Patent Description:
With the development of science and technology, large-screen flexible display devices have become a prevailing trend. The foldability of the flexible display makes it possible for flexible display devices to fold, i.e., forming foldable terminal devices, providing great convenience for carrying large-screen flexible display devices.

In some cases, all conventional heat dissipation structures are rigid, so they cannot be stretched, and can be easily broken when bent. For a foldable terminal device, it has two operating states: a folded state and an unfolded state. However, since the conventional heat dissipation structure cannot be stretched and shrunk to meet a distance difference between the folded state and unfolded state of the foldable terminal device, it is difficult to apply the conventional heat dissipation structure in heat dissipation of the foldable terminal device.

<CIT> relates to a heat-dissipation structure, which includes a first carbon nanotube layer and a metal mesh layer. The first carbon nanotube layer and the metal mesh layer are stacked on each other. The first carbon nanotube layer includes at least one first carbon nanotube paper. An electronic device applying the heat-dissipation structure is also disclosed.

<CIT> relates to a film-like heat dissipation member, a bendable display apparatus, and a terminal device. The film-like heat dissipation member includes a heat dissipation layer. Composition and a structure of the heat dissipation layer are designed, so that a tangent-plane length of the heat dissipation layer changes in a surface bending process, can be bent repeatedly, and can implement uniform temperatures on two sides of the bendable display apparatus and the terminal device, thereby improving heat dissipation capabilities of the bendable display apparatus and the terminal device.

The following is a summary of the topic described in detail herein. This summary is not intended to limit the protection scope of the claims.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a heat dissipation structure, a heat dissipation component and a mounting method thereof, and a foldable terminal device.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, an embodiment provides a heat dissipation structure. The heat dissipation structure includes: a plurality of elastic heat conduction units; and at least one layer of heat conduction mesh. The heat conduction mesh includes a plurality of interlaced mesh wires, each two interlaced mesh wires are rotatable relative to each other, and the plurality of mesh wires are interlaced to form gaps in which the elastic heat conduction units are arranged.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an embodiment provides a heat dissipation component, including the heat dissipation structure as described above.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an embodiment provides a foldable terminal device. The foldable terminal device includes a housing and the heat dissipation component as described above. The housing is provided with a first heat dissipation surface and a second heat dissipation surface which are rotatable relative to each other, and a slit is arranged between the first heat dissipation surface and the second heat dissipation surface. The heat dissipation component includes: a first heat dissipation part arranged on the first heat dissipation surface, a second heat dissipation part arranged on the second heat dissipation surface, and a connecting part connected with the first heat dissipation part and the second heat dissipation part respectively, and the connecting part passes through the slit. The first heat dissipation part, the second heat dissipation part and the connecting part are each composed of the heat dissipation structure.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an embodiment provides a mounting method for a heat dissipation component, which is applied to a foldable terminal device. The foldable terminal device includes a housing and the heat dissipation component as described above. The housing is provided with a first heat dissipation surface and a second heat dissipation surface which are rotatable relative to each other, and a slit is arranged between the first heat dissipation surface and the second heat dissipation surface. The heat dissipation component includes a first heat dissipation part, a second heat dissipation part, and a connecting part connected with the first heat dissipation part and the second heat dissipation part, respectively. The method includes: fixing the first heat dissipation part on the first heat dissipation surface; pulling a corner of the second heat dissipation part until the second heat dissipation part passes through the slit; moving the heat dissipation component towards the slit to make the connecting part pass through the slit; and releasing the corner of the second heat dissipation part and fixing the second heat dissipation part on the second heat dissipation surface.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an embodiment provides a foldable terminal device. The foldable terminal device includes the heat dissipation structure as described above or the heat dissipation component as described above.

Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be set forth in the following description, and will partially become apparent from the description, or may be understood by practicing the present disclosure. The objective and other advantages of the present disclosure can be achieved and obtained by the structure particularly specified in the description, the claims and the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the technical scheme of the present invention.

The accompanying drawings are used in conjunction with the description of embodiments of the present invention to illustrate the technical scheme of the present invention, and do not constitute a limitation to the technical scheme of the present invention.

