CABLE WITH A TACTILE TWIST INDICATOR AND METHOD FOR TORSION-FREE LAYING OF SUCH A CABLE

Abstract

A cable with a tactile twist indicator, wherein the cable has at least one core for signal transmission and a cable sheath surrounding the at least one core, wherein the cable has precisely one tactile twist indicator, which extends along a longitudinal direction of the cable over essentially the entire length of the cable sheath and which has a predetermined orientation relative to the at least one core over essentially the entire length of the cable sheath.

Claims

1. A cable with a tactile twist indicator, wherein the cable has at least one core for signal transmission and a cable sheath surrounding the at least one core, wherein the cable has precisely one tactile twist indicator, which extends along a longitudinal direction of the cable over essentially the entire length of the cable sheath and which has a predetermined orientation to the at least one core over essentially the entire length of the cable sheath.

2. The cable of claim 1, wherein the twist indicator is a projection protruding over the cable sheath or a groove-like depression in the cable sheath.

3. The cable of claim 1, wherein the twist indicator is a projection protruding over the cable sheath, in which no core and in particular no core for signal transmission is arranged.

4. The cable of claim 1, wherein the twist indicator and the cable sheath are formed as a single piece and are integral with each other.

5. The cable of claim 4, wherein the twist indicator and the cable sheath are formed in a common extrusion process, in which the at least one core is overmolded with the cable sheath.

6. The cable of claim 1, wherein the twist indicator is formed in a cross section of the cable on just one side of the cable sheath and in the circumferential direction around the cable sheath at a predetermined position.

7. The cable of claim 6, wherein the twist indicator is formed at exactly the same position at each cross-section of the cable in the circumferential direction around the cable sheath.

8. The cable of claim 1, wherein the twist indicator has a different color from the cable sheath, so that the tactile twist indicator can be detected optically.

9. The cable of claim 1, wherein the core is a core conducting electrical or optical signals.

10. The cable of claim 1, wherein the cable is a round cable or a flat cable.

11. The cable of claim 1, wherein a force-sensitive, mechanophoric, element is arranged in or on the twist indicator and in particular over the substantially entire length of the cable sheath, which element is designed to change its optical appearance or its physical properties when a transverse force and/or torsional force is applied which is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and which exceeds a limit force.

12. The cable according to claim 1, wherein the at least one core has a round cross-section, or wherein the at least one core has a flat and in particular rectangular cross-section, or wherein a plurality of cores are provided, which have a flat and in particular rectangular cross-section and which are stacked on top of one another in the cross-section of the cable.

13. The cable of claim 1, wherein an end portion of the cable in the longitudinal direction of the cable forms a coding portion with the twist indicator as a coding element for a cable termination element, and wherein the cable is formed by the twist indicator, in such a way that it can be joined with the cable termination element only in a predetermined position.

14. A method for torsion-free laying of the cable of claim 1, along a predetermined cable path, wherein the cable is arranged along the predetermined cable path and is held in a predetermined orientation with the twist indicator during the positioning, and wherein the cable is checked for impermissible twisting of the cable in the circumferential direction after its positioning along the predetermined cable path, by optical and/or tactile detection of the twist indicator.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] The features disclosed above can be combined in any way as long as such combination is technically feasible and said features do not contradict one another.

[0036] Other advantageous developments of the invention are characterized in the dependent claims and will be described in greater detail in the following, in conjunction with the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the figures. In the figures:

[0037] FIG. 1a, b each show a cable with a first variant of a twist indicator in cross section;

[0038] FIG. 2a, b each show a cable with a second variant of a twist indicator in cross section;

[0039] FIG. 3a, b each show a cable with a third variant of a twist indicator in cross section; and

[0040] FIG. 4 shows a cable in a top view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] The figures show schematic examples. Same reference symbols in the figures denote same functional and/or structural features.

[0042] FIGS. 1 to 3 each show a cable 1 in cross section with a variant of a twist indicator 12, a round cable being shown in the respective FIG. 1a, 2a, 3a and a flat cable being shown in the respective FIG. 1b, 2b, 3b.

[0043] The cables 1 each have a plurality of cores 10, the numbers of cores 10 shown being purely exemplary. In addition, the cores 10 are sheathed in the circumferential direction U with the cable sheath 11, which can also lie completely against the outer surfaces of the cores 10.

[0044] In FIGS. 1a and 1b, a protruding twist indicator 12 is provided with a part-circular cross section, which can also be referred to as a nose and protrudes in the radial direction R over the cable sheath 11 and can therefore be detected by a sensor or a person, i.e. can be detected tactily.

[0045] Also in the case of a flat cable 1, as shown in FIGS. 1b, 2b and 3b, the radial direction R and the circumferential direction U relate to a respective central or longitudinal axis X of the cable 1.

[0046] In FIGS. 2a and 2b, the twist indicator 12 has a triangular cross section, wherein a tip 13 of the triangular twist indicator 12 forms an edge over the longitudinal direction of the cable, which can be easily detected optically and tactily.

[0047] As an alternative to the twist indicators 12 designed as projections of the variants according to FIGS. 1a to 2b, the twist indicator 12 can also be provided as a groove-like depression, as is shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b. The region of the cable sheath 11 immediately adjacent to the groove-like depression or adjacent to the twist indicator 12 is preferably thicker than adjacent regions of the cable sheath 11, so that the minimum thickness of the cable sheath 11 required for adequate insulation is not exceeded. Correspondingly, the twist indicator 12 forms a recess in relation to the surface of the cable sheath 11, which, however, can also be easily detected tactily. In addition, a twist indicator 12 designed as a depression is better protected against unintentional shearing off or detachment than a twist indicator 12 designed as a projection.

[0048] In the case of the flat cables according to FIGS. 1b, 2b and 3b, the twist indicator 12 is arranged in the middle of a long side of the essentially rectangular cable sheath 11, wherein the twist indicator 12 can alternatively also be arranged on a short side of the cable sheath 11 and also eccentrically.

[0049] FIG. 4 shows a cable 1 in a top view or a view from above, the cable 1 having as an example a twist indicator 12 according to the variant shown in FIG. 2a and having a first region A and a second region B along its longitudinal direction L. In simplified form, the twist indicator 12 is only represented by the path of its tip 13 or the edge formed by the tip 13.

[0050] In the first portion A, the tip 13 or the edge of the twist indicator 12 runs in a straight line and without torsion in the circumferential direction U. Since the twist indicator 12 has a predetermined orientation relative to the cores 10, the cores 10 within the cable sheath 11 are also not twisted or distorted and run in a straight line.

[0051] In the second portion B, the tip 13 or the edge of the twist indicator 12 runs in a twisted or rotated manner in the circumferential direction about a central axis X of the cable 1. Correspondingly, the cores 10 are also distorted or twisted within the cable sheath 11, which can be easily recognized from the path of the tip 13.

[0052] Depending on the nature of the cable 1 and the cores 10, the cable 1 or the cores 10 can then be brought into an untwisted/undistorted path using the twist indicator 12 or the entire cable 1 can be replaced.

[0053] The invention is not limited in its form to the preferred exemplary embodiment provided above. Rather, a number of variants is conceivable, which make use of the presented solution even with fundamentally different designs.