Patent Description:
With the generation update of terminal devices, full-screen is becoming an important development trend, but there are still many factors restricting the development of full screen. Taking a mobile phone as an example, components such as a front camera, a receiver and a sensor that occupy the area of the screen are usually integrated on the front side of the mobile phone. With the development of electronic technology, the influence from components such as a receiver and a sensor can be avoided by miniaturization or use of under-screen technology. However, in order to guarantee the imaging effect, it is very difficult to reduce the size of the front camera.

<CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT> discuss related technology. The closest prior art is considered to be <CIT>.

Description will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the accompanying drawings are involved in the following description, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following description of exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the disclosure. Instead, they are merely examples of apparatuses consistent with aspects related to the disclosure as recited in the appended claims.

The terms used in the disclosure are for describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the disclosure. Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in the disclosure shall have the general meaning understood by those with general skills in the field to which the disclosure belongs. "First", "second" and similar words used in the description and claims of the disclosure do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. Similarly, similar words such as "one" or "a/an" do not indicate any quantity limitation, but the existence of at least one. "Multiple" or "a plurality of" indicates two or more. Unless otherwise pointed out, words such as "front", "rear", "lower" and/or "upper" are used for easy description only and are not limited to a location or a spatial orientation. Words such as "comprise" or "include" mean that the components or objects appearing before "comprise" or "include" cover the components or objects listed after "comprise" or "include" and their equivalents, without excluding other components or objects. Words such as "connect" or "connected" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, and may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. The singular form "one", "said" and "the" used in the description and the appended claims of the disclosure are also intended to include the plural forms, unless otherwise the context clearly indicates other meanings. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

Please refer to <FIG>. A flexible screen module is provided, which may include a flexible screen, a camera component and a driving component. The flexible screen may include a first display area; a third display area and a second display area, the third display area may be connected with the first display area and the second display area; the second display area may include a sub-area; the camera component may be provided in the sub-area of the second display area; the driving component may be configured to drive the flexible screen and the camera component to move synchronously to enable the second display area to switch between a first position and a second position. When the second display area is in the first position, the first display area serves as a front display area, the second display area may serve as a back display area, and the camera component may be configured to acquire an image in back of the flexible screen module; and when the second display area is in the second position, the sub-area of the second display area may serve as a part of the front display area, the camera component may be configured to acquire an image in front of the flexible screen module.

Please refer to <FIG>. The flexible screen module according to the embodiments may include a flexible screen <NUM>, a camera component <NUM> and a driving component. The driving component may be configured to drive the flexible screen <NUM> and the camera component <NUM> to move synchronously, so as to adjust the position of the camera component <NUM> to acquire images in front and back of the flexible screen module. The side, facing to the user, of the flexible screen module may be the front, and the side opposite to the user may be the back.

The flexible screen <NUM> may be ring-shaped and may include a first display area <NUM>, a third display area <NUM>, a second display area <NUM> and a fourth display area <NUM> which are sequentially connected from head to tail. The flexible screen <NUM> may surround the driving component, and the driving component may be located in a space formed by the flexible screen <NUM>. The first display area <NUM> may include a first sub-area <NUM>, a second sub-area <NUM> and a third sub-area <NUM>. The second display area <NUM> may include a fourth sub-area <NUM>, a fifth sub-area <NUM> and a sixth sub-area <NUM>, i.e., the fourth sub-area <NUM>, the fifth sub-area <NUM> and the sixth sub-area <NUM> may be all sub-areas of the second display area <NUM>. It is to be noted that the sub-areas of each display area may be actually integral. The sub-areas may be divided from the first display area and the second display area for easy understanding. The camera component <NUM> may be provided in the fourth sub-area <NUM>, where "provided in the fourth sub-area" can be understood as that the projection of the camera component <NUM> in the second display area may be located in the fourth sub-area <NUM>. The driving component may drive the flexible screen <NUM> and the camera component <NUM> to move synchronously to enable the second display area <NUM> to be switched between the first position and the second position.

