WO2024200730A2 - Adhesive tape for sheathing elongate items such as wiring harnesses, and method for sheathing - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an adhesive tape, in particular for sheathing the length of elongate items such as wiring harnesses in an automobile, the adhesive tape comprising a carrier having an upper face and a lower face, the carrier having a width BT, based the transverse direction, and at least one sealing strip made of an adhesive compound being present on the lower face of the carrier, the at least one sealing strip extending along one of the longitudinal edges of the carrier and having a width BK of at least 3 mm and at most including 50% of the width BT, at least one reinforcing element, extending in the longitudinal direction, being provided on the upper face or on the lower face of the carrier, which reinforcing element preferably has a width BVer at least including 10% to 50% of the width BT.

Description

Adhesive tape for covering elongated goods such as cable harnesses and methods for covering

The invention relates to an adhesive tape for sheathing elongated goods such as in particular cable harnesses in automobiles and methods for sheathing.

Adhesive tapes have been used for some time to cover cable harnesses. The adhesive tapes are used to bundle a large number of electrical cables before installation or after they have already been installed, for example to reduce the space required by the cable bundle by bandaging it and to achieve additional protective functions such as protection against mechanical and/or thermal stress.

Common forms of adhesive tape include film or textile backings, which are usually coated on one side with pressure-sensitive adhesives. Adhesive tapes for wrapping elongated goods are known, for example, from EP 1 848 006 A2, DE 10 2013 213 726 A1 and EP 2 497805 A1. Film adhesive tapes provide a certain degree of protection against liquid ingress, airy and voluminous adhesive tapes based on thick nonwovens or foams as backings provide dampening properties, and using abrasion-resistant, stable backing materials provides protection against chafing and rubbing. Special protection against impact is achieved by abrasion-resistant fabrics with additional coatings applied.

In addition to traditional vehicles with combustion engines, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are becoming increasingly important.

A hybrid electric vehicle is a vehicle with a hybrid drive, i.e. an electric vehicle that is powered by at least one electric motor and another energy converter and draws energy from both its electrical storage device (battery) and an additional fuel that it carries. A fully electric vehicle is powered exclusively by a battery-operated electric motor and therefore does not require any fossil fuel. The battery is charged via external power supplies. The design of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles also requires more electrical cables. The use of electrical voltages above 42 V requires additional protection of the cables, which must also ensure protection in special accident situations beyond the normal use of the vehicle. In all motor vehicles, the number of electrical cables is increasing due to the increased use of electrical components, so that the cable harnesses are becoming more extensive, thicker and more complex, while at the same time the installation space for the cable harness is becoming increasingly smaller, particularly in small motor vehicles, so that in some cases tight and complicated installation situations arise.

Cable sets are also attached to moving parts (such as seats, seat backs, trunk lid, movable folding mirrors, doors with function switches, etc.) and must permanently fulfill their function. The cable sets must be easy and repetitive to move, especially in these positions.

The cable feed to moving components is known in principle. For example, cables are fed to the doors through a movable rubber bellows. The disadvantage is that these bellows have to have different designs for different configurations. For each series, a fixed shape has to be created at great expense, which is then built and installed unchanged.

Cable ducts made of hard plastic can be constructed in any shape; in this application, the cables are pulled into the cavity of the constructed components and then laboriously inserted into the automobile in their final form.

EP 2 314 481 A1 describes the installation situation of electrical cables under the floor assembly of the automobile. The number and diameter of the cables increases particularly when electric drives are installed in order to provide sufficient energy flow. At the same time, the installation depth under the floor assembly should be particularly low. The large number of round cables is divided into groups and the small number of cables in each group is pulled into a flat cable duct. Several adjacent cable ducts keep the overall installation depth low, but materials require a high level of construction effort and the installation process is time-consuming and costly.

A general holder for a cable harness is described in US 2014/0131093 A1 . In this document, a nonwoven fabric is positioned around a cable harness and pressed into a flat shape. An additional holder fixes the cable harness in the dated position. It remains unclear how the shape is permanently held in a flat shape.

The need to vary the shape of a cable harness over the length of the cable set is described in EP 2 236 360 A1. Bundling a large number of round cables results in a largely round shape of the cable harness if the cables are not explicitly arranged parallel to one another. The need for a flat shape of the cable harness is described if the cable harness is subject to recurring movement or if only a flat installation space is available. Before and after these positions, the cable harness is round. The shape of the sheathing material is carried out and whether the form can be kept in the desired shape remains unanswered.

EP 2 579 406 A2 describes the use of flat-shaped fixing elements, which on the one hand bring the cable bundle into a flat shape and on the other hand fix the shaped cable bundle at a defined location in the vehicle. These fixing elements have to be designed and manufactured in a complex manner for every shape and size of the cable harness.

EP 3 729 578 A1 describes a covering for sheathing elongated goods, in particular for producing a longitudinal sheath for cables in automobiles, with a carrier and with at least two closure strips made of an adhesive mass arranged on an upper side and/or lower side of the carrier, wherein the closure strips run along respective longitudinal edges of the carrier and define a free area between and/or next to them.

It is known from EP 1 875 573 B1 that the wrapping is constructed from two adhesive tapes, with a third adhesive tape being applied to the wrapping.

DE 20 2010 014 239 U1 discloses an adhesive tape and a hose sheath made from it. The adhesive tape is equipped with a carrier and one or more adhesive strips applied to the carrier. The adhesive strip covers between approx. 20% and 50% of the area of the associated carrier side. This provides an adhesive tape that enables particularly flexible wrapping of objects to be bundled together, particularly cables.

The task is to provide an adhesive tape for cable bundling that brings a large number of cables into a flat shape and maintains this shape until they are installed in the vehicle. It should be possible to bend the flat cable set without significantly affecting the flat shape.

A bundle of individual cables that are not fixed will move in the direction of gravity when the cable set is moved, transported or bent to form the tightest possible package. This is usually a round cable bundle.

The parallel aligned individual cables for the area with a flat shape are wrapped in lengthwise alignment using adhesive tape. This means that the entire length can be wrapped uniformly with the desired flat design.

This object is achieved by an adhesive tape as set out in the main claim. The subject matter of the subclaims are advantageous developments of the adhesive tape and methods for using the adhesive tape. Accordingly, the invention relates to an adhesive tape, in particular for the longitudinal sheathing of elongated goods such as cable harnesses in an automobile, comprising a carrier with a top side and a bottom side, wherein the carrier has a width BT in relation to the transverse direction and at least one closure strip made of an adhesive is present on the bottom side of the carrier, wherein the at least one closure strip runs along one of the longitudinal edges of the carrier and has a width BK of at least 3 mm and of at most 50% of the width BT inclusive, wherein at least one reinforcing element extending in the longitudinal direction is present on the top side or on the bottom side of the carrier.

Preferably, the reinforcing element has a width Bver of at least 10% up to 50% of the width BT, more preferably 20% up to 48% of the width BT, most preferably 30% up to 40% of the width BT.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, a second closure strip made of an adhesive composition is present on the underside of the carrier, wherein the second closure strip runs along the other longitudinal edge of the carrier and has a width BK of at least 3 mm and of at most 50% of the width BT, wherein preferably the two closure strips have the same width.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the first and the second closure strip each run along one of the longitudinal edges of the carrier and have a width BK of 50% of the width BT, so that the two closure strips touch each other with their inner edges, wherein preferably the two closure strips consist of a single homogeneous adhesive layer.

In this variant of the invention, both closure strips can be applied as a single homogeneous layer, so that the carrier has a full-surface adhesive coating.

