CN-116469308-B - Foldable electronic device

CN116469308BCN 116469308 BCN116469308 BCN 116469308BCN-116469308-B

Abstract

The application provides a foldable electronic device. The foldable electronic device includes a hinge module, a first housing, a second housing, and a flexible display. The first housing is connected to the hinge module. The second housing is connected to the hinge module. A flexible display is disposed through at least a portion of the first and second housings. The flexible display includes a display panel including a first surface facing in a first direction and a second surface facing in an opposite direction when the electronic device is in an expanded state. The flexible display further includes a window layer and a sheet metal layer disposed at the first surface. The display panel, the window layer, and the sheet metal layer are disposed such that a separation distance between the display panel, the window layer, and the sheet metal layer and inner sidewalls of the first and second housings generates different interlayer slip.

Inventors

WEN XIZHE
PU JINYONG
BAI RENLIE
CUI SHENGHUI
Cui Zhonghuan
CUI ZHONGZHE

Assignees

三星电子株式会社

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20200909
Priority Date: 20191022

Claims (20)

1. A foldable electronic device, comprising: a housing including a first housing and a second housing; A hinge module connected with the first and second housings, and A flexible display housed in the first and second housings, the flexible display comprising: a display panel including a first surface facing a first direction when the foldable electronic device is fully unfolded and a second surface facing a second direction opposite the first direction; a window layer disposed over the first surface of the display panel, and A metal sheet disposed under the second surface of the display panel such that an edge of the metal sheet protrudes outward beyond an edge of the display panel and an edge of the window layer toward an inner surface of a sidewall of the first case or the second case when the foldable electronic device is fully unfolded, Wherein an inner surface of the side wall of the first housing or the second housing corresponds to an inner surface of a side wall disposed parallel to the folding axis.
2. The foldable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the window layer comprises a glass layer and a polymer layer disposed over the glass layer such that when the foldable electronic device is fully unfolded, an edge of the polymer layer protrudes outward beyond an edge of the glass layer toward an inner surface of the sidewall.
3. The foldable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the edge of the metal sheet faces an inner surface of the side wall when the foldable electronic device is fully folded.
4. A foldable electronic device as recited in claim 3, wherein the edges of the sheet metal are flat so as to be parallel to the inner surfaces of the side walls when the foldable electronic device is fully folded.
5. The foldable electronic device of claim 1, wherein a respective one of the first housing and the second housing includes a protruding portion extending from the side wall and protruding inwardly toward the flexible display such that the protruding portion overlaps a portion of the sheet metal when the foldable electronic device is fully unfolded.
6. The foldable electronic device of claim 5, further comprising: A sealing member attached to an inner surface of the protruding portion of the corresponding one of the first and second housings such that an entire portion of the sealing member overlaps a portion of the metal sheet when the foldable electronic device is fully unfolded.
7. The foldable electronic device of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the metal sheet is recessed into the edge of the metal sheet such that an inner edge of the recessed portion is farther from an inner surface of the side wall than the edge of the metal sheet.
8. The foldable electronic device of claim 7, wherein: the flexible display includes a Flexible Printed Circuit Board (FPCB) extending from the display panel toward the metal sheet by bending and contacting the at least a portion of the metal sheet, and The bent portion of the FPCB is received in the concave portion of the metal sheet.
9. The foldable electronic device of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the edge of the metal sheet is disposed in contact with an inner surface of the side wall to prevent the display panel from colliding with the inner surface of the side wall.
10. The foldable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the metal sheet is arranged such that when the foldable electronic device is fully unfolded, all edges of the metal sheet protrude outwardly beyond the respective edges of the display panel towards the inner surface of the side wall of the first housing or the second housing.
11. A foldable electronic device, comprising: a housing including a first housing and a second housing; A hinge module connected with the first and second housings, and A flexible display disposed above the hinge module and received in the first and second housings, the flexible display comprising: A display panel including a first surface facing a first direction when the foldable electronic device is fully unfolded and a second surface facing a second direction opposite the first direction; a window layer disposed over the first surface of the display panel, and A metal sheet disposed under the second surface of the display panel such that an edge of the metal sheet protrudes outward beyond an edge of the display panel and an edge of the window layer toward an inner surface of a sidewall of the first case or the second case when the foldable electronic device is fully unfolded, such that at least a portion of the edge of the metal sheet prevents the display panel from colliding with the inner surface of the sidewall, Wherein an inner surface of the side wall of the first housing or the second housing corresponds to an inner surface of a side wall disposed parallel to the folding axis.
12. The foldable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the window layer comprises a glass layer and a polymer layer disposed over the glass layer such that an edge of the polymer layer protrudes beyond an edge of the glass layer toward an inner surface of the sidewall when the foldable electronic device is fully unfolded.
13. The foldable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the edge of the metal sheet faces an inner surface of the side wall when the foldable electronic device is fully folded.
14. The foldable electronic device of claim 13, wherein the edge of the metal sheet is flat so as to be parallel to an inner surface of the side wall when the foldable electronic device is fully folded.
15. The foldable electronic device of claim 11, wherein a respective one of the first housing and the second housing includes a protrusion extending inwardly from the side wall toward the flexible display such that the protrusion overlaps a portion of the sheet metal when the foldable electronic device is fully unfolded.
16. The foldable electronic device of claim 15, further comprising: a sealing member attached to an inner surface of the protruding portion of the corresponding one of the first and second housings such that the entire sealing member overlaps a portion of the metal sheet when the foldable electronic device is fully unfolded.
17. The foldable electronic device of claim 11, wherein at least a portion of the metal sheet is recessed into the edge of the metal sheet such that an inner edge of the recessed portion is farther from an inner surface of the side wall than the edge of the metal sheet.
18. The foldable electronic device of claim 17, wherein: the flexible display includes a Flexible Printed Circuit Board (FPCB) extending from the display panel toward the metal sheet by bending and contacting the at least a portion of the metal sheet, and The bent portion of the FPCB is received in the concave portion of the metal sheet.
19. The foldable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the entire edge of the metal sheet is disposed in contact with the inner surface of the side wall to prevent the display panel from colliding with the inner surface of the side wall.
20. The foldable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the metal sheet is arranged such that when the foldable electronic device is fully unfolded, all edges of the metal sheet protrude outwardly beyond the respective edges of the display panel toward the inner surface of the side wall of the first housing or the second housing.

