Buoyant electrical cables

Claim 2

A cable for marine applications comprising: means for providing continuous tensile strength having a flexibility to allow use of reels and curved storage and for additionally providing an electrical conductor; means encasing the providing means disposed on said providing means for electrically insulating, waterproofing and mechanically protecting it for ease in handling and satisfactory hydrodynamic characteristics; and means defining a plurality of discrete buoyant sections longitudinally spaced within the encasing means and co-axially disposed about the providing means protecting it from external damage, said buoyant sections are syntactic foam elements particularly sized to ensure neutral buoyancy in water of a stated specific gravity and fabricated for being relatively non-deformable by changing ambient pressures and a compliant strip is interposed between said buoyant sections to allow flexibility.

Claim 3

A cable according to claim 1 in which said buoyant sections are mounted on a backing strip prior to cable assembly.

Claim 4

A cable according to claim 2 in which said compliant strip is optionally mounted on said backing strip.

Claim 5

A cable according to claim 1 in which said providing means includes a wire rope enabling said continuous tensile strength and insulated wires functioning as said electrical conduit.

Claim 6

A cable according to claim 1 in which said providing means includes an elongate electrically conducting tubing having sequential closures at regular intervals to further define said discrete buoyant sections and said encasing means includes electrical shielding cooperating with said elongate tubing to form a coaxial cable.

Claim 7

A cable for marine applications comprising: means for providing continuous tensile strength having a flexibility to allow use of reels and curved storage and for additionally providing an electrical conductor; means encasing the providing means disposed on said providing means for electrically insulating, waterproofing and mechanically protecting it for ease in handling and satisfactory hydrodynamic characteristics; and means defining a plurality of discrete buoyant sections longitudinally spaced within the encasing means, particularly sized to ensure neutral buoyancy in water of a stated specific gravity, and fabricated for being relatively nondeformable by changing ambient pressures, said buoyant sections are syntactic foam elements arranged in series and a nonporous bonding agent flexibly joins sequential ones of the buoyant section together to further ensure flexibility.

Claim 8

A cable for marine applications comprising: means for providing continuous tensile strength having a flexibility to allow use of reels and curved storage and for additionally providing an electrical conductor; means encasing the providing means disposed on said providing means for electrically insulating, waterproofing and mechanically protecting it for ease in handling and satisfactory hydrodynamic characteristics; and means defining a plurality of discrete buoyant sections longitudinally spaced within the encasing means, particularly sized to ensure neutral buoyancy in water of a stated specific gravity, and fabricated for being relatively nondeformable by changing ambient pressures, said buoyant sections are syntactic foam elements arranged in series and a nonporous bonding agent flexibly joins sequential ones of the buoyant section together to further ensure flexibility.

Claim 9

A cable according to claim 1 in which at lEast some of said buoyant sections are syntactic foam elements arranged in series and a nonporous bonding agent flexibly joins sequential ones of the buoyant sections together to further ensure said flexibility.

Claim 10

A cable for marine applications comprising: means for providing continuous tensile strength having a flexibility to allow use of reels and curved storage and for additionally providing an electrical conductor; means encasing the providing means disposed on said providing means for electrically insulating, waterproofing and mechanically protecting it for ease in handling and satisfactory hydrodynamic characteristics; and means defining a plurality of discrete buoyant sections longitudinally spaced within the encasing means, particularly sized to ensure neutral buoyancy in water of a stated specific gravity, and fabricated for being relatively nondeformable by changing ambient pressures, at least some of said buoyant sections are hollow, pressure-proof flotation elements arranged in series and a nonporous bonding agent flexibly joins sequential ones of the buoyant sections together to further ensure flexibility.

