EP-4742848-A1 - ELECTRONIC DEVICE COMPRISING STRUCTURE FOR IMPROVING HEAT DISSIPATION PERFORMANCE

EP4742848A1EP 4742848 A1EP4742848 A1EP 4742848A1EP-4742848-A1

Abstract

According to an embodiment, a foldable electronic device includes a housing including a first housing part including a first heat-conductive plate and a second housing part including a second heat-conducive plate and an elastic member, an electronic component disposed in the housing, and a hinge assembly rotatably coupling the first housing part and the second housing part. The first heat-conductive plate may be configured to be in contact with the second heat-conductive plate in an unfolded state of the foldable electronic device such that the first and second heat-conductive plates form a heat conduction path between the first and second housing parts for heat generated from the electronic component. The elastic member may provide a repulsion force to the second heat-conductive plate toward the first heat-conductive plate in the unfolded state of the foldable electronic device such that the second heat-conductive plate is closely contacted with the first heat-conductive plate.

Inventors

CHUNG, HAEIN
KIM, MINJUN
KIM, Youzip
KIM, JIHONG
KIM, TAEYOUNG
LEE, MIJI
CHOI, MYOUNGJUN

Assignees

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20250912

Claims (15)

A foldable electronic device comprising: a housing including: a first housing part including a first heat-conductive plate; a second housing part including a second heat-conductive plate and an elastic member, an electronic component disposed in the housing; and a hinge assembly rotatably coupling the first housing part and the second housing part, wherein the first heat-conductive plate is configured to be in contact with the second heat-conductive plate in an unfolded state of the foldable electronic device such that the first and second conductive plates form a heat conduction path between the first and second housing parts for heat generated from the electronic component, and wherein the elastic member is configured to provide a force to the second heat-conductive plate toward the first heat-conductive plate in the unfolded state of the foldable electronic device such that the second heat-conductive plate is forced towards the first heat-conductive plate.
The foldable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second heat-conductive plate and the elastic member are included in a guide assembly included in the second housing part; wherein the hinge assembly includes: a first hinge plate to which the first heat-conductive plate is slidably coupled; and a second hinge plate to which the guide assembly is slidably coupled, wherein, while the foldable electronic device is changing from a folded state to the unfolded state, the elastic member aligns a first surface of the first heat-conductive plate sliding with respect to the first hinge plate toward the second heat-conductive plate and a second surface of the second heat-conductive plate of the guide assembly sliding with respect to the second hinge plate toward the first heat-conductive plate.
The foldable electronic device of claim 2, wherein an area of the first surface of the first heat-conductive plate corresponds to an area of the second surface of the second heat-conductive plate such that the first surface of the first heat-conductive plate overlaps the second surface of the second heat-conductive plate in the unfolded state of the foldable electronic device.
The foldable electronic device of claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the first surface of the first heat-conductive plate has a shape corresponding to a shape of the second surface of the second heat-conductive plate such that a region of the first surface of the first heat-conductive plate is partially surrounded by a region of the second surface of the second heat-conductive plate in the unfolded state of the foldable electronic device.
The foldable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second heat-conductive plate and the elastic member are included in a guide assembly included in the second housing part; wherein the guide assembly further includes a guide plate, to which the second heat-conductive plate is movably coupled, and wherein the elastic member is coupled to the guide plate to provide a translational axis along which the second heat-conductive plate is movable with respect to the guide plate by providing the force to the second heat-conductive plate.
The foldable electronic device of claim 5, wherein the second heat-conductive plate includes a shaft, inserted in a shaft hole of the guide plate, and configured to provide a first rotational axis of the second heat-conductive plate with respect to the guide plate.
The foldable electronic device of claim 6, wherein the second heat-conductive plate further includes a protrusion inserted in a guide hole of the guide plate and configured to provide a second rotational axis, different from the first rotational axis of the second heat-conductive plate, with respect to the guide plate.
The foldable electronic device of claim 7, wherein the first rotational axis, the second rotational axis, and the translational axis are perpendicular to each other.
The foldable electronic device of any one of the previous claims, wherein the elastic member includes: a first elastic plate contacting a first longitudinal end portion of the second heat-conductive plate; and a second elastic plate contacting a second longitudinal end portion of the second heat-conductive plate.
The foldable electronic device of any one of the previous claims, further including: a heat conduction member attached to at least one of the first heat-conductive plate and the guide assembly.
The foldable electronic device of claim 10, wherein the heat conduction member includes a first heat conduction member, attached on the first heat-conductive plate to be separated from the second heat-conductive plate and formed from graphite.
The foldable electronic device of claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the heat conduction member includes a second heat conduction member, configured to be interposed between the first heat-conductive plate and the second heat-conductive plate in the unfolded state of the foldable electronic device, and including: a first deformable portion attached to the first heat-conductive plate; and a second deformable portion attached to the second heat-conductive plate and configured to be in direct contact with the first deformable portion in the unfolded state of the foldable electronic device, and wherein the first and second deformable portions are configured to be compressed by each other in the unfolded state of the foldable electronic device.
The foldable electronic device of claim 12, wherein the second heat conduction member comprises a metal material, and wherein the metal material is configured to form at least a portion of a surface of the first deformable portion and at least a portion of a surface of the second deformable portion configured to be in direct contact with the surface of the first deformable portion in the unfolded state of the foldable electronic device.
The foldable electronic device of any one of the previous claims, further comprising: a flexible display including a first display portion coupled to the first housing part, a second display portion coupled to the second housing part, and a third display portion, extending from the first display portion to the second display portion, configured to be bent by the hinge assembly in a folded state of the foldable electronic device, wherein the first housing part further includes a first bracket, supporting the first display portion of the flexible display, coupled to the first heat-conductive plate, wherein the second housing part further includes a second bracket, supporting the second display portion of the flexible display, coupled to the second heat-conductive plate, and wherein the second heat-conductive plate is movable with respect to the second bracket and disposed under the third display portion together with the first heat-conductive plate in the unfolded state of the foldable electronic device.
The foldable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first and second heat-conductive plates have elasticity.

