Cable and method for its manufacture

Abstract

A cable, in particular a data cable, extends in a longitudinal direction and has a number of lines and a structural element extending in the longitudinal direction for stiffening the cable. The lines are embedded in the structural element. Here, the lines and the structural element are surrounded by a common shield made of a conductive material. Due to the special arrangement of the shield, a particularly compact structure can be provided. A method for producing the cable is also provided.

Claims

1. A cable, comprising: a structural element for stiffening the cable extending in a longitudinal direction of the cable, said structural element being rigid and consisting of a glass fiber-reinforced or carbon fiber-reinforced resin or plastic, said resin or plastic connecting fibers of said resin or plastic to one another for forming said structural element; a plurality of lines embedded in said structural element; and a common shield made of a conductive material surrounding said lines and said structural element.

2. The cable according to claim 1, wherein said lines and said structural element together form a composite without gaps.

3. The cable according to claim 1, wherein said lines are embedded in a fiber-resin matrix.

4. The cable according to claim 1, wherein each of said lines is an un-shielded line.

5. The cable according to claim 1, wherein said structural element is guided centrally.

6. The cable according to claim 1, wherein said structural element has a circular peripheral contour in cross section perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction.

7. The cable according to claim 1, wherein said structural element is formed as a cylinder, and said lines are embedded in said cylinder.

8. The cable according to claim 1, wherein said lines are each arranged in a radial direction in an outer-most portion of said structural element.

9. The cable according to claim 1, wherein said lines are distributed uniformly in a circumferential direction.

10. The cable according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said lines comprises a plurality of conductors, which are insulated from one another and which are stranded with one another.

11. The cable according to claim 1, which comprises a stabilizing layer arranged between said structural element and said shield.

12. The cable according to claim 1, which comprises an outer sheathing disposed to surround said shield.

13. The cable according to claim 1, configured for use with a camera system for examining pipelines.

14. A cable, comprising: a structural element for stiffening the cable extending in a longitudinal direction of the cable, said structural element being rigid and consisting of a glass fiber-reinforced or carbon fiber-reinforced resin or plastic, said resin or plastic connecting fibers of said resin or plastic to one another for forming said structural element; a plurality of lines embedded in said structural element; a resin added to said structural element and said lines being glued to said structural element; and a common shield made of a conductive material surrounding said lines and said structural element.

15. The cable according to claim 14, wherein said stabilizing layer is formed as a winding or a braid.

16. A method of producing a cable which extends in a longitudinal direction, the method comprising: embedding a number of lines in a structural element extending in the longitudinal direction and configured for stiffening the cable; surrounding the structural element and the lines embedded in the structural element with a common shield made of a conductive material; forming the structural element as a rigid structural element consisting of a glass fiber-reinforced or carbon fiber-reinforced resin or plastic, said resin or plastic connecting fibers of said resin or plastic to one another for forming said structural element.

17. The method according to claim 16, which comprises producing a cable according to claim 1.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the structural element is produced from a fiber material, and wherein the lines are embedded in the structural element to form a common composite from the lines and the fiber material.

19. The method according to claim 18, which comprises drawing the composite through a resin bath and then curing.

20. A method of producing a cable which extends in a longitudinal direction, the method comprising: embedding a number of lines in a structural element extending in the longitudinal direction and configured for stiffening the cable; surrounding the structural element and the lines embedded in the structural element with a common shield made of a conductive material; forming the structural element as a rigid structural element consisting of a glass fiber-reinforced or carbon fiber-reinforced resin or plastic, said resin or plastic connecting fibers of said resin or plastic to one another for forming said structural element and adding a resin to the structure element and gluing the lines to the structural element.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

(1) Exemplary embodiments will be explained in greater detail hereinafter on the basis of a drawing. In the drawing:

(2) FIG. 1 schematically shows an end view of a cable, and

(3) FIG. 2 schematically shows a variant of the cable.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(4) FIG. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of a cable 2, which comprises a centrally guided structural element 4, in which a number of lines 6 (here four lines) are embedded. In the embodiment shown here these lines 6 are arranged in an outermost portion of the structural element 4, i.e. radially outwardly and within a peripheral contour K of the structural element 4 extending in the peripheral direction U, in particular adjacently to said contour. Three of the lines 6 illustrated here are formed as single conductors 8 and in the exemplary embodiment shown here do not comprise any further insulation 10 or shielding. These conductors 8 are made of a conductive material, for example copper or aluminum and in particular are in direct contact with the structural element 4. The fourth line 6 is formed here as a core pair and accordingly comprises two conductors 8, which are each surrounded by an insulation 10. Two cores 12 are thus formed, which here are stranded with one another in particular.

(5) The lines 6 are each un-shielded, i.e. do not have a separate shield or separate shield layer. Instead, the entire structural element 4 with the lines 6 embedded therein is surrounded by a common shield 14. This is formed in particular as a braid made of a conductive material.

(6) In the example shown here the conductors 8 each have a diameter D1 of approximately 0.25 mm. The cores 12 each have a diameter D2 of approximately 0.8 mm. The structural element 4 here in particular has a diameter D3 of approximately 6 mm, and the cable 2 as a whole then has a diameter D4 of approximately 8 mm.

(7) The shield 14 here does not bear directly against structural element 4, and rather a stabilizing layer 16 is arranged between these two elements, which stabilizing layer is formed here in particular likewise as a braid from the same fibers as the structural element 4 and forms an outermost layer of the structural element 4. Accordingly, the lines 6 are each arranged in particular within the stabilizing layer 16. In an alternative the stabilizing layer 16 is formed as a winding. As outermost layer, the cable 2 lastly comprises an outer sheathing 18, which is applied as a common outer sheathing 18 around all lines 6, the structural element 4 and the shield 14.

(8) FIG. 2 shows a variant of the cable 2, in which the structural element 4 per se is formed as a cylinder extending in the longitudinal direction L, i.e. perpendicularly to the radial direction R, in which cylinder a number of lines 6 are embedded. The two lines 6 here are each formed as a core 12, having a conductor 8 and an insulation 10 surrounding this in each case. In the exemplary embodiment shown here the lines 6 are guided close to the center Z of the cable 2 and are thus distanced maximally from the shield 14 in the radial direction R. The lines 6 additionally form a number of triangular spaces 20, which are filled by the structural element 4. As already in FIG. 1, the structural element 4 here has a circular peripheral contour K as well.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

(9) 2 cable 4 structural element 6 line 8 conductor 10 insulation 12 core 14 shield 16 stabilizing layer 18 outer sheathing 20 triangular space D1, D2, D3, D4 diameter L longitudinal direction R radial direction U peripheral direction Z center