If the carrier is coated over its entire surface, this is understood within the meaning of the invention to mean that two closure strips are applied along each of the longitudinal edges of the carrier, each having a width BK of 50% of the width BT.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, a second reinforcing element extending in the longitudinal direction is present on the same side of the carrier, which has a width Bver of at least 10% up to 50% of the width BT, more preferably 20% up to 48% of the width BT, most preferably 30% up to 40% of the width BT, wherein the two reinforcing elements are arranged next to one another at a distance D, which is preferably at least 5 mm.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the carrier is extended at one longitudinal edge in the form of a flag, the flag having a width B of at least 50% up to and including 150 % of the width BT, with a third closure strip made of an adhesive mass extending underneath the free edge of the flag, the third closure strip having a width BK of at least 3 mm and of at most the width BFlag.

This flag enables the cable harness to be wrapped around in parts, a second time completely (720°) or several times completely. The width B of the flag must be adjusted accordingly.

Further preferably, the third closure strip has a width B flag such that the entire area on the underside of the flag is provided with adhesive, wherein preferably the three closure strips cover the entire underside of the carrier and consist of a single homogeneous adhesive layer.

Further preferably, the at least one longitudinally extending reinforcing element is present on the underside of the carrier, further preferably two longitudinally extending reinforcing elements are present on the underside of the carrier.

The at least one, preferably the two reinforcing elements on the underside of the carrier are preferably fixed to the underside of the carrier by means of an additional adhesive coating, which is located between the reinforcing element and the carrier.

The at least one, preferably the two reinforcing elements on the underside of the carrier are preferably fixed to the underside of the carrier via the adhesive of the closure strips.

According to a further preferred alternative embodiment of the invention, the at least one longitudinally extending reinforcing element is present on the upper side of the carrier, further preferably two longitudinally extending reinforcing elements are present on the upper side of the carrier.

The at least one, preferably the two reinforcing elements on the upper side of the carrier are preferably fixed to the upper side of the carrier by means of an additional adhesive coating, which is located between the reinforcing element and the carrier.

Further preferably, at least one longitudinally extending reinforcing element is present on the upper side of the carrier and at least one longitudinally extending reinforcing element is present on the lower side of the carrier. According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the carrier is designed as a textile carrier, preferably with a basis weight of 30 g/m ² to 300 g/m ² , more preferably selected from the group woven, nonwoven or knitted fabrics.

In principle, all carrier materials are suitable as a carrier, although textile carrier materials are preferred.

The term "textile carrier" or "textile fabric" includes all known textile carriers such as knits, scrims, ribbons, braids, needle-punched textiles, felts, woven fabrics (including plain, twill and satin weaves), warp-knitted fabrics (including warp-knitted fabrics and knitwear) or nonwovens, whereby "nonwoven" is understood to mean at least textile fabrics in accordance with EN 29092 (1988) as well as stitch-bonded nonwovens and similar systems.

Nonwovens can be made from solidified staple fiber fleeces and also filament, meltblown and spunbonded fleeces, which usually need to be additionally solidified. Mechanical, thermal and chemical solidification are known as possible solidification methods for nonwovens. In mechanical solidification, the fibers are usually held together purely mechanically by swirling the individual fibers, intermeshing fiber bundles or sewing in additional threads. Adhesive (with binder) or cohesive (binder-free) fiber-fiber bonds can be achieved using thermal and chemical processes. With suitable formulation and process control, these can be restricted exclusively or at least predominantly to fiber nodes, so that a stable, three-dimensional network is formed while maintaining the loose, open structure in the fleece.

The above definitions are taken from DIN 6121 1:2005-05 (“Textile fabrics produced on stitch-bonding machines”).

Stitch-bonded fabrics also include thread layer stitch-bonded fabrics, i.e. textile fabrics with one or more superimposed thread layers as the base material, which are consolidated by the formation of stitches of integrated knitting threads, for example Florofol, pile thread stitch-bonded fabrics, i.e. textile fabrics in which knitting threads are formed as a pile and integrated into a base material by means of stitch formation, for example Malipol and weft pile stitch-bonded fabrics, i.e. textile fabrics in which unmeshed threads formed as a pile are bound to a base material by means of knitting threads by means of stitch formation, for example weft pile.

Also suitable are nonwoven stitch-bonded fabrics, i.e. textile fabrics that are produced without the use of threads by forming loops of knitted threads into a flat base material. These include fiber nonwoven fabrics, i.e. textile fabrics made of fiber fleece with a strengthening fiber mesh side and a side with fibers arranged horizontally to the fiber mesh layer, whereby fibers from the fiber fleece are formed into fiber meshes, for example Malivlies, Polfaser- Nonwoven fabrics, i.e. textile surface structures made of nonwoven fabric with or without the use of a base material, which consist of a fiber mesh side and a pile fiber side with fibers arranged almost perpendicular to the fiber mesh layer, for example Voltex, Kunit or Maliknit, mesh nonwoven fabrics, i.e. textile surface structures made of a pile fiber nonwoven fabric, from whose pile fibers a second fiber mesh layer is formed, for example Multiknit or Optiknit.

A Malivlies is characterized by the fact that a cross-fiber fleece is consolidated by the formation of meshes from fibers of the fleece.

A Kunit or Multiknit type fleece can also be used as a carrier. A Kunit fleece is characterized by the fact that it is produced by processing a longitudinally oriented fiber fleece into a fabric that has meshes on one side and mesh bars or pile fiber folds on the other, but has neither threads nor prefabricated fabrics. Another characteristic feature of this fleece is that, as a longitudinal fiber fleece, it can absorb high tensile forces in the longitudinal direction. A Multiknit fleece is characterized by the fact that the fleece is strengthened by piercing both sides with needles on both the top and bottom. The starting product for a Multiknit is usually one or two one-sidedly meshed pile fiber fleece fabrics produced using the Kunit process. In the end product, both nonwoven top sides are formed into a closed surface by fiber meshes and connected to one another by almost vertical fibers. The additional possibility of introducing further pierceable surface structures and/or scatterable media is given.

Finally, stitch-bonded fleeces are also particularly suitable. A stitch-bonded fleece is made from a fleece material with a large number of seams running parallel to one another. These seams are created by sewing in or stitch-bonding continuous textile threads. Stitch-bonding machines of the “Malimo” type from Karl Mayer are known for this type of fleece (also known as Maliwatt).

Such consolidated nonwovens are produced, for example, on stitch-bonding machines of the “Malimo” type from Karl Mayer, formerly Malimo, and can be obtained from Tenowo GmbH, among others.

Needle-punched nonwovens are also suitable. With needle-punched nonwovens, a fiber pile is formed into a flat structure using barbed needles. By alternately inserting and removing the needles, the material is solidified on a needle bar, whereby the individual fibers intertwine to form a solid flat structure. The number and design of the needling points (needle shape, penetration depth, needling on both sides) determine the strength and stability of the fiber structures, which are usually light, permeable to air and elastic. Also advantageous is a staple fiber fleece which is pre-consolidated in the first step by mechanical processing or which is a wet fleece which has been laid hydrodynamically, wherein between 2% and 50% by weight of the fibers of the fleece are melt fibers, in particular between 5% and 40% by weight of the fibers of the fleece.

Such a nonwoven fabric is characterized in that the fibers are laid wet or, for example, a staple fiber nonwoven fabric is pre-consolidated by forming loops from fibers of the nonwoven fabric by needling, sewing, air and/or water jet processing.

In a second step, thermofixing takes place, whereby the strength of the fleece is further increased by melting or fusing the melt fibers.

