by way of illustration embodiments that may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of embodiments is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Various operations may be described as multiple discrete actions or operations in turn, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the claimed subject matter. However, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations may not be performed in the order of presentation. Operations described may be performed in a different order than the described embodiment. Various additional operations may be performed and/or described operations may be omitted in additional embodiments.

The terms "substantially," "close," "approximately," "near," and "about," generally refer to being within +/- <NUM>% of a target value. Unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives "first," "second," and "third," etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking or in any other manner.

The description may use perspective-based descriptions such as top/bottom, in/out, over/under, and the like. Such descriptions are merely used to facilitate the discussion and are not intended to restrict the application of embodiments described herein to any particular orientation.

For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrases "A and/or B" and "A or B" mean (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase "A, B, and/or C" means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B, and C).

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. As used herein, "computer-implemented method" may refer to any method executed by one or more processors, a computer system having one or more processors, a mobile device such as a smartphone (which may include one or more processors), a tablet, a laptop computer, a set-top box, a gaming console, and so forth.

As previously noted, in electronic devices such as a dual display system, or a FOLED display, two panels of the electronic device may be coupled by hinge mechanism. Two system components, for example a battery pack and a motherboard, or two displays, may be placed on each of the panels. It may be desirable for the two element to be electrically coupled. Hence, an electronic connector may be used to connect the two components. Such a connector may pass through the hinge mechanism.

<FIG> illustrates a simplified block diagram of an example foldable electronic device <NUM>, in accordance with various embodiments. The electronic device <NUM> includes two panels 105a and 105b (collectively, "panels <NUM>") coupled by a hinge mechanism <NUM>. The hinge mechanism <NUM> may be operable to allow the panels <NUM> to fold around the hinge mechanism such that panel 105a may be facing panel 105b when the electronic device <NUM> is in a "closed" position. As shown in <FIG>, the electronic device <NUM> may be considered to be in an "open" position.

In descriptions herein, the open or closed position may be referred to with respect to the hinge mechanism <NUM> being in the open or closed position. Additionally or alternatively, the open or closed position may be referred to with respect to the panels <NUM> being in the open or closed position. Additionally or alternatively, the open or closed position may be referred to with respect to the electronic device <NUM> being in the open or closed positions. Generally, as used herein, the concepts and specific terminology are interchangeable (e.g., the open position of the electronic device <NUM> is the same as the open position of the hinge mechanism <NUM>, which is the same as the open position of the panels <NUM>. The closed position may have similar correspondences).

Respective ones of the panels include different components such as components 115a, 115b, 115c, and 115d (collectively, "components <NUM>"). The components <NUM> may be components such as a display, a battery pack, different cells of a battery pack, a circuit board (e.g., a motherboard), a memory, an antenna, radio frequency (RF) circuitry, baseband circuitry, graphics processing circuitry, a processor, or some other type of circuitry, logic, or some physical element of an electronic device <NUM>. As may be seen in <FIG>, various of the components <NUM> may be coupled by one or more connectors such as connectors 120a, 120b, 120c, and 120d (collectively, "connectors <NUM>"). As may be seen, some of the components may be coupled to only one other component by a single connector (e.g., components 115b and 115c that are coupled by connector 120d). Some components may be coupled to two other components (e.g., components 115a and 115c). Some components may be coupled to another component by more than one connector (e.g., components 115a and 115d coupled by connectors 120a and 120b).

It will be understood that the example electronic device <NUM> of <FIG> is intended as a highly simplified example block diagram for the purpose of illustrating and/or discussing concepts herein. The number, configuration, size, or relative proportions of the various elements of <FIG> such as the connectors <NUM>, the components <NUM>, the panels <NUM>, or the hinge mechanism <NUM> may be different in different embodiments. For example, in some embodiments more or fewer components <NUM> may be present, and may be coupled by more or fewer connectors <NUM> than shown. Additionally, in some embodiments more or fewer panels may be arranged in a different configuration than shown, or coupled by more or fewer hinge mechanisms than shown.

