CN113163030A

CN113163030A - Folding mechanism, support structure and electronic equipment

Info

Publication number: CN113163030A
Application number: CN202110297139.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 赵智强; 张恒; 成东村
Original assignee: Vivo Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Current assignee: Vivo Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-03-19
Filing date: 2021-03-19
Publication date: 2021-07-23
Anticipated expiration: 2041-03-19
Also published as: CN113163030B

Abstract

The application discloses folding mechanism, supporting structure and electronic equipment belongs to communication equipment technical field. The folding mechanism comprises a first screen supporting plate, a second screen supporting plate, a third screen supporting plate rotatably arranged on the first screen supporting plate, a fourth screen supporting plate rotatably arranged on the second screen supporting plate, a first shell seat rotatably matched with the first screen supporting plate, a second shell seat rotatably matched with the second screen supporting plate and a base part; the first shell seat and the second shell seat are rotatably connected with the base; in an unfolded state, the first sides of the third screen support plate and the fourth screen support plate, and the first sides of the first screen support plate and the second screen support plate are positioned between the second sides, and the first surfaces of the third screen support plate and the fourth screen support plate are flush; in the folded state, the spacing between the first side edges is greater than the spacing between the second side edges. Above-mentioned folding mechanism can solve present interior folding type electronic equipment and cause the problem that the life of display screen is shorter because of forming the crease easily on the display screen.

Description

Folding mechanism, support structure and electronic equipment

Technical Field

The application belongs to the technical field of communication equipment, and particularly relates to a folding mechanism, a support structure and electronic equipment.

Background

With the progress of technology, the types of electronic devices such as mobile phones are becoming more diversified, such as tablet type, slide type and foldable type, wherein the foldable type electronic devices are more popular with consumers due to their advantages such as large display area and portability. Foldable electronic devices are generally classified into an outward folding type and an inward folding type, and the inward folding type can provide better protection effect for a display screen and is adopted by more manufacturers. However, in the process of the display screen being folded inwards, creases are easily formed on the display screen, resulting in a short service life of the display screen.

Disclosure of Invention

The application discloses folding mechanism, supporting structure and electronic equipment to solve present infolding formula electronic equipment and because of forming the crease easily on the display screen, cause the shorter problem of life of display screen.

In order to solve the above problem, the embodiments of the present application are implemented as follows:

in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application discloses a folding mechanism, which includes a first screen support plate, a second screen support plate, a third screen support plate, a fourth screen support plate, a first housing seat, a second housing seat, and a base;

the first shell seat is arranged on the first screen supporting plate, and the first screen supporting plate is in running fit with the first shell seat;

the second shell seat is arranged on the second screen supporting plate, and the second screen supporting plate is in running fit with the second shell seat;

the third screen supporting plate is rotatably arranged on the first screen supporting plate, and the fourth screen supporting plate is rotatably arranged on the second screen supporting plate;

the base part is provided with a plurality of first rotating parts, and the first shell seat and the second shell seat are in one-to-one corresponding rotating connection with the first rotating parts through respective second rotating parts;

the folding mechanism has an unfolded state and a folded state, in the unfolded state, respective first sides of the first screen support plate and the second screen support plate are located between respective second sides, the third screen support plate and the fourth screen support plate are located between the first screen support plate and the second screen support plate, and the first screen support plate, the second screen support plate, the third screen support plate and the fourth screen support plate are respectively arranged in a flush manner on a first surface deviating from the base part;

under folded state, first screen backup pad with the second screen backup pad is respective interval between the first side is greater than first screen backup pad with the second screen backup pad is respective interval between the second side.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application discloses a support structure, which includes a first housing, a second housing, and the folding mechanism of the first aspect,

the first shell seat is fixedly connected with the first shell, and inclined avoiding support surfaces are arranged on the first shell and one side, facing the first screen support plate, of the first shell seat;

the second shell seat is fixedly connected with the second shell, and inclined avoiding support surfaces are arranged on the second shell and one side, facing the second screen support plate, of the second shell seat;

under folded state, first screen backup pad with the second screen backup pad supports respectively corresponding on the holding surface is dodged in the slope.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application discloses an electronic device, including a flexible display screen and the support structure of the second aspect, the flexible display screen is mounted on the support structure, and the flexible display screen can be supported by the first casing, the second casing, the first screen support plate, the second screen support plate, the third screen support plate and the fourth screen support plate.

The embodiment of the application provides a folding mechanism, and it includes first screen backup pad, second screen backup pad, third screen backup pad, fourth screen backup pad, first casing seat, second casing seat and basal portion, and first screen backup pad rotates with first casing seat to be connected, and second screen backup pad rotates with second casing seat to be connected, and third screen backup pad rotates with first screen backup pad to be connected, and fourth screen backup pad rotates with second screen backup pad to be connected. The first shell seat and the second shell seat are rotatably connected with the base, the first screen supporting plate and the second screen supporting plate can rotate relatively along with the first shell seat and the second shell seat, the first screen supporting plate can also rotate relatively to the first shell seat, and the second screen supporting plate can rotate relatively to the second shell seat, so that the folding mechanism can be switched between the folded state and the unfolded state.

Under the expansion state, first screen backup pad and the respective first side of second screen backup pad all are located between respective second side, and third screen backup pad and fourth screen backup pad all are located between first screen backup pad and the second screen backup pad, first screen backup pad, the second screen backup pad, third screen backup pad and fourth screen backup pad deviate from the first surface parallel and level setting of basal portion respectively, thereby for electronic equipment's first display module assembly etc. provide reliable supporting role, guarantee that first display module assembly can be in the exhibition flat state, provide great display area for the user.

Under fold condition, the interval between the respective first side of first screen backup pad and second screen backup pad, be greater than the interval between the respective second side, thereby make first screen backup pad and second screen backup pad form flaring column structure, and the flaring of aforementioned flaring column structure is towards the base, in the in-process of being folded along with folding mechanism, the mid portion through making first display module holds in first screen backup pad and second screen backup pad formation flaring column structure department, can make the mid portion of first display module by folding degree less relatively, thereby can prevent to form the crease as far as possible on display screens such as first display module, promote the life of display screen. In addition, in the using process of the electronic equipment adopting the folding mechanism, the whole size of the electronic equipment in the folded state is relatively small, the portability is relatively high, and the electronic equipment is convenient for a user to carry.

In addition, through setting up third screen backup pad and fourth screen backup pad for between first screen backup pad and the third screen backup pad, between second screen backup pad and the fourth screen backup pad, and the clearance between third screen backup pad and the fourth screen backup pad all is littleer relatively, and can reduce to a certain extent in the folding mechanism under the state of expanding, the interval between first screen backup pad and second screen backup pad and the basal portion reduces folding mechanism's thickness, and then reduces the thickness of the electronic equipment that adopts this folding mechanism. Simultaneously, can separate the first display module assembly of basal portion and electronic equipment with the help of third screen backup pad and fourth screen backup pad to prevent that first display module assembly is impaired, promote first display module assembly's life.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the application and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the application and together with the description serve to explain the application and not to limit the application. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a folding mechanism disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a portion of a folding mechanism including a base as disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the structure shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a portion of the structure of the folding mechanism disclosed in the embodiments of the present application;

fig. 5 is an exploded view of a part of the structure of the folding mechanism including the third screen support plate disclosed in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure in an electronic device disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of an electronic device disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device in an unfolded state according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a portion of the structure shown in FIG. 8;

fig. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device in an unfolded state according to an embodiment of the present application.

Description of reference numerals:

110-first shell, 120-second shell, 130-first back plate, 140-second back plate,

201-a first surface, 202-a second surface, 203-a first side, 210-a first screen support panel, 220-a second screen support panel, 230-a third screen support panel, 240-a fourth screen support panel, 250-a fifth screen support panel,

302-a second rotating part, 303-an avoiding groove, 310-a first shell seat, 320-a second shell seat,

410-a base part, 411-a receiving groove, 412-a first rotating part, 420-a cover body,

510-third rotating part, 520-fourth rotating part, 530-fifth rotating part, 540-sixth rotating part,

610-the first display module,

711-a first limiting member, 712-a second limiting member, 713-a third limiting member, 714-a mounting member, 720-an elastic member, 731-a first cam sleeve, 732-a second cam sleeve, 733-a connecting rod, 741-a first synchronous swing arm, 742-a second synchronous swing arm, 751-a first connecting shaft, 752-a second connecting shaft, 770-a snap spring, 781-a first meshing tooth, 782-a second meshing tooth, 791-a first gear, 792-a second gear.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more apparent, the technical solutions of the present application will be described in detail and completely with reference to the following specific embodiments of the present application and the accompanying drawings. It should be apparent that the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Technical solutions disclosed in the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in fig. 1 to 10, the present application discloses a folding mechanism, a support structure, and an electronic device. The electronic device may be a foldable electronic device, and the electronic device may include the first display module 610 and the above-mentioned support structure, and the support structure may include the first housing 110, the second housing 120 and the above-mentioned folding mechanism, and the above-mentioned folding mechanism is adopted, so that the electronic device can be switched between the folded state and the unfolded state.