For the use of nonwovens, the adhesive consolidation of mechanically pre-consolidated or wet-laid nonwovens is of particular interest, whereby this can be achieved by adding binding agents in solid, liquid, foamed or pasty form. After consolidation, the nonwoven has no (self-)adhesive properties. In principle, there are many possible forms of administration, for example solid binding agents as powder for trickling in, as film or as a grid or in the form of binding fibers. Liquid binding agents can be applied dissolved in water or organic solvents or as a dispersion. Binding dispersions are predominantly chosen for adhesive consolidation: thermosets in the form of phenol or melamine resin dispersions, elastomers as dispersions of natural or synthetic rubbers or mostly dispersions of thermoplastics such as acrylates, vinyl acetates, polyurethanes, styrene-butadiene systems, PVC and the like, as well as their copolymers. Normally these are anionic or non-ionic stabilized dispersions, but in special cases cationic dispersions can also be advantageous.

The type of binding agent application can be carried out according to the state of the art and can be found, for example, in standard works on coating or nonwoven technology such as “Vliesstoffe” (Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, 1982) or “Textiltechnik-Vliesstoffherstellung” (Arbeitgeberkreis Gesamttextil, Eschborn, 1996).

For mechanically pre-consolidated nonwovens that already have sufficient bonding strength, the one-sided spray application of a binding agent is recommended in order to specifically change surface properties.

In addition to the economical use of the binding agent, this method of operation also significantly reduces the energy required for drying. Since no squeezing rollers are required and the dispersions remain mainly in the upper area of the nonwoven fabric, undesirable hardening and stiffening of the nonwoven fabric can be largely prevented.

For sufficient adhesive consolidation of the nonwoven carrier, binding agent in the order of 1% to 50%, in particular 3% to 20%, based on the weight of the nonwoven fabric, must generally be added. The binder can be added during the fleece production process, during mechanical pre-consolidation or in a separate process step, which can be carried out in-line or offline. After the binder has been added, a state must be temporarily created for the binder in which it becomes sticky and adhesively bonds the fibers - this can be achieved during the drying of dispersions, for example, but also by heating, with further variation options being available through the application of surface or partial pressure. The activation of the binder can take place in known drying channels, but with a suitable selection of binder also by means of infrared radiation, UV radiation, ultrasound, high-frequency radiation or the like.

Another special form of adhesive bonding is that the binding agent is activated by dissolving or swelling. In principle, the fibers themselves or special fibers mixed in can also take on the function of the binding agent. However, since such solvents are environmentally questionable or problematic to handle for most polymer fibers, this process is rarely used.

Spacer fabrics and knitted fabrics with lamination can also be used.

Spacer fabrics are double-faced textiles in which the warp-knitted fabric surfaces are kept at a distance by spacer-maintaining connecting threads, so-called pile threads. Spacer fabrics are knitted fabrics that have been expanded to include a third dimension. Spacer fabrics also have two fabric layers arranged at a distance that are kept at a distance by filaments, threads or fibers. Such spacer fabrics are disclosed in EP 0 071 212 B1.

Advantageously and at least in some areas, the carrier can have a smooth-ground surface on one or both sides, preferably a completely smooth-ground surface in each case. The smooth-ground surface can be chintzed, as is explained in detail in EP 1 448 744 A1, for example.

Furthermore, the carrier can be calendered in a rolling mill for compaction. Preferably, the two rollers run in opposite directions and at the same peripheral speed so that the carrier is pressed and compacted.

If the peripheral speed of the rollers differs, the carrier is additionally ground smooth.

The carrier can be a fabric.

Particularly preferred fabrics are constructed as follows:

• the thread count in the warp is 10 to 60/cm • the thread count in the weft is 10 to 40/cm

• the warp threads have a yarn weight between 40 and 400 dtex, in particular between 44 and 330 dtex, particularly preferably 167 dtex

• the weft threads have a yarn weight between 40 and 660 dtex, in particular between 44 and 400 dtex, particularly preferably 167 dtex

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the thread count in the warp is 40 to 50/cm, preferably 44/cm.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the thread count in the weft is 18 to 22/cm, preferably 20/cm.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the fabric is a polyester fabric or a blended fabric of polyester and polyamide or viscose.

More preferably, the thickness of the fabric is a maximum of 300 pm, particularly preferably 170 to 230 pm, most preferably 190 to 210 pm.

The starting materials for the carrier material for the adhesive tape are in particular (chemical) fibers (staple fibers or continuous filaments) made of synthetic polymers, also called synthetic fibers, made of polyester, polyamide, polyimide, aramid, polyolefin, polyacrylonitrile or glass, (chemical) fibers made of natural polymers such as cellulosic fibers (viscose, modal, lyocell, cupro, acetate, triacetate, cellulon), such as rubber fibers, such as plant protein fibers and/or animal protein fibers and/or natural fibers made of cotton, sisal, flax, silk, hemp, linen, coconut or wool. The present invention is not limited to the materials mentioned, but rather a large number of other fibers can be used to produce the carrier without having to be inventive, as will be apparent to the person skilled in the art.

Furthermore, yarns made from the specified fibers are also suitable.

In the case of woven or non-woven fabrics, individual threads can be made from a mixed yarn, i.e. they can contain synthetic and natural components. However, the warp threads and weft threads are usually made from pure yarn.

The yarns or threads of the fabrics can be in the form of filaments. For the purposes of this invention, a filament is understood to be a bundle of parallel, straight individual fibers/individual filaments, often referred to in the literature as a multifilament. If necessary, this fiber bundle can be consolidated by twisting; in this case, one speaks of spun or twisted filaments. Alternatively, the fiber bundle can be consolidated by swirling with compressed air or a water jet. In the following, the term filament is used for all of these embodiments in general terms. The filament can be textured or smooth and point-solidified or unsolidified.

Polyester is preferably used as the material for the textile carrier due to its excellent resistance to aging and its excellent resistance to chemicals and operating materials such as oil, petrol, antifreeze, etc. Polyester also has the advantage that it results in a very abrasion-resistant and temperature-resistant carrier, which is particularly important for the special purpose of bundling cables in automobiles and, for example, in the engine compartment. According to one embodiment of the invention, a PET fleece or a PET fabric is used as the carrier.

Advantageously, the basis weight of the textile carrier is between 30 g/m ² and 300 g/m ^{2 ,} further advantageously between 50 g/m ² and 200 g/m ² , particularly advantageously between 50 g/m ² and 150 g/m ² , most particularly advantageously between 70 g/m ² and 130 g/m ² .

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the adhesive has sunk into the carrier by more than 10%, preferably more than 25%, more preferably more than 50% after application to the carrier. A numerical value of, for example, 25% means that the adhesive has penetrated over a layer thickness of 25% of the thickness of the textile carrier, i.e., in the case of a carrier with a thickness of 100 μm, over a layer thickness of 25 μm within the carrier, starting from the surface of the carrier on which the adhesive is coated, and in a direction perpendicular to the plane spanned by the longitudinal or transverse direction.

A carrier material for the adhesive tape that consists of paper, a laminate, a film (e.g. PP, PE, PET, PA, PU), foam or a foamed film is also suitable.

These non-textile flat materials are particularly suitable when special requirements require such a modification of the invention. Films, for example, are usually thinner than textiles, offer additional protection against the penetration of chemicals and operating materials such as oil, petrol, antifreeze, etc. into the actual cable area thanks to the closed layer, and can be largely adapted to the requirements by selecting the appropriate material: polyurethanes and copolymers of polyolefins, for example, can be used to produce flexible and elastic sheaths, while polyester and polyamides achieve good abrasion and temperature resistance.

Foams or foamed films, on the other hand, have the property of filling a larger space and good noise dampening - for example, if a cable harness is laid in a channel or tunnel-like area in the vehicle, annoying rattling and vibration can be prevented from the outset by using a sheathing tape with a suitable thickness and dampening. A laminate made of the textile carrier and a film or plastic layer applied to at least one side of the textile carrier is preferred. Films or plastic layers can also be applied to the top and bottom of the textile carrier.

