This application claims the benefit of priority to Chinese patent Application No. 202010852570.9, filed on Aug. 21, 2020, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to a field of terminals, and more particularly, to a foldable structure, a foldable device and a foldable vehicle.
Due to its foldability, a foldable structure occupies a smaller space when stored and is portable, while being capable of meeting the basic requirements of functionality. As a result, foldable structure is widely used in different kinds of devices. However, due to the foldability of the foldable structure, a foldable structure may be accidentally folded while performing its normal functions.
The present disclosure provides a foldable structure, a foldable device and a foldable vehicle to solve certain deficiencies in the related art.
According to a first aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a foldable structure is provided, and includes: a first folding seat; a second folding seat rotatably connected with the first folding seat and having a position limiting boss; and a locking assembly having a locking buckle and an unlocking part connected with the locking buckle, the locking buckle and the unlocking part being rotatably connected with the first folding seat, respectively. The locking buckle is configured to move along with the first folding seat to be engaged with the second folding seat and the unlocking part is configured to move to abut against the position limiting boss when the foldable structure is in an unlocked state and the first folding seat rotates around the second folding seat in a first direction, to allow for the foldable structure to be switched to a pre-locked state. The position limiting boss is configured to prevent the unlocking part from rotating around the first folding seat to unlock the locking buckle in the pre-locked state.
According to a second aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a foldable device is provided, and includes a foldable structure. The foldable structure includes: a first folding seat; a second folding seat rotatably connected with the first folding seat and having a position limiting boss; and a locking assembly having a locking buckle and an unlocking part connected with the locking buckle, the locking buckle and the unlocking part being rotatably connected with the first folding seat, respectively. The locking buckle is configured to move along with the first folding seat to be engaged with the second folding seat and the unlocking part is configured to move to abut against the position limiting boss when the foldable structure is in an unlocked state and the first folding seat rotates around the second folding seat in a first direction, to allow for the foldable structure to be switched to a pre-locked state. The position limiting boss is configured to prevent the unlocking part from rotating around the first folding seat to unlock the locking buckle in the pre-locked state.
According to a third aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a foldable vehicle is provided, and includes a foldable structure, a handlebar, a front fork, a rear fork, a deck, a front wheel and a rear wheel. The foldable structure includes: a first folding seat; a second folding seat rotatably connected with the first folding seat and having a position limiting boss; and a locking assembly having a locking buckle and an unlocking part connected with the locking buckle, the locking buckle and the unlocking part being rotatably connected with the first folding seat, respectively. The locking buckle is configured to move along with the first folding seat to be engaged with the second folding seat and the unlocking part is configured to move to abut against the position limiting boss when the foldable structure is in an unlocked state and the first folding seat rotates around the second folding seat in a first direction, to allow for the foldable structure to be switched to a pre-locked state. The position limiting boss is configured to prevent the unlocking part from rotating around the first folding seat to unlock the locking buckle in the pre-locked state. The handlebar is connected with the first folding seat. The deck is connected to the second folding seat through a diagonal rod. The rear fork is connected to the deck. The front wheel is rotatably connected to the second folding seat. The rear wheel is rotatably connected to the rear fork. The first folding seat and the handlebar are configured in at least one manner of moving towards the deck and moving away from the deck.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are illustrative and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present disclosure, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.
Reference will now be made in detail to illustrative embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The following description refers to the accompanying drawings in which the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise represented. The implementations set forth in the following description of illustrative embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the present disclosure. Instead, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with aspects related to the present disclosure as recited in the appended claims.
Terms used herein in the description of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, but should not be construed to limit the present disclosure. As used in the description of the present disclosure and the appended claims, “a”, “said” and “the” in singular forms mean to include plural forms, unless clearly indicated in the context otherwise. It should also be understood that, as used herein, the term “and/or” represents and contains any one and all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.
It should be understood that, although terms such as first, second and third are used herein for describing various kinds of information in the present disclosure, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used for distinguishing the same type of information from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, a first information may also be called as a second information, and similarly, the second information may also be called as the first information. Depending on the context, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to determining”.
When the foldable structure 100 is in the unlocked state as illustrated in
As known from the above embodiments, in the present disclosure, when the first folding seat 1 and the second folding seat 2 rotate relative to each other until the locking buckle 32 is locked with the second folding seat 2, the unlocking part 31 is then limited at the position limiting boss 21, so that the unlocking part 31 cannot rotate around the first folding seat 1 to separate the locking buckle 32 from the second folding seat 2. Thus, a user does not need to fasten the unlocking part 31 manually, thereby avoiding the injury of the user caused by the unlocking of the locking buckle 32 and the relative rotation between the first folding seat 1 and the second folding seat 2, which are caused when the user neglects or forgets to manually fasten the unlocking part 31.
