Connection structure for cables, connection method for cables and connection kit

Abstract

To provide a connection structure for cables for connecting a first cable in which a transfer target is fed in a first direction, with a second cable in which the transfer target is fed in a second direction which is a direction reverse to the first direction, using a normal temperature shrinkage type tube, a connection method for cables and a connection kit.SOLUTION: A cable connection structure connects a first cable in which a transfer target is fed in a first direction, with a second cable in which the transfer target is fed in a second direction which is a direction reverse to the first direction. The cable connection structure comprises: a cable connection part which is mounted to ends of the first cable and the second cable; a cylindrical member in which the cable connection part is stored, an end of the cylindrical member at the side of an end of the cable connection part being closed and the other end thereof being opened; a sealing member which seals the other opened end of the cylindrical member; and a normal temperature shrinkage type tube which covers at least the other end of the cylindrical member and the sealing member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connection structure for cables such as power cables and communication cables, a cable connection method, and a connection kit. [Background technology]

[0002] A wide variety of connection structures for power cables and communication cables have been known. For example, in order to ensure high reliability in power supply, high water impermeability, sealing performance, and leakage resistance are required not only for the cable body but also for the cable connection structure. For this reason, a heat shrink tube made of rubber or plastic is used as a waterproof protective layer provided on the insulating reinforcement of the cable connection part.

[0003] However, a heat shrink tube requires a heat source to cover a cable connection and shrink it. Therefore, the use of a heat source may be limited in a narrow space. In addition, when the outer diameter of the object to be waterproofed is large, it takes a long time for the heat shrink tube to shrink. Furthermore, since it is not easy to heat the heat shrink tube evenly, the time when the tube starts to shrink and the shrink speed tend to be uneven.

[0004] In order to solve the above problems, cold shrinkable tubes having water impermeability, sealing performance, and leakage resistance are used (for example, see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-231150 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the connection method using a cold shrink tube is applied to a straight connection structure in which the ends of two cables are connected together to form a single connected cable group, and a branch connection structure in which two cables are connected to one cable via a connection part. Therefore, a heat shrink tube is still used in a connection structure that connects a first cable that sends an object to be transported in a first direction and a second cable that sends an object to be transported in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a cable connection structure, cable connection method, and connection material that connect a first cable, which uses a cold shrinkable tube and sends an object to be transported in a first direction, to a second cable, which sends an object to be transported in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the cable connection structure of the present invention comprises: A cable connection structure that connects a first cable that sends an object to be transported in a first direction and a second cable that sends the object to be transported in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction, a cable connection portion attached to an end of the first cable and the second cable; a tubular member that houses the cable connection portion, the tubular member having a closed end on the end side of the cable connection portion and an open other end; a sealing member that seals the other end of the cylindrical member, the other end being open; and a cold shrink tube covering at least the other end of the tubular member and the sealing member. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a cable connection structure, a cable connection method, and a connection kit that use a cold shrinkable tube to connect a first cable that sends an object to be transported in a first direction to a second cable that sends an object to be transported in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example of a cable connection kit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the arrangement of each component in a cable connection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example of a cable connection method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a photograph of an example of a cable connection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, a cable connection structure, a cable connection method, and a cable connection kit according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] In this specification, a cable refers to an electric wire in which a cable protective sheath (also called a protective outer coating or sheath) is placed around one or more insulated electric wires insulated with a cable insulator around a cable conductor. The object of transport (transmission object) of this cable may be either electricity or an electric signal.

[0013] Furthermore, the cable connection structure, cable connection method, and cable connection kit according to the present embodiment are a cable connection structure, cable connection method, and cable connection kit that connect a first cable that sends an object to be transported in a first direction and a second cable that sends the object to be transported in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction. Naturally, each of the first cable and the second cable may be a single cable, or may be a group of multiple cables.

[0014] (Cable connection kit) First, a cable connection kit for carrying out the cable connection method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a cable connection kit according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram for explaining the arrangement of each component in a cable connection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a cable connection structure for connecting a first cable 150 and a second cable 160 will be described.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 1, a cable connection kit 100 according to this embodiment has a tubular member 110 having one end 112 that is closed or plugged and the other end 114 that is open. Note that the tubular member 110 may be cylindrical as shown in Fig. 1, but may also be other shapes such as a spindle shape.

[0016] The tubular member 110 is usually made of an electrically insulating material, and may be, for example, a known end cap for cable connection. Alternatively, for example, a cylindrical tubular member having one end closed with a known lid member may be used.

