Patent Description:
With the continuous development of terminals, more and more functions appear in the vision of people. For example, mobile phones take on more and more functions, and various tasks can be completed through mobile phones. Due to the foldable characteristics, a foldable screen has become popular among many companies in recent years. Since the foldable screen has a larger display area when unfolded, and has foldable characteristics so as to be portable. The unique advantages bring more possibilities to the use of a device. With the advent of the foldable screen, a protective film suitable for the foldable screen is correspondingly produced to protect the screen of the foldable screen.

<CIT> discloses a protective sleeve assembly which is applied to electronic equipment with a foldable screen, the foldable screen comprises a first display part and a second display part connected to the first display part, and the first display part and the second display part can rotate relatively to be folded or unfolded. The protective sleeve assembly comprises a fixed part, a movable part and a protective film. The fixing part is used for being connected with electronic equipment and provided with a first window used for exposing the first display part. The movable part is movably connected with the fixed part, the movable part is provided with a second window used for exposing the second display part, and the second window is communicated with the first window. And the protective films are arranged in the first window and the second window.

<CIT> discloses a protective shell and electronic equipment with the protective shell. The protective shell is applied to the foldable electronic device. The protective shell comprises two sheaths, and each sheath comprises a support and a covering part. The support is used for being connected with a frame of the foldable electronic device and comprises a fixing part used for being connected with the foldable electronic device and a flexible part connected to the fixing part. The covering part is connected to the flexible part so as to cover or expose the display screen of the foldable electronic device by folding the flexible part relative to the fixing part. In the protective shell, the covering part of the sheath can turn over relative to the bracket, so that the covering part can selectively cover the foldable screen or cover one side, deviating from the foldable screen, of the shell, and therefore, the foldable screen and the foldable shell of the foldable electronic device can be effectively protected.

To overcome the problems existing in the related art, the disclosure provides a protective film assembly for a foldable screen, a protective shell and a terminal.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a protective film assembly for a foldable screen is provided, the protective film assembly including: a fixing portion, for being disposed at a side edge of a terminal parallel to a crease of the foldable screen; and a film body, for covering the foldable screen, an accommodating cavity is formed inside the fixing portion, and the film body is configured to at least partially retract into the accommodating cavity in a direction perpendicular to the crease when the foldable screen is folded, and to extend out of the accommodating cavity in the direction perpendicular to the crease to cover the foldable screen when the foldable screen is unfolded.

Optionally, the protective film assembly further includes a motor for driving the film body to retract into or extend out of the accommodating cavity.

Optionally, the motor is electrically coupled to a wireless charging coil arranged in the terminal.

Optionally, a sliding rail for guiding the film body to retract or extend is in the accommodating cavity.

Optionally, a rotating shaft for winding the film body is in the accommodating cavity.

Optionally, the film body is rotatably connected to the fixing portion to make the dilm body close to or away from the foldable screen in a rotating manner.

Optionally, the protective film assembly further includes two frame portions at two sides of the foldable screen in a direction of the crease in match with the dolded screen.

Optionally, a first magnetic attraction group, for magnetically attracting and positioning the film body between the two frame portions, is at each of the two frame portions.

Optionally, a guiding slot for corresponding insertion of two edges of the film body is at each of the two frame portions.

Optionally, the protective film assembly further includes a controlling portion for controlling the film body, the controlling portion is configured to control the retraction of the film body into the accommodating cavity when the foldable screen starts to fold, and the controlling portion is configured to control the extension of the film body to out of the accommodating cavity when the foldable screen starts to unfold.

Optionally, the controlling portion is configured to control the film body to retract to at least away from a bending region of the foldable screen when the foldable screen starts to fold.

Optionally, the controlling portion is configured to control the film body to retract to be completely separated from the foldable screen when the foldable screen starts to fold.

Optionally, the controlling portion is configured to stop the retraction of the film body in response to determining that a bending of the film body is detected during the folding process of the foldable screen.

Optionally, the controlling portion is configured to stop the retraction of the film body when the foldable screen is folded fully.

Optionally, the film body is a privacy film.