As shown in fig. 5, the folding mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present application includes a first screen support plate 210, a second screen support plate 220, a third screen support plate 230, a fourth screen support plate 240, a first housing seat 310, a second housing seat 320, and a base 410. In order to improve the symmetry of the folding mechanism and the folding performance of the entire folding mechanism, the first screen supporting plate 210 and the second screen supporting plate 220 can be symmetrically arranged and respectively arranged on the two opposite sides of the base 410, and the third screen supporting plate 230 and the fourth screen supporting plate 240 can be symmetrically arranged and also respectively arranged on the two opposite sides of the base 410, wherein the third screen supporting plate 230 is arranged on the same side as the first screen supporting plate 210, and the fourth screen supporting plate 240 is arranged on the same side as the second screen supporting plate 220; correspondingly, the first housing seat 310 and the second housing seat 320 are symmetrically arranged, and the first rotating portion 412 on the base portion 410, which is matched with the first housing seat 310, and the first rotating portion 412 on the base portion 410, which is matched with the second housing seat 320, are also symmetrically arranged.

The base 410 is the basic structural member of the folding mechanism, and the base 410 can provide a mounting base for other components of the folding mechanism, such that the other components of the folding mechanism are mounted directly or indirectly on the base 410. Optionally, the base 410 is a thin plate to reduce the footprint. Specifically, the base 410 may be a metal plate, which may provide sufficient strength to the base 410 at a smaller thickness, and thus may not affect the support performance of the base 410.

The base portion 410 is provided with a plurality of first rotating portions 412, the first housing seat 310 and the second housing seat 320 each include a second rotating portion 302, and the plurality of second rotating portions 302 and the plurality of first rotating portions 412 can be mutually matched in a one-to-one correspondence manner, so that the first housing seat 310 and the second housing seat 320 can form a stable rotating matching relationship with the base portion 410, and the first housing seat 310 can be integrally connected with the second housing seat 320 through the base portion 410.

Specifically, the number of the first rotating portions 412 may be two, one of the two first rotating portions 412 is engaged with the second rotating portion 302 of the first housing seat 310, and the other is engaged with the second rotating portion 302 of the second housing seat 320, in which case, the two second rotating portions 302 may be symmetrically disposed on the base portion 410 to ensure better folding performance of the folding mechanism. Of course, in the case where the number of the first rotating portions 412 engaged with the first housing seat 310 is plural, the aforementioned plural first rotating portions 412 may be arranged at intervals in the axial direction of the base portion 410, that is, the rotational axis direction of the second rotating portion 302. Correspondingly, the number of the first rotating portions 412 engaged with the second housing seat 320 may be plural. By adopting the technical scheme, the reliability of the connection relationship and the rotation matching relationship between the first shell seat 310 and the second shell seat 320 can be further improved. Here, the rotation axial direction of the second rotation portion 302 may be a direction a in fig. 1.

The first rotating portion 412 and the second rotating portion 302 are rotating structural members that are engaged with each other, for example, they may be shaft hole engaging structures. In another embodiment of the present application, one of the first rotating portion 412 and the second rotating portion 302 may be an arc-shaped groove-shaped structure, and the other may be an arc-shaped block-shaped structure, in which case, the stability of the rotating fit relationship between the first rotating portion 412 and the second rotating portion 302 may be improved to some extent. Also, the base portion 410 may be an arc-shaped structural member to provide a better foundation for the first rotating portion 412 and to reduce the overall size of the base portion 410.

As shown in fig. 1 to 5, the first housing seat 310 is disposed on the first screen supporting plate 210, and the first screen supporting plate 210 is rotatably engaged with the first housing seat 310. The second housing seat 320 is disposed on the second screen supporting plate 220, and the second screen supporting plate 220 is rotatably engaged with the second housing seat 320. In the case that the folding mechanism is applied to an electronic device, the first screen supporting plate 210 and the second screen supporting plate 220 can provide a supporting function for the first display module 610. In order to prevent the existence of the first housing seat 310 and the second housing seat 320 from affecting the supported effect of the first display module 610, the first housing seat 310 is disposed on a side of the first screen supporting plate 210 departing from the first display module 610, and correspondingly, the second housing seat 320 is disposed on a side of the second screen supporting plate 220 departing from the first display module 610. Alternatively, the first housing seat 310 and the first screen support plate 210, and the second housing seat 320 and the second screen support plate 220 may be rotatably coupled by a shaft hole or the like. In addition, the maximum relative rotation angle between the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first housing seat 310 can be equal to the maximum relative rotation angle between the second screen supporting plate 220 and the second housing seat 320, so that the symmetry of the whole folding mechanism is better, and the overall performance of the folding mechanism is improved.

Optionally, the third screen supporting plate 230 is rotatably mounted on the first screen supporting plate 210, so that the third screen supporting plate 230 can be driven to rotate together while the first screen supporting plate 210 rotates with the first housing seat 310; correspondingly, the fourth screen supporting plate 240 is rotatably mounted on the second screen supporting plate 220, so that the fourth screen supporting plate 240 can be driven to rotate together with the second casing seat 320 in the process that the second screen supporting plate 220 rotates along with the second casing seat 320. Specifically, the shape of the third screen supporting plate 230 and the fourth screen supporting plate 240 can be determined according to actual requirements, for example, both of them can be long strip-shaped structural members, and the third screen supporting plate 230 can be rotatably mounted on the first screen supporting plate 210 by means of the shaft hole matching structure, and the fourth screen supporting plate 240 can be correspondingly rotatably mounted on the second screen supporting plate 220. Of course, the third screen supporting plate 230 and the fourth screen supporting plate 240 may be in structures with other shapes, and any corresponding one of the above structures may form a rotation fit relationship through another rotation component.

The folding mechanism has an unfolded state and a folded state, and the entire folding mechanism can be switched between the folded state and the unfolded state by relatively moving both the first case base 310 and the second case base 320 on the basis of the base 410. Also, during the state switching process of the folding mechanism, not only do the first screen supporting plate 210 and the second screen supporting plate 220 move relative to the base 410, but also, as shown in fig. 9 and-10, relative movement is generated between the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first housing seat 310, and between the second screen supporting plate 220 and the second housing seat 320.

The first screen supporting plate 210 and the second screen supporting plate 220 both have a first side 203 and a second side which are opposite to each other, the first screen supporting plate 210 and the second screen supporting plate 220 both have a first surface 201 and a second surface 202 which are opposite to each other, the first surfaces 201 of the first screen supporting plate 210 and the second screen supporting plate 220 are away from the base 410, that is, the first screen supporting plate 210 and the second screen supporting plate 220 are both arranged on the same side of the base 410, each first surface 201 is used as a screen supporting surface to support the first display module 610 and the like, and in the first screen supporting plate 210 and the second screen supporting plate 220, the second surface 202 which is opposite to the first surface 201 is arranged towards the base 410. Correspondingly, the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 are also provided with a first surface 201 and a second surface 202,

with reference to fig. 9 and 10, in the unfolded state, the respective first sides 203 of the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 are located between the respective second sides, and the respective first surfaces 201 of the first screen support plate 210, the second screen support plate 220, the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 facing away from the base 410 are arranged flush. Also, in the unfolded state, the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 are both positioned between the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220, and specifically, the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 may be integrally positioned between the second sides of the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220, or the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 may be positioned between a partial structure of the first screen support plate 210 and a corresponding partial structure of the second screen support plate 220.

As shown in fig. 10, in the folded state, the interval between the respective first sides 203 of the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 is larger than the interval between the respective second sides of the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220.

In detail, in the unfolded state, the first screen support plate 210, the second screen support plate 220, the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 are disposed in parallel and level, so that the four support plates can provide a supporting function for the first display module 610, and the first display module 610 can be stably maintained in the unfolded state. Referring to fig. 9 and 10, in the process of switching the folding mechanism from the unfolded state to the folded state, the relative rotation angle of the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 is greater than 180 °, so that in the folded state, the distance between the respective first side edges 203 of the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 is greater than the distance between the respective second side edges.