[0017] The cable connection kit 100 according to this embodiment also includes a cold shrink tube 120. The cold shrink tube 120 refers to a tube that can shrink at room temperature without heating, as opposed to a heat shrink tube that shrinks when heated to a high temperature. In other words, the cold shrink tube 120 is a tube that has the property of returning to a state close to its original dimensions from a state in which it has been expanded and maintained.

[0018] Therefore, the room temperature shrink tube 120 in the cable connection kit 100 of this embodiment has a cylindrical tubular elastic body 122 that can be expanded in diameter, and the open end of the tubular elastic body 122 is expanded and maintained in diameter by an inner core 124 inserted inside the tubular elastic body 122.

[0019] There are no particular limitations on the cold shrink tube that can be used as long as it has electrical insulation properties, and examples of the cold shrink tube include silicone rubber and ethylene-propylene rubber.

[0020] In this embodiment, the inner diameter of the inner core 124 is larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical member 110 .

[0021] The inner core 124 is formed integrally with a gripping portion 126 which is a lead of the inner core 124 , and the inner core 124 can be pulled out from the cylindrical elastic body 122 by pulling the gripping portion 126 .

[0022] Moreover, the cable connection kit 100 according to this embodiment has a sealing member 130. The sealing member 130 is a member for sealing the gap between the opening 116 of the tubular member 110 and the cable.

[0023] A specific example of the sealing member 130 is not particularly limited as long as it has electrical insulation properties, but electrically insulating putty or the like can be suitably used.

[0024] (Cable connection method and cable connection structure) Next, a cable connection method and a cable connection structure using the cable connection kit described with reference to FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0025] FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of an example of a cable connection method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows a photograph of an example of a cable connection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] As described above, the cable connection method of this embodiment is a cable connection method that connects a first cable that sends an object to be transported in a first direction and a second cable that sends an object to be transported in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction.

[0027] 2, the cable connection method according to the present embodiment includes a first step (S200) of connecting a first cable and the second cable to form a cable connection part, a second step (S220) of inserting the cable connection part into a tubular member having one end closed and the other end open, and sealing a gap between the opening and the cable connection part with a sealing member, and a third step (S240) of covering the other end of the tubular member and the sealing member with a cold shrink tube. Each step will be described in detail below.

[0028] The first step S200 is a step of connecting a first cable and the second cable to form a cable connection portion, in other words, a step of connecting cable conductors (core wires) to be connected.

[0029] A specific example of the first step S200, the second step S220, and the third step S240 according to this embodiment will be described for the case of connecting a first cable and a second cable. The first cable has a first cable conductor, a first cable insulation arranged around the first cable conductor, and a first cable protective sheath arranged around the first cable insulation, and the second cable has a second cable conductor, a second cable insulation arranged around the second cable conductor, and a second cable protective sheath arranged around the second cable insulation.

[0030] First, the first cable protection sheath and the second cable protection sheath are stripped to expose the first cable insulation and the second cable insulation, respectively. Although not limited thereto, typically, each cable protection sheath is stripped about 10 cm to 12 cm to expose the cable insulation.

[0031] Next, it is preferable to attach cable grips (sometimes called braids) to the first cable and the second cable. By using the cable grips, it is possible to record the role of each cable conductor and to grasp and hold the cable ends so that they can be pulled. When using cable grips, it is usually preferable to fix the mouths (open end sides) of the cable grips to the first cable and the second cable by known fixing means such as tape.

[0032] Then, the first cable conductor and the second cable conductor are connected (connecting the cable conductors to be connected) to form a cable connection portion, thereby completing the first step S200. A known connector can be used for connecting the cable conductors, and in this embodiment, a Scotchlok (registered trademark) UY connector was used for the connection.

[0033] The second step (S220) is a step of protecting the cable connection portion using the cylindrical member 110 described with reference to FIG.

[0034] A specific example of the second step S220 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to a case where a first cable and a second cable are connected.

[0035] As described above, the cylindrical member 110 has one end 112 closed and the other end 114 open. The cable connection part is inserted from the open other end 114. Then, the gap between the opening of the other end 114 and the cable connection part is sealed with the sealing member 130, completing the second step S220.

[0036] The third step (S240) is a step of protecting the other end 114 of the tubular member 110 and the sealing member 130 using the cold shrink tube 120 described with reference to FIG.

