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Title:
FLAT CABLE WITH BRAIDED HARNESS FOR ELECTROTECHNICAL AND ELECTRONICAL USE
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2018/203357
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
A flat cable (1) includes a braided harness (5) consisting of wires (6a...6n) which individually pass around each conductor (2, 3, 4) of the cable (1) and are arranged on one side of a conductor (2, 3, 4) in the sections extending from a first edge to a second edge of the cable (1), and on the opposite side of the same conductor in the sections extending from the second edge to the first edge of the cable (1).

Inventors:
MONGARDI MAURIZIO (IT)
CASTELLO ALBERTO (IT)
Application Number:
PCT/IT2018/050076
Publication Date:
November 08, 2018
Filing Date:
April 26, 2018
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
ELEXA CAVI S R L (IT)
International Classes:
H01B7/08; H01B7/02; H01B7/00
Foreign References:
US0417402A1889-12-17
US0272441A1883-02-20
EP2685465A12014-01-15
FR1382803A1964-12-18
US4070911A1978-01-31
GB2265750A1993-10-06
US5635677A1997-06-03
JP2005141923A2005-06-02
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
SAGLIETTI&SAGLIETTI S.R.L. (IT)
Download PDF:
Claims:
TI TLE : FLAT CABLE FOR ELECTROTECHNICAL AND ELECTRONICAL USE

CLAIMS

1. Flat cable (1) for electrotechnical and electronical use, including a plurality of conductors (2, 3, 4; 2, 3) and a coating (5) consisting of a sequence of braided wires (6a...6n), characterized in that the wires (6a...6n) of said coating (5) individually pass around each conductor (2, 3, 4; 2, 3) of the cable (1) and are arranged on one side of a conductor (2, 3, 4; 2, 3) in the sections extending from a first edge to a second edge of the cable (1), and are arranged on the opposite side of the same conductor in the sections extending from the second edge to the first edge of the cable (1) .

2. Cable (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that consecutive conductors (2, 3, 4} are contiguous to each other and the wi es (6a...6n) of the coating which pass on one side of a conductor (2, 3, 4) pass on the opposite side of the following conductor, so that the wires (6a...6n) cross each other in the space between co secuti e conductors .

3. Cable (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that a filling element (7) is arranged between consecutive conductors (2, 3) and the wires (6a...6n) of the coating pass on one side of each filling element (7) in the sections extending from a first edge to a second edge of the cable (1), and are arranged on the opposite side of the same filling element (7) in the sections extending from the second edge to the first edge of the cable (1) .

4. Cable (1) according to claim 3 , characterized in that the wires (6a...6n) of the coating passing on one side of a conductor (2, 3) pass on the opposite side of the adjacent filling element (7) , so that the wires (6a...6n) cross each other in the space between a conductor (2, 3) and the adj acent filling element (7) .

5. Cable (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the 'wires (6a...6n) of said coating (5) are wires made of insulating textile material .

6. Cable (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the insulating textile material is selected from natural or artificial yarns of vegetable origin, or synthetic organic or inorganic yarns, thermoplastic yarns, thermosetting yarns .

7. Cable (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the wires (6a...611) of said coating

(5) are metallic wires.

Description:
FLAT CABLE WITH BRAIDED HARNESS FOR ELECTROTECHNICAL AND ELECTRONICAL USE

DESCRIPTION

This invention relates to a flat cable for electrotechnical and electronical use.

Flat cables (or ribbon cables) are normally used as cables for low voltage signals in electronic circuits or automatic controls. These cables usually include a plastic coating which incorporates and separates the individual conductors. This type of coating, however, has the drawback of making the cable relatively little flexible and of stressing the conductors in case of application of mechanical stresses, in particular tensile stresses.

It is also foreseen to use flat cables in electrotechnics , but only for low voltage applications (up to 300 V) and low amperage applications (the conductor sections cannot exceed 1 square millimeter) . These cables have a thermoplastic coating that wraps the set of conductors and that is similar to the jacket of the individual conductors. These cables therefore present the same problems as signal cables and, in addition, they have limited possibilities of application.

It is therefore desirable to provide flat cables which do not have the drawbacks of known cables and which can be used for a wide range of applications both in electronics and in electrotechnics .

According to the invention, this is obtained in that the coating consists of a succession of braided wires, which pass individually around each conductor of the cable and are arranged on one side of the conductor in a section extending from a first edge to a second edge of the cable and are arranged on the opposite side of the conductor in a section extending from the second edge to the first edge of the cable . A double coating ' is thus obtained o each. conductor, increasing and ensuring the total separation bet een the di fferent conductors .

