Low-Profile Cable Armor for Smooth Stud Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prior art armored cables have pronounced armor profiles that cause hang-ups during installation, especially when routing through wooden or metal studs, leading to inefficiencies and excessive tangles.
Innovation Solution
A novel armored cable assembly with a flat metal sheath profile, featuring helically wrapped sections with curved, planar, and angled free ends, reducing the diameter and minimizing valleys between peaks to facilitate easier installation and reduce tangles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional pronounced armor profiles are used, then the cable provides adequate protection and structural integrity, but the cable causes excessive hang-ups and tangles during installation through studs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the geometric parameters of the armor profile. Specifically, it reduces the depth and width of valleys between peaks, and adjusts the curvature radius of the profile to create a flatter appearance. This changes the physical dimensions of the armor without compromising its protective function, allowing the cable to pass through studs more easily while maintaining structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes curvature principles by implementing a specific curved profile design with controlled radius of curvature. The rounded, smoother transitions in the armor profile reduce sharp edges and corners that cause hang-ups on studs. The curved geometry allows the cable to flex more naturally during installation while maintaining the necessary protective strength
2Adaptability or versatility
If deeper and wider valleys are used in the armor profile, then the cable provides better flexibility, but the cable gets hung up on studs requiring readjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the valley dimensions by reducing their depth and width to specific parameter ranges. This modification maintains sufficient flexibility for cable bending and routing while eliminating the excessive depth that causes cables to catch on studs. The balanced parameters allow the cable to flex where needed without creating installation obstacles
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by providing just enough flexibility through moderate valley depth rather than excessive depth. This sufficient-but-not-excessive flexibility maintains the necessary adaptability for routing while avoiding the harmful effect of too much flexibility that would cause hang-ups and require repeated readjustment during installation
3Ease of operation
If a flatter armor profile is used, then the cable installs more smoothly through studs, but the cable may lose crush-resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent carefully balances the flattening parameters to achieve smooth installation while preserving crush resistance. By controlling the minimum valley depth and peak height within specific ranges, the profile remains flat enough to pass through studs easily but maintains sufficient structural thickness and geometry to resist crushing forces during and after installation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite construction by combining the metal armor layers with specific material properties that enhance crush resistance. The multi-layered armor structure with optimized material composition compensates for the reduced profile height, ensuring that the flatter design does not sacrifice the mechanical strength needed to protect conductors from crushing loads
4Volume of moving object
If the armor profile is reduced in diameter, then the cable is easier to package and handle, but the cable may have reduced protective capability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces the overall diameter by optimizing the profile geometry parameters - reducing valley depth, adjusting peak spacing, and controlling the curvature radius. These parameter changes compact the armor structure to a smaller diameter for easier handling and packaging while the optimized geometry maintains sufficient material distribution to provide adequate protection
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses curved geometry to efficiently distribute protective material within a smaller diameter. The rounded profile transitions and optimized curvature allow the armor to maintain structural integrity and protective capability while occupying less space, enabling easier packaging and handling compared to traditional angular or flatter profiles
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an armored cable assembly which may include a plurality of conductors and a metal sheath disposed over the plurality of conductors. The metal sheath may have a plurality of revolutions extending helically along a lengthwise axis, each of the plurality of revolutions including a first section having a curved profile, a second section extending from the first section, the second section having a planar profile, and a third section extending from the second section. The third section may include a free end angled towards an interior cavity of the metal sheath, the free end extending past a plane defined by a bottom most point of the first section of an adjacent revolution, the plane extending perpendicular to the second section.