In some legacy embodiments, the connectors would be made of or include flexible printed circuits (FPC). As used herein, an FPC may refer to a flexible structure that includes one or more metal traces (e.g., copper traces or some other conductive material) that are part of or otherwise coupled with a flexible dielectric material such as polyimide. Such a structure may have a ribbon-like form factor, and allow for a flexible electrical coupling between elements of different panels of the electronic device with multiple data pathways. In legacy devices, the FPC may have been designed with sufficient width to provide the necessary amount of metal traces for the bandwidth indicated in the particular use case.

In legacy embodiments, slack length of the FPC (e.g., extra length of the FPC between the two electronic components to which the FPC is coupled) may have been included to accommodate FPC length change between when the electronic device is closed or opened. However, tight bend radii, as may be present in relatively thing hinge mechanisms, may have inherently high risk of power trace damage due to pinching, pulling, or dragging along an edge of a structure such as the panel.

Moreover, when the electronic device is relatively thin or small, and hence space constrained (as may be present, e.g., in a mobile device such as a cellular phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA), there may not be enough space to allow for a FPC to pass through openings of the hinge and still maintain a sufficient width and/or bandwidth for the FPC. In addition to bandwidth limitations, a relatively narrow FPC may be broken after repeated bending due to material brittleness. Finally, a relatively narrow FPC may increase impedance in the communication path, thereby causing increased energy dissipation and reduced battery life.

If wire is used in place of the FPC in narrow-FPC applications, the increased impedance introduced by the FPC may be decreased, but redundant wire length (e.g., slack length) may still be necessary. In legacy hinge mechanisms, the wire may experience the same structural damage due to pinching, pulling, or dragging as described above. Also, the electrical connections between a wire and components such as components <NUM> may be thicker than the electrical connections between an FPC and a component, which may increase the thickness of the overall electronic device. Such an increase may be undesirable in applications where it is desirable for the electronic device to be relatively small (e.g., a pocket-sized cellular telephone or a similar device).

Embodiments herein may overcome one or more of the above-described issues. Specifically, embodiments herein provide a hinge mechanism and related structure that allows for connection of components of an electronic device through the hinge mechanism, while still providing a relatively small/thin system with improved bending counts (e.g., an improved ability to repeatedly fold or unfold the electronic device without structural damage to the connectors) while maintaining reduced impedance in the power delivery path.

Specifically, embodiments herein include connectors such as connectors <NUM> that include a wire coupled with FPCs. The wire is routed through a hinge mechanism that includes one or more tensioning mechanisms to provide tension that may assist with managing and/or controlling the redundant length of the wire within the hinge mechanism. Beyond the hinge mechanism, the wire couples with an FPC that is electrically positioned between the wire and a component such as component <NUM>. At the connection between the wire and the FPC, the wires are physically positioned between the FPC and a stiffener, which may improve mechanical stability of the coupling.

<FIG> illustrates an example of a hinge mechanism <NUM> with one or more tensioning mechanisms, in accordance with various embodiments. Specifically, the hinge mechanism <NUM> may be similar to hinge mechanism <NUM> described above. The hinge mechanism <NUM> may include a hinge body <NUM>, which may provide structural support for the hinge mechanism <NUM>. The hinge mechanism <NUM> may further include one or more hinge couplers <NUM> that are coupled with the hinge body <NUM>. The hinge couplers <NUM> may couple with, for example, one of panels <NUM> and allow movement of one of the panels <NUM> with respect to the hinge mechanism <NUM> or another of the panels <NUM>. Such movement may allow for opening or closing of the electronic device <NUM> as described above.

