Search

EP-4738059-A1 - HINGE ASSEMBLY AND FOLDABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE INCLUDING SAME

EP4738059A1EP 4738059 A1EP4738059 A1EP 4738059A1EP-4738059-A1

Abstract

A hinge assembly including a first arm member connected to a first shaft, a second arm member connected to a second shaft, a first interlocking gear including a third cam structure, a second interlocking gear including a fourth cam structure, a third shaft connected to the first interlocking gear, a fourth shaft connected to the second interlocking gear, a first cam member disposed in the first direction in the first interlocking gear and the second interlocking gear, at least one bracket connected to at least one of the first shaft, the second shaft, the third shaft, and the fourth shaft, a first elastic assembly configured to press the first cam member in a second direction opposite to the first direction so that contacts between the first cam member and the third cam structure and the fourth cam structure are maintained, and a second elastic assembly configured to press the third shaft and the fourth shaft in the first direction so that the contacts are maintained is disclosed.

Inventors

  • KIM, JONGKEUN
  • SEO, WONYOUNG
  • SEO, Hyeonseok
  • LEE, JINJU

Assignees

  • Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20250611

Claims (15)

  1. A hinge assembly (240, 240-1) comprising: a first arm member (410) fastened to a first shaft (131) extending in a first direction and including a first main gear (171) including a first cam structure (450); a second arm member (420) fastened to a second shaft (132) extending in the first direction and including a second main gear (172) including a second cam structure (470); a first interlocking gear (1731) engaging with the first main gear (171) and including a third cam structure (1791); a second interlocking gear (1732) engaging with the second main gear (172) and including a fourth cam structure (1792); a third shaft (133) coupled to the first interlocking gear (1731) and formed parallel to the first shaft (131); a fourth shaft (134) coupled to the second interlocking gear (1732) and formed parallel to the second shaft (132); a first cam member (560) at least partially penetrated by the third shaft (133) and the fourth shaft (134) and disposed in the first direction in the first interlocking gear (1731) and the second interlocking gear (1732) to face the third cam structure (1791) and the fourth cam structure (1792); at least one bracket (610, 630, 650, 270) coupled to at least one of the first shaft (131), the second shaft (132), the third shaft (133), and the fourth shaft (134); a first elastic assembly (110) configured to press the first cam member (560) in a second direction opposite to the first direction so that contact between the first cam member (560) and the third cam structure (1791) and contact between the first cam member (560) and the fourth cam structure (1792) are maintained; and a second elastic assembly (120) configured to press the third shaft (133) and the fourth shaft (134) in the first direction so that contact between the first cam member (560) and the third cam structure (1791) and contact between the first cam member (560) and the fourth cam structure (1792) are maintained.
  2. The hinge assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one bracket (610, 630, 650, 270) includes: a first gear bracket (610) in which a first insertion hole into which one end of the first shaft (131) in the first direction is inserted and a second insertion hole into which one end of the second shaft (132) in the first direction is inserted are formed; and a second gear bracket (630) in which a third insertion hole (634) into which one end of the third shaft (133) in the first direction is inserted and a fourth insertion hole (635) into which one end of the fourth shaft (134) in the first direction is inserted are formed.
  3. The hinge assembly of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one bracket (610, 630, 650, 270) further includes: a first shaft bracket (270) in which a fifth insertion hole into which the other end of the first shaft (131) in the second direction is inserted and a sixth insertion hole into which the other end of the second shaft (132) in the second direction is inserted are formed; and a second shaft bracket (650) in which a seventh insertion hole (654) into which the other end of the third shaft (133) in the second direction is inserted and an eighth insertion hole (655) into which the other end of the fourth shaft (134) in the second direction is inserted are formed.
  4. The hinge assembly of claim 3, wherein the second gear bracket (630) comes into contact with surfaces of the first interlocking gear (1731) and the second interlocking gear (1732) facing the second direction.
  5. The hinge assembly of claim 3 or 4, wherein the second elastic assembly (120) is disposed to come into contact with a surface of the second shaft bracket (650) facing the second direction.
  6. The hinge assembly of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first elastic assembly (110) includes a first elastic member (111) formed to surround at least a portion of the first shaft (131), a second elastic member (112) formed to surround at least a portion of the second shaft (132), a third elastic member (113) formed to surround at least a portion of the third shaft (133), and a fourth elastic member (114) formed to surround at least a portion of the fourth shaft (134).
  7. The hinge assembly of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the second elastic assembly (120) includes elastic members (123, 124) formed to surround at least a portion of each of the third shaft (133) and the fourth shaft (134).
  8. The hinge assembly of any of claims 3 to 5, further comprising a fixing member (670) configured to fix the second shaft bracket (650) to the third shaft (133) and the fourth shaft (134).
  9. The hinge assembly of claim 1 or 2, wherein a first stepped portion (1331) on which the second gear bracket (630) is seated is formed at the one end of the third shaft (133) and the one end of the fourth shaft (134).
  10. The hinge assembly of claim 9, wherein a second stepped portion (1333) on which the second shaft bracket (650) is seated is formed at the other end of the third shaft (133) and the other end of the fourth shaft (134); and/or wherein the first stepped portion (1331) includes a first portion at least partially inserted into the third insertion hole (634) and formed with a first diameter and a second portion formed to face a surface of the second gear bracket (630) in the second direction and formed with a second diameter greater than the first diameter.
  11. The hinge assembly of any of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a fixing member (670) that is at least partially in contact with the second elastic assembly (120) and is coupled to the third shaft (133) and the fourth shaft (134), and wherein an elastic force generated from the second elastic assembly (120) is transmitted to the third shaft (133) and the fourth shaft (134) through the fixing member (670).
  12. The hinge assembly of any of claims 1 to 11, wherein a first step structure on which the first interlocking gear (1731) is seated is formed at one end of the third shaft (133) in the first direction, and wherein a second step structure on which the second interlocking gear (1732) is seated is formed at one end of the fourth shaft (134) in the first direction.
  13. The hinge assembly of claim 2, wherein the second elastic assembly (120) includes a first elastic body (153) formed to surround at least a portion of the third shaft (133) and a second elastic body (154) formed to surround at least a portion of the fourth shaft (134), and wherein the first elastic body (153) and the second elastic body (154) are disposed to face a surface of the second gear bracket (630) facing the second direction.
  14. The hinge assembly of any of claims 1 to 13, wherein an elastic force transmitted from the first elastic assembly (110) to the first cam member (560) is set to be greater than an elastic force transmitted from the second elastic assembly (120) to the third shaft (133) and the fourth shaft (134).
  15. A foldable electronic device (200) comprising: at least one hinge assembly (240; 240-1) according to any of claims 1 to 14; and a first housing (210) and a second housing (220) formed to be foldable around the at least one hinge assembly (240, 240-1).

