Connecting device and an electronic apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9772659-B2
Application number	US-201514870964-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 30, 2015
Priority date	Jul 21, 2015
Publication date	Sep 26, 2017
Grant date	Sep 26, 2017

Abstract

A connecting device configured to rotatably connect a first main body and a second main body of an electronic apparatus includes a rotating mechanism rotatably connecting the first main body and the second main body. A coating mechanism covering at least a part of the rotating mechanism is provided and a supporting component is provide to support an inner side wall of the coating mechanism so that the coating mechanism is bent without folds or crumples as the rotating mechanism is rotated. The connecting device improves man-machine interaction and enables the user to enjoy a better experience.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A connecting device configured to rotatably connect a first main body and a second main body of an electronic apparatus, the connecting device comprising:
a rotating mechanism rotatably connecting the first main body and the second main body;
a coating mechanism covering at least a part of the rotating mechanism; and
a supporting component supporting an inner side wall of the coating mechanism so that the coating mechanism is bent without folds or crumples as the rotating mechanism is rotated, wherein the supporting component comprises at least one connecting column and a first end of the at least one connecting column is connected with the inner side wall of the coating mechanism.

2. The connecting device of claim 1 , wherein a first end of the supporting component is connected with the inner side wall and a second end of the supporting component is connected with the rotating mechanism.

3. The connecting device of claim 1 , wherein the coating mechanism comprises a first coating element covering a first side of the rotating mechanism and the first end of the supporting component is connected with a first inner side wall of the first coating element.

4. The connecting device of claim 3 , wherein the coating mechanism comprises a second coating element covering a second side of the rotating mechanism and the second end of the supporting component is connected with a second inner side wall of the second coating element such that the supporting component supports the first coating element and the second coating element therebetween.

5. The connecting device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one connecting column has a circular, rectangular, or elliptical cross-section.

6. The connecting device of claim 1 , wherein a spacing among the connecting columns is set according to the material properties of the first coating element and the second coating element.

7. The connecting device of claim 1 , wherein the connecting columns are divided into several groups that are arranged at an interval along a transverse axis of the rotating mechanism.

8. The connecting device of claim 1 , wherein the coating mechanism is a flexible coating part made of silica gel.

9. The connecting device of claim 1 , wherein the strength of the inner side wall of the coating mechanism is lower than that of an outer side wall of the coating mechanism.

10. The connecting device of claim 9 , wherein the strength of a first material used to produce the inner side wall is lower than that of a second material used to produce the outer side wall.

11. The connecting device of claim 9 , wherein the inner side wall is arranged with at least one groove that expands towards the inner side wall to induce the coating mechanism to bend towards the outer side wall when the first main body and the second main body are driven by the rotation of the rotating mechanism to bend towards the outer side wall.

12. The connecting device of claim 11 , wherein the coating mechanism comprises a first coating element for covering the first side of the rotating mechanism that comprises a first inner side wall with a plurality of first grooves and a first outer side wall.

13. The connecting device of claim 12 , wherein the coating mechanism comprises a second coating element for covering a second side of the rotating mechanism that comprises a second side wall with a plurality of second grooves.

14. The connecting device of claim 11 , wherein the groove extends in a direction generally parallel to a transverse axis of the rotating mechanism.

15. The connecting device of claim 13 , wherein a number of each of the first groove and the second groove are more than one, and a spacing between the first grooves and the spacing between the second grooves are set according to material properties of the first coating element and the second coating element.

16. The connecting device of claim 13 , wherein a number of each of the first groove and the second groove are more than one, and both the first grooves and the second grooves are divided into several groups that are arranged at an interval along a transverse axis of the rotating mechanism.

17. The connecting device of claim 11 , wherein the supporting component and the groove are arranged alternatively along the transverse axis of the rotating mechanism.

18. The connecting device of claim 11 , wherein the supporting component and the groove are arranged alternatively in a direction orthogonal to a transverse axis of the rotating mechanism.

19. The connecting device of claim 11 , wherein the supporting component is connected with a ridge of the groove.

20. An electronic apparatus comprising the connecting device according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first main body and the second main body is fitted with a display screen, or the first main body and the second main body are fitted with an integral display screen that can be bent freely at a part corresponding to the connecting device.

21. The electronic apparatus of claim 20 , wherein if the at least one of the first main body and the second main body is fitted with a display screen, the electronic apparatus is provided with an additional small display screen configured to display information that contains prompting or aiding content at least at one side of a part of the electronic apparatus corresponding to the connecting device; or
if the first main body and the second main body are fitted with an integral display screen, the part of the integral display screen corresponding to the connecting device can display as a small display screen for displaying information that contains prompting or aiding content and/or the electronic apparatus is fitted with an additional small display screen configured to display information that contains prompting or aiding content at the other side of the connecting device.

Assignees

• Lenovo Beijing Co Ltd

Inventors

• Xin Zhifeng
• Xia Xiaosong

Classifications

• G06F1/1681 Primary

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

• G06F1/1652

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

• E05Y2800/344

  elastically · CPC title

• E05D1/02

  made of one piece · CPC title

• G06F1/1616

  with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position · CPC title