Optionally, the film body includes a first sub-film for covering a first screen of the foldable screen and a second sub-film for covering a second screen of the foldable screen, where the first sub-film and the second sub-film are respectively connected to opposite sides of the first screen and the second screen by means of the fixing portion.

Optionally, a second magnetic attraction group, for magnetically attracting the first sub-film and the second sub-film to connect with each other when the foldable screen is unfolded, is on the first sub-film and the second sub-film.

Optionally, the film body is configured to be an integral film for covering the entire foldable screen, where the integral film is connected to one side of the foldable screen by means of the fixing portion.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a protective shell is provided, including a housing for covering the periphery of a frame of a terminal; and a protective film assembly provided by the invention, the fixing portion is arranged on at least one side of the housing, or at least one side of the housing is configured to be the fixing portion.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a terminal is provided, including a protective film assembly provided by the invention.

The technical solutions provided by the invention may include the following beneficial effects: arranging a film body to cover the surface of a foldable screen can protect the foldable screen; and arranging that the film body may be partially retracted into a side accommodating cavity can avoid that, the film body rotated above the foldable screen cannot be completely adapted to the curvature of the foldable screen to bend when the foldable screen is bent and folded, and thus avoiding damage to the foldable screen caused by the protective film exerting pressure on the surface of the foldable screen due to different curvatures of the protective film and the foldable screen. The protective film assembly in an example of the disclosure can be well adapted to the application of the foldable screen, which brings more feasibility to the use and development of the foldable screen.

It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not intended to limit the disclosure.

The accompanying drawings illustrate examples consistent with the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain principles of the invention.

Examples will be described in detail here, and the examples are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the disclosure, in the absence of an opposite description, directional words such as "inner, outer" are used for the contours of the corresponding components; terms used in the disclosure such as "first, second" are meant to distinguish one element from another, and have no order and importance. Additionally, when the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, unless otherwise stated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The implementations described in the following examples do not represent all implementations consistent with the disclosure. Conversely, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of the disclosure and as detailed in the appended claims.

It should be understood that the expression "one element/structure/component is on/below/in front of/behind/on the side of another element/structure/component" should be construed in a broad sense, for example, the one element may by directly disposed on/below/in front of/behind/on the side of the another element or indirectly disposed on/below/in front of/behind/on the side of the another element through an Intermediate element, and the two elements may be in contact, connected or integrated.

It should be understood that although terms "first", "second", "third", and the like are used in the present disclosure to describe various information, the information is not limited to the terms. These terms are merely used to differentiate information of a same type. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, first information is also referred to as second information, and similarly the second information is also referred to as the first information. Depending on the context, for example, the term "if" used herein may be explained as "when" or "while", or "in response to. , it is determined that".

Referring to <FIG>, according to a first aspect of an example of the invention, a protective film assembly for a foldable screen <NUM> is provided, the protective film assembly includes a fixing portion <NUM> and a film body <NUM>. The fixing portion <NUM> is used to be arranged at a side edge of a terminal parallel to a crease <NUM> of the foldable screen <NUM>. The crease <NUM> refers to a folding line where the foldable screen <NUM> is folded, and the crease <NUM> may refer to a virtual crease <NUM>. The film body <NUM> is used to cover the foldable screen <NUM> to protect the foldable screen <NUM>. The film body <NUM> may be arranged on the fixing portion <NUM>, or the film body <NUM> may be arranged on the terminal by means of other structures. In an example of the disclosure, an accommodating cavity <NUM> may be formed inside the fixing portion <NUM>, and the film body <NUM> is configured to: when the foldable screen <NUM> is folded, at least part of the film body <NUM> can retract into the accommodating cavity <NUM> in a direction perpendicular to the crease <NUM>, and when the foldable screen <NUM> is unfolded, the film body <NUM> can extend from the accommodating cavity <NUM> in a direction perpendicular to the crease <NUM> to cover the foldable screen <NUM>. The film body <NUM> may cover part or all of the foldable screen <NUM>. Taking a direction of the plane of drawings of <FIG> and <FIG> as an example, the direction perpendicular to the crease <NUM> refers to a left-right direction of the plane of the drawings, and the crease <NUM> refers to extension in an up-down direction of the plane of the drawings. Generally, the crease <NUM> is typically located in the middle region of the foldable screen <NUM>, schematically shown as a vertical line in <FIG> and <FIG>. Similarly, it can be understood that, in an example of the disclosure, in order to clearly describe structures, features of each structure are shown as solid lines, but it is not indicated that the part is displayed in an actual product, and in order to ensure aesthetics of the product, the structure of each part may be arranged in a hidden or integrated manner.