Claim 11

A cable for marine applications comprising: means for providing continuous tensile strength having a flexibility to allow use of reels and curved storage and for additionally providing an electrical conductor; means encasing the providing means disposed on said providing means for electrically insulating, waterproofing and mechanically protecting it for ease in handling and satisfactory hydrodynamic characteristics; and means defining a plurality of discrete buoyant sections longitudinally spaced within the encasing means, particularly sized to ensure neutral buoyancy in water of a stated specific gravity, and fabricated for being relatively nondeformable by changing ambient pressures, at least some of said buoyant sections are hollow, pressure-proof flotation elements arranged in series and a nonporous bonding agent flexibly joins sequential ones of the buoyant sections together to further ensure flexibility.

Claim 12

A cable according to claim 1 in which at least some of said buoyant sections are hollow, pressure-proof flotation elements arranged in series and a nonporous bonding agent flexibly joins sequential ones of the buoyant sections together to further ensure said flexibility.

Claim 13

A cable according to claim 6 in which said providing means is at least one wire laid adjacent said elements.

Claim 14

A cable according to claim 8 in which said providing means is at least one wire laid adjacent said elements.

Claim 15

A cable for marine applications comprising: means for providing continuous tensile strength having a flexibility to allow use of reels and curved storage and for additionally providing an electrical conductor; means encasing the providing means disposed on said providing means for electrically insulating, waterproofing and mechanically protecting it for ease in handling and satisfactory hydrodynamic characteristics; and means defining a plurality of discrete buoyant sections longitudinally spaced within the encasing means, particularly sized to ensure neutral buoyancy in water of a stated specific gravity, and fabricated for being relatively nondeformable by changing ambient pressures, said providing means is at least partially provided by an elongate electrically-conducting tubing formed with spun-closed sequential sections spaced at regular intervals to define a series of bending points ensuring flexibility and to define said discrete buoyant sections ensuring predetermined buoyancy.

Claim 16

A cable for marine applications comprising: means for providing continuous tensile strength having a flexibility to allow use of reels and curved storage and for additionally providing an electrical conductor; means encasing the providing means disposed on said providing means for electrically insulating, waterproofing and mechanically protecting it for ease in handling and satisfactory hydrodynamic characteristics; and means defining a plurality of discrete buoyant sections longitudinally spaced within the encasing means, particularly sized to ensure neutral buoyancy in water of a stated specific gravity, and fabricated for being relatively nondeformable by changing ambient pressures, said providing means is at least partially provided by an elongate electrically-conducting tubing formed with spun-closed sequential sections spaced at regular intervals to define a series of bending points ensuring flexibility and to define said discrete buoyant sections ensuring predetermined buoyancy.

Claim 17

A cable according to claim 12 in which the cross-sectional area of said closure sections is less than the cross-sectional area of said elongate tubing where it encloses said buoyant sections.

Claim 18

A cable for marine applications comprising: means for providing continuous tensile strength having a flexibility to allow use of reels and curved storage and for additionally providing an electrical conductor; means encasing the providing means disposed on said providing means for electrically insulating, waterproofing and mechanically protecting it for ease in handling and satisfactory hydrodynamic characteristics; and means defining a plurality of discrete buoyant sections longitudinally spaced within the encasing means, particularly sized to ensure neutral buoyancy in water of a stated specific gravity, and fabricated for being relatively nondeformable by changing ambient pressures, said providing means is an elongate electrically conducting tubing formed with crimped, pressure welded closure sections at regular intervals to define a series of bending points ensuring flexibility and to define said discrete buoyant sections ensuring predetermined buoyancy.

Claim 19

A cable for marine applications comprising: means for providing continuous tensile strength having a flexibility to allow use of reels and curved storage and for additionally providing an electrical conductor; means encasing the providing means disposed on said providing means for electrically insulating, waterproofing and mechanically protecting it for ease in handling and satisfactory hydrodynamic characteristics; and means defining a plurality of discrete buoyant sections longitudinally spaced within the encasing means, particularly sized to ensure neutral buoyancy in water of a stated specific gravity, and fabricated for being relatively nondeformable by changing ambient pressures, said providing means is an elongate electrically conducting tubing formed with crimped, pressure welded closure sections at regular intervals to define a series of bending points ensuring flexibility and to define said discrete buoyant sections ensuring predetermined buoyancy.