Description

[Technical Field] Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a hinge assembly and a foldable electronic device including the same. [Background Art] Electronic devices have to be able to provide a large screen when in use for ease of operation and viewing, and may be reduced in size by folding and so on when not in use for easy portability. As an example, an electronic device may be configured to be foldable for easy portability via a hinge assembly, and may provide a large screen when unfolded by including a flexible display. In addition, the electronic device may provide various folding angles to improve usability. For example, the hinge assembly may be configured so that an angle formed by two housings may be maintained within a predetermined range. In a folded state of the electronic device, the display may have its layout adjusted to correspond to the folding angle, thereby providing various usage environments. The aforementioned information may be provided as the related art to aid in understanding the present disclosure. No claim or determination is made as to whether any of the above matters constitutes the related art regarding to the present disclosure. [Disclosure] [Technical Solution] A hinge assembly 240, 240-1 according to an embodiment of the disclosure includes a first arm member 410 fastened to a first shaft 131 extending in a first direction and including a first main gear 171 including a first cam structure 450, a second arm member 420 fastened to a second shaft 132 extending in the first direction and including a second main gear 172 including a second cam structure 470, a first interlocking gear 1731 engaging with the first main gear 171 and including a third cam structure 1791, a second interlocking gear 1732 engaging with the second main gear 172 and including a fourth cam structure 1792, a third shaft 133 coupled to the first interlocking gear 1731 and formed parallel to the first shaft 131, a fourth shaft 134 coupled to the second interlocking gear 1732 and formed parallel to the second shaft 132, a first cam member 560 at least partially penetrated by the third shaft 133 and the fourth shaft 134 and disposed in the first direction in the first interlocking gear 1731 and the second interlocking gear 1732 to face the third cam structure 1791 and the fourth cam structure 1792, at least one bracket 610, 630, 650, 270 coupled to at least one of the first shaft 131, the second shaft 132, the third shaft 133, and the fourth shaft 134, a first elastic assembly 110 configured to press the first cam member 560 in a second direction opposite to the first direction so that contact between the first cam member 560 and the third cam structure 1791 and contact between the first cam member 560 and the fourth cam structure 1792 are maintained, and a second elastic assembly 120 configured to press the third shaft 133 and the fourth shaft 134 in the first direction so that contact between the first cam member 560 and the third cam structure 1791 and contact between the first cam member 560 and the fourth cam structure 1792 are maintained. A foldable electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure includes at least one hinge assembly, a first housing and a second housing formed to be foldable around the at least one hinge assembly. The at least one hinge assembly includes a first arm member 410 fastened to a first shaft 131 extending in a first direction and including a first main gear 171 including a first cam structure 450, a second arm member 420 fastened to a second shaft 132 extending in the first direction and including a second main gear 172 including a second cam structure 470, a first interlocking gear 1731 engaging with the first main gear 171 and including a third cam structure 1791, a second interlocking gear 1732 engaging with the second main gear 172 and including a fourth cam structure 1792, a third shaft 133 coupled to the first interlocking gear 1731 and formed parallel to the first shaft 131, a fourth shaft 134 coupled to the second interlocking gear 1732 and formed parallel to the second shaft 132, a first cam member 560 at least partially penetrated by the third shaft 133 and the fourth shaft 134 and disposed in the first direction in the first interlocking gear 1731 and the second interlocking gear 1732 to face the third cam structure 1791 and the fourth cam structure 1792, at least one bracket 610, 630, 650, 270 coupled to at least one of the first shaft 131, the second shaft 132, the third shaft 133, and the fourth shaft 134, a first elastic assembly 110 configured to press the first cam member 560 in a second direction opposite to the first direction so that contact between the first cam member 560 and the third cam structure 1791 and contact between the first cam member 560 and the fourth cam structure 1792 are maintained, and a second elastic assembly 120 configured to press the third shaft 133 and the fourth shaft 134 in the first direction so that contact between