According to one example of the present disclosure, arranging a film body <NUM> to cover the surface of a foldable screen <NUM> can protect the foldable screen <NUM>; and arranging that the film body <NUM> may be partially retracted into a side accommodating cavity <NUM> can avoid that, the film body <NUM> located above the foldable screen <NUM> cannot be completely adapted to the curvature of the foldable screen <NUM> to bend when the foldable screen <NUM> is bent and folded, and thus avoiding damage to the foldable screen <NUM> caused by the protective film exerting pressure on the surface of the foldable screen <NUM> due to different curvatures of the protective film and the foldable screen. The protective film assembly in an example of the disclosure can be well adapted to the application of the foldable screen <NUM>, which brings more feasibility to the use and development of the foldable screen <NUM>.

In an example of the disclosure, the film body <NUM> may be configured to be a radiation prevention film, a frosted film, a high transmitting film, a film with mirror function, or a privacy film. Compared with a traditional screen, a foldable screen has many unusual features. Generally, the foldable screen is a large screen with a size up to <NUM> centimeters (<NUM> inches), so that the screen content can be displayed to a greater extent compared with the traditional screen, and the content displayed by the large screen can be easily seen by the people on the side. Thus, for a large-screen foldable screen, a higher level of privacy is asked. And by arranging the privacy film, which is adapted to make information displayed on the screen only for the user to read from the front and anyone watching from a side can only see a black screen, can help a user to effectively prevent information leakage during using the foldable screen, and reduce possibility of a snoop by other people.

In an example of the disclosure, the film body <NUM> can be retracted and extended manually, that is, when the foldable screen <NUM> needs to be folded after being used, part or all of the film body <NUM> can be manually retracted into the accommodating cavity <NUM>, then the folding operation of the foldable screen <NUM> is performed, and vice versa. In some examples, referring to <FIG>, the protective film assembly further includes a motor <NUM> which is used to drive the film body <NUM> to retract into or extend out of the accommodating cavity <NUM>. The motor <NUM> can be arranged in the fixing portion <NUM>. A mechanical button can be arranged on a middle frame or a backplate of the terminal, the motor <NUM> is controlled by the mechanical button, or the motor <NUM> may be controlled by a virtual button on a touch screen, so that the film body <NUM> is controlled to retract and extend. By using a motor <NUM>-driven manner, the protective film assembly and the foldable screen <NUM> can be prevented from being scratched or damaged due to improper use of force during manual operation.

Referring to <FIG>, the back of the terminal may be arranged with a wireless charging coil <NUM>, which may be used to wirelessly charge the terminal, and on the other hand, the motor <NUM> may be electrically coupled to the wireless charging coil <NUM>, so that the wireless charging coil <NUM> can supply power to the motor <NUM>. By properly using structures inside the terminal, a utilization rate of components can be maximized, and the number of components in the terminal can be reduced as much as possible.

In some examples, referring to <FIG>, a sliding rail <NUM> for guiding a film body <NUM> to retract or extend may be arranged in the accommodating cavity <NUM>. For example, the sliding rail may be arranged at a position corresponding to the film body <NUM> at both ends of the accommodating cavity <NUM>. For example, the sliding rail <NUM> is a sliding slot, an edge of the film body <NUM> can be inserted into the sliding slot to slide. By arranging a sliding rail structure, a guiding effect can be achieved when the film body <NUM> retracts or extends, so that the film body <NUM> can be stored regularly when retracted, and the film body <NUM> can be aligned with an edge of a foldable screen <NUM> when extended, thus ensuring a protection effect and aesthetics.