The application can be done by lamination or by extrusion.

A preferred variant is one in which the textile carrier is provided with a film on the underside and a pressure-sensitive adhesive on the other side.

Films such as PP, PE, polyester, PA, PU or PVC are suitable as film or plastic materials. The films themselves can consist of several individual layers, for example layers co-extruded into film.

Polyolefins are preferred, but copolymers of ethylene and polar monomers such as styrene, vinyl acetate, methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate or acrylic acid are also included. It can be a homopolymer such as HDPE, LDPE, MDPE or a copolymer of ethylene with another olefin such as propene, butene, hexene or octene (for example LLDPE, VLDDE). Polypropylenes (for example polypropylene homopolymers, polypropylene random copolymers or polypropylene block copolymers) are also suitable.

The film preferably has a thickness of 12 pm to 100 pm, more preferably 28 to 50 pm, in particular 35 pm.

The film can be colored and/or transparent.

All known adhesive systems can be used for the adhesive. In addition to natural or synthetic rubber-based adhesives, silicone adhesives and polyacrylate adhesives can be used in particular.

If additional adhesive layers are present on the exposed surfaces of the first or second carrier, these can also be selected from the adhesives listed below.

The adhesive is preferably a pressure-sensitive adhesive, i.e. an adhesive that allows a permanent bond to almost all adhesive substrates even under relatively light pressure and can be removed from the adhesive substrate after use without leaving any residue. A pressure-sensitive adhesive is permanently tacky at room temperature, i.e. has a sufficiently low viscosity and a high tackiness so that it wets the surface of the respective adhesive substrate even under light pressure. The ability of the adhesive to bond is based on its adhesive properties and the ability to be removed again is based on its cohesive properties. Pressure-sensitive adhesives can be considered as extremely viscous liquids with an elastic component. Pressure-sensitive adhesives therefore have special, characteristic viscoelastic properties that lead to their permanent inherent tack and adhesive ability.

What characterizes them is that when they are mechanically deformed, both viscous flow processes and the build-up of elastic restoring forces occur. Both processes are in a certain relationship to one another in terms of their respective proportions, depending on the exact composition, structure and degree of cross-linking of the respective pressure-sensitive adhesive as well as on the speed and duration of the deformation and on the temperature.

The proportion of viscous flow is necessary to achieve adhesion. Only the viscous components, caused by macromolecules with relatively high mobility, enable good wetting and good flow onto the substrate to be bonded. A high proportion of viscous flow leads to high adhesive strength (also known as tack or surface stickiness) and thus often to high adhesive strength. Strongly cross-linked systems, crystalline or glass-like solidified polymers are generally not adhesive or at least only slightly adhesive due to the lack of flowable components.

The proportional elastic restoring forces are necessary to achieve cohesion. They are caused, for example, by very long-chained and highly entangled macromolecules as well as by physically or chemically cross-linked macromolecules and enable the transfer of the forces acting on an adhesive bond. They mean that an adhesive bond can withstand a permanent load acting on it, for example in the form of a permanent shear load, to a sufficient extent over a longer period of time.

Particularly preferred is a pressure-sensitive adhesive in the form of a dried polymer dispersion, wherein the polymer is composed of:

(a) 95.0 to 100.0 wt.% n-butyl acrylate and/or 2-ethylhexyl acrylate

(b) 0.0 to 5.0 wt.% of an ethylenically unsaturated monomer having an acid or acid anhydride function

Preferably, the polymer consists of 95.0 to 99.5 wt.% n-butyl acrylate and/or 2-ethylhexyl acrylate and 0.5 to 5 wt.% of an ethylenically unsaturated monomer having an acid or acid anhydride function, more preferably of 97.0 or 98.0 wt.% to 99.0 wt.% n-butyl acrylate and/or 2-ethylhexyl acrylate and 1.0 to 2.0 wt.% or 3 wt.% of an ethylenically unsaturated monomer having an acid or acid anhydride function.

In addition to the acrylate polymers listed, tackifiers and/or additives such as light stabilizers or anti-aging agents can be added to the pressure-sensitive adhesive in addition to any residual monomers that may be present. In particular, no other polymers such as elastomers are contained in the pressure-sensitive adhesive, i.e. the polymers of the pressure-sensitive adhesive consist only of the monomers (a) and (b) in the stated proportions.

Preferably, n-butyl acrylate forms the monomer (a).

Advantageous monomers (b) include, for example, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, itaconic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid and/or maleic anhydride.

wobei R³ = H oder CH3 ist, bevorzugt wird gegebenenfalls die Mischung aus Acrylsäure oder Methacrylsäure verwendet. Besonders bevorzugt ist Acrylsäure. Preference is given to (meth)acrylic acid of the formula I,

where R ³ = H or CH3, preferably the mixture of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid is used. Acrylic acid is particularly preferred.

According to a particularly preferred variant, the polymer has the following composition:

(a) 95.0 to 100.0 wt.%, preferably 95.0 to 99.5 wt.%, more preferably 98.0 to 99.0 wt.% n-butyl acrylate and

(b) 0.0 to 5.0 wt.%, preferably 0.5 to 5.0 wt.%, more preferably 1.0 to 2.0 wt.% acrylic acid

The polymer dispersion is prepared by the process of emulsion polymerization of the above-mentioned components. Descriptions of this process can be found, for example, in “Emulsion Polymerization and Emulsion Polymers” by Peter A. Lovell and Mohamed S. El-Aasser - Wiley-VCH 1997 - ISBN 0-471 -96746-7 or in EP 1 378 527 B1 .

During polymerization, it cannot be ruled out that not all monomers are converted into polymers. It is obvious that the residual monomer content should be as small as possible.

Preferably, adhesive compositions comprising the polymer dispersion with a residual monomer content of less than or equal to 1 wt. %, in particular less than or equal to 0.5 wt. % (based on the mass of the dried polymer dispersion) are provided.

According to the general understanding of experts, an “adhesive resin” is an oligomeric or polymeric resin that ensures the autoadhesion (tack, self-stickiness) of the Pressure sensitive adhesive compared to the adhesive containing no adhesive resin, but otherwise identical

pressure-sensitive adhesive increased.

The use of tackifiers to increase the adhesive strength of pressure-sensitive adhesives is generally known. This effect also occurs when up to 15 parts by weight (corresponds to < 15 parts by weight) or 5 to 15 parts by weight of tackifier (based on the mass of the dried polymer dispersion) are added to the adhesive. Preferably 5 to 12, more preferably 6 to 10 parts by weight of tackifier (based on the mass of the dried polymer dispersion) are added.

In principle, all known classes of substances are suitable as tackifiers, also known as adhesive resins. Examples of tackifiers are hydrocarbon resins (e.g. polymers based on unsaturated Cs or Cg monomers), terpene phenol resins, polyterpene resins based on raw materials such as a- or ß-pinene, aromatic resins such as coumarone-indene resins or resins based on styrene or cc-methylstyrene such as rosin and its derivatives, for example disproportionated, dimerized or esterified rosin, for example reaction products with glycol, glycerin or pentaerythritol, to name just a few. Preference is given to resins without easily oxidizable double bonds such as terpene phenol resins, aromatic resins and particularly preferred resins produced by hydrogenation such as hydrogenated aromatic resins, hydrogenated polycyclopentadiene resins, hydrogenated rosin derivatives or hydrogenated polyterpene resins.

Resins based on terpene phenols and rosin esters are preferred. Adhesive resins with a softening point above 80 °C according to ASTM E28-99 (2009) are also preferred. Resins based on terpene phenols and rosin esters with a softening point above 90 °C according to ASTM E28-99 (2009) are particularly preferred. The resins are expediently used in dispersion form. They can then be easily mixed with the polymer dispersion to form a finely distributed mixture.

