Cable

• US 20030056969A1
• Filed: 05/24/2002
• Published: 03/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Eves, David A., Wagner, Philippa C.
• Granted Patent: US 6,965,081 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 174/68.1
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 1/005 with embedded cable or connector
• CPC Class Codes: D04C 1/02 made from particular materials
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2401/16 antistatic; conductive
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/0009 Details relating to the conductive cores
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/0266 comprising one or more braided layers of insulation

Abstract

An electrical cable of all textile construction includes a first conductor of conductive textile material, a first insulator of braided insulating textile material, a second conductor of braided conductive textile material and a second insulator of braided insulating textile material. Such a cable, through being of an all textile construction makes it particularly suitable for incorporation in items such as garments, fashion accessories, upholstered article and other soft furnishings as it can be made very flexible, soft to the touch and of a required color. Furthermore, by making the cables using textile materials that have been developed for use in garments, the cables are capable of being subjected to standard garment care techniques such as machine washing in the home or dry cleaning. This means items, such as garments, that include these cables can be placed in the washing machine for cleaning, with no added risk to the wire, garment or washing machine.

Claims

1. A cable including at least one textile electrical conductor.

2. A cable in accordance with claim 1 wherein the at least one textile electrical conductor is of a braided construction.

3. A cable in accordance with claim 1 or 2 and further including at least one textile electrical insulator.

4. A cable in accordance with claim 3 wherein the at least one textile electrical insulator is of a braided construction.

5. A cable in accordance with any one or more of claims 1 to 4 having a central core of said textile electrical conductor, an insulating layer of said textile electrical insulator surrounding said central core and a conducting layer of said textile electrical conductor surrounding said insulating layer.

6. A cable in accordance with any one or more of claims 1 to 4 having at least one first textile electrical conductor and at least one first textile electrical insulator each surrounding an associated one of said at least one first textile electrical conductors.

7. A cable in accordance with claim 6 and further comprising at least one second conducting layer of said textile electrical conductor surrounding each of said at least one first textile electrical insulators.

8. A cable in accordance with claim 6 and further comprising at least one second conducting layer of said textile electrical conductor each surrounding an associated one of said at least one first textile electrical insulators.

9. A cable in accordance with any one or more of claims 5 to 8 and further comprising subsequent insulating layers of said textile electrical insulator and subsequent conducting layers of said textile electrical conductor.

10. A cable in accordance with any one or more of claims 1 to 9 wherein one or more textile electrical conductor includes fibre or filament conductive material.

11. A cable in accordance with claim 10 wherein the one or more textile electrical conductor further includes fibre or filament insulative material.

12. A cable in accordance with claim 10 or 11 where the fibre or filament conductive material is provided in the form of one or more yarns.

13. A cable in accordance with any one or more of claims 1 to 12 wherein the textile electrical insulator includes fibre or filament insulative material.

14. A cable in accordance with claim 13 wherein the fibre or filament insulative material is provided in the form of one or more yarns.

15. A cable in accordance with any one or more of claims 1 to 14 wherein an outermost layer includes at least a proportion of insulative or conductive fibre or filament material capable of accepting a coating so as to affect its perceived visible colour.

16. A method of producing a cable having the technical features of any one or more of claims 1 to 15.

17. A method of producing an electrical cable comprising the steps of:

providing at least one electrical conductor in the form of a textile; and

providing at least one electrical insulator, wherein the conductor and insulator are arranged with respect to each other to form a cable.

18. A method in accordance with claim 17 wherein a said at least one electrical insulator is arranged to substantially surround a said at least one electrical conductor.