Referring to <FIG>, a rotating shaft <NUM> for winding and retracting the film body <NUM> is provided in the accommodating cavity <NUM> to reduce an occupied space of the retracted film body <NUM>. When the protective film assembly includes the motor <NUM>, an output shaft <NUM> of the motor <NUM> can be coaxially connected to the rotating shaft <NUM> to drive the rotating shaft <NUM> to rotate by means of rotation of the output shaft <NUM>. An edge of the film body <NUM> close to a fixing portion <NUM> may be connected to the rotating shaft <NUM> in a bonding or embedding manner to make the film body <NUM> to move synchronously by means of rotation of the roating shaft. In an example of the disclosure, the accommodating cavity <NUM> may be configured as a cylindrical cavity to match the film body <NUM> wound by the rotating shaft <NUM>, and winding of the film body <NUM> can be guided conveniently through the inner wall of the accommodating cavity <NUM>.

In some examples, the film body <NUM> is rotatably connected to the fixing portion <NUM> so as to be close to or away from a foldable screen <NUM> in a rotatable manner. The rotatable manner may be achieved by means of the rotating shaft <NUM> or by flexibility of the film body <NUM>. When the foldable screen <NUM> is unfolded, a user may determine whether to use the film body <NUM> according to needs. The user may retract the foldable screen <NUM> into the accommodating cavity <NUM> when the film body <NUM> is not needed. When it is desired that the film body <NUM> be removed during use, the user can uncover the film body <NUM> by means of turning, thus eliminating a step of retracting the film body <NUM>. Here, taking <FIG> as an example to illustrate, the manner in which the film body <NUM> is uncover may be to rotate the film body <NUM> around the left side to rotate towards the outside of a plane of the drawing. With regard to a terminal having the foldable screen <NUM>, referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, after the foldable screen <NUM> is folded, usually the outer side is further arranged with an outer screen <NUM>, and the protection to the outer screen <NUM> can be achieved by attaching a protective film. In an example of the disclosure, the protection to the outer screen <NUM> can further be achieved by turning the film body <NUM> of the foldable screen <NUM> to the outer screen <NUM>, so as to achieve a dual use of one film, thus saving costs.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the protective film assembly may further include two frame portions <NUM> matchingly arranged at two sides of the foldable screen <NUM> adjacent to the fixing portion <NUM>, that is, two frame portions <NUM> are arranged at two sides of the foldable screen <NUM> in a direction of the crease <NUM>. Taking a direction of the plane of the drawing of <FIG> as an example, the two frame portions <NUM> are arranged on the upper side and the lower side of the foldable screen <NUM>. The frame portion <NUM> may be integrated with the fixing portion <NUM> to protect the terminal. Additionally, when the fixing portion <NUM> is arranged at only one side, an opposite side may also be arranged with an integral frame portion <NUM>, so as to protect a terminal device in an entire circumferential direction.

Referring to <FIG>, the two frame portions <NUM> each may be arranged with a first magnetic attraction group <NUM>. The first magnetic attraction group <NUM> is respectively arranged on the upper side and the lower side of the film body <NUM> shown in the plane of the drawing, so that the film body <NUM> is magnetically attracted and positioned between the two frame portions <NUM>. The first magnetic attraction group <NUM> may include a magnet arranged on the frame portion <NUM> and a magnetic member arranged on the film body <NUM> corresponding to the magnet. When the film body <NUM> covers the surface of the foldable screen <NUM>, a position of the film body <NUM> relative to the foldable screen <NUM> may be positioned by means of magnetic attraction, so as to ensure that the film body <NUM> is well aligned with the foldable screen <NUM>.

In some examples, referring to <FIG>, the two frame portions <NUM> each may be arranged with a guiding slot <NUM>, and the guiding slot <NUM> may extend in a direction (i.e., a left-right direction of the plane of the drawing) perpendicular to the crease <NUM> for corresponding insertion of two edges of the film body <NUM>. The end of the film body <NUM> away from the fixing portion <NUM> may always be inserted into the guiding slot <NUM>, so as to ensure that the retraction and extension of the film body <NUM> can completely move in a guiding direction of the guiding slot <NUM>, thus achieving an effect of positioning the film body <NUM>. In an example of the disclosure, a positioning manner of the film body <NUM> may be to use one of the first magnetic attraction group <NUM> and the guiding slot <NUM>, or may be to use a combination of the first magnetic attraction group <NUM> and the guiding slot <NUM>. The disclosure does not limit the positioning manner.