In order to make the objective, technical scheme and advantages of the present invention clear, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely used to illustrate the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention.

It should be understood that in the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, "a plurality of" (or "multiple") means one or more than two. "Greater than", "less than", "exceed" and the like should be understood as excluding this number, while "more than", "less than", "within" and the like should be understood as including this number. If described, "first", "second" and the like are merely intended to distinguish technical features and are not intended to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features or implicitly indicating the precedence relationship of the indicated technical features.

With the development of science and technology, large-screen flexible display devices have become a prevailing trend. The foldability of the flexible display makes it possible for flexible display devices to fold, that is, forming foldable terminal devices, providing great convenience for carrying large-screen flexible display devices.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a heat dissipation structure, a heat dissipation component and a mounting method thereof, and a foldable terminal device. The heat dissipation structure includes a plurality of elastic heat conduction units and at least one layer of heat conduction mesh. The heat conduction mesh includes a plurality of interlaced mesh wires, each pair of interlaced mesh wires is rotatable relative to each other, and the plurality of mesh wires are interlaced to form gaps in which the elastic heat conduction units are arranged. Therefore, when the heat conduction mesh is stretched by an external force, the length of the heat conduction mesh along a direction of stretching by the external force will be increased due to stretching, the length perpendicular to the direction of stretching by the external force will be decreased due to shrinkage. At the same time, the elastic heat conduction units will be deformed as well under the drive of the mesh wires, and will be deformed in consistence with the heat conduction mesh. Consequently, the whole heat dissipation structure can be stretched and shrunk to meet the distance difference between the folded state and unfolded state of the foldable terminal device, and will not be broken even when bent or stretched. Moreover, since the elastic heat conduction units with elastic deformability are arranged in the gaps of the heat conduction mesh, heat conduction property can be increased, thus meeting the requirement of the foldable terminal device for heat dissipation. In addition, for the heat dissipation structure with multiple layers of heat conduction meshes, the heat flux of the heat dissipation structure can be further increased under the conditions that the requirements for different heat dissipation material thicknesses are met and the space of a structural design allows, to achieve a better overall heat dissipation performance of the foldable terminal device. Therefore, since the heat dissipation structure according to this embodiment itself can be stretched and shrunk and will not be broken when bent, the requirement of the foldable terminal device for heat dissipation can be met.

As shown in <FIG>, an embodiment of the present invention provides a heat dissipation structure <NUM>. The heat dissipation structure <NUM> includes a plurality of elastic heat conduction units <NUM> and at least one layer of heat conduction mesh <NUM>. The heat conduction mesh <NUM> includes a plurality of interlaced mesh wires <NUM>, each pair of interlaced mesh wires <NUM> is rotatable relative to each other, and the plurality of mesh wires <NUM> are interlaced to form gaps <NUM> in which the elastic heat conduction units <NUM> are arranged.

In this embodiment, when the heat conduction mesh <NUM> is stretched by an external force, the length of the heat conduction mesh <NUM> along a direction of stretching by the external force will be increased due to stretching, and the length perpendicular to the direction of stretching by the external force will be decreased due to shrinkage. According to the microstructure shown in <FIG>, for example, when the heat conduction mesh <NUM> is stretched along an X-axis direction, the interlaced mesh wires <NUM> are rotated relative to one another, and the gaps <NUM> formed by the interlaced mesh wires <NUM> are changed from a square arrangement into a rhombic arrangement. As a result, in the X-axis direction, the length of the heat conduction mesh <NUM> is increased due to stretching, and in a Y-axis direction, the length of the heat conduction mesh <NUM> is decreased due to shrinkage. At the same time, since the elastic heat conduction units <NUM> are arranged in the gaps <NUM>, the elastic heat conduction units <NUM> are also driven by the mesh wires <NUM> to deform along with the gaps <NUM>, that is, the elastic heat conduction units <NUM> are deformed in consistence with the heat conduction mesh <NUM>. When the external force applied on the heat conduction mesh <NUM> in the X-axis direction is released, the elastic heat conduction units <NUM> recover from elastic deformation and drive the heat conduction mesh <NUM> to be restored to its original state. Therefore, the whole heat dissipation structure <NUM> can be stretched and shrunk to meet the distance difference between the folded state and unfolded state of the foldable terminal device, and will not be broken even when bent or stretched. Moreover, since the elastic heat conduction units <NUM> with elastic deformability are arranged in the gaps <NUM> of the heat conduction mesh <NUM>, heat conduction property can be increased, thus meeting the requirement of the foldable terminal device for heat dissipation. In addition, when the heat conduction mesh <NUM> is in a stretched state, the gaps <NUM> are compressed, so the air in the gaps <NUM> is also squeezed, thereby further improving the heat dissipation property of the heat dissipation structure <NUM>.