In addition, as described above, the folding mechanism may be applied to the supporting structure, and when the supporting structure is folded to the folded state along with the folding mechanism, as shown in fig. 10, the first casing 110 and the second casing 120 are stacked, and the respective screen supporting surfaces of the first casing 110 and the second casing 120 are arranged in parallel, so as to ensure that the two portions of the first display module 610 supported by the first casing 110 and the second casing 120 are also parallel to each other. In the process of assembling the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first housing seat 310, a rotating connection structure (such as a rotating component mentioned below) between the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first housing seat 310 may be disposed at a position of the first screen supporting plate 210 close to the first side 203 thereof, so that when the first screen supporting plate 210 rotates relative to the first housing seat 310, the first screen supporting plate 210 can basically use the second side of itself as an axis, and when the first side 203 of the first screen supporting plate 210 rotates towards the direction close to the first housing seat 310, the second side of the first screen supporting plate 210 rotates towards the direction away from the first housing seat 310, which is prevented, and the first screen supporting plate 210 can always provide a good supporting effect for the components such as the first display module 610. Correspondingly, the above embodiment can also be referred to in the process of assembling the second screen supporting plate 220 and the second housing seat 320.

Based on the above, as shown in fig. 10, the distance between the respective second side edges of the first and second

screen support plates

210 and 220 is equal to or substantially equal to the distance between the respective screen support surfaces of the first and

second casings

110 and 120 in the stand structure in the folded state. Therefore, it can also be considered that, in the folded state, the interval between the first sides 203 of the first and second

screen support plates

210 and 220 is larger than the interval between the first and

second housings

110 and 120.

More specifically, a specific value of the interval between the respective first side edges 203 of the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 in the folding mechanism in the folded state may be determined according to parameters such as the width of the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220, which is a direction perpendicular to the rotational axial direction of the second rotating portion 302, and more specifically, may be the direction B in fig. 9.

It should be noted that, in order to ensure that the relative rotation angle between the first screen supporting plate 210 and the second screen supporting plate 220 can exceed 180 °, it is necessary to ensure that the first screen supporting plate 210 can move relative to the first housing seat 310, and it is necessary to ensure that the second screen supporting plate 220 can move relative to the second housing seat 320. More specifically, in order to achieve the foregoing object, parameters such as specific structures and/or installation positions of the base 410, the first housing seat 310, the second housing seat 320, and the like may be limited.

Taking the first screen supporting plate 210 as an example, in the unfolded state, as shown in fig. 9 and in combination with fig. 10, it is necessary to ensure that the portion between the rotational connection position of the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first casing seat 310 to the first side 203 of the first screen supporting plate 210 is spaced from the first casing seat 310, the base 410, the first casing 110, and the like, so as to provide an avoiding space for the first screen supporting plate 210 to rotate in the direction close to the first casing seat 310. Similarly, the same is true in designing and arranging the second housing seat 320, the base 410, and the second housing 120 corresponding to the second screen supporting plate 220.

In order to minimize the thickness of the entire folding structure and thus the overall thickness of the electronic device during the design of the folding mechanism, the distance between the first screen support plate 210 and the base 410 in the unfolded state may be appropriately reduced, in which case, since the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 are disposed between the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220, the center of the base 410 in the direction B in fig. 9 and the first side 203 of the first screen support plate 210 have a predetermined size in the direction B in fig. 9, so that the first screen support plate 210 and the base 410 may be prevented from interfering with each other as much as possible during the rotation of the first screen support plate 210 relative to the base 410.

As described above, in the process of rotating the first and second

screen support plates

210 and 220 from the unfolded state to the folded state, the third and fourth

screen support plates

230 and 240 may rotate together with the first and second screen support plates. Furthermore, in the aforementioned rotation process, as shown in fig. 10, the third screen support plate 230 can rotate relative to the first screen support plate 210, so that even if the third screen support plate 230 is interfered by the base 410 and other parts, the rotation process of the first screen support plate 210 relative to the base 410 is not hindered, and the first screen support plate 210 can be ensured to rotate to the preset position. Correspondingly, the fourth screen supporting plate 240 may also be designed correspondingly with reference to the third screen supporting plate 230.

The embodiment of the application provides a folding mechanism, which comprises a first screen supporting plate 210, a second screen supporting plate 220, a third screen supporting plate 230, a fourth screen supporting plate 240, a first shell seat 310, a second shell seat 320 and a base part 410, wherein the first screen supporting plate 210 is rotatably connected with the first shell seat 310, the second screen supporting plate 220 is rotatably connected with the second shell seat 320, the third screen supporting plate 230 is rotatably connected with the first screen supporting plate 210, and the fourth screen supporting plate 240 is rotatably connected with the second screen supporting plate 220. The first housing seat 310 and the second housing seat 320 are rotatably connected to the base 410, the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 may rotate relative to the first housing seat 310 and the second housing seat 320, the first screen support plate 210 may also rotate relative to the first housing seat 310, and the second screen support plate 220 may rotate relative to the second housing seat 320, so that the folding mechanism may be switched between the folded state and the unfolded state.

Under the expanded state, first side 203 of first screen backup pad 210 and second screen backup pad 220 is all located between respective second side, and third screen backup pad 230 and fourth screen backup pad 240 are all located between first screen backup pad 210 and second screen backup pad 220, first screen backup pad 210, second screen backup pad 220, third screen backup pad 230 and fourth screen backup pad 240 deviate from the first surface 201 parallel and level setting of basal portion 410 respectively, thereby for electronic equipment's first display module group 610 etc. provide reliable supporting role, guarantee that first display module group 610 can be in the flat state of exhibition, provide great display area for the user.

In the folded state, the distance between the respective first sides 203 of the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 is greater than the distance between the respective second sides, so that the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 form a flared structure, and the flare of the flared structure faces the base 410, in the process of being folded along with the folding mechanism, the middle part of the first display module 610 is accommodated in the flared structure formed by the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220, so that the folded degree of the middle part of the first display module 610 is relatively small, thereby preventing creases from being formed on the display screens such as the first display module 610 and the like as much as possible, and prolonging the service life of the display screens. In addition, in the using process of the electronic equipment adopting the folding mechanism, the whole size of the electronic equipment in the folded state is relatively small, the portability is relatively high, and the electronic equipment is convenient for a user to carry.

In addition, by providing the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240, gaps between the first screen support plate 210 and the third screen support plate 230, between the second screen support plate 220 and the fourth screen support plate 240, and between the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 are relatively smaller, and in the folding mechanism in the unfolded state, the distance between the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 and the base 410 can be reduced to some extent, the thickness of the folding mechanism is reduced, and thus the thickness of the electronic device employing the folding mechanism is reduced. Meanwhile, the base 410 and the first display module 610 of the electronic device may be separated by the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240, thereby preventing the first display module 610 from being damaged and improving the service life of the first display module.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 1 and 3, the folding mechanism provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include a first connecting shaft 751, a second connecting shaft 752, a first synchronization swing arm 741 and a second synchronization swing arm 742, wherein the first synchronization swing arm 741 is in limit-fit with the first connecting shaft 751 in the rotation direction of the second rotating portion 302, and the second synchronization swing arm 742 is in limit-fit with the second connecting shaft 752 in the rotation direction of the second rotating portion 302. Specifically, the first connecting shaft 751 and the second connecting shaft 752 can be rotatably connected to the base 410, the first synchronization swing arm 741 can be sleeved on the first connecting shaft 751, and the second synchronization swing arm 742 can be sleeved on the second connecting shaft 752, so that the two sets of components can be in an interference fit relationship. In another embodiment of the present application, the first synchronization swing arm 741 and the first connection shaft 751 may be connected to form a limit fitting relationship through a key, and correspondingly, the second synchronization swing arm 742 and the second connection shaft 752 may be connected to form a limit fitting relationship through a key, which may further improve the stability of the limit fitting relationship.

Meanwhile, the first synchronization swing arm 741 is engaged with the first housing seat 310, the second synchronization swing arm 742 is engaged with the second housing seat 320, the first synchronization swing arm 741 and the second synchronization swing arm 742 are connected by a gear synchronization mechanism, and the first housing seat 310 and the second housing seat 320 rotate synchronously by the gear synchronization mechanism. Under the condition of adopting the technical scheme, the capability of synchronous rotation between the first screen supporting plate 210 and the second screen supporting plate 220 can be ensured, so that no matter which one of the first screen supporting plate and the second screen supporting plate is driven, the other one can be driven to rotate relative to the base part 410 through a gear synchronous mechanism and the like, the rotation angles of the first screen supporting plate 210 and the second screen supporting plate 220 relative to the base part 410 are always the same, and the comprehensive performance of the whole folding mechanism is improved.

