Flat Insulated Wire Structure for 3D Routing Flexibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing insulated electric wires with flat twisted conductors exhibit limited flexibility in the width direction, making them inadequate for complicated bending applications, especially in three-dimensional routing, particularly when the conductor cross-sectional area is large.
Innovation Solution
The insulated electric wire features a flat portion and a low-flatness portion along its axial direction, with the conductor's deformation ratios at the width-directional end parts lower than at the center parts, allowing for flexible bending in both directions by forming a low-flatness portion through external compression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the conductor cross-sectional area is increased to allow the insulated electric wire to cope with large current application, then the current carrying capacity is improved, but the flexibility of the conductor is lowered
Solution Approach 1:
The conductor is divided into multiple elementary wires (e.g., 7, 19, or 37 wires) twisted together. This segmentation allows each individual wire to remain flexible while the collective bundle provides the required current carrying capacity through increased total cross-sectional area.
2Area of stationary object
If the flat twisted wire is used to achieve space-saving property and flexibility in height direction, then the space occupation is reduced and height-direction flexibility is improved, but the width-direction flexibility is lowered
Solution Approach 1:
The insulation coating thickness is varied locally around the conductor circumference. Thinner insulation at width-directional end parts and thicker insulation at center parts creates differential mechanical properties that enable width-direction bending while maintaining the flat twisted structure's space-saving and height-direction flexibility characteristics.
3Area of stationary object
If the flat twisted wire structure is adopted to achieve both flexibility and space-saving property, then the space occupation is reduced and height-direction flexibility is improved, but the bending flexibility for complicated three-dimensional routing is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The insulation coating is designed with non-uniform thickness distribution, being thinner at width-directional end parts and thicker at center parts. This local variation in insulation thickness creates zones of different rigidity, allowing the conductor to bend in width direction for complicated three-dimensional routing while maintaining the overall flat twisted structure for space-saving installation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The wire can be flexibly bent into complicated shapes, maintaining space-saving properties and enhancing flexibility in both width and height directions, suitable for three-dimensional routing.
Implementation Method 1
a flat twisted wire obtained by twisting a plurality of elementary wires together
Implementation Method 2
an insulation coating covering an outer periphery of the conductor
Data Source
AI summary
An insulated electric wire includes a flat portion and a low-flatness portion along an axial direction x, having elemental wires constituting a conductor and an insulation coating being continuous with one another. An outer shape of the conductor of the flat portion in a cross-section perpendicular to the axial direction x of the insulated electric wire takes a flat shape, and an outer shape of the conductor of the low-flatness portion takes a shape with flatness lower than the flat portion. In each of the cross-sections of the conductor of the flat portion and the low-flatness portion, deformation ratios of the elemental wires from a circle at width directional end parts, which corresponds to regions facing an outer periphery of the conductor at both ends of the flat shape in a width direction, are lower than the deformation ratios of the elemental wires at a center parts of the conductor.