Description

[Technical Field] The present disclosure relates to an electronic device including a structure for improving heat dissipation performance. [Background Art] Electronic devices that include a large-screen display may increase user utilization. As demand for a highly portable electronic device increases, the electronic device may include a deformable display. For example, the electronic device may include a deformable display such as a foldable flexible display. The electronic device may be miniaturized by including a deformable display. As electronic components disposed in the electronic device perform an operation for responding to a request of a user, heat may be generated in the miniaturized electronic device. Therefore, the electronic device may be required to have a structure to dissipate the heat generated from the electronic components. The above-described information may be provided as a related art for the purpose of helping to understand the present disclosure. No claim or determination is raised as to whether any of the above-described description may be applied as a prior art related to the present disclosure. [Disclosure] [Technical Solution] A foldable electronic device is disclosed. The foldable electronic device may comprise a housing including a first housing part including a first heat-conductive plate and a second housing part including a second heat-conducive plate and an elastic member, an electronic component disposed in the housing, and a hinge assembly rotatably coupling the first housing part and the second housing part. The first heat-conductive plate may be configured to be in contact with the second heat-conductive plate in an unfolded state of the foldable electronic device such that the first and second heat-conductive plates form a heat conduction path between the first and second housing parts for heat generated from the electronic component. The elastic member may provide a repulsion force to the second heat-conductive plate toward the first heat-conductive plate in the unfolded state of the foldable electronic device such that the second heat-conductive plate is closely contacted with the first heat-conductive plate. A foldable electronic device is disclosed. The foldable electronic device may comprise a housing including a first housing part including a first heat-conductive plate and a second housing part including a guide assembly including a second heat-conducive plate and an elastic member, an electronic component disposed in the housing, and a hinge assembly rotatably coupling the first housing part and the second housing part. The first heat-conductive plate may be configured to be in contact with the second heat-conductive plate in an unfolded state of the foldable electronic device such that the first and second heat-conductive plates form a heat conduction path between the first and second housing parts for heat generated from the electronic component. The elastic member may provide a repulsion force to the second heat-conductive plate toward the first heat-conductive plate with respect to a force exerted to the first heat-conductive plate from the second heat-conductive plate in the unfolded state of the foldable electronic device such that the second heat-conductive plate is closely contacted with the first heat-conductive plate. A foldable electronic device is disclosed. The foldable electronic device may comprise a housing including a first housing part including a first heat-conductive plate and a second housing part, a guide assembly including a guide plate coupled to the second housing part, a second heat-conducive plate movably coupled to the guide plate, and an elastic member, coupled to the guide plate to be in contact with the second heat-conductive plate, an electronic component disposed in the housing, and a hinge assembly rotatably coupling the first housing part and the second housing part through the first heat-conductive plate and the guide assembly. The first heat-conductive plate of the second housing part may be configured to contact with the second heat-conductive plate of the first housing part in an unfolded state of the foldable electronic device such that the first and second heat-conductive plates form a heat conduction path between the first and second housing parts for heat generated from the electronic component. The elastic member may provide a repulsion force to the second heat-conductive plate toward the first heat-conductive plate with respect to a force exerted to the first heat-conductive plate from the second heat-conductive plate in the unfolded state of the foldable electronic device such that the second heat-conductive plate is closely contacted with the first heat-conductive plate. [Description of the Drawings] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device in a network environment according to various embodiments.FIG. 2A illustrates an unfolded state of an exemplary electronic device.FIG. 2B illustrates a folded state of a