Foldable mobile terminal

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11256292-B2
Application number	US-201816470375-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 1, 2018
Priority date	Mar 28, 2018
Publication date	Feb 22, 2022
Grant date	Feb 22, 2022

Abstract

Disclosed is a foldable mobile terminal including: a flexible panel including a bending section, a first and second flat sections located on two sides of bending section; a first and second support housings, first and second support housings are respectively connected with backsides of first and second flat sections; a multi-rod mechanism located on backside of bending section, connected with first and second support housings, the multi-rod mechanism including support rods arranged in parallel and adjacent to each other, and extending along a bending axis of the bending section, a connection structure arranged corresponding to a same end of two adjacent support rods, the connection structure includes a first bushing pivoted with one of two adjacent support rods, axially limited in position, and a second bushing installed on other support rod of two adjacent support rods, axially limited in position, the first bushing is retractably connected with the second bushing.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A foldable mobile terminal, comprising:
a flexible panel comprising a bending section, and a first flat section and a second flat section, wherein the first flat section and a second flat section are on two opposite sides of the bending section respectively;
a first support housing and a second support housing, wherein the first support housing is connected with a backside of the first flat section, and the second support housing is connected with a backside of the second flat section; and
a multi-rod mechanism located on a backside of the bending section, and connected with the first support housing and the second support housing, wherein the multi-rod mechanism comprises a plurality of support rods arranged in parallel and adjacent to each other, and a connection structure arranged corresponding to a same end side of two adjacent support rods; the support rods extend along a bending axis of the bending section, wherein the connection structure comprises a first bushing pivoted with one of the two adjacent support rods, and axially limited in position, and a second bushing installed on other support rod of the two adjacent support rods, and axially limited in position, wherein the first bushing is retractably connected with the second bushing.

2. The foldable mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the multi-rod mechanism is configured to define an accommodating space for accommodating the bent section, under a condition that the first bushings are rotated relative to the second bushings.

3. The foldable mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein two ends of each of the support rods are provided with axial shoulders configured to axially limit the connection structures in position.

4. The foldable mobile terminal according to claim 3 , further comprises an elastic damping sheet arranged between an end face of each of the axial shoulders and a bushing proximate to the each of the axial shoulders.

5. The foldable mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the first bushing comprises at least one connection rod, and the second bushing comprises a rod hole arranged corresponding to the at least one connection rod; wherein the connection rod is configured to slide and be retracted in the rod hole, and a limiting section is arranged in the rod hole to prevent the connection rod from being separated from the rod hole.

6. The foldable mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein a spacing between the first bushing and the second bushing which are connected with each other is varying under a condition that the first bushing is being rotated relative to the second bushings.

7. The foldable mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein a rotation position locking structure is arranged between an inner sidewall of the first bushing and a corresponding support rod.

8. The foldable mobile terminal according to claim 7 , wherein the rotation position locking structure comprises a plurality of limiting concavities arranged on the support rod, and a plurality of liming convexities arranged on the inner sidewall of the first bushing in correspondence to the plurality of limiting concavities; wherein the plurality of liming convexities is configured to be limited in position in the plurality of limiting concavities sequentially.

9. The foldable mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein a first installation indentation is arranged on an end side of the first support housing proximate to the second support housing, and a second installation indentation is arranged on an end side of the second support housing proximate to the first support housing; and,
one of the support rods of the multi-rod mechanism proximate to the first support housing is a first support rod installed in the first installation indentation, and one of the support rods of the multi-rod mechanism proximate to the second support housing is a second support rod installed in the second installation indentation.

10. The foldable mobile terminal according to claim 9 , wherein the first bushing and the second bushing are arranged in pair on the support rods in the multi-rod mechanism rather than the first support rod and the second support rod; wherein,
a stop section is arranged on an end portion of the first bushing proximate to the second bushing, and a blocking section is arranged on an end portion of the second bushing proximate to the first bushing; and,
the stop section and the blocking section are configured to define a rotation angle of the first bushing relative to the second bushing under a condition that the foldable mobile terminal is being folded.

11. The foldable mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein a quantity of the support rods in the multi-rod mechanism is no less than 5.

12. The foldable mobile terminal according to claim 1 , further comprises a protective cover plate arranged on a side of the multi-rod mechanism away from the flexible panel.

13. The foldable mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the second bushing comprises at least one connection rod, and the first bushing comprises a rod hole arranged corresponding to the at least one connection rod, wherein the connection rod is configured to slide and be retracted in the rod hole, and a limiting section is arranged in the rod hole to prevent the connection rod from being separated from the rod hole.

14. The foldable mobile terminal according to claim 7 , wherein the rotation position locking structure comprises a plurality of limiting concavities arranged on the inner sidewall of the first bushing, and a plurality of liming convexities arranged on the support rod in correspondence to the plurality of limiting concavities, wherein the plurality of liming convexities is configured to be limited in position in the plurality of limiting concavities sequentially.

Assignees

• Beijing Boe Optoelectronics Tech Co Ltd
• Boe Technology Group Co Ltd

Inventors

• Xu Shaopeng
• Wu Hao
• Liu Xuzhong
• An Na
• Ma Xiao
• Luo Zongwei
• Ci Gang
• Guo Baolei
• Gong xinfeng
• Xu Bin
• Luo Zhenhua
• Zhang Zheng
• Guan Qingzhu
• Su Wei

Classifications

• H04M1/0268 Primary

  including a flexible display panel · CPC title

• G06F1/1681

  Details related solely to hinges (hinge details related to the transmission of signals or power are classified in G06F1/1683) · CPC title

• G06F1/1656

  Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories (mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203) · CPC title

• H04M1/026

  Details of the structure or mounting of specific components · CPC title

• G06F1/1652

  the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable · CPC title