Particularly preferred is the variant in which no adhesive resins are added to the pressure-sensitive adhesive. In particular, the following substances are not added to the pressure-sensitive adhesive:

• Hydrocarbon resins (for example polymers based on unsaturated Cs or Cg monomers)

• terpene phenol resins

• Polyterpene resins based on raw materials such as a- or ß-pinene

• aromatic resins such as coumarone-indene resins or resins based on styrene or cc-methylstyrene such as rosin and its derivatives, for example disproportionated, dimerized or esterified rosin, for example reaction products with glycol, glycerin or pentaerythritol Due to their particular suitability as adhesive for adhesive tapes of automotive cable harnesses with regard to freedom from fogging, solvent-free acrylate hot melt compounds are to be preferred, as described in more detail in DE 198 07 752 A1 and in DE 100 1 1 788 A1.

Fogging (see DIN 75201 A) is the effect that, under unfavorable conditions, low-molecular compounds can outgas from the adhesive tapes and condense on cold parts. This can, for example, impair visibility through the windshield.

A suitable adhesive composition is one based on acrylate hotmelt which has a K value of at least 20, in particular greater than 30 (measured in each case in 1 wt. % solution in toluene, 25 °C), obtainable by concentrating a solution of such a composition to a system which can be processed as a hotmelt.

Concentration can take place in appropriately equipped kettles or extruders; a degassing extruder is preferred, especially for the associated degassing.

Such an adhesive is described in DE 43 13 008 C2. The solvent is completely removed from the acrylate masses produced in this way in an intermediate step.

The K-value is determined in particular in analogy to DIN EN ISO 1628-1:2012-010.

In addition, other volatile components are removed. After coating from the melt, these masses only contain small amounts of volatile components. This means that all monomers/recipes claimed in the above-mentioned patent can be adopted.

The solution of the mass can contain 5 to 80% by weight, in particular 30 to 70% by weight, of solvent. Commercially available solvents are preferably used, in particular low-boiling hydrocarbons, ketones, alcohols and/or esters.

Furthermore, single-screw, twin-screw or multi-screw extruders with one or in particular two or more degassing units are preferably used.

Benzoin derivatives can be polymerized into the acrylate hotmelt-based adhesive, for example benzoin acrylate or benzoin methacrylate, acrylic acid or methacrylic acid esters. Such benzoin derivatives are described in EP 0 578 151 A.

The adhesive based on acrylate hot melt can be UV crosslinked. However, other types of crosslinking are also possible, such as electron beam crosslinking.

In a further preferred embodiment, copolymers of (meth)acrylic acid and its esters having 1 to 25 C atoms, maleic, fumaric and/or itaconic acid and/or its esters, substituted (meth)acrylamides, maleic anhydride and other vinyl compounds, such as vinyl esters, in particular vinyl acetate, vinyl alcohols and/or vinyl ethers, are used as self-adhesive compositions.

The residual solvent content should be less than 1 wt.%. One adhesive that has proven to be particularly suitable is a low-molecular acrylic hotmelt pressure-sensitive adhesive, such as that sold by BASF under the name acResin UV or Acronal®, in particular acResin A 260UV. This adhesive with a low K value obtains its application-appropriate properties through a final radiation-chemically triggered crosslinking process.

Other highly suitable adhesives are described in EP 3 540 024 A1, EP 2 520 627 A1, EP 2 522 705 A1, EP 2 520 628 A1, EP 2 695 926 A1 and EP 2 520 629 A1.

The adhesive coating also preferably consists of an adhesive based on synthetic rubber, namely in particular an adhesive made of at least one vinyl aromatic block copolymer and at least one adhesive resin. Typical use concentrations for the block copolymer are in a concentration in the range between 30% by weight and 70% by weight, in particular in the range between 35% by weight and 55% by weight.

Other polymers that may be present are those based on pure hydrocarbons, such as unsaturated polydienes such as natural or synthetically produced polyisoprene or polybutadiene, chemically essentially saturated elastomers such as saturated ethylene-propylene copolymers, a-olefin copolymers, polyisobutylene, butyl rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber, and chemically functionalized hydrocarbons such as halogen-containing, acrylate-containing or vinyl ether-containing polyolefins, which can replace up to half of the vinylaromatic-containing block copolymers.

Adhesive resins that are compatible with the elastomer block of the styrene block copolymers serve as tackifiers.

Plasticizers such as liquid resins, plasticizer oils or low molecular weight liquid polymers such as low molecular weight polyisobutylenes with molecular weights < 1500 g/mol (number average) or liquid EPDM types are typically used.

Further additives that can be added to all of the above types of adhesives include light stabilizers such as UV absorbers, sterically hindered amines, antiozonants, metal deactivators, processing aids and endblock reinforcing resins.

Fillers such as silicon dioxide, glass (ground or in the form of spheres as solid or hollow spheres), microballoons, aluminum oxides, zinc oxides, calcium carbonates, titanium dioxides, carbon blacks, silicates and chalk, to name just a few, as well as color pigments and dyes as well as optical brighteners can also be used. Primary and secondary antioxidants are usually added to pressure-sensitive adhesives to improve their aging stability. Primary antioxidants react with oxy and peroxy radicals, which can form in the presence of oxygen, and react with these to form less reactive compounds. Secondary antioxidants reduce hydroperoxides to alcohols, for example. It is known that there is a synergistic effect between primary and secondary anti-aging agents, so that the protective effect of a mixture is often greater than the sum of the two individual effects.

If flame retardancy of the adhesive tape described is desired, this can be achieved by adding flame retardants to the carrier and/or the adhesive. These can be organobromine compounds, if necessary with synergists such as antimony trioxide, although in view of the halogen-free nature of the adhesive tape, red phosphorus, organophosphorus, mineral or intumescent compounds such as ammonium polyphosphate are preferred, either alone or in combination with synergists.

The PSAs can be manufactured and processed from solution, dispersion or melt. Preferred manufacturing and processing methods are from the melt. In the latter case, suitable manufacturing processes include both batch processes and continuous processes.

The adhesive application, based on the adhesive tape surface, is preferably between 40 and 160 g/m ² , preferably between 60 and 130 g/m ² , more preferably between 80 and 100 g/m ² .

The general term "adhesive tape" in the sense of this invention includes all flat structures such as films or film sections extended in two dimensions, tapes with an extended length and a limited width, tape sections and the like, and ultimately also die-cuts or labels. The adhesive tape is in particular in web form. A web is understood to be an object whose length is many times greater than its width.

The adhesive tape therefore has a longitudinal dimension and a width dimension. The adhesive tape also has a thickness that runs perpendicular to both dimensions, with the width dimension and longitudinal dimension being many times greater than the thickness. The thickness of the carrier is as uniform as possible, preferably exactly the same, over the entire surface area of the adhesive tape, determined by the length and width. The adhesive tape only has a greater thickness in the area of the reinforcing elements.

The adhesive tape can be produced in the form of a roll, i.e. rolled up on itself in the shape of an Archimedean spiral. A backing varnish (functional layer) can be applied to the exposed upper side of the carrier in order to positively influence the unwinding properties of the adhesive tape wound into an Archimedean spiral. This backing varnish can contain silicone or fluorosilicone compounds as well as polyvinyl stearyl carbamate, polyethyleneimine stearyl carbamide or fluoroorganic compounds as dehesive substances.

The adhesive is applied in the longitudinal direction of the adhesive tape in the form of at least two sealing strips.

Depending on the application, several parallel closure strips can also be coated on the carrier material.

The position of the closure strips on the carrier can be freely selected, although an arrangement directly on the long edges of the carrier is preferred.

Preferably, the closure strips are designed such that the adhesive is applied over the entire surface of the carrier.

