MULTIFUNCTIONAL CABLE

Abstract

A multifunctional cable is particularly suitable for the automotive industry. The multifunctional cable has a plurality of functional elements. A core in the form of a sheathed line contains at least one inner functional element. At least one outer functional element is wound around the sheathed line core.

Claims

1. A multifunctional cable, comprising: a core being a sheathed line and having at least one inner functional element; and at least one outer functional element wound around said sheathed line.

2. The multifunctional cable according to claim 1, which comprises an insulation surrounding said at least one outer functional element.

3. The multifunctional cable according to claim 1, wherein said at least one inner functional element is one of a plurality of inner functional elements in said core, and said core and said inner functional elements are untwisted.

4. The multifunctional cable according to claim 1, wherein a press fit with a structurally prespecified press strength is formed between said core and said at least one outer functional element.

5. The multifunctional cable according to claim 1, wherein said at least one inner functional element and said at least one outer functional element are of mutually different designs.

6. The multifunctional cable according to claim 1, wherein said at least one inner functional element and said at least one outer functional element are part of a plurality of functional elements and said functional elements include functional elements of mutually different designs.

7. The multifunctional cable according to claim 1, wherein said at least one inner functional element and said at least one outer functional element are electrical lines.

8. The multifunctional cable according to claim 7, wherein said at least one inner functional element is a wire and said at least one outer functional element is a wire.

9. The multifunctional cable according to claim 1, wherein said at least one inner functional element and said at least one outer functional element are mutually different cable embodiments.

10. The multifunctional cable according to claim 1, wherein said core has a core diameter that is greater than a diameter of said at least one outer functional element.

11. The multifunctional cable according to claim 1, wherein said at least one outer functional element is wound around said core to form functional element gaps between mutually successive windings in a longitudinal direction of the cable.

12. The multifunctional cable according to claim 1, wherein said at least one outer functional element is one of a plurality of outer functional elements and all of said outer functional elements are wound around said core and bear against one another.

13. The multifunctional cable according to claim 12, which comprises an outer sheath surrounding said outer functional elements.

14. The multifunctional cable according to claim 13, wherein the outer sheath enters into functional element gaps formed between said outer functional elements wound around said core.

15. The multifunctional cable according to claim 13, wherein said outer sheath is a sheath formed by at least two extrusion processes that were executed in succession.

16. The multifunctional cable according to claim 1, configured for use in the automotive industry.

17. A multifunctional cable extending in a longitudinal direction, the cable comprising: a sheathed line forming a core, said sheathed line having a plurality of untwisted wires and an insulating sheath surrounding said wires; at least one wire wound around said sheathed line in a spiral shape with a plurality of windings and forming gaps between adjacent windings; and an outer sheath surrounding said at least one wire that is wound around said sheathed line, said outer sheath entering said gaps between said adjacent windings.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0036] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional illustration of a multifunctional cable having an outer sheath; and

[0037] FIG. 2 shows a side view of the multifunctional cable without the outer sheath.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0038] Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first, particularly, to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a multifunctional cable 2 which is described by way of example in the text which follows and which is illustrated in FIG. 1 is intended for use in an on-board electrical system of a motor vehicle, not illustrated in any detail, and is suitably designed for this purpose. In this case, that multifunctional cable 2 has a plurality of functional elements, of which, in the exemplary embodiment, three are in the form of inner functional elements 4 and two are in the form of outer functional elements 6 owing to the design of the multifunctional cable 2. In this case, the functional elements 4, 6 are each in the form of a line element, in particular in the form of wires.

[0039] In the exemplary embodiment, each of the three inner functional elements 4 is formed by a wire which is formed by a conductor 8 and also a conductor insulation 10 which encases the conductor 8. The conductor 8 is a solid conductor, that is to say an individual wire, or else a braided conductor in which a plurality of individual fine wires are braided with one another. The three inner functional elements 4 are further encased by an insulating sheath 12, so that the three inner functional elements 4, together with the insulating sheath 12, form a sheathed line. As an alternative, the inner functional elements 4 can also be in the form of other line elements, in particular in the form of data or signal conductors. In this case, the inner functional elements 4 are preferably untwisted and not stranded with one another.