In an example of the disclosure, the protective film assembly may further include a controlling portion <NUM> for controlling the action of the film body <NUM>. The controlling portion <NUM> may be a central processing unit provided inside the terminal. In <FIG>, controlling portion <NUM> is shown in a visible manner for clarity. In practical applications, the control unit <NUM> may be hidden and disposed inside the terminal. When the motor <NUM> is provided, the controlling portion <NUM> may be electrically connected to the motor <NUM> to control the film body <NUM> by controlling the action of the motor <NUM>, and when the film body <NUM> is driven by another means, for example, when being driven by means of a coil and a magnet, the controlling portion <NUM> may be electrically connected to a corresponding driving mechanism. The controlling portion <NUM> may be configured to control the film body <NUM> to retract into the accommodating cavity <NUM> when the foldable screen <NUM> starts to fold and control the film body <NUM> to extend out of the accommodating cavity <NUM> when the foldable screen <NUM> starts to unfold. For example, a sensor (such as a position sensor or an angle sensor) may be used to identify whether the foldable screen <NUM> starts to unfold or fold, or the controlling portion <NUM> may be used to identify whether a user triggers the screen to unfold or fold by a touch button or the like, and then the controlling portion <NUM> correspondingly controls the action of the film body <NUM>. In the manner of automatically controlling by the controlling portion <NUM>, hands of the user are freed, manual operation is not asked, and user experience is improved; and in such manner, damage to components caused by a misoperation or a missed operation that is easily caused by manual operation is avoided.

In some examples, the controlling portion <NUM> is configured to control the retraction of the film body at least away from a bending region of the foldable screen <NUM> when the foldable screen <NUM> starts to fold. That is, it is ensured that the film body <NUM> cannot bend at the foldable screen <NUM>, and it is avoided that the curvature of the film body <NUM> cannot be well adapted to the curvature of the bending region of the foldable screen <NUM> and cause pressure on the screen, so that the screen is prevented from being damaged. The bending region of the folded screen <NUM> refers to the region where the folded screen <NUM> is bent at the crease <NUM>.

In some examples, the controlling portion <NUM> is configured to control the film body <NUM> to retract to be completely separated from the foldable screen <NUM> when the foldable screen <NUM> starts to fold, in this manner, when the foldable screen <NUM> is folded, it is avoided that the film body <NUM> does not fully retract so that part of the foldable screen <NUM> may have contact and friction with the outer surface of the film body <NUM>, so as to avoid damage or scratches on the surface of the foldable screen <NUM> when there are particles on the outer surface of the film body <NUM>.

In some examples, the controlling portion <NUM> may be configured to control the film body <NUM> to stop the retraction action in response to determining that the bending of the film body <NUM> is dectected during the folding process of the foldable screen <NUM>. When a user quickly folds the foldable screen <NUM>, the controlling portion <NUM> cannot timely control the film body <NUM> to retract to a desired position. The desired position refers to the position of the film body <NUM> away from the bending region of the folded screen <NUM>. That is, when the film body <NUM> is not away from the bending region of the foldable screen <NUM>, the foldable screen <NUM> has been bent, and the film body <NUM> is also bent. In this case, even if the film body <NUM> does not retract in place, the controlling portion <NUM> immediately controls the film body <NUM> to stop retraction. The reason is that the continuous retraction action will cause the bent film body <NUM> to cause further damage to the foldable screen <NUM> having a different curvature from the curvature of the film body <NUM>. Therefore, this controlling manner can minimize the damage to the foldable screen <NUM>.

In some examples, the controlling portion <NUM> may be configured to: control the film body <NUM> to stop the retraction action when the foldable screen <NUM> is folded fully. Similarly, when the foldable screen <NUM> is folded fully and the film body <NUM> is not retracted due to a quick operation of the user, no matter whether the film body <NUM> is bent or not, the controlling portion <NUM> immediately controls the film body <NUM> to stop the retraction action. On the one hand, it is avoided that the moving film body <NUM> scratches the folded screen, and on the other hand, it is avoided that user experience is affected due to actions still performed after the terminal device is folded.