In the event that consecutive conductors are contiguous with each other, the wires of the coating are arranged in order to cross each other in the space between consecutive conductors ,

In the event that consecutive conductors are separated by filling elements, the coating wires individually pass around each conductor and around each filling element, and are arranged on one side of each conductor and on one side of each filling element in a section extending from a first edge to a second edge of the cable, and are arranged on the opposite side of the conductor and of the filling element in a section extending from the second edge to the first edge of the cable. A double coating is thus obtained on each conductor and on each filling element, increasing and ensuring total separation between the different components .

The characteristics and the advantages of the present invention will become clear from, the following description. of some embodiments, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a first example of an electric cable according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross- section of the cable of Fig. 1; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are views similar to figures 1 and 2, relating to a second example of electrical cable according to the invention.

With reference to figures 1 and 2, a first example of cable 1 according to the invention is illustrated. In this example, the cable 1 is a three-conductor electric cable, thus comprising, in a. conventional manner, a phase conductor 2, a neutral conductor 3 and a grounding conductor 4, The conductors 2, 3, 4 are covered by a respective insulating jacket 2a., 3a., 4a made of plastic material, e.g. silicone rubber, as required by current regulations. In this example, conductors 2 - 4 are contiguous to each other. The cable 1 is provided with a coating 5 constituted by a plurality of braided wires 6a ...6i , ..6n, arranged in order to retain the conductors 2 - 4 in a flat shape .

According to the invention, each of the coating wires 6a...6i...6n passes individually around each conductor 2 - 4, and also passes on one side of each conductor in the section extending from one edge to the other of the cable 1 in one direction, and passes on the opposite side in the following section extending between the edges of the cable 1 in the opposite direction. Furthermore, each wire passes on opposite sides of adj acent conductors . In this way, as can be clearly seen in Fig. 2 for the pair of wires 6 , 6k, the wires 6 cross each other in the space between consecutive conductors, thus giving rise to a double coating on each conductor, ensuring complete separation between the con.ductors .

The same arrangement is set up for flat cables for low voltage signals to be used, for example, in electronic circuits or control systems and having, in general, a greater number of conductors than electric cables.

The wires 6 may be made of an insulating material. In this case the material must have high technical features in respect of tensile and breaking strength, resistance to UV rays or high temperatures, insulation, etc. In this case the double coating allows to implement optimal electrical, thernia1 arid, mechanical insulation features. Examples of materials that can be used are natural yarns deriving from plants such as cotton, or artificial yarns such as viscose, or organic synthetic yarns such as polyester, or even inorganic synthetic yarns such as glass fiber, carbon, Kevlar, etc. Thermoplastic and thermosetting yarns with the high technical features mentioned, above can also be used.

Alternatively, the wires 6 may be conductive metallic wires, for example for shielding, protection purposes, and so on.

The coating can be applied by using conventional braiding machines .

Figures 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of cable 1 according to the invention. In these figures, elements analogous to those shown in figures 1 and 2 are indicated with the same reference numbers.

In this example, the cable 1 is a two-conductor electric cable, thus comprising the phase conductor 2 and the neutral conductor 3, each, with the corresponding jacket 2a, 3a.

In this example, between the conductors 2 and 3 a filling element 7 is arranged, constituted for example by a slat with circular section, the presence of which can be dictated by different reasons: cable design, needs of symmetry, distance between active elements, increase in cable size, etc.

In a manner analogous to what shown in Figures 1 and 2, each of the wires 6 of the coating 5 passes individually both around the individual conductors 2 and 3, and around the filling element 7 and is also arranged on one side of each conductor and on one side of the filling element 7 in the section extending from one edge to the other of the cable 1 in one direction, and passes on the opposite side in the following section extending between the edges of the cable 1 in the opposite direction. Depending on the direction of application during braiding, a wire 6 which, for example, passes under the conductor 2, then passes over the filling element 7 and then passes again under the conductor 3. In this way, the wires of the coating cross each other in. the space between the filling element 7 and. the adjacent conductor. A double coating is thus obtained both on the conductors 2, 3 and on the filling element 7,

It should be noted, that, even if by way of example, a three-conductor cable without filling elements and a two- conductor cable with filling element are shown, the presence/absence of the filling element is not related to the number of conductors of the cable: thus, according to the specific applications, it is possible to have cables with two or more conductors with filling elements arranged between each couple of adjacent conductors, and cables with two or more conductors v/ithout filling elements.

A coating of braided textile yarn, allows, by its nature, to obtain good mechanical features - in terms of flexibility and tensile strength - of the obtained cable. In particular, the mechanical stresses of the coating avoid stresses for the conductors, fully safeguarding the electrical functions performed. Furthermore, the double coating on each conductor and the choice of a yarn with high technical features considerably improve the final product , obtaining results of high quality and superior performance .

In general, thanks to the wide choice of usable yarns, it is possible to change the nature of the cable, adding advantageous properties in the technical use of the product .