Patent Description:
With the mass production of flexible screens and people's pursuit of large-screen intelligent terminals, a terminal structure that can be folded is used in the existing technology to resolve the problem that it is inconvenient to carry a large-screen intelligent terminal.

<FIG> shows a foldable terminal structure. As shown in <FIG>, the foldable terminal structure includes a main body and a flexible screen assembly. The main body includes a first structural member <NUM>, a second structural member <NUM>, and a bending assembly. The first structural member <NUM> and the second structural member <NUM> are connected together by the bending assembly. The flexible screen assembly is disposed on a folding inner side surface of the main body. The bending assembly includes a fixing member and a plurality of sliding rods. A first end of each of the sliding rods is rotatably connected to a side wall of the fixing member, and second ends <NUM> of the two sliding rods are slidably connected to the first structural member <NUM> and the second structural member <NUM>, respectively, so that there are slidable displacements between the fixing member and the first structural member <NUM> and the second structural member <NUM>. Further, with the gradual unfolding of the main body, the second ends <NUM> of the two sliding rods can gradually approach bottom walls of a first sliding cavity 111a and a second sliding cavity 121a respectively to enable a length of a folding outer side surface of the main body to gradually decrease, so that after the foldable terminal is unfolded, the folding outer side surface of the main body becomes a flat surface.

However, the foregoing foldable terminal structure has the problems, such as there are hollow pits at a bend and an inadequate pressing when the foldable terminal structure is unfolded, resulting in implementation difficulty and high manufacturing costs.

In <CIT>, a hinge for a mobile terminal having an inwardly bendable flexible screen includes: a three-member mechanism consisting of a left supporting plate, a middle supporting plate and a right supporting plate which are rotatably and sequentially connected; a left supporting frame; a right supporting frame; and a middle U-shaped outer cover. Both ends of the three-member mechanism are free ends, such that the left supporting plate, the middle supporting plate and the right supporting plate are flexible screen supporting members capable of moving up and down. After moving up, the left supporting plate, the middle supporting plate and the right supporting plate form a flexible screen supporting face, and after moving down, the components are in a bent state, thereby providing a space for bending of the flexible screen. After moving down, the middle supporting plate reaches a bottom portion of the middle U-shaped outer cover.

In order to overcome the foregoing deficiencies in the existing technology at least to a certain extent, the present disclosure provides a foldable terminal structure, which can solve the problems of a foldable terminal structure in the existing technology that there are hollow pits at a bend and an inadequate pressing when the foldable terminal structure is unfolded, and has a reliable structure and low cost. The features of the device according to embodiments of the present disclosure are set out in the appended set of claims.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure are described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it should be understood that the some embodiments described below are intended only to describe and explain the embodiments of the present disclosure rather than limit the embodiments of the present disclosure.

<FIG> are respectively schematic diagrams of a foldable terminal structure in a half-unfolded state and a folded state according to the present disclosure. As can be seen from <FIG>, the foldable terminal structure of the present disclosure includes a main body with a first folding member <NUM>, a second folding member <NUM> and a connecting mechanism, and a flexible screen assembly (not shown) that is disposed on a side of the main body. The connecting mechanism includes a first support plate <NUM> slidably connected to the first folding member <NUM>; a second support plate <NUM> slidably connected to the second folding member <NUM>; and a connecting rod fixing assembly rotatably connected to the first support plate <NUM> and the second support plate <NUM>, respectively. The connecting rod fixing assembly is constructed such that when the main body is unfolded, surfaces of the first support plate <NUM>, the second support plate <NUM>, and the connecting rod fixing assembly for supporting the flexible screen assembly are coplanar.

In the present disclosure, with the foregoing structure, after the terminal structure is unfolded, a surface of the main body for supporting the flexible screen assembly is a plane, and connections between the members are also located in a plane, so that there are no hollow pits or gaps at the connections, thereby avoiding the problems that the influence degree of pressing is affected and the structural reliability is reduced due to inadequate pressing caused by hollow pits at a bend. In addition, the implementation is simple, and manufacturing is easy.