In an example of the disclosure, the controlling portion <NUM> may control the film body <NUM> to extend after the foldable screen <NUM> is unfolded fully, or when the foldable screen <NUM> starts to unfold as described above. When the latter is adopted, an extension speed of the film body <NUM> may be controlled to be lower than a unfolding speed of the foldable screen <NUM>, thus avoiding that the film body <NUM> covers the bending region of the foldable screen <NUM> in a bending state of the foldable screen <NUM>, so as to avoid damage to the screen.

Referring to <FIG>, in an example of the disclosure, the film body <NUM> may include a first sub-film <NUM> for covering a first screen <NUM> of the foldable screen <NUM> and a second sub-film <NUM> for covering a second screen <NUM> of the foldable screen <NUM>, the first sub-film <NUM> and the second sub-film <NUM> are respectively connected to opposite sides of the first screen <NUM> and the second screen <NUM> by means of the fixing portion <NUM>. That is, the left side and right side of the plane of the drawing each are arranged with the fixing portion <NUM>, and the two sub-films are close to or away from each other as the foldable screen <NUM> unfolds or folds.

Continuing to refer to <FIG>, a second magnetic attraction group <NUM> may be arranged on the first sub-film <NUM> and the second sub-film <NUM> to magnetically attract the first sub-film <NUM> and the second sub-film <NUM> to connect when the foldable screen <NUM> is unfolded. The second magnetic attraction group <NUM> may ensure that the two sub-films can be stably connected together, and can be separated from each other when the foldable screen is folded. The structural form of the second magnetic attraction group <NUM> may be the same as the structural form of the first magnetic attraction group <NUM>. Taking a direction of the plane of drawings of <FIG> as an example, the second magnetic attraction groups <NUM> may be arranged on the upper side and the lower side of the two sub-films respectively, so as to ensure that a display effect of the film body <NUM> is not affected, and to ensure the connection stability. When the foldable screen <NUM> is folded, a mechanism used for driving the foldable screen <NUM> to fold pushes a position where the two sub-films are connected, so that the two sub-films can be forced to be separated, and the sub-films can be further pushed into the accommodating cavity <NUM> by the pushing force. Disposing the film body <NUM> in a form of two sub-films may reduce a movement distance of each sub-film when the sub-film retracts or extends, and may improve the efficiency of retraction or extension in the same time as compared with an integral film body <NUM>.

In some examples, referring to <FIG>, the film body <NUM> may be configured to be an integral film connected to one side of the foldable screen <NUM> by means of the fixing portion <NUM>, and the integral film can cover the entire foldable screen <NUM>. Compared with the sub-film, the integral film omits connection structure between the two sub-films, may ensure an overall visual effect, enhances the aesthetics, and improves user experience.

According to an example of the disclosure, a protective shell is further provided, referring to <FIG>, the protective shell includes an housing <NUM> for coating the periphery of a frame of a terminal and the protective film assembly as described above. The protective shell has all beneficial effects of the protective film assembly, and here details are not described again. The protective shell may be covered at the periphery of the terminal, and the fixing portion <NUM> may be arranged on one side or two opposite sides of the housing <NUM> according to a composition form of the film body <NUM>, or one or both sides of the housing <NUM> are configured as the fixing portion <NUM>. The manner of arranging the protective film assembly on the protective shell may intergrate two components, so that multiple functions can be achieved by means of one component, the number of accessories of the terminal is reduced, and the user can conveniently manage the terminal.

Claim 1:
A protective film assembly for a foldable screen, comprising:
a fixing portion (<NUM>), wherein the fixing portion is configured to be disposed at a side edge of a terminal, with the side edge parallel to a crease (<NUM>) of the foldable screen (<NUM>); and
a film body (<NUM>) configured to cover the foldable screen (<NUM>),
characterized in that, an accommodating cavity (<NUM>) is disposed inside the fixing portion (<NUM>), and the film body (<NUM>) is configured to at least partially retract into the accommodating cavity (<NUM>) in a direction perpendicular to the crease (<NUM>) in case that the foldable screen (<NUM>) is folded, and to extend out of the accommodating cavity (<NUM>) in the direction perpendicular to the crease (<NUM>) to cover the foldable screen (<NUM>) in case that the foldable screen (<NUM>) is unfolded.