If flame retardancy of the adhesive tape described is desired, this can be achieved by adding flame retardants to the carrier and/or the adhesive. These can be organobromine compounds, if necessary with synergists such as antimony trioxide, although in view of the halogen-free nature of the adhesive tape, red phosphorus, organophosphorus, mineral or intumescent compounds such as ammonium polyphosphate are preferred, either alone or in combination with synergists.

Finally, the adhesive tape can have a cover material that covers one or two layers of adhesive until use. All of the materials listed in detail above are also suitable as cover materials.

Preferably, a non-linting material is used, such as a plastic film or a well-glued, long-fiber paper.

The reinforcing element(s) can be made of plastics such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), polyetherimide (PEI), polysulfone (PSU), polyethersulfone (PES), polyamideimide (PAI), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or (less preferred) paper or cardboard. However, paper is sensitive to moisture.

Furthermore, films can also be used as reinforcing elements.

The thickness of the films is preferably between 100 and 1500 pm, more preferably between 300 and 1000 pm. Even greater thicknesses can be easily achieved, although the film sections become less flexible and more rigid with increasing thickness. Furthermore, the reinforcing element(s) can be made of metal or metal foil. The metals that can be selected are silver, copper, gold, platinum, aluminum and aluminum compounds, tin, nichrome, NIROSTA, titanium, preferably aluminum.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the reinforcing element(s) do not consist of metal or do not contain any metallic additives.

The thickness of the reinforcing element(s) is selected so that they do not bend or deform during the winding process, or at most only slightly.

Preferably, the thickness is between 100 and 1500 pm, more preferably between 150 and 1000 pm.

The width of the reinforcement element(s) is based on the available installation space. Preferably, the entire width of the installation space is used. Typically and preferably, the reinforcement element(s) have widths between 30 and 80 mm, more preferably between 45 and 60 mm.

Particularly preferred are one or two reinforcing elements which

• made of polyethylene or polyethylene terephthalate (PET),

• a thickness between 150 and 1000 pm and

• have a width between 30 and 80 mm.

If two or more reinforcing elements are used, they are preferably identical in material and dimensions, particularly with regard to material and width.

Preferably, the reinforcing elements are selected so that they can be plastically and/or elastically deformed when a certain force is applied when the cable harness covered with the adhesive tape is bent. In this way, the cable harness is kept in its flat shape, but can still be bent around curves, for example.

Preferably, the material for the reinforcing element and/or the number of reinforcing elements are selected such that when measuring the bending stiffness on the flat cable set in the test cable harness (see below), a force F1 of less than 4 N results. A higher bending stiffness means that the cable harness formed with one or more reinforcing elements is too inflexible to be bent around curves or corners.

Preferably, the material for the reinforcing element and/or the number of reinforcing elements are further selected such that when measuring the bending stiffness on the flat cable set in the test cable harness, a force F2 of greater than 3.5 N and more preferably of less than 20 N results. Further preferably, the material for the reinforcing element is selected such that when measuring the bending force F3 according to the test specified below, a value for the force F3 of greater than 1 N/60mm to 20 N/60mm (single layer) results, preferably 3 N/60mm to 10 N/60mm.

The results of the test harness provide the criteria for the material for the reinforcement element and/or the number of reinforcement elements. The size and number of reinforcement elements must be selected within the scope of professional skill depending on the type and number of cables to be sheathed.

In particular, in the case of the cable harnesses described as preferred, which comprise a bundle of 10 to 70 cables, the cables having a cross-sectional area of 0.35 mm ² to 2.5 mm ² , the material for the reinforcing element and/or the number of reinforcing elements can be determined by testing the test cable harness. The reinforcing elements that achieve the required measured values reliably lead to the desired effects in such cable harnesses.

According to a preferred variant, the reinforcing element is bent in the transverse direction, preferably in the form of a circular arc with a central angle between 5° and 90°, wherein the inner arc rests against the material to be coated.

The reinforcing elements can additionally be provided with an adhesive layer on their free side, the “back side”, which is preferably applied over the entire surface.

Due to the positive properties described, the adhesive tape can be used excellently for insulating and wrapping wires or cables.

The elongated material is wrapped in the axial direction by the adhesive tape. The wrapping of a cable harness with the adhesive tape described is not done in a helical manner, but in such a way that when wrapping, a longitudinal axis of the tape is essentially aligned parallel to the direction of the cable harness. Viewed in cross-section, the adhesive tape is wrapped around the cable harness in the form of an Archimedean spiral. This type of winding is also called "wrapping the cable harness" or "cigar winding".

Also included in the inventive concept is a sheathed elongated product, such as in particular a cable harness, sheathed with an adhesive tape according to the invention, as well as a vehicle containing such a sheathed elongated product.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the elongated item is a cable harness comprising a bundle of several cables, such as 3 to 1000 cables, preferably 10 to 500 cables, in particular between 50 and 300 cables. Particularly preferably, cable harnesses comprising between 10 and 70 cables, more preferably between 15 and 60 cables, are covered with the adhesive tape according to the invention. The cables have a (usual) cross-sectional area of 0.35 mm ² to 2.5 mm ² .

According to a preferred variant of the invention, the elongated product consists of a cable harness comprising a bundle of 10 to 70 cables, wherein the cables have a cross-sectional area of 0.35 mm ² to 2.5 mm ² .

The adhesive tape can be designed in the form of a sheath in which an adhesive tape according to the invention is provided, in which at least in one edge region there is a further self-adhesive adhesive tape which is bonded to the adhesive tape in such a way that the further adhesive tape extends over one of the longitudinal edges of the adhesive tape, preferably in an edge region which is narrow compared to the width of the adhesive tape.

Such a product and optimized embodiments thereof are disclosed in EP 1 312 097 A1. EP 1 300 452 A2, DE 102 29 527 A1 and WO 2006/108871 A1 present further developments for which the adhesive tape according to the invention can also be used very well.

To ensure the correct application of the adhesive tape, particularly on cable harnesses, at least one longitudinal marking line can be present on the top of the carrier. Two marking lines are preferred. These marking lines differ visually and/or haptically from the surrounding surface.

The marking is applied to the carrier, for example by printing. Alternatively or additionally, the marking can also be incorporated into the first carrier. In this way, the marking can be implemented as a woven warp thread.

EP 3 245 265 A1 describes the use of such a marking line on an adhesive tape.

Furthermore, the adhesive tape according to the invention can be used in a method for sheathing elongated goods, such as cable harnesses in particular, in which two strip-shaped adhesive tapes enclose the goods like a tube, so that the goods are located essentially in the middle between the adhesive tapes, the adhesive tapes being brought together in such a way that the adhesive tapes are glued to one another in the contacting edge areas. At least one of the two adhesive tapes is designed according to the invention, preferably both adhesive tapes. The method and the design of the sheathing are disclosed in detail in EP 1 367 608 A2. In order to make it particularly easy for the user to work, perforations are provided in the adhesive tape, which are aligned at right angles to the running direction of the adhesive tape and/or arranged at regular intervals.

The perforation serves primarily as a tear-off aid for cutting to the specified length. There should be no perforations in the piece of adhesive tape that covers the goods, as this could have a negative effect on the shielding properties.

Particularly advantageously, the perforations can be produced discontinuously with flat punches or transverse perforation wheels as well as continuously using rotary systems such as spiked rollers or punching rollers, if necessary using a counter roller (Vulkollan roller), which forms the counter wheel during cutting.

Other possibilities include controlled intermittent cutting technologies such as the use of lasers, ultrasound, high-pressure water jets, etc. If part of the energy is introduced into the carrier material as heat, as in laser or ultrasound cutting, the fibers can be fused in the cutting area, so that disruptive fraying is largely avoided and sharp cutting edges are obtained. The latter methods are also suitable for achieving special cutting edge geometries, for example concave or convex cutting edges.