In the main body of the present disclosure, the connecting mechanism integrally connects the first folding member <NUM> and the second folding member <NUM> that are symmetrically disposed on two sides of the main body. In the structure formed by the first folding member <NUM> and the second folding member <NUM>, various components required for assembling a mobile phone terminal are included. The components include, but not limited to, a flexible screen, a motherboard, an antenna, a battery, a speaker, an earpiece, a motor, a sensor, and various connectors. For the accommodation of the various components, reference may be made to a manner of mounting components in the existing technology. Through the rotatable connection of the connecting mechanism, two folding members can be folded or unfolded, so that the terminal is folded or unfolded, thereby effectively resolving the problem that it is inconvenient to carry a large-screen terminal.

The first folding member <NUM> and the second folding member <NUM> of the present disclosure may be applied by the same structure, and symmetrically accommodated at two ends of the connecting mechanism. The structure of only the first folding member <NUM> is described below in detail with reference to <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, the first folding member <NUM> includes a first plate body <NUM>; a second plate body <NUM> parallel to the first plate body <NUM> and has a length shorter than that of the first plate body <NUM>, where one end of the second plate body <NUM> is flush with one end of the first plate body <NUM> and is far away from the connecting mechanism; a side plate <NUM> having two ends fixedly connected to one end of the first plate body <NUM> and one end of the second plate body <NUM> respectively, where the side plate <NUM> is perpendicular to the first plate body <NUM>; a pair of first rotation limiting rods <NUM> fixedly connected to two sides of the other end of the second plate body <NUM> and two corresponding sides of the first plate body <NUM> respectively, where each first rotation limiting rod <NUM> is disposed inclined relative to the second plate body <NUM>, and has an angle with the second plate body <NUM> of greater than <NUM> degrees; and a connecting plate disposed at the other end of the first plate body <NUM> and rotatably connected to the first support plate <NUM> and the connecting rod fixing assembly respectively. The connecting plate has a same width as the first plate body <NUM>. During assembly, the first plate body <NUM> is located on a side away from the flexible screen assembly, and the second plate body <NUM> is located on a side close to the flexible screen assembly, to support the flexible screen assembly.

The connecting plate includes a bending plate <NUM> with one end fixedly connected to the other end of the first plate body <NUM> and a folding member bushing <NUM> fixedly connected to the other end of the bending plate <NUM>. The folding member bushing <NUM> is shorter than the bending plate <NUM> at both ends. That is, the two ends of the folding member bushing <NUM> are located on inner sides relative to two ends of the bending plate <NUM>, and the two ends of the folding member bushing <NUM> shorter than the bending plate <NUM> may form clamping avoidance portions when connection is made to the connecting mechanism. The bending plate <NUM> has a first connecting portion perpendicularly connected to the first plate body <NUM>, an accommodating portion fixedly connected to the first connecting portion and accommodating therein part of the first support plate <NUM>, and a second connecting portion fixedly connected to the accommodating portion and the folding member bushing <NUM> respectively. The second connecting portion is located on an extension line of the first connecting portion.

The accommodating portion forms a step with the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion, where the step has an outer wall convex in a direction away from the side plate <NUM>, so that an accommodating groove that can temporarily accommodate part of the first support plate <NUM> may be formed in an inner wall facing the side plate <NUM>. An extending direction of the accommodating groove and an extending direction of the folding member bushing <NUM> are parallel to a width extending direction of the first plate body <NUM>. In addition, an outer wall of the side plate connecting the accommodating portion and the second connecting portion may provide an abutting force to the connecting mechanism.

It is to be noted that a length and a width herein may be based on a mobile terminal structure. For example, a direction in which the mobile terminal structure can be unfolded is a direction of the length, and a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the mobile terminal structure can be unfolded is a direction of the width.