Specifically, the fitting relationship between the first synchronization swing arm 741 and the first housing seat 310 may be determined according to actual parameters such as the direction in which the rotational axes of the first connecting shaft 751 and the second rotating portion 302 are located. For example, when the axial direction of the first connecting shaft 751 and the rotational axial direction of the first rotating portion 412 overlap each other, the first synchronization swing arm 741 and the first housing base 310 may be fixed to each other. In another embodiment of the present application, the rotational axis direction of the first connecting shaft 751 and the rotational axis direction of the second rotating part 302 may not coincide, and in this case, it is necessary to enable relative movement between the first synchronization swing arm 741 and the first housing base 310.

Specifically, by providing a sliding slot on one of the first synchronization swinging arm 741 and the first housing seat 310 and providing a sliding rod on the other, the sliding rod and the sliding slot cooperate with each other, so that even if the rotation axis of the first connecting shaft 751 does not coincide with the rotation axis of the second rotating portion 302, the first housing seat 310 can drive the first synchronization swinging arm 741 to rotate together with respect to the base 410. Furthermore, under the action of the gear synchronization mechanism, the second synchronization swing arm 742 can rotate correspondingly, and drive the second housing seat 320 to rotate relative to the base 410, so as to achieve the purpose of synchronously rotating the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220.

Alternatively, the gear synchronizing mechanism includes a first engaging tooth 781 provided on the first connecting shaft 751, a second engaging tooth 782 provided on the second connecting shaft 752, a first gear 791 and a second gear 792, the first engaging tooth 781 and the first gear 791 being engaged, the first gear 791 and the second gear 792 being engaged, and the second gear 792 being engaged with the second engaging tooth 782. By adopting the technical scheme, the first shell seat 310 and the second shell seat 320 can synchronously rotate by using relatively few components.

Specifically, the first connecting shaft 751 and the first engaging teeth 781 may constitute a gear shaft, and correspondingly, the second connecting shaft 752 and the second engaging teeth 782 may also constitute a gear shaft, and since the rotation angle of each of the first housing seat 310 and the second housing seat 320 with respect to the base 410 is usually not greater than 180 °, the first engaging teeth 781 may be made to cover a quarter-turn to a half-turn of the first connecting shaft 751, and correspondingly, the second engaging teeth 782 may be made to cover a quarter-turn to a half-turn of the second connecting shaft 752, which substantially ensures that the first engaging teeth 781 and the second engaging teeth 782 can provide reliable synchronization, and the production cost can be reduced.

Further, the folding mechanism may further include a first cam sleeve 731, a second cam sleeve 732, and an elastic member 720, the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732 are sleeved on the first connecting shaft 751, the first synchronization swing arm 741 is fixed with the first cam sleeve 731, the second cam sleeve 732 is rotatably engaged with the first connecting shaft 751 in the rotating direction of the second rotating portion 302, and the elastic member 720 is in a stretched state or a contracted state when the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732 are relatively rotated.

Specifically, the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732 may have the same structure and are engaged with each other, and during the relative rotation of the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732, the maximum distance between the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732 may be greater than the initial distance (i.e., the minimum distance) between the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732, in which case the elastic member 720 may be stretched or compressed, so that the elastic member 720 can apply an elastic restoring force to the first cam sleeve 731 and/or the second cam sleeve 732, thereby promoting the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732 to return to the engaged state, i.e., the state where the distance between the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732 is minimum.

By adopting the above technical solution, the relative position between the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732 in the engaging state can be designed, so that when the folding mechanism is in the folding state and the unfolding state, both the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732 are in the engaging state, and as long as the folding mechanism is no longer in the folding state or the unfolding state, the distance between the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732 is increased due to the relative rotation, so that the elastic member 720 is stretched or compressed. Therefore, with the above technical solution, the folding mechanism can be easily maintained in the unfolded state and the folded state by the elastic member 720, and the unfolding state or the folded state of the folding mechanism can be prevented from being damaged by a small external force, which brings inconvenience to the user.

Optionally, the folding mechanism further comprises a mounting member 714, and the mounting member 714 is fixed on the base 410, and the mounting member 714 can be fixed on the base 410 by welding or connecting members. The mounting member 714 is provided with a first limiting member 711 and a second limiting member 712 which are opposite and fixed in the rotation axial direction of the second rotation portion 302, the first cam sleeve 731, the second cam sleeve 732 and the elastic member 720 are all arranged between the first limiting member 711 and the second limiting member 712, and the elastic member 720 is arranged on the side of the second cam sleeve 732 away from the first cam sleeve 731. Under the condition of adopting the above technical solution, the first limiting member 711 and the second limiting member 712 can provide a positioning foundation, so that on one hand, the reliability of the elastic member 720 can be improved, and on the other hand, the installation difficulty of the elastic member 720 can be reduced.

In the above-mentioned solution, the relative rotation between the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732 compresses the elastic member 720, so that the elastic member 720 applies an elastic force to the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732 to urge the two to return. In order to further prevent the problem that the folding mechanism is difficult to maintain in the folded state and the unfolded state, the elastic member 720 may be pre-tensioned, that is, the elastic member 720 may be in a compressed state while the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732 are engaged with each other.

Specifically, the first cam sleeve 731 and the first synchronization swing arm 741 may be formed by welding or integral molding, and the first synchronization swing arm 741 may be in a limit-fit relationship with the first connecting shaft 751 through the first cam sleeve 731 in the rotation direction of the second rotation portion 302. More specifically, the first cam sleeve 731 and the first connecting shaft 751 can be connected to each other by a key connection, and the inner circumferential surface of the second cam sleeve 732 can be a circular structural member to ensure that the second cam sleeve 732 can normally rotate relative to the first connecting shaft 751, however, in order to prevent the second cam sleeve 732 from rotating with the first cam sleeve 731 and the first connecting shaft 751 during the rotation of the first connecting shaft 751 with the first synchronizing swing arm 741, the second cam sleeve 732 can optionally be in limit fit with the base 410 in the rotation direction of the second rotating portion 302.

In addition, the first limiting member 711, the second limiting member 712 and the mounting member 714 may be formed in an integral manner, so as to improve the stability of the connection relationship among the three members. The first limiting member 711 and the second limiting member 712 may be provided with a matching hole, and two opposite ends of the first connecting shaft 751 and the second connecting shaft 752 are respectively mounted on the first limiting member 711 and the second limiting member 712. More specifically, the first connecting shaft 751 and the second connecting shaft 752 can be both through holes, and both the first connecting shaft 751 and the second connecting shaft 752 can be passed through the first limiting member 711 and the second limiting member 712, and then both the first connecting shaft 751 and the second connecting shaft 752 can be in stable rotation fit with the mounting member 714 by means of the snap spring 770 and other structures. The first gear 791 and the second gear 792 may also be rotatably mounted on the first limiting member 711 or the second limiting member 712 through a coupling shaft or the like, so that the first gear 791 and the second gear 792 can be stably engaged with the first engaging tooth 781 and the second engaging tooth 782 in a transmission manner.

Optionally, the mounting component 714 is further provided with a third limiting component 713, the third limiting component 713 is located between the first limiting component 711 and the second limiting component 712, specifically, the third limiting component 713 may also be a component integrally formed on the mounting component 714, and a through hole may also be provided on the third limiting component 713, through which the first connecting shaft 751 and the second connecting shaft 752 pass. A first cam sleeve 731, a second cam sleeve 732 and an elastic member 720 are disposed between the first limiting member 711 and the third limiting member 713, and between the second limiting member 712 and the third limiting member 713. With the adoption of the scheme, the stability of the folding mechanism for keeping the folding state and the unfolding state can be further improved. Specifically, the distance between the first limiting member 711 and the third limiting member 713 and the distance between the second limiting member 712 and the third limiting member 713 may be the same, in this case, the parameters such as the structure of each first cam sleeve 731 may also be the same, the parameters such as the structure of each second cam sleeve 732 may also be the same, and the parameters such as the structure of each elastic member 720 may also be the same, thereby reducing the difficulty of spare parts and assembly.