[0037] As a specific example of the third step S240 according to this embodiment, a cold shrink tube having a cylindrical elastic body 122 that can be expanded in diameter and an inner core 124 inserted into the cylindrical elastic body 122 is used. The inner core 124 is integrally formed with a gripping portion 126 that serves as the lead of the inner core 124.

[0038] In the third step (S240), first, the tubular member 110 and the cable connection portion are inserted into the inner core 124. Then, the cold-shrinkable tube 120 is aligned. The cold-shrinkable tube 120 is positioned so that the tubular elastic body 122 of the cold-shrinkable tube 120 covers at least a portion of the tubular member 110, including the other end 114, and the sealing member 130. Then, the gripping portion 126 is pulled to remove the inner core 124 from the tubular elastic body 122 (cold-shrinkable tube 120), and the third step (S240) is completed.

[0039] When dismantling the cable connection structure according to this embodiment, the cold shrink tube 120 can be easily removed by making an incision from one end to the other end in the axial direction of the cold shrink tube 120 using a known blade (for example, a knife) or the like. When reconnecting, a new cold shrink tube can be used to reconnect and repeat assembly.

[0040] (Example) A cable connection structure was formed by the above cable connection method, and the following materials were used. Cylindrical member 110: a hard polyvinyl chloride pipe, VP pipe size 30 (manufactured by Kubota Chemicals Co., Ltd.), one end of which is blocked with a polyvinyl chloride blocking cap, TS cap size 30 (manufactured by Kubota Chemicals Co., Ltd.); Cable conductor connections: Scotchlok UY connectors (manufactured by Corning International kk); Sealing material 130: NeoSeal Plaseal (manufactured by Nitto Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd.); Cold shrink tube 120: Cold shrink tube (made by Denka Electron Co., Ltd.) divided in half; was used. The formed cable connection structure was placed in a bucket, and water was poured into the bucket so that the tubular member and the cold shrink tube were submerged, and the structure was left submerged for one week.

[0041] Using a 250V insulation resistance meter (MY-10, Yokogawa Electric Corporation), measurements were taken between the water in the bucket and the cable conductors (core wires, not submerged), with the measured value being 50MΩ or more, indicating that no insulation failure had occurred. Similarly, measurements were taken between the cable conductors of the cable, with the measured value being 50MΩ or more, indicating that no insulation failure had occurred. Furthermore, similar measurements were taken between the cable conductors that were not submerged, with some of the cable conductors submerged in water, and the measured value was 0Ω (insulation failure), confirming that the test can be performed normally even in cases where there is concern about the occurrence of electrical leakage.

[0042] This shows that the cable connection method according to the present embodiment makes it possible to connect cables without leakage current.

[0043] The cable connection structure was then removed from the bucket, the cold shrink tube was removed by the above-mentioned method, and the tubular structure was removed to dismantle the cable connection structure. The cable connection structure was visually inspected for water ingress, but no water ingress was observed.

[0044] This shows that by using the cable connecting method according to this embodiment, it is possible to connect cables without causing water ingress.

[0045] As described above, the cable connection structure according to the present embodiment is A cable connection structure that connects a first cable that sends an object to be transported in a first direction and a second cable that sends the object to be transported in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction, a cable connection portion attached to an end of the first cable and the second cable; a tubular member that houses the cable connection portion, the tubular member having a closed end on the end side of the cable connection portion and an open other end; a sealing member that seals the other end of the cylindrical member, the other end being open; and a cold shrink tube covering at least the other end of the tubular member and the sealing member.

[0046] Compared to a conventional cable connection structure using a heat shrink tube, the cable connection structure of this embodiment requires less material for connection and can ensure sufficient leakage resistance, airtightness, and waterproofing.

[0047] In addition, the cable connecting method according to the present embodiment includes the steps of: A cable connection method for connecting a first cable for transporting an object in a first direction and a second cable for transporting the object in a second direction opposite to the first direction, comprising: a first step of connecting the first cable and the second cable to form a cable connection portion; a second step of inserting the cable connection part into a tubular member having one end closed and the other end open, and sealing a gap between the opening of the tubular member and the cable connection part with a sealing member; a third step of covering the other end of the tubular member and the sealing member with a cold shrink tube; Includes.