Please refer to <FIG> and <FIG>. When the second display area <NUM> is in the first position, the first display area <NUM> may face to the second display area <NUM>, and the third display area <NUM> may face to the fourth display area <NUM>. The first display area <NUM> may serve as a front display area facing to a user (equivalent to the display area of a normal mobile phone), the third display area <NUM> and the fourth display area <NUM> may serve as side display areas, and the second display area <NUM> may serve as a back display area. In such a case, the camera component <NUM> may face to the rear of the flexible screen module to acquire an image in back of the flexible screen. Since the first display area <NUM> does not need to be provided with a camera or other sensors, a screen-to-body ratio can be close to <NUM>% and a real full screen is realized.

Please refer to <FIG> and <FIG>. When the second display area <NUM> is in the second position, the fourth sub-area <NUM>, the third display area <NUM> and the third sub-area <NUM> may be coplanar and may serve as the front display area facing to a user, the second sub-area <NUM> and the fifth sub-area <NUM> may respectively serve as two side display areas, the first sub-area <NUM>, the fourth display area <NUM> and the sixth sub-area <NUM> may be coplanar and may serve as the back display area. In other words, in such a case, the second display area <NUM> and the first display area <NUM> may be both parts of the front display area and the back display area and may both serve as the side display areas, so that the second display area <NUM> and the first display area <NUM> may both have a rightwards-opened square shape. Since the camera component <NUM> is provided in the fourth sub-area <NUM> of the second display area <NUM>, the camera component <NUM> may face to the front of the flexible screen module and may be configured to acquire an image in front of the flexible screen.

In an embodiment, when the second display area <NUM> is in the second position, the second display area <NUM> may serve as the front display area, and the first display area <NUM> may serve as the back display area, i.e., the movement of the flexible screen may cause the positions of the second display area <NUM> and the first display area <NUM> to be interchanged and cause the positions of the third display area <NUM> and the four display areas <NUM> to be interchanged. In any cases, the fourth sub-area <NUM> may be part of the front display area.

In other words, when front photographing is not used, the camera component <NUM> may face to the rear of the flexible screen module without occupying the front display area, so that the front display area is full of the entire terminal device as much as possible, and a screen-to-body ratio can be close to <NUM>%; when front photographing is needed, the camera component <NUM> may face to the front of the flexible screen module, and since the rear camera is shared, the imaging effect of the acquired image can be better than the imaging effect of the image acquired by the conventional front camera.

In some embodiments, the third display area and the fourth display area may not be provided, the first display area <NUM> and the second display area <NUM> may be connected by two flexible film structures, and the parameters such as the thickness and flexibility of the flexible film structures may be equivalent to those of the flexible screen. Or, the fourth display area may not be provided, and the size of the second display area may be reduced. For example, the second display area <NUM> may only include the fourth sub area <NUM>, and a screen-to-body ratio of <NUM>% and a better front imaging effect can also be realized by using one flexible film structure to replace the fourth display area. Since the size of the flexible screen is reduced, the cost can be reduced.

Please refer to <FIG> and <FIG>. The camera component <NUM> may include a body <NUM>, and a first camera <NUM>, a second camera <NUM>, a third camera <NUM> and a sensor <NUM> which are mounted on the body. The first camera <NUM>, the second camera <NUM> and the third camera <NUM> may respectively correspond to a main camera, a wide-angle camera and a depth-of-field camera. The sensor may be an ambient light sensor, a proximity sensor, an infrared sensor or the like. The orientation of the camera component <NUM> may be understood as the orientation of the camera and the sensor. In other embodiments, the number of cameras and the number of sensors may be increased or decreased adaptively.