Alternatively, the first cam sleeve 731 is fixed to each of the first and second

synchronization swing arms

741 and 742, and the second cam sleeve 732 and the elastic member 720 are provided to each of the first cam sleeves 731. That is, in the case where the folding mechanism is in the unfolded and folded states, both the side of the first synchronization swing arm 741 and the side of the second synchronization swing arm 742 may be subject to the elastic force of the elastic member 720, which may prevent the folding mechanism from being out of the unfolded and folded states, thereby improving the ability of the folding mechanism to stably maintain the unfolded and folded states. Of course, in both the first synchronization swing arm 741 and the second synchronization swing arm 742, a plurality of sets of the first cam sleeve 731, the second cam sleeve 732 and the elastic member 720 can be provided to cooperate with each other to further enhance the ability of the folding mechanism to maintain the folded state and the unfolded state.

As described above, the second cam sleeve 732 and the base 410 can be brought into a desired limit relationship, so that the second cam sleeve 732 is prevented from rotating with the first cam sleeve 731 when the first cam sleeve 731 rotates, and the first cam sleeve 731 and the second cam sleeve 732 cannot move axially. In the above-described embodiment, in the case where the first synchronization swing arm 741 and the second synchronization swing arm 742 are both provided with the first cam bushes 731, the connecting rod 733 may be provided between the second cam bushes 732 respectively fitted to the two first cam bushes 731, and in this case, on the one hand, the second cam bushes 732 may be mounted together on the first connecting shaft 751 and the second connecting shaft 752, respectively, to reduce the difficulty of assembly, and on the other hand, the two second cam bushes 732 may be provided with the capability of synchronizing operation to further enhance the capability of holding the folding mechanism in the folded state and the unfolded state, and, in addition, the two second cam bushes 732 may be connected via the connecting rod 733, so that it is not necessary to separately provide the second cam bushes 732 with the stopper structure during designing and assembling the second cam bushes 732, and the second cam bushes 732 may be rotated with respect to the first connecting shaft 751 and the second connecting shaft 752, respectively, by the cooperation of the connecting rod 733 and the two second cam bushes 732, it is substantially ensured that the second cam sleeve 732 does not rotate with the rotation of the first cam sleeve 731.

As described above, each of the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 may be a long plate-shaped structural member, and the first screen support plate 210, the second screen support plate 220, the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 may have the same size in the direction a in fig. 1, that is, the four screen support plates may be arranged side by side. Alternatively, in the case where the folding mechanism includes the first and second

synchronizing swing arms

741 and 742, as shown in fig. 5, in another embodiment of the present application, the first and second

screen support plates

210 and 220 are each provided with a first avoidance gap, the third screen support plate 230 is rotatably mounted to the first avoidance gap of the first screen support plate 210, the fourth screen support plate is rotatably mounted to the second avoidance gap of the second screen support plate, a side of the third screen support plate 230 is flush with the first side 203 of the first screen support plate 210, and a side of the fourth screen support plate 240 is flush with the first side 203 of the second screen support plate 220, so that the first and third

screen support plates

210 and 230, and the second and fourth

screen support plates

220 and 240 can correspondingly form a structure with a rectangular or approximately rectangular outer contour, the first display module 610 in the electronic device is reliably supported.

Also, the third screen support plate 230 may be disposed opposite to the first synchronization swing arm 741, and the fourth screen support plate 240 may be disposed opposite to the second synchronization swing arm 742, so that even if the distance between the first synchronization swing arm 741 and the second synchronization swing arm 742 and the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 in the thickness direction of the base 410 is relatively small, the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 may correspondingly provide an avoidance function for the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220, and it is ensured that the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 can rotate to the state shown in fig. 10. Of course, in the above technical solution, the structure for the first housing seat 310, the second housing seat 320 and the base 410 to cooperate needs to be designed, so as to ensure that the positions of the first housing seat 310, the second housing seat 320 and the base 410 corresponding to the above two do not hinder the relative rotation between the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220.

In addition, when the number of the first synchronization swing arm 741 and the second synchronization swing arm 742 is plural, the number of the first avoidance notches of the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 may be plural, and correspondingly, the number of the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 may also be plural.

As described above, a rotation fit relationship can be formed between the first screen supporting plate 210 and the third screen supporting plate 230 through the shaft hole type structure member, optionally, both ends of the first avoiding notch of the first screen supporting plate 210 opposite to each other can be provided with the fifth rotating portion 530, both ends of the third screen supporting plate 230 opposite to each other are provided with the sixth rotating portion 540, one of the fifth rotating portion 530 and the sixth rotating portion 540 is provided with the arc-shaped slot, the other includes the arc-shaped insert block, the arc-shaped slot and the arc-shaped insert block are rotatably connected, the rotation connection purpose between the first screen supporting plate 210 and the third screen supporting plate 230 is realized through the arc-shaped insert block and the arc-shaped slot with a large fit area, and the rotation connection relationship between the first screen supporting plate 210 and the third screen supporting plate 230 can be ensured to be relatively reliable. Correspondingly, the rotational connection relationship between the second screen supporting plate 220 and the fourth screen supporting plate 240 can also be formed by the fifth rotating part 530 and the sixth rotating part 540.

Further, as shown in fig. 1 to 6, the folding mechanism may further include a fifth screen supporting plate 250, the fifth screen supporting plate 250 is mounted on the base 410, and optionally, the fifth screen supporting plate 250 may be fixed on the base 410 by means of bonding, connecting member connection, or the like. The third screen supporting plate 230 and the fourth screen supporting plate 240 are both provided with a second avoidance notch, and in the unfolded state, the fifth screen supporting plate 250 is embedded in the second avoidance notch of the third screen supporting plate 230 and the second avoidance notch of the fourth screen supporting plate 240. With the above technical solution, the size of the gap between the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 can be further reduced, and by means of the respective second avoidance notches of the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240, the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 can better avoid the base 410, the first synchronization swing arm 741, the second synchronization swing arm 742, and the like in the process that the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 rotate relative to the base 410, so as to enlarge the maximum angle at which the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 can rotate relative to the base 410, and further, the gap between the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 can be designed to be smaller, thereby improving the supporting effect of the first display module 610 and other components.

As described above, the fifth screen supporting plate 250 may be fixed on the base 410, and in another embodiment of the present application, the fifth screen supporting plate 250 may be movably coupled on the base 410 in a thickness direction thereof, and specifically, the fifth screen supporting plate 250 may be movably mounted on the base 410 by a pin, so that the fifth screen supporting plate 250 may move relative to the base 410 during the operation of the folding mechanism.

Based on the above, in the unfolded state, the distance between the fifth screen support plate 250 and the base 410 in the thickness direction thereof is the first distance; in the folded state, the fifth screen support plate 250 is spaced apart from the base 410 in the thickness direction thereof by a second distance, which is smaller than the first distance. In a process of switching the folding mechanism from the unfolded state to the folded state, the fifth screen supporting plate 250 moves in a direction close to the base 410; in the process of switching the folding mechanism from the folded state to the unfolded state, the fifth screen support plate 250 moves away from the base 410. Through adopting above-mentioned technical scheme, can further enlarge the accommodation space that is in folding mechanism of fold condition to further prevent first display module assembly because of being folded the problem that produces the crease.

In addition, an elastic member or the like may be disposed between the fifth screen supporting plate 250 and the base 410, so that the first display module may press the fifth screen supporting plate 250 to move in a direction close to the base 410 in a process that the first display module is folded, and the elastic member may drive the fifth screen supporting plate 250 to be reset by its own elastic force in a process that the first display module is gradually unfolded. Alternatively, a power driving unit may be disposed between the fifth screen supporting plate 250 and the base 410, and the power driving unit may drive the fifth screen supporting plate 250 and the base 410 to move toward or away from each other.

In addition, as mentioned above, during the process that the first screen supporting plate 210 rotates with the first housing seat 310 relative to the base 410, the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first housing seat 310 may also rotate relatively. More specifically, in the process that the first screen supporting plate 210 rotates to approach the first housing seat 310, the driving force may be lifted by the flexible display screen in the electronic device; in the process that the first screen supporting plate 210 rotates away from the first housing seat 310, the first screen supporting plate 210 may be driven by an elastic restoring force in a manner of providing an elastic member and the like in the folding mechanism, so that when the first housing seat 310 and the second housing seat 320 rotate to the unfolded state, the first screen supporting plate 210 may be flush with the screen supporting surface of the first housing 110, so as to provide a supporting function for the flexible display screen. In another embodiment of the present application, a power driving device, such as a motor, may be further disposed between the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first casing 110, and the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first casing seat 310 may also be driven to rotate toward or away from each other by the power driving device. Of course, the space between the second housing seat 320 and the second screen supporting plate 220 can be designed and manufactured by referring to any of the above technical solutions.

