US2559642A - Ribbon cable - Google Patents

Description

y 10, 1951 J. KRUITHOF ETAL 2,559,642

RIBBON CABLE Filed April 19, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 llll IHI FIG. 1 F|G.2 FIG?) INVENTOR JOKOB 109w THOF N/IRl/VUS J'OCHEM ATTORNEY July 10, 1951 J. KRUITHOF ET AL 2,559,642

' RIBBON CABLE Filed April 19, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4 FIG. 5

ATTORNEY Patented July 10, 1951 RIBBON CABLE Jakob Kruithof and Marinus Jochem, Antwerp, Belgium, assignors to International Standard Electric Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application April 19, 1947 Serial No. 742,703 In the Netherlands February 28, 1944 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires February 28, 1964 1 Claim. 1

The invention relates to an electrical cable and more in particular to a ribbon cable comprising a textile weave that separates and insulates metallic wires, which at predetermined points are uncovered to form soldering points.

Ribbon-type cable with metal wire warp and textile weft is well known and especially in the field of tele-communication where it is used for such purposes as establishing multiple connections between various types of switches and selector systems.

The drawback of the known methods of manufacturing such cables is that it is not possible to cut the cable in such a way as to separate the groups of conductors without cutting, at the same time, the textile weft.

Moreover, it is not possible to remove a defective section and replace it by a new one without cutting the textile weft. Unless special precautions are taken, such as impregnating the part to be cut with a suitable composition the weft will unravel with time leaving the wires devoid of insulation and liable to make unwanted contact.

Accordingly, it is an important object of the invention to provide a means whereby a ribbon cable with metal wire warp and textile weft can be woven in such a way as to be free from the above-mentioned defects.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means whereby the ribbon cable between any two sections can be removed without any possibility for the cable to unravel and a defective section can be replaced by a new one.

It will be seen that the arrangement of the invention provides a very eifective and eflicient arrangement for making quick repairs to any damaged section or sections with the result that the repaired section compares with that of the original cable, and for a better understanding of the invention, preferred embodiments of this arrangement are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a surface view of a conventional ribbon cable containing two groups of wire systems.

Fig. 2 is a surface view of a ribbon cable according to the invention.

Fig. 3 is a surface view of a ribbon cable according to the invention with one section cut out.

Fig. 4 is a surface view of a conventional ribbon cable containing three groups of wire systems.

Fig. 5 is a surface view of a ribbon cable according to the invention, containing three groups of wire systems.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, assume that a ribbon cable H] of Fig. 1, which is a conventional disclosure for comparative example, is used to interconnect several pieces of electrical apparatus and that a conductor 1 l connects a terminal in one piece of apparatus to a similar terminal in 9, remotely located apparatus by an external conductor bonded to a soldering point I2 for the first apparatus and a similar soldering point on the conductor II at a remote point. At predetermined lengths along the conductor II a small portion of the conductor is bared to provide intermediate soldering points such as shown at E3 inFig. l.

The terminals of a particular piece of apparatus are connected to a group or section, as shown in Fig. 1, at soldering points l2, 12A, IZB, 62C and l2D. A second group of soldering points l4, MA, MB, MC and [4D may be used for interconnecting apparatus of another system.

When such a cable is designed to accommodate different groups of connections, it is not possible to remove a section of the cable between two sets of soldering points without cutting the textile weft 2 l With the arrangement shown in Fig. 2, it is possible to cut a cable and remove one or several sections or patterns and replace them by new sections. Self-edged slots I5, according to the invention, are provided in the webbing between the groups of soldering points 16 and I7. The cable is divided into sections, each section having a sufficient number of conductors in the group for the particular apparatus to be connected. The length of cable between two such sections is woven in such a way as to leave the slot or open ing l5 between the two innermost conductors of the adjacent groups of conductors. Any section can now be easily removed and replaced without any possibility for the textile weft to unravel, since it is not necessary to cut the weft.

Figs. 1, 2, and 3 show cables designed to accommodate two separate sets of soldering points. The same arrangement may be applied to cables designed to connect three or more groups of soldering points.

A conventional cable with three sets of soldering points l8, l9, and 20 is shown in Fig, 4. An equivalent cable incorporating the novelty of the invention is shown in Fig. 5, in which it will be seen that a section of the cable may be removed and replaced leaving the rest of the sections of the cable intact.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the ribbon-type cable has a multiplicity of longitudinally extending conductors which are spaced from one another by a thread-like insulating material. A textile thread is specifically mentioned in the present case but it is to be understood that any thread-like material may be used providing it has electrical insulating qualities.

The cable has Lin-insulated portions at predetermined points and the textile insulating material binds the conductors together but leaves exposed portions so that the cable conductors may be severed without cutting or otherwise multilating' the textile securing means. The elongated slot [5 is disposed adjacent the uninsulated portions of the conductors. In this manner the conductors may be cut at their uninsulated portions and one section of cable may be removed and another section inserted in the event there is a defect in the section of the cable to be removed.

While the cable may have uninsulated portions thereof, the cable actually may be made up of sections with the conductor ends of each section secured to the conductor ends of the adjacent cable section. The conductors in the various cable sections may be soldered together, or clips or sleeves may be employed for securing the cable sections together.

While specific details of the invention have been herein shown and described, the invention is not confined thereto as changes and alterations may be and may become apparent to those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be se- 3:;

cured by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

A ribbon cable that comprises a plurality of coplanar parallel wires arranged in two laterally spaced groups, one group being in each half of 1?. the cable, insulation around and along the wires maintaining them in said relationship, said insulation having a series of slot-like openings formed therein exposing portions of each of said wires, said openings laterally communicating with each other and being longitudinally displaced relative to each other whereby they collectively define an opening extending obliquely in the insulation across each half of the cable, said obliquely extending openings being longitudinally displaced whereby no continuous series of openings is presented extending from one to the other edge of the cable, and longitudinally extending centrally located slots in the cable insulation connecting successive obliquely extending openings in opposite halves of the cable, whereby the cable can be severed by severing all of said wires at said exposed portions without mutilating the insulating material.

JAKOB KRUITHOF. MARINUS JOCHEM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,054,784 McBerty Mar. 4, 1913 1,104,061 McBerty July 21, 1914 2,433,346 Deakin Dec. 30, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,980 Great Britain July 22, 1912 of 1912 260,951 Great Britain Jan. 27, 1927 386,047 Germany Dec. 1, 1923

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