Splice for laminated tapes

Claim 2

A splice construction for providing electrical conductivity continuity from one tape to the next where each tape includes a metal strip and plastic coating on both sides of the metal strip for protecting the metal strip from corrosion, said splice construction comprising end portions of the tapes overlapping one another and having confronting faces at the overlap, a metal connector element located between the overlapping end portions of the tape, said connector element having a body portion and sharp projections extending in opposite directions from the body portion and penetrating through the plastic coating of the strips and into contact with the metal strip of each of the tapes of the splice construction to provide a continuous electric circuit between the strips of the tapes.

Claim 3

The splice construction described in claim 1 characterized by the inside face of one tape overlapping the confronting outside face of the other tape and the thickness of the plastic coating on the face of one of the tapes being substantially greater than the thickness of the plastic coating on the confronting face of the other tape, the projections on the opposite sides of the connector element being of different lengths that compensate at least a part of the greater thickness of coating that they have to penetrate.

Claim 4

The splice construction described in claim 2 characterized by the connector being a metal sheet sandwiched between the overlapping end portions of the tapes, said metal sheet having a plurality of openings extending through it with the metal that is displaced from the openings forming tangs that extend upward from some of the openings around the edges thereof and that extend downward from others of the openings around the edges thereof to provide projections that penetrate the plastic coatings of the tapes, said splice construction being within an electrical cable containing a core including a conductor surrounded by electrical and having one of the tapes wrapped around the insulated conductor as a shield along a part of the length of the cable, and having the other tape wrapped around the length of the conductor as a shield along a different but contiguous part of the length of the cable, the overlapping ends of the tapes making the metal strips in the tapes a continuous circuit along the different parts of the cable, and said tapes being applied to the core as a shield and moisture barrier, the tangs having points on their ends that contact with the strips of the tapes, said points extending into the strips and displacing metal from the faces of the strips to increase the area of contact of the tangs with the strips and to lock the connector element and the stRips against relative movement in the direction of the extent of the strips and thereby prevent longitudinal rupture of the splice construction, the coatings on the confronting faces of the overlapping end portions of the tapes being fusion-bonded to one another to hold them in contact with said connector element.

Claim 5

The splice construction described in claim 1 characterized by the coatings on the overlapping end portions of the tapes being held together by fusion bonding of the protective plastic coatings to one another, and the connector element having plastic coating of the tapes protecting it from corrosion by covering all surfaces of the connector element that are not in contact with the metal strips of said tapes, and the ends of the metal strips being protected by plastic coating material that has been exuded from faces of the overlapping ends of the tapes.

Claim 6

The splice construction described in claim 1 characterized by the connector being a different piece of metal from the metal strips of either of the tapes.

Claim 7

The splice construction described in claim 5 characterized by the connector element being a metal sheet having a plurality of openings extending through it with the metal that is displaced from the openings forming tangs that extend upward from some of the openings around the edges thereof and that extend downward from others of the openings around the edges thereof to provide the projections that penetrate the plastic coatings on the tapes that are spliced together.

Claim 8

The splice construction described in claim 6 characterized by an electrical cable containing a core including a conductor surrounded by electrical insulation an having one of the tapes wrapped around the insulated conductor as a shield along a part of the length of the cable, and having another tape wrapped around a length of the conductor as a shield along a different but contiguous part of the electrical cable, the overlapping ends of the tapes making the metal strips in the tapes a continuous electric circuit along the different parts of the cable, and said tapes being applied to the core as a shield and moisture barrier therefor.

Claim 9

The splice construction described in claim 7 characterized by each tape being longitudinally wrapped around the core and the longitudinal edges of the tapes being secured together along seams extending lengthwise of the cable, said connector element extending circumferentially around the cable for substantially the full width of the tapes and having an axial length substantially less than its circumferential extent.

Claim 10

The splice construction described in claim 7 characterized by the connector element having the openings in it disposed in a plurality of axially extending rows and a plurality of longitudinally extending rows, alternate openings of each of the rows having their tangs extending in opposite directions from the body of the connector element for contact with a different one of the tapes.

Claim 11

The splice construction described in claim 1 characterized by the metal strips and the projections being made of metal of good electrical conductivity, said strips having a thickness of between approximately .4 and .8 mils and the coatings on the strips being of a thickness between approximately 2 and 5 mils.

Claim 12

The splice construction described in claim 10 characterized by the metal strips being aluminum, the projections being aluminum, and the coatings on the strips being a copolymer of polyethylene with reactive carboxyl groups that produce a chemical bond of the coating to the aluminum.

Claim 13

The splice construction described in claim 11 characterized by at least one of the confronting faces of the tapes having a high-density polyethylene portion of the coating that merges with the copolymer at a location spaced from the metal strip that the copolymer coats.

Claim 14

The splice construction described in claim 1 characterized by the projections having points on the ends thereof that extend into contact wIth the confronting faces of the metal strips and that displace metal of said confronting faces to increase the area of contact of the points with the strips, and to lock the strip and projections against relative movement parallel to the planes of said confronting faces of the strips, the coatings on the confronting faces of the tapes being bonded together to hold the tapes in contact with one another.

Claim 15

The splice construction described in claim 1 characterized by the projections being tangs displaced from and bent substantially normal to the face of the connector element from which they extend, the tangs remaining connected to the connector at an edge of an opening produced by the displacement of the tangs from said connector element.