Based on the above embodiment, optionally, as shown in fig. 5 and 10, one side of each of the third screen supporting plate 230 and the fourth screen supporting plate 240 close to the fifth screen supporting plate 250 is provided with a first overlapping edge, and the two opposite sides of the fifth screen supporting plate 250 are provided with second overlapping edges, and in the unfolded state, each of the second overlapping edges is overlapped on the corresponding first overlapping edge. Specifically, the first and second overlapping edges may be adapted in shape and size to each other, and specifically, both the first and second overlapping edges may be stepped structures to improve stability of the fifth screen support plate 250 overlapping the third and fourth

screen support plates

230 and 240.

In the case of adopting the above technical solution, the fifth screen supporting plate 250 may be overlapped on the third screen supporting plate 230 and the fourth screen supporting plate 240 in the unfolded state. In this case, the third screen support plate 230 and the fourth screen support plate 240 may also provide a driving force for the fifth screen support plate 250 to move relative to the base 410, and further, along with the movement of the folding mechanism, under the condition that the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 can automatically rotate, it is not necessary to provide a driving acting element and the like for the fifth screen support plate 250, so that on one hand, the number of parts in the folding mechanism is reduced, on the other hand, the assembly efficiency of the folding mechanism is improved, and the production cost is reduced.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 1 and 10, the folding mechanism further includes a cover 420, the cover 420 is fixedly connected to a side of the base 410 away from the first screen supporting plate 210, the cover 420 can provide a protective effect for the base 410, and the cover 420 can be used to shield the folding mechanism, so that when the folding mechanism is applied to an electronic device, the number of exposed components of the electronic device is reduced as much as possible, on one hand, the appearance performance of the electronic device is improved, on the other hand, the dust-proof and water-proof performance of the electronic device can be improved, and the reliability of the electronic device is improved. The cover 420 may be fixed to the base 410 by bonding, and in another embodiment of the present application, the base 410 and the cover 420 may be detachably fixed and connected together by a screw connector such as a screw, so as to improve the connection reliability between the two.

Meanwhile, in the folded state, the projection of the cover body 420 in the plane where the distribution directions of the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 and the rotation axis of the second rotation portion 302 are located covers the third screen support plate 230, the fourth screen support plate 240, the first housing seat 310, the second housing seat 320 and the base portion 410, so as to ensure that the cover body 420 has a good shielding effect. It should be noted that the distribution direction of the first screen supporting plate 210 and the second screen supporting plate 220 may be the direction B in fig. 9.

Specifically, the structure, size, installation position and other parameters of the cover body 420 may be designed according to the specific structure, size and other parameters of other components in the folding mechanism, so that when the folding mechanism is in the folded state and the folding mechanism is viewed from the side where the cover body 420 is located, the third screen support plate 230, the fourth screen support plate 240, the first housing seat 310, the second housing seat 320 and the base portion 410 in the folding mechanism can be shielded by the cover body 420. More specifically, in order to improve the shielding effect of the cover body 420 on other components, as shown in fig. 7, the cover body 420 may be made as an arc-shaped structural member as a whole, which may also improve the connection tightness between the cover body 420 and the first casing 110 and the second casing 120 in the supporting structure, and further improve the sealing performance of the supporting structure and the electronic device.

Further, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the first housing seat 310 and/or the second housing seat 320 include an avoiding structure provided with an avoiding groove 303, and in the unfolded state, a side edge of the cover body 420 is accommodated into the avoiding groove 303. Specifically, parameters such as the position and the size of the avoiding groove 303 can be flexibly determined according to parameters such as the extending position and the thickness of the cover body 420, which is not limited herein.

More specifically, the avoiding grooves 303 are formed in the first housing seat 310 and the second housing seat 320, in this case, a space can be provided for the side edges of the cover body 420 by the avoiding grooves 303, so that the size of the cover body 420, which can extend in the direction close to the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220, is relatively larger along the two side edges, which are oppositely arranged in the direction B in fig. 9, and the bending degree of the cover body 420 is further improved, so that when the folding mechanism is in the folded state, the gap between the cover body 420 and the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 can be smaller, and the matching reliability between the three is higher.

Taking the first housing seat 310 as an example, in order to ensure that the structural strength of the first housing seat 310 can still meet the use requirement under the condition that the first housing seat 310 is provided with the avoiding structure, as shown in fig. 3, the position of the avoiding structure may be protruded to the side away from the avoiding groove 303. Based on the above, further, the first screen supporting plate 210 may be provided with an accommodating sinking groove in which at least a portion of the avoiding structure is accommodated in the folded state, thereby preventing the maximum relative rotation angle between the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first housing seat 310 from being adversely affected by the provision of the aforementioned avoiding structure on the first housing seat 310.

Specifically, the parameters such as the position, the width, and the depth of the accommodating sink can also be flexibly determined according to the actual parameters of the avoiding structure, which is not limited herein. More specifically, the second housing seat 320 may also be provided with a corresponding avoiding structure, and the second screen supporting plate 220 is also provided with a corresponding accommodating sinking groove, so as to improve the symmetry of the folding mechanism and further improve the overall performance of the folding mechanism.

In order to improve the structural compactness of the whole folding mechanism, as shown in fig. 3, a receiving groove 411 may be provided on the base 410, a first rotating portion 412 is provided in the receiving groove 411, and by making at least a portion of the second rotating portion 302 of the first housing seat 310 and at least a portion of the second rotating portion 302 of the second housing seat 320 receive and receive the receiving groove 411, the space occupied by the folding mechanism in the thickness direction of the base 410 may be reduced, thereby reducing the thickness of the whole electronic device and improving the overall performance of the product. Note that the thickness direction of the base 410 may specifically be a direction perpendicular to the direction a in fig. 1 and the direction B in fig. 9.

Specifically, a plurality of first rotating portions 412 may be disposed in one receiving groove 411 by enlarging the size of the receiving groove 411, and in another embodiment of the present application, in order to improve the fitting stability between the first and

second housing seats

310 and 320 and the base 410 and prevent the first and

second housing seats

310 and 320 from interfering with each other, the receiving groove 411 may be correspondingly disposed in a plurality corresponding to the number of the first rotating portions 412. Of course, in order to ensure that at least a part of the second rotating part 302 accommodated in the accommodating slot 411 can be normally matched with the first rotating part 412, the specific structures of the first rotating part 412 and the second rotating part 302 and the structure, size and other parameters of the accommodating slot 411 can be adapted to each other during the design and processing.

Further, in order to maximize the reliability of the rotation fit relationship between the first rotating part 412 and the second rotating part 302 located in the receiving groove 411, optionally, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, one of the first rotating part 412 and the second rotating part 302 includes a slider, the other is provided with a sliding groove, the sliding groove and the slider are in sliding fit, the fit area between the sliding groove and the slider is relatively large, and the space in the receiving groove 411 can be utilized to the maximum. Of course, the sliding groove and the sliding block are both arc-shaped structures, so as to ensure that the first housing seat 310 and the second housing seat 320 can both form a rotation fit relationship by means of the sliding groove and the sliding block which are in sliding fit.

In order to further improve the stability of the rotational fit relationship between the first housing seat 310 and the base portion 410, as shown in fig. 3, two opposite sides of the receiving groove 411 are provided with the first rotating portion 412, and correspondingly, two opposite sides of the first housing seat 310 and the second housing seat 320 are provided with the second rotating portion 302, taking the first housing seat 310 as an example, under the condition that the two second rotating portions 302 at two opposite sides thereof are correspondingly matched with the two first rotating portions 412 in one receiving groove 411 one by one, the first housing seat 310 can be further prevented from deviating from its own rotational axis to rotate relative to the base portion 410, so as to improve the stability of the rotational fit relationship between the first housing seat 310 and the base portion 410. Correspondingly, the rotation fit relationship between the second housing seat 320 and the base 410 is relatively more stable when the above technical solution is adopted.

In the case where the first rotating portion 412 is disposed in the receiving groove 411, in order to ensure a good rotating fit relationship between the first rotating portion 412 and the second rotating portion 302, and at the same time, to minimize the width of the base portion 410 (i.e., the dimension of the base portion 410 in the direction B in fig. 9), alternatively, in the rotating axis direction of the second rotating portion 302, a plurality of first rotating portions 412 may be disposed at intervals or offset. That is, a plurality of first rotating portions 412 may be distributed along the rotating axial direction of the second rotating portion 302, and any two adjacent first rotating portions 412 may have a space of a preset size therebetween. Or, under the condition that the plurality of first rotating portions 412 are distributed along the rotating axial direction of the second rotating portion 302, the plurality of first rotating portions 412 may be grouped two by two, and two first rotating portions 412 in any group are adjacently disposed in the rotating axial direction of the second rotating portion 302, that is, there is no interval in the rotating axial direction of the second rotating portion 302 between two first rotating portions 412 in a group.