[0048] The cable connection method according to the present embodiment is safer than the conventional connection method using a heat shrink tube because it can be connected without using firearms, and there is no risk of damaging the cable or the cable conductor, and it is possible to ensure sufficient leakage resistance, airtightness, and waterproofing. In addition, compared to the conventional connection method using a heat shrink tube, the number of work steps is reduced, and the work time for connection can be significantly reduced.

[0049] Moreover, the cable connection method according to the present embodiment does not require the use of adhesives or the like when connecting, as compared with the conventional connection method using a heat shrink tube. Conventional connection methods using heat shrink tubes require a lot of work to dismantle because they use adhesives, and there is a problem that the adhesive hardens over time. There is also a problem that the cable or cable conductor may be damaged when dismantling. On the other hand, the cable connection method according to the present embodiment does not require the use of adhesives or the like when connecting, so dismantling is easy, and the cold shrink tube can be removed simply by making an incision, so there is no risk of damaging the cable or cable conductor.

[0050] Furthermore, in the conventional connection method using heat shrink tubes, when dismantling, the cable support is cut and dismantled, and when reconnecting, the cable must be passed through the cable support again, so all the connected cable conductors must be disconnected. This causes a problem that communication interruptions always occur when connecting. On the other hand, the cable connection method according to the present embodiment does not require disconnecting the connection points, and reconnection is possible by replacing the cold shrink tube, allowing repeated assembly. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 100 Cable Connection Kit 110 Cylindrical member 112 One end 114 The other end 116 Opening 120 Cold shrink tube 122 Cylindrical elastic body 124 Inner Core 126 Gripping part 130 Sealing material 140 First Cable 150 Second Cable S200 1st process S220 2nd process S240 3rd process

Claims

1. A cable connection structure for connecting a first cable for transporting an object in a first direction and a second cable for transporting the object in a second direction opposite to the first direction, a cable connection portion attached to an end portion of the first cable and the second cable; a tubular member that houses the cable connection portion, the tubular member having a closed end on the end side of the cable connection portion and an open other end; a sealing member that seals the other end of the cylindrical member, the other end being open; a cold shrink tube covering at least the other end of the tubular member and the sealing member; A cable connection structure comprising:

2. A cable connection method for connecting a first cable for transporting an object in a first direction and a second cable for transporting the object in a second direction opposite to the first direction, comprising: a first step of connecting the first cable and the second cable to form a cable connection portion; a second step of inserting the cable connection part into a tubular member having one end closed and the other end open, and sealing a gap between the opening of the tubular member and the cable connection part with a sealing member; a third step of covering the other end of the tubular member and the sealing member with a cold shrink tube; 4. A cable connection method, comprising:

3. The first cable has a first cable conductor, a first cable insulation disposed around the first cable conductor, and a first cable protective sheath disposed around the first cable insulation, and the second cable has a second cable conductor, a second cable insulation disposed around the second cable conductor, and a second cable protective sheath disposed around the second cable insulation, The first step includes a step of exposing the first cable insulation and the second cable insulation from the first cable protective sheath and the second cable protective sheath, respectively; a step of attaching a cable grip that grasps and holds the ends of the first cable and the second cable so as to be able to be pulled; a step of fixing the cable grip to the first cable and the second cable; and a step of connecting the first cable conductor and the second cable conductor. The cable connection method according to claim 2 .

4. The cold shrinkable tube has a cylindrical elastic body that can be expanded in diameter, and an open end of the cylindrical elastic body is expanded and held in diameter by an inner core inserted into the cylindrical elastic body, The inner core includes a cylindrical inner core body having an outer diameter larger than an inner diameter of an open end of the cylindrical elastic body, and a grip portion attached to one end of the inner core body in the central axis direction, the third step includes a step of inserting the tubular member and the cable connection portion into the inner core, a step of aligning the cold shrink tube, and a step of removing the inner core from the cold shrink tube via the gripping portion. The cable connection method according to claim 2 .

5. A cable connection method for connecting a first cable for transporting an object in a first direction and a second cable for transporting the object in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the cable connection kit including: a first step of connecting the first cable and the second cable to form a cable connection part; a second step of inserting the cable connection part into a tubular member having one end closed and the other end open, and sealing a gap between the opening and the cable connection part with a sealing member; and a third step of covering the other end of the tubular member and the sealing member with a cold shrink tube, a sealing member and a room temperature shrinkable tube, the room temperature shrinkable tube having a cylindrical tubular elastic body that can be expanded in diameter, and an inner core inserted inside the tubular elastic body keeps the open end of the tubular elastic body expanded in diameter.

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