JPH0419923Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a material that covers a signal line such as an electric conductor or an optical fiber that transmits an electric signal or an optical signal. It relates to tunnel tape used for

[Conventional technology]

A movable printing part such as a printer head of a word processor or an optical lens part of a copying machine is connected to a connecting part fixedly installed on the machine base by a signal line. That is, in FIG. 6, the signal line has connection parts 1 and 2 at both ends corresponding to the movable side and the fixed side,
It consists of fixed parts 3 and 4 of the printing part, and a bendable part 5 that extends between both fixed parts 3 and 4 and can be bent.

One of the fixed parts 3 moves left and right in the direction of the arrow following the movement of the printing part (not shown). As the printing section 3 moves, the bending section 5 receives mechanical strain applied to the signal line due to tensile force, pressing force, twisting force, etc., thereby reducing the strain.

Conventionally, the signal line used for connection between the fixed parts 3 and 4 of the printing part has a small bending radius, and mechanical stress such as tensile force, pressing force, twisting force, etc. applied to the bent part 5. A so-called flat cable 6 as shown in FIG. 7 is used because it causes less damage. This flat cable 6 is made by arranging a plurality of signal wires 9 in parallel, the outer periphery of which is covered with plastic 8, of a conducting wire 7 such as an electric conductor or an optical fiber, and extrusion molding a covering 10 on the outer periphery.
Plastic tape is adhered or fused to the upper and lower surfaces of one or more signal lines 9. The sheathing 10 formed continuously in the longitudinal direction is cut to a required length before use, and the sheathing 10 at both ends of the cut flat cable 6 is peeled off over a predetermined length. The signal line 9 is exposed.

When the peeling length of the covering 10 is short, even if the above-described conventional flat cable 6 is processed and used, there are no problems in terms of quality or cost.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, the conventional flat cable 6
When the peeling length of the covering 10 becomes long, the covering 10 must be peeled over a long distance, and a great deal of labor is wasted in the peeling work. Furthermore, the peeled off sheath 10 is discarded and becomes a loss, and the ratio of peeling loss in the price of the flat cable 6 that is actually used increases, and as a result, the cost of the flat cable 6 becomes relatively high. Furthermore, during peeling off the covering 10 over a long distance, the signal wire 9 may be accidentally broken, or even if the wire is not broken, the plastic 8 covering the conductor 7 may be damaged, resulting in a decrease in insulation performance, etc. There is a problem.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems associated with the conventional flat cable by providing a tunnel tape for receiving signal lines, in which a band-shaped protector is bonded via a thermoplastic adhesive layer. The bonding temperature of the thermoplastic adhesive layer is lower than the melting temperature of the strip-shaped protectors, and at least one wire is provided between the strip-shaped protectors and extends in the longitudinal direction to receive the signal line.
The problem is solved by a tunnel tape in which a hollow section is formed in the strip, and a thermoplastic adhesive layer is present on at least part of the inner wall of the hollow section. Note that the hollow portion may be configured to exist continuously or intermittently in the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped protector, or,
The hollow portions may be provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the cross-sectional portion of the strip-shaped protector.

[Function] In the tunnel tape of the present invention, a hollow portion is formed between the band-shaped protectors to extend in the longitudinal direction and receive a signal line. When in use, a signal line of any length is inserted into this hollow part, and with the signal line protruding from the end for a predetermined length, the entire tunnel tube is heated to a temperature higher than the melting temperature of the thermoplastic adhesive layer. By pressing with a specified pressure,
The signal line is adhesively fixed to the band-shaped protector using a thermoplastic adhesive, and a product similar to a conventional flat cable is obtained in which the end portion is exposed over a predetermined length.

〔Example〕

In FIG. 3, a thermoplastic adhesive such as a hot melt adhesive is applied to the surface of a band-shaped protective body 12 made of a suitable material such as a polyester sheet, a polyvinyl chloride sheet, a polyethylene sheet, a polypropylene sheet, or an aluminum polyester laminate sheet. (For example, polyethylene adhesive, ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer adhesive, polyester adhesive, polyamide adhesive, vinyl chloride/vinyl acetate copolymer adhesive) is heated above its melting temperature and extrusion coated. The thermoplastic adhesive layer 13 is formed by uniformly applying the adhesive by a method such as , gravure coating, reverse coating, or knife coating.

After the thermoplastic adhesive on the surface of the strip-shaped protector 12 obtained in this way becomes non-adhesive, the two strip-shaped protectors 12 are placed so that both of their thermoplastic adhesive layers 13 face each other. Stack them together.
The thermoplastic adhesive 1 is applied to the area of the band-shaped protective body 12, except for the hollow part 14, using, for example, a heating roller.
The thermoplastic adhesive layer 13 is heated at a temperature higher than the melting temperature of No. 3 and lower than the melting temperature of the strip-shaped protector 12.
is melted, and the upper and lower strip-shaped protectors 12 are pressed and bonded.

