Google explains how it built the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s gearless hinge | Infinium-tech
Google announced the Pixel 10 Pro Fold in August alongside the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL, but the folding smartphone just became available today.
To celebrate the occasion, Google has explained why it chose to create a gearless hinge for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, and it’s all about offering more “without sacrificing the benefits of a pro-level phone.”
Google’s designers and engineers took a less secure and more aggressive route with respect to the hinge, as well as the overall “aggressive dimensions” of the phone, a similar view to Claude Zellweger, who leads the Pixel industrial design team.
As the name suggests, gearless hinges have no gears, and the design team took this route because gears can cause problems over time with dust getting trapped between them, “degrading the basic opening and closing feel that is important on a foldable”. Gearless hinge is more reliable.
A typical hinge has four gears with teeth that allow both parts of the device to rotate symmetrically when opening and closing. The gearless hinge maintains this symmetrical motion by using CAMs, which are mechanical components that convert rotational motion into linear motion, allowing the hinge to save some space. The CAMs are spring-loaded so when one half of the device is opened, the other is forced to follow.
The use of this hinge allows for larger screens and smaller bezels and larger batteries. And since the gearless hinge protrudes less from the phone’s body, it offers a better grip and feel in the hand. The IP68 dust and water resistance rating was achieved as the small spaces required for the old hinge gears were eliminated.
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