Conductive cable or fabric

• US 4,634,805 A
• Filed: 05/02/1985
• Issued: 01/06/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/1985
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fiber Materials, Incorporated (Spirit Aerosystems Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Material Concept, Inc.
• Inventors: Orban, Ralph F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Grimley, Arthur T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NIMMO, MORRIS
• Application Number:
  US06/729,774
• Time in Patent Office: 614 Days
• Field of Search: 174/122 C, 174/124 GC, 174/126 C, 174/126 CP, 174/128 R, 174/129 R, 174/130, 174/131 R, 174/131 A, 174/131 B, 428/379, 428/381, 428/394, 428/902
• US Class Current: 174/128.1
• CPC Class Codes: D06M 11/83 with metals; with metal-generating compounds, e.g. metal carbonyls; Reduction of metal compounds on textiles
• CPC Class Codes: D07B 1/147 comprising electric conductors or elements for information transfer D07B1/145 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 13/0026 Apparatus for manufacturing conducting or semi-conducting layers, e.g. deposition of metal
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/0009 Details relating to the conductive cores
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/043 attached to flying objects, e.g. aircraft towline, cables connecting an aerodyne to the ground
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2944 Free metal in coating
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2967 Synthetic resin or polymer

Abstract

A conductive cable made up of a plurality of polyaramid elements referred to as tows, which are woven, twisted, or braided together, in which each of said tows comprises a large number of individual fine filaments (usually about 1,000 or so) with each of the individual filaments being coated with an adherent metal coating such as copper, nickel, silver, zinc, cadmium, platinum, iron, cobalt, chromium, tin, lead, rhodium, ruthenium, and indium in single or multiple layers so as to provide strength and good electrical conductivity. Woven polyaramid fabric is also disclosed with the individual filaments in each element or tow of the fabric having been treated in the same manner.

Methods of making such a cable or woven fabric are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A conductive cable comprising a plurality of polyaramid tows, each of said tows comprising a multiplicity of individual filaments in substantially straight parallel untwisted relationship to each other, each of said filaments being coated with an adherent metal coating, said tows being combined together.

2. The cable of claim 1 wherein said metal forming said coating is selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, gold, palladium, and cobalt.

3. The cable of claim 2 wherein said metal coating comprises a plurality of layers of metal, all layers consisting of the same metal.

4. The cable of claim 1 wherein said adherent metal coating comprises a first coating on each of said filaments selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, gold, palladium, and cobalt and a second metal coating on said first coating selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, silver, zinc, cadmium, platinum, iron, cobalt, chromium, tin, lead, rhodium, ruthenium, and indium.

5. The cable of claim 2 wherein said adherent metal coating comprises a first coating of copper, a second coating of copper over said first coating of copper, and a coating of nickel over said second coating of copper.

6. The conductive cable of claim 1 wherein said tows are braided together.

7. The conductive cable of claim 1 wherein said tows are twisted together.