The first folding member <NUM> and the second folding member <NUM> of the present disclosure are connected together by the connecting mechanism located therebetween. The connecting mechanism includes the first support plate <NUM>, the second support plate <NUM>, and the connecting rod fixing assembly that is located between the first support plate <NUM> and the second support plate <NUM>. The first support plate <NUM> and the second support plate <NUM> have identical structures, and are symmetrically accommodated at two ends of the connecting rod fixing assembly. The first support plate <NUM> is slidably connected to the first folding member <NUM>. The second support plate <NUM> is slidably connected to the second folding member <NUM>.

Only the structure of the first support plate <NUM> is described below.

As shown in <FIG>, the first support plate <NUM> includes a support plate body <NUM>; a first connecting member <NUM> fixedly mounted on a surface of the support plate body <NUM> away from the flexible screen assembly and located at one end of the support plate body <NUM>, the first connecting member <NUM> being constructed to contact the first folding member <NUM>; and a second connecting member <NUM> fixedly mounted on the surface of the support plate body <NUM> away from the flexible screen assembly and located near the other end of the support plate body <NUM>, the second connecting member <NUM> being constructed to be rotatably connected to the connecting rod fixing assembly.

The first connecting member <NUM> is a rectangular plate, at two end of which a pair of fixing shafts <NUM> that respectively contact a pair of first rotation limiting rods <NUM> of the first folding member <NUM> may be disposed. The second connecting member <NUM> is a strip-shaped bushing having one side in a semi-arc shape and a flat surface opposite to the semi-arc side which is fixed (or integrally formed) on the surface of the support plate body <NUM> away from the flexible screen assembly. A central hole <NUM> of the bushing is parallel to a central hole of the folding member bushing <NUM>.

During design, both the first connecting member <NUM> and the second connecting member <NUM> have a width smaller than that of the support plate body <NUM>. An end surface at an end of the support plate body <NUM> may be an inclined surface 120a which is inclined toward the center of the support plate body <NUM> in a direction from a surface close to the flexible screen assembly to a surface away from the flexible screen assembly, so that the inclined surface 120a, a fixing shaft <NUM> on a corresponding side, and the first connecting member <NUM> define a clamping groove 120b for accommodating a first rotation limiting rod <NUM> on a corresponding side of the first folding member <NUM> (as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>).

At the other end of the support plate body <NUM>, there is still a certain distance between the second connecting member <NUM> and the other end of the support plate body <NUM>. The distance forms an outwardly extending protrusion <NUM> with respect to the second connecting member <NUM>. The protrusion <NUM> may be inserted in the accommodating groove of the bending plate <NUM> of the first folding member <NUM>.

During manufacturing, the protrusion <NUM> may be machined with a chamfered surface that is inclined from the surface close to the flexible screen assembly toward an end surface of the other end of the support plate body <NUM> (that is, an end surface of the protrusion <NUM>). The chamfered surface is provided to make it convenient for the first support plate <NUM> to rotate relative to the connecting rod fixing assembly after the first support plate <NUM> is inserted in the connecting rod fixing assembly. When the mobile terminal structure is unfolded, the chamfered surface may be connected to the connecting rod fixing assembly by a lap joint that has sufficient strength.

As shown in <FIG>, the connecting rod fixing assembly located between the first support plate <NUM> and the second support plate <NUM> of the present disclosure includes a rotating shaft fixing member <NUM> and a first connecting rod <NUM>, a second connecting rod <NUM>, a third connecting rod <NUM>, and a fourth connecting rod <NUM> that are rotatably connected to the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM>, respectively. The connecting rods may be circular rods.

The first connecting rod <NUM> rotatably connects the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM> and the first support plate <NUM> together. The second connecting rod <NUM> rotatably connects the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM> and the first folding member <NUM> together. The third connecting rod <NUM> rotatably connects the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM> and the second folding member <NUM> together. The fourth connecting rod <NUM> rotatably connects the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM> and the second support plate <NUM> together.