As shown by the blown-up portion of <FIG>, the hinge body <NUM> may include two openings <NUM> through which a wire <NUM> may be routed. The wire <NUM> may be a wire of a connector such as one of connectors <NUM> described above. In some embodiments, the wire <NUM> may be a coaxial wire, a standard electrical wire (e.g., a wire formed of a conductive material such as copper surround by a dielectric shielding), or some other type of wire. For example, in embodiments where the wire <NUM> is intended to couple a battery to another component of the electronic device, the wire <NUM> may be a standard electrical wire. In embodiments where the wire <NUM> is intended to provide decreased electro-magnetic interference (EMI) or increased signal integrity, a coaxial wire may be used. In some embodiments, the wire <NUM> may be a wire bundle. That is, the wire <NUM> may be physically implemented as a plurality of discrete wires that are routed through the hinge body <NUM> together. In some embodiments, the wires of a wire bundle may be part of a single physical unit (e.g., encased in a dielectric housing). In some embodiments, the wires of the wire bundle may be fastened together through some external fastener (e.g., the dielectric sheathing of the various wires may be glued or otherwise adhered together). In some embodiments, the wires of the wire bundle may not be adhered or otherwise coupled together. Generally, it will be understood that the discussion of embodiments herein may focus on a singular "wire," however the embodiments may be equally applicable to implementations that include one or more wire bundles rather than a singular wire. Other embodiments may include other variations.

The hinge mechanism <NUM> may further include two tensioning mechanisms <NUM> provided within the hinge body at a location through which the wire <NUM> passes. In the embodiment of <FIG>, the tensioning mechanisms <NUM> may be spring-loaded tensioners. That is, the tensioning mechanisms <NUM> may include a spring and a solid element coupled with the spring, although such an embodiment is only one example embodiment and other embodiments may include alternative spring-loaded tensioning mechanisms.

As can be seen in <FIG>, the wire <NUM> may include slack length. When the electronic device <NUM> is open, the tensioning mechanisms <NUM> may push the slack length of the wire such that the wire <NUM> has a generally zig-zag pattern inside of the hinge body <NUM>. This configuration is shown in <FIG>. However, it will be understood that when the electronic device <NUM> is closed, then the wire <NUM> may be pulled tighter. This may cause the wire <NUM> to push against the tensioning mechanisms <NUM>, thereby compressing the springs. In this configuration, the wire <NUM> may have a considerably less pronounced zig-zag type pattern.

In this way, the slack length of the wire <NUM> may be controlled to prevent crimping or bunching of the wire inside of the hinge body <NUM>, which could lead to the mechanical failures described above. Additionally, the part of the hinge body <NUM> over which the wire <NUM> physically passes may be smoothed in some way such that the hinge body <NUM> does not "rub" or otherwise damage the wire <NUM> as the wire <NUM> moves. As a result, the overall mechanical life of the wire <NUM> within the hinge mechanism <NUM> may be significantly increased.

In some embodiments, as shown, the hinge mechanism <NUM> may include a hinge cover <NUM> that allows access to the cavity in which the tensioning mechanisms <NUM> and the wire <NUM> are positioned. In some embodiments, the hinge cover <NUM> may be removable such that the cavity is accessible, for example for repair. In some embodiments, the hinge cover <NUM> may not be removable (e.g., soldered to the hinge body <NUM>) and may exist to provide for access to the cavity during construction of the hinge mechanism <NUM>. In some embodiments, the hinge mechanism <NUM> may be unitary structure within a separate hinge cover <NUM>. In some embodiments, the hinge cover <NUM> may have a different shape than depicted.

<FIG> illustrates an alternative example of a hinge mechanism <NUM> with one or more tensioning mechanisms, in accordance with various embodiments. It will be noted that various elements of the hinge mechanism <NUM> (e.g., the hinge body, the openings, etc.) are generally similar to those of hinge mechanism <NUM>, and as such are not re-numbered herein for the sake of lack of redundancy.

A wire <NUM>, which may be similar to wire <NUM>, passes through the hinge mechanism <NUM>. The hinge mechanism includes tensioning mechanisms <NUM>. The tensioning mechanisms <NUM> may, in this embodiment, be leaf springs rather than spring-loaded tensioners. Specifically, the tensioning mechanisms <NUM> may be formed of an elastic metal plate rather than a spring-loaded tensioner. The tensioning mechanisms <NUM> may operate similar to the tensioning mechanisms <NUM> of <FIG>. As the electronic device <NUM> is closed, the wire <NUM> may be pulled taut and compress the tensioning mechanisms <NUM>. When the electronic device <NUM> is opened, the wire <NUM> may be less taut and the tensioning mechanisms <NUM> may push against the slack length of the wire <NUM> to form the depicted zig-zag type pattern.

