JPH11329099A - Cable with identification means and cable device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cable and a cable device in which a cable and its wiring condition are efficiently identified, even if there are many cables with same shapes. SOLUTION: A communication cable 11 is composed of a cable conductor part 14 to send and receive a signal by connecting connection socket parts 12 and 13, and a cable coating material 15 to protect the cable conductor part 14, the cable coating material 15 is also comprised of a luminescent material 15a to make an entire cable coating material 15 emit light by pressurizing a part of it, an armor material 15b made of synthetic resin having translucence and flexibility, and a protection coating 15c to protect the conductor part 14, and the entire coating material 15 emits light by applying a force by a manpower, such as by grasping any one portion on the surface of the coating material 15, or by pressing a finger on it.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cable and a cable device in the industrial field, and more particularly to a cable and a cable device suitable for identifying a cable used in a communication cable of a computer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a large number of personal computers and communication equipment have been connected by a communication cable at a business office or the like.
There is a case where a LAN (local area network) is constructed to improve business efficiency.

FIG. 4 is a connection form diagram showing an example of such a conventional LAN. In the figure, 1 is a computer,
2 is another computer similar to the computer 1, 3 and 4 are HUBs (concentrators connecting a plurality of terminals in a computer network), and 5 is a computer 1
And a communication cable 6 connecting the HUB 3 and the HUB 3. In this example, a plurality of computers are connected to a HUB via a communication cable to construct a LAN. As shown in the figure, the computer 1 is connected to the hub 3. Here, the connection of the computer 1 is set to HUB3.
When switching from to HUB4, the connection between the computer 2 other than the computer 1 and the HUB3 and the HUB4 must not be interrupted. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the cable 5 to which the computer 1 is connected even on the HUB 3 side.

However, since communication cables for connecting these personal computers and communication equipment are manufactured based on the same standard, their external shapes are almost the same. In addition, other cables such as a power cable are mixed in an actual wiring site.

[0005] As the number of computers and communication equipment increases, it becomes difficult to identify which equipment each cable is connected to, or which physical equipment to which any equipment is connected. In other words, when moving or relocating the equipment, there is a risk that mistakes such as disconnecting the connection of different cables or stopping different equipment may occur.

Hitherto, in order to avoid such mistakes, a method of identifying a cable wiring by using several kinds of cables of different colors or attaching an identification tag seal to both ends of the cable has been adopted. Have been.

[0007]

However, the conventional method has the following problems.

In the identification method based on the difference in cable color,
Due to the number of colors and the limited number of cables sold with different colors, it is difficult to identify a large number of cables, and as in the case of the communication cables described above, the number of cables is reduced by the number of existing computers. If identification is necessary, it cannot be a powerful method. Also, when the user cannot select a color like a power cable attached to a personal computer, it cannot be applied.

