Flexible screen assembly and terminal

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9971383-B2
Application number	US-201515538838-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 23, 2015
Priority date	Dec 23, 2014
Publication date	May 15, 2018
Grant date	May 15, 2018

Abstract

A flexible screen assembly and a terminal are provided. The flexible screen assembly may include a first sliding element, a second sliding element, and a flexible screen. The second sliding element is slidably connected to the first sliding element, and may be slid to a first state of being overlapped with the first sliding element, and to a second state of being unfolded with respect to the first sliding element. The flexible screen is connected to the first sliding element and the second sliding element. In the first state, a portion of the flexible screen covers the second sliding element, and another portion is received into the first sliding element or the second sliding element. In the second state, the flexible screen is unfolded on the first sliding element and the second sliding element.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A flexible screen assembly, comprising:
a first sliding element;
a second sliding element slidably connected to the first sliding element, and being slidable to a first state that the second sliding element is overlapped with the first sliding element, and to a second state that the second sliding element is unfolded with respect to the first sliding element; and
a flexible screen connected to the first sliding element and the second sliding element;
wherein in the first state, a portion of the flexible screen covers the second sliding element, and another portion of the flexible screen is received into the first sliding element or the second sliding element;
wherein in the second state, the flexible screen is unfolded on the first sliding element and the second sliding element.

2. The flexible screen assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first sliding element is provided with a first rotation shaft, a side edge of the flexible screen adjacent to the first sliding element is fixed to a peripheral side of the first rotation shaft, and the first rotation shaft is operable to wind or unfold a portion of the flexible screen adjacent to the first sliding element.

3. The flexible screen assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first sliding element is provided with a first rotation shaft, a side edge of the flexible screen adjacent to the first sliding element bypasses a peripheral side of the first rotation shaft, a first elastic element is connected between the flexible screen and the first sliding element, and the first elastic element is operable to provide a restoring force to receive the flexible screen into the first sliding element.

4. The flexible screen assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first sliding element further comprises a first extension surface, the second sliding element further comprises a second extension surface, in the second state, the second extension surface and the first extension surface are coplanar and have the same orientation, and the flexible screen is unfolded on the first extension surface and the second extension surface.

5. The flexible screen assembly of claim 4 , wherein the first sliding element comprises a first inner side surface, and an included angle is defined between the first inner side surface and the first extension surface; the second sliding element comprises a second inner side surface, and an included angle is defined between the second inner side surface and the second extension surface; when the second sliding element is slid to the second state, the first inner side surface and the second inner side surface have opposite orientations and fit with each other.

6. The flexible screen assembly of claim 5 , wherein the included angle between the first inner side surface and the first extension surface is an obtuse angle.

7. The flexible screen assembly of claim 5 , wherein a side of the first sliding element opposite to the first inner side surface is provided with a second rotation shaft, the second rotation shaft is adjacent to the first extension surface, and is axially parallel to the first rotation shaft, and the flexible screen bypasses a peripheral side portion of the second rotation shaft and extends to the first extension surface.

8. The flexible screen assembly of claim 5 , wherein the first inner side surface is provided with a first fixing element, the second inner side surface is provided with a second fixing element, and when the first inner side surface fits with the second inner side surface, the first fixing element is fixedly connected to the second fixing element.

9. The flexible screen assembly of claim 5 , wherein the first inner side surface is provided with a first positioning portion, the second inner side surface is provided with a second positioning portion, and when the first inner side surface fits with the second inner side surface, the first positioning portion engages with the second positioning portion.

10. The flexible screen assembly of claim 5 , wherein the first extension surface is provided with a third fixing element, a side of the second sliding element facing away from the second extension surface is provided with a fourth fixing element, and when the second sliding element is slid to the first state, the third fixing element is fixedly connected to the fourth fixing element.

11. The flexible screen assembly of claim 1 , wherein the flexible screen assembly further comprises a second elastic element, and the second elastic element is elastically connected between the first sliding element and the second sliding element to provide an elastic force to the second sliding element sliding from the first state to the second state.

12. The flexible screen assembly of claim 1 , wherein the flexible screen assembly further comprises a connecting rod, an end of the connecting rod is rotatable and is slidably connected to the first sliding element, and another end of the connecting rod is rotatably connected to the second sliding element, wherein following sliding of the second sliding element relative to the first sliding element, the connecting rod is slid relative to the first sliding element, and the connecting rod is rotated relative to the first sliding element and the second sliding element when the second sliding element is slid from the state that the second sliding element is overlapped with the first sliding element to the state that the second sliding element is unfolded with respect to the first sliding element.

13. The flexible screen assembly of claim 12 , wherein the first sliding element defines a sliding slot, a first connecting rod rotation shaft is slidably connected in the sliding slot, the first connecting rod rotation shaft is rotatably connected to an end of the connecting rod, the second sliding element is provided with a second connecting rod rotation shaft parallel to the first connecting rod rotation shaft, and the second connecting rod rotation shaft is rotatably connected to another end of the connecting rod.

14. The flexible screen assembly of claim 13 , wherein an end of the first sliding element is provided with a first limiting portion adjacent to the sliding slot, and in the second state, the first limiting portion abuts against a peripheral side of the connecting rod to prevent further rotation of the connecting rod relative to the first sliding element.

15. The flexible screen assembly of claim 13 , wherein the second sliding element is provided with a second limiting portion at a position adjacent to the second connecting rod rotation shaft, and in the second state, the second limiting portion abuts against a peripheral side of the connecting rod to prevent further rotation of the connecting rod relative to the second sliding element.

16. The flexible screen assembly of claim 13 , wherein the first sliding element is provided with an abutment portion outside the sliding slot, a third elastic element is connected between the abutment portion and the first connecting rod rotation shaft, and the third elastic element is operable to provide a pushing force to the first connecting rod rotation shaft sliding to two ends of the sliding slot.

17. The flexible screen assembly of claim 1 , wherein the flexible screen assembly further comprises a first connector, a second connector, and a fourth elastic element, the first sliding element is provided with a first guiding mechanism, the first sliding element is slidably connected to the first guiding mechanism along a first direction, and under guidance of the first guiding mechanism, the first sliding element is slidable to a first pos

Assignees

• Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co Ltd
• Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co Ltd

Inventors

• Liu Zihong
• Zou Xiang
• Yang Songling

Classifications

• G09F9/301 Primary

  flexible foldable or roll-able electronic displays, e.g. thin LCD, OLED · CPC title

• G06F1/1652 Primary

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

• G06F1/1647

  including at least an additional display (G06F1/1692 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F1/1624 Primary

  with sliding enclosures, e.g. sliding keyboard or display · CPC title

• G06F1/1643

  the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads (details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615) · CPC title