Alternatively, the first screen supporting plate 210 may be rotatably coupled with the first housing 110 in the stand structure, and as described above, the first housing seat 310 is fixedly coupled with the first housing 110, in which case the first screen supporting plate 210 may be enabled to form a rotation-fitting relationship with the first housing seat 310. For the convenience of installation, as shown in fig. 3, the folding mechanism may include a rotating component, the first screen supporting plate 210 may be rotatably connected to the first housing seat 310 through a plurality of rotating components, and under the action of the plurality of rotating components, on one hand, stability of the rotational fit between the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first housing seat 310 may be improved, and on the other hand, the selectable types of structures of the rotating components may be enlarged, and difficulty in design and processing may be reduced.

As shown in fig. 3, the rotating assembly specifically includes a third rotating portion 510 and a fourth rotating portion 520, one of the third rotating portion 510 and the fourth rotating portion 520 is connected to the first housing seat 310, and the other is connected to the first screen supporting plate 210. Third rotation portion 510 is equipped with the slot including inserting the piece, fourth rotation portion 520, and insert piece and slot all are equipped with the arc fitting surface, and insert piece and slot pass through arc fitting surface normal running fit, can guarantee to have great normal running fit area between third rotation portion 510 and the fourth rotation portion 520, promote the reliability of rotating the relation of connection between the two. Moreover, under the condition of adopting the above technical solution, by positioning the rotation axes of the third rotating part 510 and the fourth rotating part 520 on the first screen supporting plate 210 or on the side of the first screen supporting plate 210 away from the first housing seat 310, the distance between the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first housing seat 310 can be relatively smaller under the condition of ensuring that the rotating component is positioned on the side of the first screen supporting plate 210 facing the first housing seat 310, and the space occupied by the whole folding mechanism in the thickness direction of the base part 410 is further reduced.

Specifically, the shapes and the sizes of the insertion block and the slot are adapted, so that the rotation fit relationship between the insertion block and the slot can be ensured; in addition, the slot may have a structure with two open sides, so that the insert block may be mounted into the slot from one side of the slot, and the maximum relative rotation angle between the insert block and the slot may be limited by other structures such as the first housing seat 310 and the first housing 110. In addition, the relative position relationship between the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first housing seat 310 in the rotation axis direction of the second rotating portion 302 can be limited by arranging detachable limiting structures at two opposite ends of the first screen supporting plate 210 along the rotation axis direction of the second rotating portion 302, so as to prevent the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first housing seat 310 from moving relatively in the aforementioned direction.

In another embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 2, the fourth rotating portion 520 includes a limiting member and a mating member, the limiting member and the mating member enclose a slot, and the mating member has an arc-shaped mating surface. In the rotation axis direction of the second rotation portion 302, the limiting portions of two fourth rotation portions 520 of the plurality of fourth rotation portions 520 are disposed opposite to each other, and at least two third rotation portions 510 are disposed between or outside the two limiting members disposed opposite to each other. In the structure of the folding mechanism shown in fig. 5, the respective slots of the two sets of fourth rotating portions 520 disposed at the opposite ends of the first screen supporting plate 210 are disposed outward, that is, the slots of the two sets of fourth rotating portions 520 are disposed opposite to each other, in this case, as shown in fig. 3, the two sets of third rotating portions 510 engaged with the two sets of fourth rotating portions 520 should be disposed outside the two sets of fourth rotating portions 520, respectively.

Under the condition that the technical scheme is adopted, the limiting parts in the two fourth rotating parts 520 can limit the at least two third rotating parts 510, so that the third rotating parts 510 and the fourth rotating parts 520 can form a limiting matching relation in the rotating shaft direction of the second rotating part 302, and the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first shell seat 310 can form a stable matching relation in the rotating shaft direction of the second rotating part 302.

In order to improve the motion stability of the folding mechanism, optionally, the number of the first housing seats 310 and/or the second housing seats 320 is multiple, optionally, the number of the first housing seats 310 and the number of the second housing seats 320 are the same, and both the number of the first housing seats 310 and the number of the second housing seats 320 are multiple, and by arranging the plurality of first housing seats 310 and the plurality of second housing seats 320 in groups, the motion stability between the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 can be further improved. As described above, the first housing seats 310 may be rotatably connected to the first screen supporting plate 210, the second housing seats 320 may be rotatably connected to the second screen supporting plate 220, and in a case where the number of the first housing seats 310 and the number of the second housing seats 320 are plural, at least one of the first housing seats 310 may be rotatably connected to the first screen supporting plate 210, and at least one of the second housing seats 320 may be connected to the second screen supporting plate 220. More specifically, as shown in fig. 2, the first housing seats 310 at the two opposite ends of the base 410 may be rotatably connected to the first screen supporting plate 210 through the rotating assembly, and the other first housing seats 310 may not be connected to the first screen supporting plate 210 any more, so that the difficulty in processing and assembling the whole folding mechanism may be reduced while ensuring high stability of the rotational fit between the first housing seats 310 and the first screen supporting plate 210. Correspondingly, the second housing seat 320 may be the same, and for brevity, will not be repeated here.

Further, as described above, the folding mechanism may be applied to a support structure, and based on this, the present embodiment also provides a support structure, where the support structure includes the first shell 110 and the second shell 120, and in the process of assembling the support structure, the first shell seat 310 is fixedly connected to the first shell 110, and the second shell seat 320 is fixedly connected to the second shell 120. During the unfolding and folding process of the support structure, the first shell 110 and the second shell 120 may respectively drive the first shell seat 310 and the second shell seat 320 to move relatively, so that the first shell seat 310 and the second shell seat 320 rotate relatively.

Specifically, the first housing seat 310 and the first housing 110 may be fixed to each other by bonding, riveting, clipping, or screwing. In order to improve the connection reliability and reduce the difficulty in assembly and disassembly, through holes or threaded holes may be formed in the first housing seat 310 and the first housing 110, so that the first housing seat 310 and the first housing 110 may be fixedly connected by a threaded connection. Correspondingly, the second housing seat 320 and the second housing 120 may also be fixed to each other by a threaded connection.

In addition, as described above, the first screen supporting plate 210 and the first housing seat 310 can rotate relatively, so in order to prevent the first housing 110 and the first housing seat 310 from obstructing the rotation of the first screen supporting plate 210, optionally, an inclined avoiding supporting surface is provided on both sides of the first housing 110 and the first housing seat 310 facing the first screen supporting plate 210, in this case, on one hand, the first screen supporting plate 210 can be ensured to have a capability of rotating relative to the first housing seat 310 (and the first housing 110), and on the other hand, the inclined avoiding supporting surface can also provide a good supporting effect for the first screen supporting surface, thereby ensuring that the flexible display screen can be better supported.

Correspondingly, the side of the second housing 120 and the second housing seat 320 facing the second screen supporting plate 220 may also be correspondingly provided with an inclined avoiding supporting surface, so that in the folded state, the first screen supporting plate 210 and the second screen supporting plate 220 can be respectively supported on the corresponding inclined avoiding supporting surfaces, thereby improving the operation stability of the folding mechanism.

Based on the supporting structure that the above-mentioned embodiment provided, furtherly, this application embodiment still provides an electronic equipment, electronic equipment includes first display module assembly 610 and above-mentioned supporting structure, wherein, first display module assembly 610 includes the flexible display screen, first display module assembly 610 is installed on supporting structure, and first display module assembly 610 can support on first casing 110, second casing 120, first screen backup pad 210, second screen backup pad 220, third screen backup pad 230 and fourth screen backup pad 240, guarantee that supporting structure can provide better bearing effect for the flexible display screen in first display module assembly 610. Moreover, the electronic device has a folded state and an unfolded state, and in the folded state, the distance between the first sides 203 of the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220 is greater than the distance between the second sides of the first screen support plate 210 and the second screen support plate 220, so that the electronic device can provide a larger accommodating space with a flared shape for the middle part of the first display module 610, and the middle part of the first display module 610 can be prevented from generating creases in the folding process as much as possible, thereby prolonging the service life of the electronic device.