The driving component may include a first driving component <NUM>. In the embodiment, the first driving component <NUM> may be provided in a space <NUM> formed by the flexible screen and may be adjacent to the fourth display area <NUM>. The first driving component <NUM> may include a first power unit <NUM> and a first transmission unit <NUM>; the flexible screen module further may include a first stress unit <NUM> connected with the flexible screen; and the first transmission unit <NUM> may be configured to transmit the power of the first power unit <NUM> to the first stress unit <NUM> to drive the flexible screen <NUM> to move. The first stress unit <NUM> may be flexible and may be deformed with the flexible screen <NUM> while the flexible screen <NUM> is deformed. Optionally, the first power unit <NUM> may be a motor, the first transmission unit may be a gear, the first stress unit <NUM> may be a steel sheet, and the steel sheet may be provided with meshing teeth matched with the gear. In other embodiments, the first stress unit <NUM> may be a gear rack, and the gear and the gear rack may cooperate with each other to drive the flexible screen.

In an example, the driving component may further include a third driving component <NUM>. The third driving component <NUM> may be provided in a space <NUM> and may be adjacent to the third display area <NUM>. In an example, the first driving component <NUM> and the third driving component <NUM> may be symmetrically provided in the space <NUM>, so as to improve the stability of driving, and the two driving components may also prevent the service life of the flexible screen from being influenced due to excessive stress. The third driving component <NUM> may include a third power unit <NUM> and a third transmission unit <NUM>. The flexible screen module may further include a second stress unit <NUM> connected with the flexible screen <NUM>. The third transmission unit <NUM> may be configured to transmit the power of the third power unit <NUM> to the second stress unit <NUM>. The structures of the third driving component <NUM> and the second stress unit <NUM> may be similar to those of the first driving component <NUM> and the first stress unit <NUM> respectively, which will not be described herein in detail.

The flexible screen <NUM> may be provided with a display surface <NUM> and a non-display surface <NUM>, i.e., a ring-shaped outer surface and inner surface. The display surface <NUM> may surround the non-display surface <NUM>, and the first stress unit <NUM> and the second stress unit <NUM> may be fixed on the non-display surface of the flexible screen.

The movement of the flexible screen <NUM> may be similar to that of a caterpillar track of an engineering vehicle, and the difference is that the movement of the flexible screen does not produce displacement. Specifically, the flexible screen <NUM> may be provided with a center line. Taking that the second display area <NUM> is in the first position as an example, the center line may be the intersecting line of the bisection plane of the first display area <NUM> and the bisection plane of the third display area <NUM>. The driving component may drive the flexible screen to move around the center line.

In an example, the flexible screen module may further include a support unit <NUM>. The support unit <NUM>, the first stress unit <NUM> and the second stress unit <NUM> may jointly support the flexible screen to prevent the flexible screen from being collapsed and avoid the display effect from being influenced. The support unit <NUM> may be deformed as well while the flexible screen <NUM> is deformed. Optionally, a plurality of support units may be arranged, which, together with the first stress unit <NUM> and the second stress unit <NUM>, may be uniformly distributed in the space <NUM> of the flexible screen.

Please refer to <FIG>. In the embodiment, the second display area <NUM> may include an opening <NUM>, and the camera component <NUM> may be provided in the opening <NUM>. Since there is no occlusion, the camera component <NUM> can acquire images directly. In an example, the second display area <NUM> may cover the camera component <NUM>, and the camera component <NUM> may acquire images through the second display area <NUM>. No matter where the camera component is arranged, the camera component can be fixed with the fixed flexible screen, and the first driving component <NUM> may drive both of them to move synchronously.

Please refer to <FIG>, in an example, the camera component <NUM> may be provided separately from the flexible screen <NUM>. The driving component may include a second driving component <NUM> and the first driving component <NUM> (not illustrated in <FIG>), the first driving component <NUM> may be configured to drive the flexible screen <NUM>, and the second driving component <NUM> may be configured to drive the camera component <NUM> to move synchronously with the flexible screen. Optionally, the second driving component <NUM> may include a second power unit <NUM> and a second transmission unit <NUM>. The second power unit <NUM> may be a motor, and the second transmission unit <NUM> may be a retractable linkage rod.

It is to be noted that when the third driving component <NUM> and the first driving component <NUM> or the second driving component <NUM> are provided on the same side of the space <NUM> of the flexible screen, position avoidance needs to be adopted between the third driving component <NUM> and the first driving component <NUM> or the second driving component <NUM> to avoid interference between them.