Furthermore, as still illustrated in
Specifically, as illustrated in
Furthermore, when switching from the unlocked state to the pre-locked state, the locking buckle 32 drives the unlocking part 31 to rotate anticlockwise. Due to the space between the position limiting boss 21 and the unlocking part 31, the restoring force of the spring 315 may drive the snapping portion 312 to move towards the position limiting boss 21 until the snapping portion 312 abuts against the position limiting boss 21, so as to achieve the pre-locking.
In the embodiment provided by the present disclosure, as illustrated in
It should be noted that, in addition to the spring 315, an elastic piece may also be arranged in the guide groove 314, and press against the snapping portion 312, so that the snapping portion 312 may reset automatically.
In each of the above embodiments, the unlocking spanner 311 may include a gripping portion 316, a first eccentric wheel 317, and a connecting rod 318. The snapping portion 312 is arranged on the gripping portion 316, the first eccentric wheel 317 may be connected to the gripping portion 316 and rotatably connected with the second rotation shaft 123, one end of the connecting rod 318 is connected with the first eccentric wheel 317, and the other end of the connecting rod 318 is connected with the locking buckle 32. As such, when the snapping portion 312 is separated from the snapping groove 13, and the gripping portion 316 rotates relative to the first folding seat 1 in the clockwise direction, the first eccentric wheel 317 may rotate clockwise relative to the second rotation shaft 123, so that an eccentric structure of the first eccentric wheel 317 may be used to press against the connecting rod 318, so as to act on the locking buckle 32, and then the locking buckle 32 rotates in the clockwise direction relative to the first folding seat 1, so as to be separated from the second folding seat 2. Thus, the foldable structure 100 is switched to the unlocked state. When the first folding seat 1 rotates in the anticlockwise direction relative to the second folding seat 2, under the joint action of the locking buckle 32 and the first folding seat 1, the snapping portion 312 of the unlocking part 31 may abut against the position limiting boss 21, and thus the foldable structure 100 is switched to the pre-locked state. Further, the gripping portion 316 is operated to rotate in the anticlockwise direction relative to the first folding seat 1, so that the snapping portion 312 may be snapped with the snapping groove 13, and thus the foldable structure 100 is switched to the locked state.
The connecting rod 318 may be directly connected with an edge of the first eccentric wheel 317. Or, as illustrated in the embodiment provided in the present disclosure, the connecting rod 218 may include a rod body and a circular hole formed in the rod body. The rod body is connected with the locking buckle 32, the first eccentric wheel 317 is arranged in the circular hole, and an axis of the second rotation shaft 123 is separated from a center of the circular hole, i.e. a rotation center of the first eccentric wheel 317 is separated from the center of the circular hole. Thus, the connection rod 318 may be pulled through the action of the first eccentric wheel 317, so that the locking buckle 32 is pulled to move towards the second folding seat 2, or the connection rod 318 is pushed through the action of the first eccentric wheel 317, so that the locking buckle 32 is pushed out to be separated from the second folding seat 2.
As illustrated in
In the above embodiments, illustrations are made by taking an example that a first direction is the anticlockwise direction and a second direction is the clockwise direction. In other embodiments, the first direction may also be the clockwise direction and the second direction may also be the anticlockwise direction, which is not limited in the present disclosure.
Based on the foldable structure 100 provided in the above embodiments, the present disclosure also provides a foldable vehicle 200 as illustrated in
In addition to the foldable vehicle illustrated in the above embodiments, the foldable structure 100 may also be applied to other foldable devices so as to achieve a relative folding between components of the foldable device, or a relative folding between parts of the foldable device. For example, the foldable device may include a monitoring platform, and a camera of the monitoring platform may be arranged to the first folding seat or the second folding seat, so that a position of the camera may be adjusted through the relative movement of the first folding seat and the second folding seat, and may be locked during the monitoring. The foldable device may also include other devices.
Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the present disclosure disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure following the general principles thereof and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art. It is intended that the specification and examples should be considered as illustrative only.
It will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited to the exact construction that has been described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202010852570.9 | Aug 2020 | CN | national |
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Entry |
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Indian Patent Application No. 202144018592, Office Action dated Mar. 25, 2022, 6 pages. |
European Patent Application No. 21170185.9, extended search and opinion dated Sep. 24, 2021, 8 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20220055710 A1 | Feb 2022 | US |