Optionally, the first and

second back plates

130 and 140 may be disposed on the sides of the first and

second housings

110 and 120 facing away from the first display module 610, respectively, to provide an encapsulation and protection function for the devices mounted in the first and

second housings

110 and 120. In order to further improve the usability of the electronic device, optionally, a second display module is disposed on a side of the first casing 110 away from the first display module 610, and parameters such as a size of the second display module may be selected according to an actual situation. Under the condition of adopting the above technical scheme, the two opposite sides of the first shell 110 are both provided with a display module. Through making electronic equipment be in fold condition, the user of being convenient for carries on the one hand, and the user can carry out human-computer interaction with the help of the second display module assembly, and under the user had the condition of needs such as browsing video, then can be through the mode of expanding electronic equipment, uses the bigger first display module assembly 610 of display area, promotes seeing and hearing and experiences etc.. Of course, the above scenarios are only examples, and the user may also use the first display module 610 and the second display module at the same time when conditions such as software are satisfied. In other words, during the use process of the electronic device, the user can flexibly select to use the first display module 610 and/or the second display module according to his/her own needs, which is not limited herein.

The electronic device disclosed by the embodiment of the application can be a smart phone, a tablet computer, an electronic book reader or a wearable device. Of course, the electronic device may also be other devices, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

In the embodiments of the present application, the difference between the embodiments is described in detail, and different optimization features between the embodiments can be combined to form a better embodiment as long as the differences are not contradictory, and further description is omitted here in view of brevity of the text.

The above description is only an example of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Various modifications and changes may occur to those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application should be included in the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A folding mechanism is characterized by comprising a first screen supporting plate, a second screen supporting plate, a third screen supporting plate, a fourth screen supporting plate, a first shell seat, a second shell seat and a base part;

2. The folding mechanism of claim 1 further comprising a first connecting shaft, a second connecting shaft, a first synchronizing swing arm and a second synchronizing swing arm,

the first synchronous swing arm is in limit fit with the first connecting shaft in the rotating direction of the second rotating part, and the second synchronous swing arm is in limit fit with the second connecting shaft in the rotating direction of the second rotating part;

the first synchronous swing arm is matched with the first shell seat, the second synchronous swing arm is matched with the second shell seat, the first synchronous swing arm and the second synchronous swing arm are connected through a gear synchronizing mechanism, and the first shell seat and the second shell seat synchronously rotate through the gear synchronizing mechanism.

3. The folding mechanism of claim 2 wherein said gear synchronizing mechanism includes a first meshing tooth disposed on said first connecting shaft, a second meshing tooth disposed on said second connecting shaft, a first gear and a second gear, said first meshing tooth meshing with said first gear, said first gear meshing with said second gear, said second gear meshing with said second meshing tooth.

4. The folding mechanism according to claim 2, further comprising a first cam sleeve, a second cam sleeve, and an elastic member, wherein the first cam sleeve and the second cam sleeve are sleeved on the first connecting shaft, the first cam sleeve is fixed on the first synchronization swing arm, the second cam sleeve is rotatably fitted with the first connecting shaft in a rotating direction of the second rotating portion, and the elastic member is in a stretched state or a contracted state when the first cam sleeve and the second cam sleeve are relatively rotated.

5. The folding mechanism of claim 4 further comprising a mounting member fixed to the base, wherein the mounting member has a first limiting member and a second limiting member axially opposite and fixed along the rotation axis of the second rotating portion, the first cam sleeve, the second cam sleeve and the elastic member are disposed between the first limiting member and the second limiting member, and the elastic member is disposed on a side of the second cam sleeve facing away from the first cam sleeve.

6. The folding mechanism of claim 5, wherein the mounting member further comprises a third limiting member disposed between the first limiting member and the second limiting member, and the first cam sleeve, the second cam sleeve and the elastic member are disposed between the first limiting member and the third limiting member, and between the second limiting member and the third limiting member.

7. The folding mechanism according to claim 4, wherein said first cam sleeve is fixed to each of said first and second synchronizing swing arms, and said second cam sleeve and said elastic member are provided to each of said first cam sleeves.

8. The folding mechanism of claim 2, wherein the first screen support plate and the second screen support plate are each provided with a first avoidance notch, the third screen support plate is rotatably mounted to the first avoidance notch of the first screen support plate, the fourth screen support plate is rotatably mounted to the first avoidance notch of the second screen support plate, a side of the third screen support plate is flush with a first side of the first screen support plate, a side of the fourth screen support plate is flush with a first side of the second screen support plate, the third screen support plate is opposite to the first synchronization swing arm, and the fourth screen support plate is opposite to the second synchronization swing arm.

9. The folding mechanism according to claim 8, wherein each of opposite ends of the first avoiding notch of the first screen support plate is provided with a fifth rotating portion, each of opposite ends of the third screen support plate is provided with a sixth rotating portion, one of the fifth rotating portion and the sixth rotating portion is provided with an arc-shaped slot, and the other one of the fifth rotating portion and the sixth rotating portion comprises an arc-shaped insert block, and the arc-shaped slot is rotatably connected with the arc-shaped insert block.

10. The folding mechanism of claim 8 further comprising a fifth support plate, wherein the fifth support plate is mounted to the base, the third screen support plate and the fourth screen support plate each have a second relief notch, and the fifth support plate is embedded within the second relief notch of the third screen support plate and the second relief notch of the fourth screen support plate in the unfolded state.

11. The folding mechanism of claim 10 wherein said fifth support panel is movably attached to said base in a thickness direction thereof, and wherein said fifth support panel is spaced from said base in said thickness direction thereof by a first spacing in said unfolded state; in the folded state, a distance between the fifth support plate and the base in the thickness direction thereof is a second distance, and the second distance is smaller than the first distance.

12. The folding mechanism of claim 10 wherein the third and fourth screen support panels have a first overlapping edge on a side thereof adjacent the fifth support panel, the fifth support panel having a second overlapping edge, the second overlapping edge overlapping the first overlapping edge in the unfolded state.

13. The folding mechanism of claim 1, further comprising a cover fixedly connected to a side of the base portion facing away from the first screen support plate, wherein in the folded state, a projection of the cover in a plane where a distribution direction of the first screen support plate and the second screen support plate and a rotation axial direction of the second rotating portion are located covers the third screen support plate, the fourth screen support plate, the first housing seat, the second housing seat, and the base portion.

14. The folding mechanism of claim 13 wherein said first housing seat and/or said second housing seat includes an avoidance formation, said avoidance formation being provided with an avoidance groove into which a side edge of said cover is received in said deployed state.

15. A folding mechanism according to claim 14, wherein the first and/or second screen support plates are provided with a receiving recess, and wherein in the folded condition at least a portion of the avoidance structure is received within the receiving recess.

16. The folding mechanism of claim 1 wherein said base portion defines a receiving slot, said receiving slot defining said first rotatable portion therein, at least a portion of said second rotatable portions of said first housing seat and said second housing seat being received in said receiving slot.

17. A folding mechanism according to claim 16, wherein one of said first and second rotary portions includes a slider and the other includes a slide slot, said slide slot and said slider being in sliding engagement.

18. The folding mechanism of claim 17 wherein said first rotating portion is disposed on opposite sides of said receiving slot and said second rotating portion is disposed on opposite sides of said first housing seat and said second housing seat.

19. The folding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of first rotating portions are disposed at intervals or are disposed at a shifted position in a direction in which the rotation axis of the second rotating portion is located.

20. The folding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the folding mechanism includes a rotating component, the first screen supporting plate is rotatably connected to the first housing seat through a plurality of rotating components, the rotating component includes a third rotating portion and a fourth rotating portion, one of the third rotating portion and the fourth rotating portion is connected to the first housing seat, the other is connected to the first screen supporting plate, the third rotating portion includes an insertion block, the fourth rotating portion is provided with a slot, the insertion block and the slot are both provided with arc-shaped mating surfaces, and the insertion block and the slot are rotatably mated through the arc-shaped mating surfaces.

21. The folding mechanism of claim 20 wherein said fourth rotating portion includes a retaining member and a mating member, said retaining member and said mating member defining said slot, said mating member defining said arcuate mating surface;

in the direction of the rotation axis of the second rotation portion, the limiting members of two of the fourth rotation portions are disposed opposite to each other, and the third rotation portions are disposed between the two limiting members in a limiting manner.

22. The folding mechanism of claim 20, wherein said first housing seat and/or said second housing seat are plural in number, and at least one of said first housing seat is rotatably connected to said first screen support plate by said rotating assembly, and at least one of said second housing seat is rotatably connected to said second screen support plate by said rotating assembly.

23. A support structure comprising a first housing, a second housing and a folding mechanism as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 22,

24. An electronic device comprising a flexible display screen and the mounting structure of claim 23, wherein the flexible display screen is mounted to the mounting structure and is supportable by the first housing, the second housing, the first screen support plate, the second screen support plate, the third screen support plate, and the fourth screen support plate.