Specifically, as shown in <FIG>, the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM> includes a strip-shaped plate body <NUM>; a support rib <NUM> fixedly mounted in the middle of the plate body <NUM>, where an extending direction of the support rib <NUM> is consistent with a width direction of the first folding member; and four groups of bushings fixedly mounted on the plate body <NUM>, where the four groups of bushings are symmetrical two by two about the support rib <NUM>, and each group of bushings includes one pair of concentric bushings that are disposed on two sides of the plate body <NUM>.

Two groups of bushings at an end of the support rib <NUM> close to the first support plate <NUM> are respectively a first group of bushings <NUM> for sleeving over two ends of the first connecting rod <NUM>, and a second group of bushings <NUM> for sleeving over two ends of the second connecting rod <NUM>. Two groups of bushings at an end of the support rib <NUM> close to the second support plate <NUM> are respectively a third group of bushings <NUM> for sleeving over two ends of the third connecting rod <NUM>, and a fourth group of bushings <NUM> for sleeving over two ends of the fourth connecting rod <NUM>.

Two groups of opposite bosses protruding outward are provided at two ends of the plate body <NUM> for connecting the first support plate <NUM> and the second support plate <NUM>. Each group of bosses includes a pair of bosses disposed on the plate body <NUM> and located on two sides of the plate body <NUM> in a width direction. A pair of bushings in the first group of bushings <NUM> are respectively disposed on a pair of bosses facing the first support plate <NUM>. A pair of bushings in the fourth group of bushings <NUM> are respectively disposed on a pair of bosses facing the second support plate <NUM>.

During assembly, a central hole of the second connecting member <NUM> of the first support plate <NUM> is concentric with the pair of bushings in the first group of bushings <NUM>. The second connecting member <NUM> is located between this pair of bushings. The first connecting rod <NUM> rotatably connects the second connecting member <NUM> and the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM> together, to enable the first support plate <NUM> to rotate around the first connecting rod <NUM> relative to the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM>. A central hole of a second connecting member <NUM> of the second support plate <NUM> is concentric with the pair of bushings in the fourth group of bushings <NUM>. The second connecting member <NUM> of the second support plate <NUM> is located between this pair of bushings. The fourth connecting rod <NUM> rotatably connects the second connecting member <NUM> and the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM> together, to enable the second support plate <NUM> to rotate around the fourth connecting rod <NUM> relative to the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM>.

In addition, an accommodating groove for accommodating the folding member bushing <NUM> of the first folding member <NUM> may be formed between the pair of bushings in the second group of bushings <NUM>. That is, this pair of bushings correspond to a pair of clamping avoidance portions of the first folding member <NUM>. The folding member bushing <NUM> of the first folding member <NUM> and this pair of bushings are concentric, and are rotatably connected together by the second connecting rod <NUM>, to enable the first folding member <NUM> to rotate around the second connecting rod <NUM> relative to the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM>. An accommodating groove for accommodating the folding member bushing <NUM> of the second folding member <NUM> may be formed between the pair of bushings in the third group of bushings <NUM>. That is, this pair of bushings corresponds to the pair of clamping avoidance portions of the second folding member <NUM>. The folding member bushing <NUM> of the second folding member <NUM> and this pair of bushings are concentric, and are rotatably connected together by the third connecting rod <NUM>, to enable the second folding member <NUM> to rotate around the third connecting rod <NUM> relative to the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM>.

When a folding member rotates relative to the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM>, one end of a support plate correspondingly connected to the folding member also rotates around a corresponding connecting rod. Along with the rotation of the folding member, the other end of the support plate moves along a pair of rotation limiting rods on the folding member in a direction from away from the flexible screen assembly toward the flexible screen assembly, until the entire structure is in an unfolded state. At this time, surfaces of the support plate, the folding member, and the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM> for supporting the flexible screen assembly are coplanar.

It needs to be noted that all of the surfaces of the first folding member <NUM>, the second folding member <NUM>, the first support plate <NUM>, the second support plate <NUM>, and the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM> facing the flexible screen assembly are planar.

