TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to jacket systems for elongated assemblies, such as cable assemblies. In particular, the jacket systems described herein have improved abrasion resistant and flexibility.

BACKGROUND

Protective jackets are commercially used throughout the automotive, marine, and aerospace industries to arrange and protect elongated items, such as electro-magnetic energy conductors, conduits, and other wiring. Such jackets may serve one or more of a host of functions, including providing electrical and/or thermal insulation, serving as a sheath to assist in containing multiple conductors, and providing physical protection for the conductor from damage from environmental conditions or stresses applied to the conductor during use or installation.

The commercial jacket materials generally used include polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane, polyimide, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), expanded PTFE (ePTFE), fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), perfluoroalkoxy polymer (PFA), polyesters, silicone rubber, and nylon. These materials may be applied over the conductors in a variety of ways, including by extrusion, tape wrap, insertion within pre-formed tubes, shrink wrap, etc.

The elongated assemblies having protective jackets are often deployed in confined spaces and are subjected to forces from pulling, bending and twisting. Due to these forces there may be localized areas that become sites of mechanical failure leading to a degradation in performance. Once the jacket performance is compromised the electro-magnetic energy conductors, conduits, and other wiring protected by the jacket may become damaged. For example, in optical fibers, the damage from the jacket leads to light signal distortions or attenuation at an unacceptable levels. In digital or power elongated assemblies, damaged or compromised jackets can reduce voltage isolation of the assembly and also allow for harmful fluids to compromise the inner components of the assembly. This leads to significant down time to repair and replace elongated assemblies, including the jackets. Further, reinforcing the jackets with additional protective materials is undesirable since this increases the weight.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,172 discloses a jacket material comprising a silicone material that is imbibed into a porous polymer, such as expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, to produce a flexible and durable composite. When applied as a cable jacket, the composite material disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,172 provides an improvement over the use of silicone alone, especially in the areas of load sharing, resistance to fatigue from repeated flexure, and resistance to harsh environmental conditions.

US Pub. No. 2012/0148772 discloses a coated textile sleeve for routing and protecting elongate members, combination thereof, and method of construction. The textile sleeve has an elongate knit wall constructed from weft knit yarns. The knit wall has an inner surface providing a generally tubular cavity in which the elongate members are received and protected. The inner surface is formed, at least in part, by laid-in yarn to provide a soft, non-abrasive surface for dampening contact with the elongate members being protected to facilitate absorbing vibration, which in turn, reduces the frictional wear of the elongate members being protected. Further, the knit wall has an outer surface with a flexible, impervious elastomeric coating thereon. The elastomeric coating allows the knit wall to substantially retain its flexibility as knit, provides enhanced protection against the ingress of fluid and other contaminants, and providing added dampening to absorb vibration.

The foregoing illustrates limitations known to exist in prior protective jackets for elongated assemblies. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an improved cable jacket and tubing directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations set forth above.

SUMMARY

In the embodiments described herein, there is provided a jacket for an elongated assembly, the jacket comprising a film layer to surround a core member of the elongated assembly, wherein the film layer has a first surface to be arranged abutting the core member in a non-bonded relationship; a braided, woven, or warp-knit layer comprising high-melt filament having a titer from 30 to 800 denier; and a bonding region between the braided, woven, or warp-knit layer and a second surface of the film layer, opposing to the first surface, to adhere at least a portion of the high-melt fibers. In one embodiment, the jacket is a tubular member or formed by wrapping a sheet to surround the core membrane.

In another embodiment, the film layer may comprise an inner film layer that is to be disposed between the core member and film layer and is arranged in a non-bonded relationship with at least the film layer. Thus, there is provided a jacket for an elongated assembly, the jacket comprising an inner film layer surrounding a core member of the elongated assembly, an outer film layer surrounding the inner film, wherein the inner film layer and the film layer are arranged in a non-bonded relationship, a braided, woven, or warp-knit layer comprising high-melt filament having a titer from 30 to 800 denier; and a bonding region between the braided, woven, or warp-knit layer and a second surface of the film layer to adhere at least a portion of the high-melt fibers.

The jacket described herein have improvement in abrasion resistant and cut-through resistance. In one embodiment, the presence of the bonded region provides this improvement. Thus, in one embodiment there is provided a jacket for an elongated assembly, the jacket comprising a film layer; a braided, woven, or warp-knit layer comprising high-melt filament having a titer from 30 to 800 denier; and a bonding region between the braided, woven, or warp-knit layer and the film layer to adhere at least a portion of the high-melt fibers, wherein the jacket has abrasion resistance (EN3475-503) of at least 15% greater than the abrasion resistance of a jacket without a bonding region.

In another embodiment, there is provided a jacket for an elongated assembly, the jacket comprising a film layer; a braided, woven, or warp-knit layer comprising high-melt filament having a titer from 30 to 800 denier; and a bonding region between the braided, woven, or warp-knit layer and the film layer to adhere at least a portion of the high-melt fibers, wherein the jacket has a cut-through resistance (AS4373 method 703) higher than the cut-through resistance of a jacket without a bonding region. In one embodiment, the jacket has a cut-through resistance at 23° C. of at least 10% greater than the cut-through resistance of the jacket without a bonding region.

The jackets described herein are for protecting elongated assemblies. In one embodiment, there is provided an elongated assembly comprising a core member having: one or more cables; and a surrounding layer for enclosing the one or more cables; and a jacket surrounding the core member. The jacket according to this embodiment may comprise a film layer to surround the core member, wherein the core member has a first surface to be arranged abutting the core member in a non-bonded relationship; a braided, woven, or warp-knit layer comprising high-melt fibers having a titer from 30 to 800 denier; and a bonding region between the braided, woven, or warp-knit layer and a second surface of the film layer to adhere at least a portion of the high-melt fibers. In one embodiment, the film layer and the surrounding layer are arranged in a non-bonded relationship. The jacket may also comprise an inner film layer, which may be arranged in a non-bonded relationship with the film layer.

While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which shows and describes illustrative embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.