It will be understood that the above-depicted embodiments are intended as examples of some embodiments herein for the sake of discussion, and other embodiments may vary. For example, in some embodiments, more, fewer, or different tensioning mechanisms may be used. A change in the number of configuration of the tensioning mechanisms may change the resultant pattern of the wire. Such a change may be based on, for example, the amount of slack length of the wire needed for fully opening or closing the electronic device, the type of wire used, space constraints of the hinge mechanism, etc. In some embodiments, a different type of tensioning mechanism may be used, or a combination of different tensioning mechanisms may be used (e.g., a spring-loaded tensioner and a leaf spring in the same hinge mechanism).

In some embodiments, more than one wire may pass through the hinge mechanism. In these embodiments, two or more wires may pass through the same openings such as openings <NUM>. The two or more wires may be tensioned by the same tensioning mechanisms or different tensioning mechanisms. If different tensioning mechanisms are used, then the different tensioning mechanisms may be of the same type or different types from one another. In some embodiments, the hinge mechanism may include a plurality of openings with wires passing through the hinge mechanism therein. In these embodiments, respective ones of the cavities defined by the openings may have tensioning mechanisms therein which may be of the same type or different types from one another.

As noted, in embodiments a wire such as wires <NUM> or <NUM> is coupled with a component such as a battery, a display, or other type of electrical component as described with respect to components <NUM> via an FPC. In other words, a connector such as connectors <NUM> may include a wire with an FPC physically and electrically coupled between the wire and a component on one or both sides of the wire. The use of the FPC within the panel <NUM> of the electronic device may allow the panels <NUM> to maintain a low profile at the connectors. <FIG> (collectively, "<FIG>") illustrate example electrical connectors that may be used in the example foldable electronic device of <FIG>, in accordance with various embodiments.

Specifically, <FIG> depicts a connector 420a, which may be similar to one of connectors <NUM>. The connector may include a wire <NUM>, which may be similar to one of wires <NUM> or <NUM>. The wire <NUM> is coupled with FPCs <NUM> at either side of the wire. One of the FPCs may include a coupling <NUM>, which may be used to couple with a component such as one of components <NUM>.

In some embodiments, to further increase the wire flexibility and reduce overall thickness (e.g., in the case where the wire <NUM> includes a plurality of wires in a single wire bundle), or to adjust the wire gauge for higher power ratings, a connector may include two or more wires and/or two or more wire bundles. Such a configuration is shown in connector 420b of <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates an example connecting structure used with the embodiments of <FIG>, in accordance with various embodiments. Specifically, <FIG> illustrates a wire <NUM> and an FPC <NUM>, which may be respectively similar to wire <NUM> and FPC <NUM>. As may be shown in <FIG>, the wire <NUM> is physically coupled with the FPC at a location between the FPC <NUM> and a stiffener <NUM>. In some embodiments, the stiffener <NUM> may be a material such as a glass-based stiffening material, a glass-reinforced epoxy laminate material, or some other stiffening material. By coupling the wire <NUM> between the stiffener <NUM> and the FPC <NUM>, the resultant connecting joint may be more mechanically or structurally robust.

It will be understood that the embodiments of <FIG> and <FIG> are intended as highly simplified example embodiments, and other embodiments may vary in terms of relative proportions, shapes, or numbers of elements.

<FIG> illustrates an example computing device <NUM> that may employ the apparatuses and/or methods described herein (e.g., the computing device <NUM> may be or include electronic device <NUM>, or include any one or more of the various hinge mechanisms or connectors described herein), in accordance with various embodiments. As shown, computing device <NUM> may include a number of components, such as one or more processor(s) <NUM> (one shown) and at least one communication chip <NUM>. In various embodiments, the one or more processor(s) <NUM> each may include one or more processor cores. In various embodiments, the at least one communication chip <NUM> may be physically and electrically coupled to the one or more processor(s) <NUM>. In further implementations, the communication chip <NUM> may be part of the one or more processor(s) <NUM>. In various embodiments, computing device <NUM> may include printed circuit board (PCB) <NUM>. For these embodiments, the one or more processor(s) <NUM> and communication chip <NUM> may be disposed thereon. In alternate embodiments, the various components may be coupled without the employment of PCB <NUM>.