To implement seamless lap joints between the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM> and the first support plate <NUM> and between the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM> and the second support plate <NUM> when a mobile terminal is unfolded and ensure sufficient strength at the lap joints, in the present disclosure, lap joint grooves are further respectively provided at two ends of the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM> for implementing lap joints with the first support plate <NUM> and the second support plate <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, each of two end surfaces of the plate body <NUM> includes a plane extending in a thickness direction of the plate body <NUM> and an inclined surface 150a connected to the plane. The inclined surface 150a is inclined from a surface of the plate body <NUM> facing the flexible screen assembly to a surface of the plate body <NUM> opposite the flexible screen assembly and intersects the plane, to form a lap joint groove with an opening facing away from the flexible screen assembly. When the mobile terminal is unfolded, the lap joint groove is lap to a chamfered surface of a boss of the corresponding support plate, and the inclined surface and the chamfered surface may be attached together, so that the surfaces of the support plate, the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM>, and the folding member for supporting the flexible screen assembly are coplanar. After the mobile terminal is unfolded, the entire support surface is flat, thereby further avoiding hollow pits at the connections.

In summary, the first folding member <NUM> and the second folding member <NUM> of the present disclosure are integrally connected by the first connecting rod <NUM>, the second connecting rod <NUM>, the third connecting rod <NUM>, the fourth connecting rod <NUM>, and the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM>. One end of the first support plate <NUM> is connected to the first connecting rod <NUM>, and the other end of the first support plate <NUM> is connected to the first rotation limiting rod <NUM>. One end of the second support plate <NUM> is connected to the fourth connecting rod <NUM>, and the other end of the second support plate <NUM> is connected to a second rotation limiting rod <NUM>. The first connecting rod <NUM>, the second connecting rod <NUM>, the third connecting rod <NUM>, and the fourth connecting rod <NUM> are fixed on the rotating shaft fixing member <NUM>.

When an external force is applied to the first folding member <NUM> or the second folding member <NUM>, or a plurality of external forces are applied to both the first folding member <NUM> and the second folding member <NUM>, the entire structure can be unfolded or folded and rotate along with the rotations at the connections of the connecting rods. The first folding member <NUM> and the second folding member <NUM> include components required for assembling a terminal, including, but not limited to, a flexible screen, a motherboard, an antenna, a battery, a camera, a speaker, an earpiece, a microphone, a motor, a sensor, and various connectors. The flexible screen assembly is fixed on the first folding member <NUM> and the second folding member <NUM>, and acts along with the unfolding and folding of the first folding member <NUM> and the second folding member <NUM>.

The foldable terminal structure in the embodiments of the present disclosure are particularly applicable to various mobile terminals, for example, a foldable screen mobile phone, a flexible screen mobile phone, a tablet computer, an electronic book, a mobile game console, a mobile multimedia device, and the like. Correspondingly, the present disclosure further provides a mobile terminal, including the foldable terminal structure according to any of foregoing embodiments.

Claim 1:
A foldable terminal structure, comprising a main body with a first folding member (<NUM>), a second folding member (<NUM>) and a connecting mechanism, and a flexible screen assembly disposed on a side of the main body, wherein the connecting mechanism comprises:
a first support plate (<NUM>) slidably connected to the first folding member (<NUM>);
a second support plate (<NUM>) slidably connected to the second folding member (<NUM>);
a connecting rod fixing assembly rotatably connected to the first support plate (<NUM>) and the second support plate (<NUM>) respectively, and constructed such that in response to the main body being unfolded, surfaces of the first support plate (<NUM>), the second support plate (<NUM>), and the connecting rod fixing assembly for supporting the flexible screen assembly are coplanar;
wherein the first folding member (<NUM>) and the second folding member (<NUM>) have an identical structure, and the first folding member (<NUM>) is characterized by comprising:
a first plate body (<NUM>) located on a side away from the flexible screen assembly;
a second plate body (<NUM>) parallel to the first plate body (<NUM>) and located on a side close to the flexible screen assembly.