As a result, as shown in FIG.
2, there is one hollow part 14 extending in the longitudinal direction [see Figure 1 A] or a plurality of hollow parts 14 [see Figure 1 B].
A formed tunnel tape 11 is obtained.

A thermoplastic adhesive layer 13 is formed on at least a portion of the wall surface of the hollow portion 14 of the tunnel tape 11 of the present invention. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 or 5, the thermoplastic adhesive layer 13 is provided on the entire wall surface of the hollow part 14, and in the embodiment shown in FIG. Plastic adhesive layer 1
3 is formed.

In addition, as shown in FIG.
When forming hollow portions 14 by discontinuing them in the longitudinal direction, prepare a strip-shaped protector 12 with no hollow portions and punching out the discontinuous portions 16 in advance, and heat and press this strip-shaped protector 12 to bond it. do. The tunnel tape shown in Figure 2A obtained in this way is suitable for use when the exposed part of the signal line inserted and fixed into the tape is long at one end and the exposed part at the other end is short. ing.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG.
A thermoplastic adhesive is applied to the upper and lower surfaces of the strip-shaped protector 12, and after the adhesive becomes non-adhesive, another strip-shaped protector 12 is stacked on both sides coated with the adhesive to form a hollow portion 14. Adhere by heating and pressing except for the areas. The tunnel tape shown in Figure 2B obtained in this way can have two layers of signal lines inserted into the tape, and is convenient to use when a high-density product is required. .

When using the tunnel tape 11 of the present invention, first, the signal wire 15 such as an electric conductor or an optical fiber is made to a predetermined length, and the tunnel tape 11 is made to a necessary length as a covering.

Next, the signal line 15 is inserted into the hollow part 14 of the tunnel tape 11 and is made to protrude from both ends of the tunnel tape 11 by a predetermined length. This protruding length approximately corresponds to the conventional peeling length. In this state, the tunnel tape 11 and the signal line 15 are heated by heating means such as a heating roller or a shrink tunnel at a heating temperature that is higher than the melting temperature of the thermoplastic adhesive layer 13 and lower than the melting temperature of the strip-shaped protector 12. Then, the molten thermoplastic adhesive layer 13 is melted, and the band-shaped protector 12 and the signal line 15 are pressed and bonded together.

In addition, in the present invention, by making the widths of the upper and lower strip-shaped protectors 12 slightly different and bonding them with both ends of the strip-shaped protectors 12 aligned, the fifth
As shown in the figure, the hollow part 14 may have different curvatures on the upper and lower sides to make the opening of the hollow part 14 easier to open, so that the signal line 15 can be easily inserted into the hollow part 14.

Furthermore, by changing the width, thickness, or material of the strip-shaped protective body 12, the rigidity of the tunnel tape 11 and the radius of curvature when bent can be changed.

[Effect of idea]

According to the present invention, a tunnel tape which is a covering and has a hollow part for receiving a signal line is obtained separately from the signal line. Therefore, any length of tunnel tape can be used in combination with any length of signal line.

In use, a signal line of a desired length is inserted into a tunnel tape of a desired length and bonded by heating to obtain a cable with both ends exposed, that is, a cable similar to a flat cable with both ends peeled off.

Therefore, with the present invention, unlike conventional flat cables, it is not necessary to peel off the sheathing at the end of the signal line, eliminating the trouble of peeling off the sheathing and reducing the loss of the sheathing when peeled off. In addition, the signal line is not cut or damaged when the coating is peeled off, thereby reducing the quality, and productivity and quality can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1A and 2B are perspective views of the embodiment of the present invention;
Figures A and B are perspective views of different embodiments of the present invention;
The figure is a partially enlarged sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figs. A plan view showing the state of use, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional flat cable. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Tunnel tape, 12... Band-shaped protective body, 13... Thermoplastic adhesive layer, 14... Hollow part, 15... Signal line.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. A tunnel tape for receiving signal lines, in which a strip-shaped protector is adhered via a thermoplastic adhesive layer, and the adhesive temperature of the thermoplastic adhesive layer The temperature is lower than the melting temperature of the protector, and at least one hollow part is formed between the strip-shaped protectors to extend in the longitudinal direction and receive the signal line, and the inner wall of the hollow part is lower than the melting temperature of the protector. A tunnel tape characterized in that a thermoplastic adhesive layer is present in at least a portion of the tape. 2. The tunnel tape according to claim 1, wherein the hollow portion exists continuously in the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped protector. 3. The tunnel tape according to claim 1, wherein the hollow portions are disposed intermittently in the longitudinal direction of the protective strip. 4. The tunnel tape according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the hollow portions are present on the upper and lower surfaces of the cross-sectional portion of the strip-shaped protector, respectively.