It should be pointed out that there may be a single layer of heat conduction mesh <NUM> or multiple layers of heat conduction meshes <NUM>. According to the microstructure shown in <FIG>, for the heat dissipation structure <NUM> with multiple layers of heat conduction meshes <NUM>, under the conditions that the requirements for different heat dissipation material thicknesses are met and the space of a structural design allows, the heat flux of the heat dissipation structure <NUM> can be further increased to achieve a better overall heat dissipation performance of the foldable terminal device.

In an embodiment, a plurality of elastic heat conduction units <NUM> are evenly arranged in the heat conduction mesh <NUM>.

In this embodiment, the plurality of elastic heat conduction units <NUM> are evenly arranged in the heat conduction mesh <NUM>. That is, the gaps <NUM> formed by the interlaced the mesh wires <NUM> in the heat conduction mesh <NUM> are approximately equal, so are the sizes of all the elastic heat conduction units <NUM>, such that the plurality of elastic heat conduction units <NUM> can be evenly arranged in the heat conduction mesh <NUM>, which not only makes the heat dissipation effect of the heat conduction mesh <NUM> more uniform, but also further improves the stretchability and shrinkability of the heat conduction mesh <NUM>. Based on this, the whole heat dissipation structure <NUM> can be stretched and shrunk to meet the distance difference between the folded state and unfolded state of the foldable terminal device, and will not be broken even when bent or stretched.

In an embodiment, the elastic heat conduction unit <NUM> is a mixture including alumina and silica micropowder.

The elastic heat conduction unit <NUM> may be made of a material with high elastic and heat conduction properties, such as aluminum oxide, magnesium oxide, zinc oxide, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, silicon carbide, and the like. In this embodiment, the mixture including, but not limited to, the aluminum oxide and silica micropowder has excellent elastic and heat conduction properties, and the aluminum oxide is micron-sized. It should be pointed out that the use of a mixture mainly including the aluminum oxide and silica micropowder is merely a preferred embodiment. On the basis of the aluminum oxide and silica micropowder, carbon nanotube powder or graphene oxide powder may also be added for technological processing to further improve the heat conduction property. By arranging the elastic heat conduction units <NUM> in the gaps <NUM> of the heat conduction mesh <NUM>, it is ensured that the heat dissipation property of the heat conduction mesh <NUM> will not be weakened due to a large number of gaps <NUM>. Therefore, by arranging the elastic heat conduction units <NUM> with elastic deformability in the gaps <NUM> of the heat conduction mesh <NUM>, the heat conduction property can be increased, thus meeting the requirement of the foldable terminal device for heat dissipation.

In an embodiment, the mesh wires <NUM> are carbon fiber nanotubes.

The mesh wires <NUM> may be made of a micro heat conduction material with ultra-high heat conduction property, which includes, but not limited to, carbon nanotube fibers. In this embodiment, using the carbon nanotube fibers to make the mesh wires <NUM> is merely a preferred embodiment. In an embodiment, the carbon nanotube fibers are formed into a micro mesh structure by a warp and weft weaving method, so as to form the heat conduction mesh <NUM>. The plurality of mesh wires <NUM> of the heat conduction mesh <NUM> are interlaced with one another to form the gaps <NUM>, and the gaps <NUM> can be changed from a square arrangement into a rhombic arrangement as the heat conduction mesh <NUM> is stretched. Since the elastic heat conduction units <NUM> are arranged in the gaps <NUM>, when the heat conduction mesh <NUM> is stretched, the elastic heat conduction units <NUM> are also deformed along with the gaps <NUM> under the drive of the mesh wires <NUM>, so that the elastic heat conduction units <NUM> are deformed in consistence with the heat conduction mesh <NUM>, and thus, the whole heat dissipation structure <NUM> can be stretched and shrunk.