Depending on its applications, computing device <NUM> may include other components that may or may not be physically and electrically coupled to the PCB <NUM>. These other components include, but are not limited to, memory controller <NUM>, volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM) <NUM>), non-volatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) <NUM>, flash memory <NUM>, storage device <NUM> (e.g., a hard-disk drive (HDD)), an I/O controller <NUM>, a digital signal processor (not shown), a crypto processor (not shown), a graphics processor <NUM>, one or more antenna <NUM>, a display (not shown), a touch screen display <NUM>, a touch screen controller <NUM>, a battery <NUM>, an audio codec (not shown), a video codec (not shown), a global positioning system (GPS) device <NUM>, a compass <NUM>, an accelerometer (not shown), a gyroscope (not shown), a speaker <NUM>, a camera <NUM>, and a mass storage device (such as hard disk drive, a solid state drive, compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD)) (not shown), and so forth. In various embodiments, the processor <NUM> may be integrated on the same die with other components to form a System on Chip (SoC).

In some embodiments, the one or more processor(s) <NUM>, flash memory <NUM>, and/or storage device <NUM> may include associated firmware (not shown) storing programming instructions configured to enable computing device <NUM>, in response to execution of the programming instructions by one or more processor(s) <NUM>, to practice all or selected aspects of the methods described herein. In various embodiments, these aspects may additionally or alternatively be implemented using hardware separate from the one or more processor(s) <NUM>, flash memory <NUM>, or storage device <NUM>.

The communication chips <NUM> may enable wired and/or wireless communications for the transfer of data to and from the computing device <NUM>. The communication chip <NUM> may implement any of a number of wireless standards or protocols, including but not limited to IEEE <NUM>, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced (LTE-A), <NUM>, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Evolution Data Optimized (Ev-DO), Evolved High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+), Evolved High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA+), Evolved High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA+), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Bluetooth, derivatives thereof, as well as any other wireless protocols that are designated as <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and beyond. For instance, a first communication chip <NUM> may be dedicated to shorter range wireless communications such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a second communication chip <NUM> may be dedicated to longer range wireless communications such as GPS, EDGE, GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, Ev-DO, and others.

In various implementations, the computing device <NUM> may be a laptop, a netbook, a notebook, an ultrabook, a smartphone, a computing tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an ultra-mobile PC, a mobile phone, a desktop computer, a server, a printer, a scanner, a monitor, a set-top box, an entertainment control unit (e.g., a gaming console or automotive entertainment unit), a digital camera, an automobile, a medical device, an appliance, a portable music player, a digital video recorder, an electronic sensor, a smart home device, an internet of things (IoT) device, etc. In further implementations, the computing device <NUM> may be any other electronic device that processes data.

Although certain embodiments have been illustrated and described herein for purposes of description, this application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is manifestly intended that embodiments described herein be limited only by the claims.

Claim 1:
An electronic device (<NUM>) comprising:
a first panel (105a) with first one or more components (<NUM>) thereon;
a second panel (105b) with second one or more components thereon;
a first wire (<NUM>) that communicatively couples the first one or more components (<NUM>) and the second one or more components; and
a hinge mechanism (<NUM>) that couples the first panel (105a) with the second panel (105b), wherein the first wire (<NUM>) passes through the hinge mechanism (<NUM>) and the hinge mechanism (<NUM>) includes a first tensioning mechanism to provide tension to the first wire (<NUM>) when the electronic device (<NUM>) is in an open position and a closed position; and
characterized in that:
the first panel (105a) comprises a first flexible printed circuit, FPC, that is physically and communicatively coupled with the first one or more components (<NUM>); and
the second panel (105b) comprises a second flexible printed circuit, FPC, that is physically and communicatively coupled with the second one or more components,
wherein the first wire (<NUM>) is physically coupled between the first FPC and the second FPC; and
wherein the first wire (<NUM>) is physically coupled with the first FPC such that the first wire (<NUM>) is between the first FPC (<NUM>) and a stiffener (<NUM>) of the first FPC.