The adhesive tape can be used flexibly on different cable diameters.

The advantageous labeling makes it safe and easy to check that the adhesive tape has been used correctly.

In the following, the adhesive tape will be explained in more detail using several figures, without intending to create any kind of restriction.

It shows

Figure 1 shows several sections of a cable harness covered with adhesive tape in top view and side view,

Figure 2 shows an adhesive tape according to the invention in a particularly advantageous embodiment,

Figure 3 shows an adhesive tape according to the invention in a further particularly advantageous

embodiment,

Figure 4 shows the adhesive tape wrapped around cables according to Figure 3, Figure 5 shows an adhesive tape according to the invention in a further particularly advantageous embodiment,

Figure 6 shows the adhesive tape wrapped around cables according to Figure 5,

Figure 7 shows an adhesive tape according to the invention in a further particularly advantageous embodiment,

Figure 8 shows the adhesive tape wrapped around cables according to Figure 7,

Figure 9 shows an adhesive tape according to the invention in a further particularly advantageous embodiment,

Figure 10 shows the adhesive tape wrapped around cables according to Figure 9.

Figure 1 shows several sections of a cable harness in a top view and a side view, in which the middle section 101 is covered with an adhesive tape according to the invention. Due to the reinforcement elements integrated in the adhesive tape, the covered cable harness is kept in a flat shape. The sections in front of the middle section 101 and the rear section 102 are covered with a conventional adhesive tape for cable covering, with the adhesive tape being wound in a helical winding. This results in a cylindrical shape of the covered cable harness (circular in cross section).

If a conventional adhesive tape is guided in a helical or screw-shaped movement around the elongated material, the shape of a helix (also called screw, helical line, cylindrical spiral or helix) is created. A helix is a curve that winds around the surface of a cylinder with a constant pitch.

Figure 2 shows an adhesive tape 1 according to the invention, in which the carrier 10, which has a width BT, is equipped with two closure strips 11, 12 made of adhesive.

These closure strips 11, 12 run in the longitudinal direction of the carrier 10, also called the machine direction, and both end flush with the longitudinal edges of the carrier 10. Both closure strips have a width BK of 50% of the width BT.

If the adhesive of the two closure strips 11, 12 is identical, a homogeneous and closed adhesive layer results on the underside of the carrier 10. On the closure strips 11, 12 made of adhesive there are two longitudinally extending reinforcing elements 21, 22 made of plastic. The reinforcing strips have an identical width Bver of 40% of the width BT.

The distance D between the two reinforcing elements is 25% of the width BT.

Furthermore, the carrier 10 is extended on a longitudinal edge in the form of a flag 13, the flag having a width Bpahne of 100% of the width BT, a third closure strip 14 made of an adhesive mass extending on the underside of the free edge of the flag 13, the third closure strip 14 having a width BK which is equal to the width Bpahne, i.e. the flag 13 is coated over its entire surface with adhesive mass.

If the adhesive of the three closure strips 11, 12, 13 is identical, a homogeneous and closed adhesive layer results on the underside of the carrier 10 and the flag 13.

A flat cable harness section can contain one or more layers of parallel aligned individual wires. It is particularly advantageous if each layer of the parallel aligned individual wires is in contact with an adhesive coating and is thus held in a specific position.

Figure 3 shows an adhesive tape 1 according to the invention in a further particularly advantageous embodiment.

The adhesive tape 1 has a carrier 10 which has a width BT and which is equipped on its underside with two closure strips 11, 12 made of adhesive mass which extend over the entire width BT. On the closure strips 11, 12 made of adhesive mass there are two longitudinally extending reinforcing elements 21, 22 made of plastic which are additionally equipped on their free side with an adhesive mass layer 23, 24 covering the entire free side. On the adhesive mass layers 23, 24 there is a layer of several cables 2 lying next to one another.

The adhesive tape 1 can be folded according to Figure 4 in such a way that a flat cable set is formed due to the reinforcing elements 21, 22 and the two protruding adhesive tape ends 11a, 12a ensure a secure closure.

Figure 5 shows an adhesive tape 1 according to the invention in a further particularly advantageous embodiment.

The adhesive tape 1 has a carrier 10 which has a width BT and which is equipped with two closure strips 1 1 , 12 made of adhesive mass which extend over the entire width BT. On the closure strips 1 1 , 12 made of adhesive mass there is a reinforcing element 21 made of plastic which extends in the longitudinal direction. On each of the closure strips 1 1 , 12 made of adhesive mass there is a layer of several cables 2 lying next to one another. The adhesive tape 1 can be folded together according to Figure 6 in such a way that a flat cable set is formed due to the reinforcing element 21 and the two protruding adhesive tape ends 11a, 12a ensure a secure closure.

Figure 7 shows an adhesive tape 1 according to the invention in a further particularly advantageous embodiment.

The adhesive tape 1 has a carrier 10 which has a width BT and which is equipped with two closure strips 1 1 , 12 made of adhesive which extend over the entire width BT. On the top of the carrier 10 there is a reinforcing element 21 made of plastic which extends in the longitudinal direction. The surface of the reinforcing element 21 facing the carrier 10 is equipped with an adhesive layer 25 covering the entire side. On the closure strips 1 1 , 12 made of adhesive there is a layer of several cables 2 lying next to one another.

The adhesive tape 1 can be folded together according to Figure 8 in such a way that a flat cable set is formed due to the reinforcing element 21 and the two protruding adhesive tape ends 11a, 12a ensure a secure closure.

Figure 9 shows an adhesive tape 1 according to the invention in a further particularly advantageous embodiment.

The adhesive tape 1 has a carrier 10 which has a width BT and which is equipped with two closure strips 1 1 , 12 made of adhesive mass which extend over the entire width BT. On the closure strips 1 1 , 12 made of adhesive mass there are two longitudinally extending reinforcing elements 21 , 22 made of plastic.

On the reinforcing elements 21, 22 there are one or two layers of several adjacent cables 2.

The adhesive tape 1 can be folded according to Figure 10 in such a way that a flat cable set is formed due to the reinforcing elements 21, 22 and the two protruding adhesive tape ends 11a, 12a ensure a secure closure.

examples

conducting the tests

Unless expressly stated otherwise, the measurements are carried out in a test climate of 23 ± 1 °C and 50 ± 5 % relative humidity. Measuring the bending stiffness of the flat cable set:

The flat cable set has the advantage that it has a low height build-up on components and is easy to form. The force F1 (Fig. 1 1 ) is measured with a spring balance when the 10 cm overhang is bent by an angle of 90°. A similar force measurement on the flat cable set in the flat orientation is carried out on a firmly clamped cable set on the overhanging length of 10 cm. The force F2 (Fig. 1 1 ) is measured with a spring balance until the cable set leaves a clamped form.

The measurement is stopped at values for F2 greater than 12 N because twisting may occur, so that a safe measurement can no longer be guaranteed.

Measurement of the bending stiffness of different reinforcing elements

The measurement of softness is an essential quality feature of textiles, leather, paper and plastics with flexible properties. The test of the bending force F3 according to the softometer method is used to determine the softness or stiffness of the flat materials in a comparable manner under specified conditions.

To determine the bending force on a textile surface, a sample piece measuring 75 x 60 mm is punched out. A rotating sample holder made of two parallel plates fixes the punched-out sample on a surface measuring 60 x 60 mm. The sample holder with the sample is swiveled against a force sensor so that the non-clamped part of the sample with a length of 15 mm is bent by 30°. The bending force required in this position is measured after a measuring time of 10 s as a bending force in the unit mN.