In an embodiment, when there are multiple layers of heat conduction meshes <NUM>, the multiple layers of heat conduction meshes <NUM> include at least one layer of first heat conduction mesh <NUM> and at least one layer of second heat conduction mesh <NUM> which are arranged perpendicular to each other.

In this embodiment, as shown in <FIG>, if there are multiple layers of heat conduction meshes <NUM>, the multiple layers of heat conduction meshes <NUM> form a three-dimensional (3D) structure through a processing technology. The three-dimensional structure includes at least one layer of first heat conduction mesh <NUM> and at least one layer of second heat conduction mesh <NUM> which are arranged perpendicular to each other, such that the first heat conduction mesh <NUM> and the second heat conduction mesh <NUM> are interlaced with each other to form gaps <NUM> in which elastic heat conduction units <NUM> are arranged. For the heat dissipation structure <NUM> with multiple layers of heat conduction meshes <NUM>, under the conditions that the requirement for heat dissipation thickness is met and the space of a structural design allows, the heat flux of the heat dissipation structure <NUM> can be further increased to achieve a better overall heat dissipation performance of the foldable terminal device.

In an embodiment, the first heat conduction mesh <NUM> and the second heat conduction mesh <NUM> are integrally formed.

In this embodiment, as shown in <FIG>, the first heat conduction mesh <NUM> and the second heat conduction mesh <NUM> are not only interlaced but also integrally formed. That is, the multiple layers of heat conduction meshes <NUM> are not spliced together by a layer-by-layer combination method, but are manufactured through integral forming.

As shown in <FIG>, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a heat dissipation component <NUM>, which includes a heat dissipation structure <NUM>.

In an embodiment, since the heat dissipation component <NUM> adopts the heat dissipation structure <NUM>, macroscopically, the heat dissipation component <NUM> also has the stretching and shrinking properties and heat dissipation property of the heat dissipation structure <NUM>. Based on this, the heat dissipation component <NUM> can be stretched and shrunk to meet the distance difference between the folded state and unfolded state of the foldable terminal device and will not be broken even when bent or stretched in an application scenario of the foldable terminal device.

It should be pointed out that since the heat dissipation component <NUM> achieves good stretching and shrinking properties on the basis of the use of the heat dissipation structure <NUM>, the heat dissipation component <NUM> can be applied in a scenario where stretching to a certain extent is required, without having to be macroscopically folded in any way, and therefore the heat dissipation component <NUM> will not be constrained by the structure of the foldable terminal device and has high universality.

As shown in <FIG>, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a foldable terminal device. The foldable terminal device includes a housing <NUM> and a heat dissipation component <NUM>. The housing <NUM> is provided a first heat dissipation surface <NUM> and a second heat dissipation surface <NUM> which are rotatable relative to each other, and a slit <NUM> is arranged between the first heat dissipation surface <NUM> and the second heat dissipation surface <NUM>. The heat dissipation component <NUM> includes a first heat dissipation part <NUM>, a second heat dissipation part <NUM>, and a connecting part <NUM>. The first heat dissipation part <NUM> is arranged on the first heat dissipation surface <NUM>, the second heat dissipation part <NUM> is arranged on the second heat dissipation surface <NUM>, and the connecting part <NUM> is connected with the first heat dissipation part <NUM> and the second heat dissipation part <NUM> respectively, and passes through the slit <NUM>. The first heat dissipation part <NUM>, the second heat dissipation part <NUM> and the connecting part <NUM> are each composed of the heat dissipation structure <NUM>.

It should be pointed out that the foldable terminal device includes, but is not limited to, a foldable mobile phone.