In another aspect, the disclosure further provides a terminal device, which includes a body <NUM> and the flexible screen module in any one of the above-mentioned embodiments. The flexible screen <NUM> may surround the body <NUM>; and when the second display area <NUM> is in the first position, the second display area <NUM> may be located in back of the body <NUM>, and the camera component <NUM> may be configured to acquire an image in back of the body; when the second display area <NUM> is in the second position, the fourth sub-area <NUM> may be located in front of the body, and the camera component <NUM> may be configured to acquire an image in front of the body. The two ends of the body <NUM> may protrude out of the flexible screen <NUM>. In the process of switching the position of the second display area <NUM>, a user may hold the two ends of the body to prevent from affecting the movement of the flexible screen.

It is to be noted that the "two ends" herein may be the two ends in the length direction or the width direction. In one embodiment, in the process of switching the second display area <NUM> between the first position and the second position, the movement direction of the flexible screen <NUM> may be always perpendicular to the length direction Y of the body, the two ends of the length direction of the body <NUM> may protrude out of the flexible screen, and the cameras of the camera component may be arranged along the length direction Y, as illustrated in <FIG>. In an example, in the process of switching the second display area <NUM> between the first position and the second position, the movement direction of the second display area may be always perpendicular to the width direction X of the body, and the two ends of the width direction of the body <NUM> may protrude out of the flexible screen, and the cameras of the camera component <NUM> may be arranged along the width direction X, as illustrated in <FIG>.

The body <NUM> may further include a housing. Components such as a main board, a processor, a memory and a battery may be mounted in the housing. The camera component may be electrically connected with the main board through a flexible cable or a flexible circuit board for data transmission. In other embodiments, the camera component may also be communicatively connected with the main board through a wireless module, such as a Bluetooth module or a WIFI module.

In another aspect, the disclosure may further provide a photographing method for the terminal device in any one of the above-mentioned embodiment. The photographing method may include:.

In the disclosure, when front photographing is not used, the first display area may serve as the front display area, a screen-to-body ratio can be close to <NUM>% and a real full screen can be realized; when front photographing is needed, the driving component can drive the camera component to move synchronously with the flexible screen, so that the sub-area of the second display area may be used for front display, and in such a case the camera component can realize front photographing.

Claim 1:
A flexible screen module, wherein the flexible screen module comprises:
a flexible screen(<NUM>), a camera component (<NUM>) and a driving component (<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>);
wherein the flexible screen (<NUM>) comprises a first display area(<NUM>) and a second display area(<NUM>),
the second display area (<NUM>) comprises a sub-area,
the camera component (<NUM>) is provided in the sub-area of the second display area(<NUM>),
the driving component is configured to drive the flexible screen (<NUM>)and the camera component(<NUM>) to move synchronously to enable the second display area (<NUM>) to be switched between a first position and a second position;
when the second display area(<NUM>) is in the first position, the first display area (<NUM>) serves as a front display area, the second display area (<NUM>) serves as a back display area, and the camera component(<NUM>) is configured to acquire an image in back of the flexible screen module; and
when the second display area(<NUM>) is in the second position, the sub-area of the second display area serves as a part of the front display area, the camera component (<NUM>) is configured to acquire an image in front of the flexible screen module; and
wherein the flexible screen is provided with a display surface (<NUM>) and a non-display surface (<NUM>),
and the display surface surrounds the non-display surface, characterised in that:
the flexible screen module furthermore comprises two stress units (<NUM>,<NUM>), and a plurality of support units (<NUM>) different from the stress units, the stress units are fixed on the non-display surface of the flexible screen,
the driving component comprises a power unit (<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>) and a transmission unit (<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>), and
the power unit is configured to drive the stress units and the flexible screen through the transmission unit,
wherein the plurality of support units are fixed on the non-display surface of the flexible screen, and the plurality of support units and the stress units are configured to jointly support the flexible screen.