Cable

Abstract

A cable has an outer sheath made from fluoropolymer and a conductor core having several individual elements which are surrounded by an inner sheath which penetrates into an intermediate chamber between the individual elements. A heat resistant film is disposed between the inner sheath and the outer sheath and is formed of a metal layer and a support layer.

Claims

1-12. (canceled)

13. A cable, comprising: an inner sheath; an outer sheath made of a fluoropolymer and surrounding said inner sheath; and a conductor core having a plurality of individual elements and surrounded by said inner sheath which penetrates into intermediate chambers formed between said individual elements.

14. The cable according to claim 13, further comprising a heat-resistant film disposed between said inner sheath and said outer sheath.

15. The cable according to claim 14, wherein said heat-resistant film is a dense barrier layer.

16. The cable according to claim 14, wherein said heat-resistant film is a heat shield which has at least one metal layer.

17. The cable according to claim 16, wherein said heat-resistant film is a metal-laminated polymer film having a support layer of a heat-resistant polymer.

18. The cable according to claim 17, wherein said support layer is formed from a polyimide.

19. The cable according to claim 13, wherein said inner sheath contains a polymer that is heat-resistant to at least 100 C.

20. The cable according to claim 13, wherein said inner sheath is configured as a silicone inner sheath.

21. The cable according to claim 13, wherein said fluoropolymer contains a material selected from the group consisting of perfluoroalkoxy polymer (PFA), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer (FEP), perfluoroalkoxy polymer (MFA) and ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE).

22. The cable according to claim 21, wherein said outer sheath is formed from a compound of said fluoropolymer and a fluoroelastomer.

23. The cable according to claim 14, wherein the cable has a structure with the following components in immediate succession: said conductor core, said inner sheath, said heat-resistant film and said outer sheath.

24. The cable according to claim 13, wherein said conductor core contains only said individual elements being a plurality of electrical cores.

25. The cable according to claim 13, wherein said inner sheath contains a polymer that is heat-resistant to at least 150 C.

26. The cable according to claim 24, wherein said conductor core contains said individual elements being a plurality of electrical cores surrounding a central filling strand.

Description

[0036] An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in greater detail below using the single drawing. This drawing shows a cross-section of a cable.

[0037] The cable 2 shown in the drawing has a conductor core 4 that an inner sheath 6 directly surrounds. A heat-resistant film 8 is applied, and in particular wrapped, around the inner sheath 6. A fluoropolymer outer sheath 10 is fitted around this film. This outer sheath is extruded by hot extrusion, in particular tube extrusion, onto the inner sheath 6 that has been wrapped with film 8.

[0038] The conductor core 4 has a plurality of individual elements 12. These elements are in particular cores, in particular stranded conductors, that are each respectively made up of a central conductor 14 and a core insulation 16 that surrounds them. In the exemplary embodiment, a total of 5 individual elements 12 are furnished that are formed as cores. By way of example, these are stranded together and form a common layer. An additional strand is arranged in the center, for example a filling strand 18; the individual elements 12, which are formed as cores, are stranded around it.

[0039] Due to the circular cross-section of the cores, an interstitial intermediate area 20 is respectively formed between each two adjacent cores. Expediently, this intermediate area is completely filled with the material of the inner sheath 6.

[0040] The inner sheath 6 is in this case a silicone inner sheath. A silicone polymer is therefore used as the material for the inner sheath 6. The inner sheath consists at least mostly of a silicone polymer; preferably, the inner sheath 6 consists entirely of a silicone polymer.

[0041] As may also be seen from the drawing, the inner sheath completely surrounds the conductor core 4, so that the outer sheath 10 and also the film 8 have a minimum distance a to the individual elements 12, this distance for example being at least 0.3 mm or preferably at least 0.8 mm.

[0042] The film 8 is in particular a metal-laminated film 6 that has a support layer 8a made especially of a polyimide, and a metal layer 8b applied thereto that is in particular an aluminum layer. In this case, the metal layer 8b is in particular oriented outward toward the outer sheath 10.

[0043] Preferably, a compound of one of the fluoropolymers mentioned above, in particular a compound of ETFE with a fluoroelastomer, is used as the material for the intermediate sheath. Adding a fluoroelastomer provides good (bending) flexibility. As a result, the cable 2 has a high bending flexibility overall. Fluoroelastomers refer generally to fluorinated elastomers, which are also known under the term fluororubber. For example, the material used for the intermediate sheath 8 is sold under the trade name Fluon AR-8018A (Fluon is a trademark of Asahi Glass Company, Ltd.).

[0044] The outer diameter of the cable 2 and thus of the outer sheath 10 usually ranges between 2 mm and 30 mm. The outer sheath 10 has a wall thickness that is for example greater than the minimum distance a. The wall thickness of the outer sheath 10 is for example in a range from 0.3 mm to 2 mm. The minimum distance a of the inner sheath 6 is preferably in the range from 0.3 mm to 2 mm. Furthermore, the conductor core 4 has a diameter that is determined by a circle that envelops one of the individual elements 12. In this case, this diameter is preferably in the range from 1 mm to 30 mm.

[0045] The cable 2 is characterized by a high degree of roundness due to its structure. Because a fluoropolymer outer sheath 10 is used, the cable also exhibits good ii heat resistance and very good media resistance, for example to oils or other media. This makes the cable particularly suitable for use as an industrial cable in industrial applications, even under harsh environmental conditions.

[0046] In manufacturing the cable 2, the inner sheath 6 is first applied to the individual elements 12, which have been stranded together beforehand, for example by extrusion. The film 8 is then applied, in particular wrapped, around the inner sheath 6. The fluoropolymer outer sheath 10 is then applied by tube extrusion. This occurs by means of hot extrusion at temperatures that are typically between 380 C. and 400 C. Alternatively, to form the outer sheath 10, a PTFE banding is applied and later sintered at temperatures of >400 C.