In an embodiment, taking the foldable mobile phone as an example, generally, heating sources such as internal elements of the foldable mobile phone are all arranged on the left side, but only the battery is arranged on the right side. As a result, in some scenarios of usage by users, the maximum temperature difference between the left and right sides of the foldable mobile phone is more than <NUM>, resulting in poor user experience. As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, since the first heat dissipation part <NUM>, the second heat dissipation part <NUM> and the connecting part <NUM> are each made of the heat dissipation structure <NUM>, the heat dissipation component <NUM> has stretching and shrinking properties, and therefore can easily pass through the slit <NUM> between the first heat dissipation surface <NUM> and the second heat dissipation surface <NUM> of the foldable mobile phone. In an embodiment, the first heat dissipation part <NUM> is arranged on the first heat dissipation surface <NUM>, the second heat dissipation part <NUM> is arranged on the second heat dissipation surface <NUM>, and the connecting part <NUM> passes through the slit <NUM>. In addition, since the connecting part <NUM> is connected with the first heat dissipation part <NUM> and the second heat dissipation part <NUM> respectively, which is equivalent to building a heat dissipation path between the first heat dissipation part <NUM> and the second heat dissipation part <NUM>, an effect of temperature equalization is achieved to effectively reduce the temperature difference between the first heat dissipation part <NUM> and the second heat dissipation part <NUM>, thereby improving the user experience.

Moreover, since the first heat dissipation part <NUM>, the second heat dissipation part <NUM> and the connecting part <NUM> are each composed of the heat dissipation structure <NUM>, the heat dissipation component <NUM> also has good heat dissipation property, thus meeting the requirement of the foldable terminal device for heat dissipation.

After the foldable terminal device is folded, the heat dissipation component <NUM> passing through the slit <NUM> receives an external force in the X direction. Since the heat dissipation component <NUM> has the properties of the heat dissipation structure <NUM>, the heat dissipation component <NUM> is stretchable in an X direction, and therefore can be stretched. After the foldable terminal device is unfolded, the external force received by the heat dissipation component <NUM> in the X direction is released, and the heat dissipation component <NUM> is restored to its original state. Therefore, the heat dissipation component <NUM> can meet the requirement of the distance difference between the folded state and unfolded state of the foldable terminal device.

Based on this, the heat dissipation component <NUM> according to this embodiment can be stretched and shrunk to meet the distance difference between the folded state and unfolded state of the foldable terminal device and will not be broken even when bent or stretched, thus meeting the requirement of the foldable terminal device for heat dissipation.

As shown in <FIG>, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a mounting method for a heat dissipation component, which is applied to a foldable terminal device. The foldable terminal device includes a housing and the heat dissipation component. The housing is provided with a first heat dissipation surface and a second heat dissipation surface which are rotatable relative to each other, and a slit is arranged between the first heat dissipation surface and the second heat dissipation surface. The heat dissipation component includes a first heat dissipation part, a second heat dissipation part, and a connecting part connected with the first heat dissipation part and the second heat dissipation part respectively. The method includes, but is not limited to, the following steps S101 to S104.

At S101, the first heat dissipation part is fixed on the first heat dissipation surface.

At S102, a corner of the second heat dissipation part is pulled until the second heat dissipation part passes through the slit.

At S103, the heat dissipation component is moved towards the slit, to make the connecting part pass through the slit.

At S104, the corner of the second heat dissipation part is released, and the second heat dissipation part is fixed on the second heat dissipation surface.

In an embodiment, the first heat dissipation part is first fixed on the first heat dissipation surface; then the corner of the second heat dissipation part is pulled until the second heat dissipation part passes through the slit; and then the heat dissipation component is then moved towards the slit to make the connecting part pass through the slit; and finally, the corner of the second heat dissipation part is released and the second heat dissipation part is fixed on the second heat dissipation surface. The whole mounting process is simple, convenient and easy to operate. The fixing method includes, but is not limited to, electrostatic attraction.