To describe the textile properties, a sample can be punched out for measurement in the longitudinal and transverse directions and, if the application requires it, also in a diagonal direction. The expansion in the direction of the 75 mm long sample side also describes the bending direction that is to be assessed.

In addition to the described test of the single-layer test specimen on the Softometer, a double layer of the test specimen is measured. The bending test is carried out in an analogous manner.

Longitudinal flexural stiffness: the longer side of the test specimen runs parallel to the production direction of the material or warp direction of the fabric.

In all cases, the bending direction of the test specimen corresponds to the later application.

sketch of the examples

The adhesive tape according to the invention is described below in preferred embodiments using several

Examples are described without intending to subject the invention to any limitation. Furthermore, a comparison example is provided in which an adhesive tape is shown that shows significantly worse performance.

Materials for the example:

Adhesive tape PET fabric, plain weave, 130 g/m ² carrier surface weight, acrylic adhesive, applied on one side with 90 g/m ²

Width 19 mm (unless otherwise stated)

total thickness 260 pm

Example product: tesa 51026

Cable single line, 0.35mm ² cross section, FEP insulation,

outer diameter 2.0 mm

PET film I PET, thickness 350 pm, basis weight 500 g/m ² PET film II PET, thickness

190 pm, basis weight 274 g/m ²

PE film PE, thickness 585 pm, 516 g/m ²

Blue paper: thickness 267 pm, basis weight 220 g/m ²

White paper: thickness 310 pm, basis weight 300 g/m ²

Cardboard: Thickness 2150 pm, basis weight 1480 g/m ² single-layer bonded

For a flat cable set, 15 individual cables are placed in parallel and bundled into a flat cable set, the length is approximately 25 cm. The width of the cable set is 30 mm and the height corresponds to one cable layer with the tested sheath.

*: Since the resulting wiring harness section has a circular cross-section, F1 and F2 are identical.

The construction of the 15 cables arranged in parallel, with a 30 mm wide strip of the reinforcing element to be tested placed on the top and bottom of the cables, the package formed being wrapped by a 80 mm wide strip of adhesive tape according to the method shown in Figure 4, so that the package is wrapped with adhesive tape on all sides, is called the test cable harness.

Examples 5 to 9 show the advantages of the reinforcing elements.

Example 10 shows that the selected reinforcement element leads to a cable harness that is too stiff (F1 is too high).

The results of measuring the flexural stiffness of different reinforcing elements are given below.

The flat cable sets are easily bendable in one direction, even easier to bend than a cable set with the same number of cables in a round bundle. The stable film creates additional dimensional stability, but the flexibility is still less than that of a round cable bundle. Reinforcing both sides with PET film also allows for easy flexibility, even though more material is used. list of reference symbols

1 adhesive tape 10 carriers

11 , 12, 13 closure strips

11a, 12a End of the closure strips

21 , 22 Reinforcing elements

23, 24, 25 adhesive layer

101 Flat cable harness area

102 Round cable set, standard tape winding

301 Flat cable set 302 Mounting clamp

F1 Bending force 90° flat alignment

F2 Bending force 90° wide alignment

Claims

patent claims 1. Adhesive tape, in particular for the longitudinal sheathing of elongated goods such as cable harnesses in an automobile, comprising a carrier with a top side and a bottom side, wherein the carrier has a width BT in relation to the transverse direction and at least one closure strip made of an adhesive is present on the bottom side of the carrier, wherein the at least one closure strip runs along one of the longitudinal edges of the carrier and has a width BK of at least 3 mm and of at most 50% of the width BT, wherein at least one reinforcing element extending in the longitudinal direction is present on the top side or on the bottom side of the carrier, which reinforcing element preferably has a width Bver of at least 10% up to 50% of the width BT. 2. Adhesive tape according to claim 1, characterized in that a second closure strip made of an adhesive mass is present on the underside of the carrier, the second closure strip running along the other longitudinal edge of the carrier and having a width BK of at least 3 mm and of at most 50% of the width BT, the two closure strips preferably having the same width. 3. Adhesive tape according to claim 2, characterized in that the first and the second closure strip each run along one of the longitudinal edges of the carrier and have a width BK of 50% of the width BT, so that the two closure strips touch each other with their inner edges, wherein preferably the two closure strips consist of a single homogeneous adhesive layer. 4. Adhesive tape according to claim 3, characterized in that both closure strips are applied in the form of a single homogeneous layer, so that the carrier has a full-surface adhesive coating. 5. Adhesive tape according to at least one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that on the same side of the carrier there is a second reinforcing element extending in the longitudinal direction, which has a width Bver of at least 30% up to 48% of the width BT, the two reinforcing elements being arranged next to one another at a distance D, which is preferably at least 5 mm. 6. Adhesive tape according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrier is extended on a longitudinal edge in the form of a flag, the flag having a width Bpahne of at least 50% up to 150% of the width BT, a third closure strip made of an adhesive mass extending on the underside of the free edge of the flag, the third closure strip having a width BK of at least 3 mm and of at most inclusively the width Bpahne. 7. Adhesive tape according to claim 6, characterized in that the third closure strip has a width such that the entire area on the underside of the flag is provided with adhesive, wherein preferably the three closure strips cover the entire underside of the carrier and consist of a single homogeneous adhesive layer. 8. Adhesive tape according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one longitudinally extending reinforcing element is present on the underside of the carrier, preferably two longitudinally extending reinforcing elements are present on the underside of the carrier. 9. Adhesive tape according to claim 8, characterized in that the at least one, preferably the two reinforcing elements are fixed to the underside of the carrier by means of an additional adhesive coating which is located between the reinforcing element and the carrier. 10. Adhesive tape according to claim 8, characterized in that the at least one, preferably the two reinforcing elements are fixed to the underside of the carrier via the adhesive of the closure strips on the underside of the carrier. 1 1. Adhesive tape according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one reinforcing element extending in the longitudinal direction is present on the upper side of the carrier, preferably two reinforcing elements extending in the longitudinal direction are present on the upper side of the carrier. 12. Adhesive tape according to claim 11, characterized in that the at least one, preferably the two reinforcing elements are fixed to the upper side of the carrier by means of an additional adhesive coating which is located between the reinforcing element and the carrier. 13. Adhesive tape according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one longitudinally extending reinforcing element is present on the upper side of the carrier and at least one longitudinally extending reinforcing element is present on the underside of the carrier. 14. Adhesive tape according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrier is designed as a textile carrier with a basis weight of 30 g/m ² to 300 g/m ² , preferably selected from the group woven, nonwoven or knitted fabrics. 15. Adhesive tape according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reinforcing element consists of plastics such as polyetherimide (PEI), polysulfone (PSU), polyethersulfone (PES), polyamideimide (PAI), polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC). 16. Adhesive tape according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reinforcing element is bent in the transverse direction, preferably in the form of a circular arc with a central angle between 5° and 90°. 17. Adhesive tape according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that pressure-sensitive adhesives, preferably acrylate-based pressure-sensitive adhesives, are used for all adhesives. 18. Use of an adhesive tape according to at least one of the preceding claims for sheathing elongated goods such as cables in an automobile, wherein the elongated goods are sheathed in the axial direction by the adhesive tape, wherein the adhesive tape is fixed to the elongated goods with a closure strip and the other closure strip is fixed to one side of the carrier (3) to form a fold. 19. Use of an adhesive tape according to claim 18 for wrapping elongated goods, the outline of the envelope having an oval shape, characterized in that the ratio of the largest extent of the outline in the horizontal direction to the largest extent in the vertical direction is 1:2 to 1:10. 20. Elongated product, such as in particular a cable harness, covered with an adhesive tape according to at least one of the preceding claims. 21. Vehicle containing sheathed elongated goods according to claim 20.