Claim 20

A cable according to claim 14 in which the cross-sectional area of said closure sections is substantially equal to the cross-sectional area of said elongate tubing wHere it encloses said buoyant sections to ensure constant tensile strength and uniform electrical resistivity throughout the length of said cable.

Claim 21

A cable according to claim 15 that includes at least one fiber-optic bundle.

Claim 22

A cable for marine applications comprising: means for providing continuous tensile strength having a flexibility to allow use of reels and curved storage and for additionally providing an electrical conductor; means encasing the providing means disposed on said providing means for electrically insulating, waterproofing and mechanically protecting it for ease in handling and satisfactory hydrodynamic characteristics; and means defining a plurality of discrete buoyant sections longitudinally spaced within the encasing means, particularly sized to ensure neutral buoyancy in water of a stated specific gravity, and fabricated for being relatively nondeformable by changing ambient pressures, said buoyant sections include at least one flotation strip of syntactic foam flotation elements, at least one flotation core of oblong syntactic foam flotation pellets, and at least one flotation tubing having spun closed compartments for providing the desired electrical, mechanical and buoyancy characteristics.

Claim 23

A cable for marine applications comprising: means for providing continuous tensile strength having a flexibility to allow use of reels and curved storage and for additionally providing an electrical conductor; means encasing the providing means disposed on said providing means for electrically insulating, waterproofing and mechanically protecting it for ease in handling and satisfactory hydrodynamic characteristics; and means defining a plurality of discrete buoyant sections longitudinally spaced within the encasing means, particularly sized to ensure neutral buoyancy in water of a stated specific gravity, and fabricated for being relatively nondeformable by changing ambient pressures, said buoyant sections include at least one flotation strip of syntactic foam flotation elements, at least one flotation core of oblong syntactic foam flotation pellets, and at least one flotation tubing having spun closed compartments for providing the desired electrical, mechanical and buoyancy characteristics.

Claim 24

A cable for marine applications comprising: means for providing continuous tensile strength having a flexibility to allow use of reels and curved storage and for additionally providing an electrical conductor; means encasing the providing means disposed on said providing means for electrically insulating, waterproofing and mechanically protecting it for ease in handling and satisfactory hydrodynamic characteristics; and means defining a plurality of discrete buoyant sections longitudinally spaced within the encasing means, particularly sized to ensure neutral buoyancy in water of a stated specific gravity, and fabricated for being relatively nondeformable by changing ambient pressures, said buoyant sections include at least one flotation strip of syntactic foam elements, at least one flotation core of hollow pressure-proof elements flexibly joined by a nonporous bonding agent, and at least one flotation tubing having crimped, pressure welded sections defining a series of closed compartments for providing the desired electrical, mechanical, and buoyancy characteristics.

Claim 25

A cable for marine applications comprising: means for providing continuous tensile strength having a flexibility to allow use of reels and curved storage and for additionally providing an electrical conductor; means encasing the providing means disposed on said providing means for electrically insulating, waterproofing and mechanically protecting it for ease in handling and satisfactory hydrodynamic characteristics; and means defining a plurality of discrete buoyant sections longitudinally spaced within the encasing means, particularly sized to ensure neutral buoyancy in water of a stated specific gravity, and fabricated for being relatively nondeformable by changing ambient pressures, said buoyant sections include at least one flotation strip of syntactic foam elements, at least one flotation core of hollow pressure-proof elements flexibly joined by a nonporous bonding agent, and at least one flotation tubing having crimped, pressure welded sections defining a series of closed compartments for providing the desired electrical, mechanical, and buoyancy characteristics.

Claim 26

A cable according to claim 1 further including: a plastic filler disposed within said encasing means to fill spaces not occupied by said providing means and said buoyant sections for ensuring said neutral buoyancy irrespective of changing ambient pressures.