Description

Foldable electronic device Technical Field Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a foldable electronic device, and in particular, to a foldable electronic device including a display protection structure. Background Electronic devices are becoming increasingly thinner and are being improved to increase their rigidity, strengthen their design aspects, and differentiate their functional elements. These electronic devices gradually transition from a regular rectangular shape to various shapes. For example, the electronic device is portable and may have a convertible structure that enables use of a large screen display when in use. As one type of such electronic devices, there is provided a foldable electronic device in which at least two cases operating in a manner of being folded or unfolded with respect to each other are continuously unlocked, and various improvements based on a folding structure are provided. Disclosure of Invention Technical problem The foldable electronic device may include a hinge module and first and second housings connected in opposite directions by the hinge module. The foldable electronic device may operate in an inwardly folded and/or outwardly folded manner by rotating the first housing in a range of 0 ° to 360 ° relative to the second housing via the hinge module. The foldable electronic device may include a flexible display disposed across the first housing and the second housing in an open state of 180 °. Because the flexible display should be bent together with the case, the flexible display may receive a support of the case and be configured to be able to perform a self-movement according to folding and unfolding operations of the foldable electronic device, unlike a general bar-shaped electronic device. Further, a plurality of layers of the flexible display (e.g., a window layer, a display panel, or a protective layer) may be attached to each other by an adhesive (e.g., a Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA)), in which interlayer slip may occur in order to receive a difference in an amount of interlayer displacement caused according to a bending operation. Accordingly, the electronic device may provide a space for receiving interlayer slip according to folding and unfolding operations of the flexible display and the self-moving structure. However, with the self-moving structure of the flexible display, when an external impact such as a fall is applied to the foldable electronic device, an edge of the display panel collides with an inner sidewall of the case, and thus, the display may be damaged. Furthermore, when a corresponding space is increased for buffering to improve damage, it may be disadvantageous for the light and thin foldable electronic device. Solution to the problem Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a foldable electronic device including a display protection structure. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic device includes a hinge module, a first housing connected to the hinge module, a second housing connected to the hinge module to fold the first housing, a flexible display disposed through at least a portion of the first housing and the second housing, the flexible display including a display panel, a window layer, and a sheet metal layer, the display panel including a first surface facing a first direction and a second surface facing a direction opposite to the first surface when the electronic device is in an unfolded state, the window layer being disposed on the first surface, the sheet metal layer being disposed on the second surface of the display panel, wherein the display panel, the window layer, and the sheet metal layer are disposed such that separation distances between the display panel, the window layer, and the sheet metal layer and inner side walls of the first housing and the second housing create different interlayer slip in the unfolded state and the folded state of the electronic device, and wherein the sheet metal layer is disposed at least partially overlapping the display panel and disposed closer to the inner side walls of the first housing and the second housing than the display panel when viewed from above the flexible display. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic device includes a hinge module, a first housing connected to the hinge module, a second housing connected to the hinge module to fold the first housing based on a first rotation axis, and a flexible display disposed through at least a portion of the first housing and the second housing, wherein the flexible display includes a display panel, a window layer, and a sheet metal layer, the display panel includes a first surface facing in a first direction and a second surface facing in a direction opposite to the first surface when the electronic device is in an unfolded state, the window layer is disposed on the first surface of the display panel, the sheet metal layer is dis