[0040] Here, that sheathed line forms the core 14 of the multifunctional cable 2, around which core the two outer functional elements 6 are wound. In the exemplary embodiment, the outer functional elements 6 are also formed by wires. However, these preferably have a braided conductor 16 which is encased by an insulation 18. Other refinements can also be provided for the outer functional elements 6.

[0041] Furthermore, the inner functional elements 4 preferably have a larger conductor diameter than the outer functional elements 6. Accordingly, the inner and outer functional elements are designed for different current loadings. In this case, the design of the line elements is matched to the intended function of each functional element. In the exemplary embodiment, all of the inner functional elements 4 are configured, by way of example, for transmitting power for supplying electrical consumers, whereas all of the outer functional elements 6 are provided and designed as signal lines.

[0042] In this case, the inner and/or the outer functional elements 4, 6 are preferably each in the form of single-wire line elements.

[0043] The multifunctional cable 2 is preferably matched to a specific application and accordingly a multifunctional cable 2 of different construction is produced for different applications. The inner functional elements 4 then differ from the outer functional elements 6, in respect of the conductor material, the material of the insulation, the conductor diameter and/or in respect of other properties, depending on the design.

[0044] In addition, the number of inner functional elements 4 on the one hand and the number of outer functional elements 6 on the other hand varies from one multifunctional cable 2 to another multifunctional cable 2.

[0045] Whereas the inner functional elements 4 of a multifunctional cable 2 usually differ from the outer functional elements 6, the inner functional elements 4 are typically of identical construction. The same generally applies for the outer functional elements 6 which are preferably likewise formed by substantially identical line elements, in particular single-wire line elements.

[0046] As already mentioned above, the outer functional elements 6 are preferably twisted or wound around the core 14, so that said outer functional elements run around the core 14 in the manner of a spiral in the multifunctional cable 2, at least provided that said multifunctional cable is in stretched form.

[0047] Furthermore, the outer functional elements 6 are preferably wound around the core 14 in the manner of a band comprising outer functional elements 6, so that the outer functional elements wrap around the core 14 such that they bear against one another. In this case, an expanded functional element gap 22 typically remains between two successive windings in the longitudinal direction 20 of the multifunctional cable 2. In this case, the gaps 22 have a larger width in the longitudinal direction 20 than a band width of the outer functional elements 6 which are situated next to one another. In this case, the width of the gap 22 is larger than the width formed by the outer functional elements 6 by a factor of 2 to 3 for example. The corresponding functional element gaps 22 are further preferably filled by insulating material, specifically in particular during production of an outer sheath 24, that is to say an outer insulation of the multifunctional cable 2 which encases the core 14 together with the outer functional elements 6.

[0048] According to one design variant, a corresponding outer sheath 24 is produced by at least two successive extrusion processes here, wherein, for example, a so-called tandem extruder is used for this purpose. Insulating material is thereby applied in each of the two extrusion processes, so that a kind of outer sheath layer is formed. Here, the first outer sheath layer 26 typically substantially fills the functional element gaps 22, whereas the second outer sheath layer 28 generally serves to realize as round a cross section as possible for the multifunctional cable 2. As an alternative to this, the filling of the functional element gaps 22 takes place in a plurality of extrusion processes and/or a filling material, for example as a band, is wound around the core 14 for filling the functional element gaps 22.

[0049] The invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment described above. Rather, other variants of the invention can also be derived therefrom by a person skilled in the art without departing from the subject matter of the invention. In particular, all of the individual features described in connection with the exemplary embodiment can furthermore also be combined with one another in other ways without departing from the subject matter of the invention.