In an embodiment, as shown in <FIG>, after the corner of the heat dissipation component is pulled, and the heat dissipation component is stretched along the X-axis direction, the size of the heat dissipation component will be reduced in the Y-axis direction. Thus, the heat dissipation component can pass through the limited slit to build a heat dissipation path for the first heat dissipation surface and the second heat dissipation surface located on the left and right sides of the foldable terminal device, thus playing a role of temperature equalizing to effectively reduce the temperature difference between the first heat dissipation part and the second heat dissipation part and improve the user experience.

It should be pointed out that since the heat dissipation component achieves good stretching and shrinking properties on the basis of the use of the heat dissipation structure, the heat dissipation component can be applied in a scenario where stretching to a certain extent is required, without having to be macroscopically folded in any way, and therefore the heat dissipation component will not be constrained by the structure of the foldable terminal device and has high universality. Therefore, the heat dissipation component can be stretched and shrunk to meet the distance difference between the folded state and unfolded state of the foldable terminal device, and will not be broken even when bent or stretched.

In addition, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a foldable terminal device, which includes a heat dissipation structure or a heat dissipation component.

In an embodiment, the foldable terminal at least includes the heat dissipation structure. The heat dissipation structure includes a plurality of elastic heat conduction units and at least one layer of heat conduction mesh. The heat conduction mesh includes a plurality of interlaced mesh wires, each pair of interlaced mesh wires is rotatable relative to each other, and the plurality of mesh wires are interlaced to form gaps in which the elastic heat conduction units are arranged. Therefore, when the heat conduction mesh is stretched by an external force, the length of the heat conduction mesh along a direction of stretching by the external force will be increased due to stretching, the length perpendicular to the direction of stretching by the external force will be decreased due to shrinkage. At the same time, the elastic heat conduction units will be deformed as well under the drive of the mesh wires, and will be deformed in consistence with the heat conduction mesh. After the external force received by the heat conduction mesh in the X-axis direction is released, the elastic heat conduction units will recover from elastic deformation to drive the heat conduction mesh to be restored to its original state. Consequently, the whole heat dissipation structure can be stretched and shrunk to meet the distance difference between the folded state and unfolded state of the foldable terminal device, and will not be broken even when bent or stretched. Moreover, since the elastic heat conduction units with elastic deformability are arranged in the gaps of the heat conduction mesh, heat conduction property can be increased, thus meeting the requirement of the foldable terminal device for heat dissipation. In addition, when the heat conduction mesh is in a stretched state, the gaps are compressed, so the air in the gaps is also squeezed, thus further improving the heat dissipation property of the heat dissipation structure. For the heat dissipation structure with multiple layers of heat conduction meshes, under the conditions that the requirements for different heat dissipation material thicknesses are met and the space of a structural design allows, the heat flux of the heat dissipation structure can be further increased to achieve a better overall heat dissipation performance of the foldable terminal device. Therefore, since the heat dissipation structure can be stretched and shrunk and will not be broken when bent, the requirement of the foldable terminal device for heat dissipation can be met.

Likewise, when the foldable terminal device includes the heat dissipation component, since the heat dissipation component adopts the heat dissipation structure, macroscopically, the heat dissipation component also has the stretching and shrinking properties and heat dissipation property of the heat dissipation structure. Based on this, the heat dissipation component can be stretched and shrunk to meet the distance difference between the folded state and unfolded state of the foldable terminal device and will not be broken even when bent or stretched in an application scenario of the foldable terminal device, thus meeting the requirement of the foldable terminal device for heat dissipation.

Claim 1:
A heat dissipation structure (<NUM>), comprising:
a plurality of elastic heat conduction units (<NUM>); and
at least one layer of heat conduction mesh (<NUM>), wherein the heat conduction mesh (<NUM>) comprises a plurality of interlaced mesh wires (<NUM>),
characterized in that,
each pair of interlaced mesh wires (<NUM>) is rotatable relative to each other, and the plurality of mesh wires are interlaced to form gaps (<NUM>) in which the elastic heat conduction units (<NUM>) are arranged, the heat conduction mesh (<NUM>) and the elastic heat conduction units (<NUM>) configured to deform together in response to an external force, such that the length of the heat conduction mesh along a direction of the external force is increased due to stretching and the length perpendicular to the external force is decreased due to shrinkage.