The method of attaching tag seals or the like at both ends for identification can cope with a large number of cables. However, it is troublesome to attach the tag seals, and the tag seals having wrong contents are attached or detached. And the possibility of the contents becoming unclear cannot be ruled out. Further, since the cable can be identified only at the place where the tag seal is attached, it cannot be applied to a case of a long cable or a case where it is desired to identify the wiring state of the cable itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a cable and a cable device which can efficiently identify a cable including a wiring state even if there are many cables having the same shape.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve this problem, the present invention uses a material that emits or develops a color by operating an arbitrary point of a cable by a method such as pressing, as a covering material for the cable. In an environment where cables of the same shape are wired, the target cable itself can be easily identified, and the wiring state itself of the target cable can be easily traced.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a cable core portion and a cable covering material for protecting the cable core portion, and the cable covering material operates at any one point. A cable having an identification means characterized in that the cable emits or emits color by operating any one point, so that the cable emits or emits color, so that a plurality of cables of the same shape are wired. In such an environment, the target cable itself can be easily identified, and the wiring state itself of the target cable can be easily traced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cable having the identification means according to the first aspect, wherein the cable covering material emits light or develops color over the entire cable. To emit or color
This has an effect that the target cable itself can be easily identified, and the wiring state of the target cable itself can be easily traced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the cable having the identification means according to the first aspect, the cable covering material emits light or develops a color at points or surfaces having an arbitrary interval. Since the cable emits or emits light at points or planes at arbitrary intervals, the target cable itself can be easily identified, and the entire surface of the cable emits light to easily follow the wiring state of the target cable itself. Alternatively, it has the effect of not requiring coloring.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cable having the identification means according to the first aspect, characterized in that the cable coating material emits light or develops a color by pressing. It has an effect that the cable can be pressed by a simple method to cause the cable coating material to emit light or color.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cable having the identification means according to the first aspect, wherein a thin film luminous body of an EL (Electro Luminesent) element is used as a cable covering material. And emits light with low power,
Since it is a highly flexible material, it is ideal as a cable covering material.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cable having the identification means according to the first aspect, wherein the cable covering material is a thin-film luminous body, a two-layered electrode layer, and a space between the two electrode layers. And a gel-like insulating layer provided on the surface of the light-emitting device. By pressing the cable, the gel moves and the electrodes come into contact with each other, so that the light-emitting body can easily emit light. Having.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the cable having the identification means according to the first aspect, an electrode function for emitting light is scattered on the cable covering material. This has the effect that the range of selection of means for light emission such as an LED is widened.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cable having the identification means according to the first aspect, wherein an optical fiber cable is used as a cable covering material, and a plurality of light leakage / light incident terminal points are provided on the cable surface. Is provided, so that light from each terminal point leaks from other terminal points, even if the cable coating itself does not shine,
This has the effect that it can be identified by light supplied from another light source.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, connection cables are provided at both ends of a cable having any of the identification means according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, and light is emitted or colored from the connection sockets. A cable device characterized by the fact that power can be supplied from a connection socket portion connected to the cable, so that there is no need to provide a power source for light emission and coloring outside. Having.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1A is an external view showing a cable apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a structural view of a communication cable.

In the figure, a communication cable 11 has connection sockets 12 and 13 at both ends. The communication cable 11 includes a cable core 14 for connecting and connecting the connection sockets 12 and 13 to transmit and receive signals, and a cable covering material 15 for protecting the cable core 14. The cable covering material 15 further uses a light emitting material 15a that emits light when the entire cable covering material emits light when a part thereof is pressed. For the outermost periphery of the covering material 15, an exterior material 15b made of a synthetic resin having translucency and flexibility is used. Reference numeral 15c denotes a protective coating for protecting the core portion 14. The covering material 15 emits light by applying force with human power, such as grasping an arbitrary part of the surface or pressing a finger. Reference numeral 16 denotes a button battery, which supplies power when the light emitting material 15a requires power.

In the present invention, in a configuration similar to that shown in the conventional example, one point of the communication cable 11 (5 in the conventional example) connected on the computer 1 side is grasped. When the communication cable 11 is grasped, the cable covering material 15 is pressurized, and the entire cable covering material 15 emits light. Since the light emission of the communication cable 11 can be recognized not only on the HUB side but also in the middle of the wiring path, the communication cable 11 connected to the computer 1 can be immediately identified, and the communication cable connected to another computer by mistake. And other power cables are not interrupted.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a material that emits light by pressure sensitivity. The outermost layer of the light emitting material 21 is EL (Electro L
uminesent) element. This is similar to that used for dial lighting of digital wristwatches and liquid crystal lighting of portable information terminals, etc., and is a material that emits surface light with low power and is highly flexible. The next innermost layer and the innermost layer are the electrodes 21b and 21
c. The layer between the electrodes 21b and 21c is the electrode 21
It is composed of a gel-like insulating material 21d that insulates the electrode b from the electrode 21c. In the light emitting material 21 having such a structure, for example, pressing a point on the communication cable with a finger,
By applying pressure, as shown in FIG. 2B, the insulating material 21d is pushed away, and the electrode 21b and the electrode 21c come into contact. The electrode 21b and the electrode 21c are connected to the button battery 22, and power is supplied by contact with the button battery 22,
The thin film light emitter 21a emits light. As shown in FIG. 1, the button battery 22 is included in the communication cable terminal (16 in FIG. 1).

In the above-described embodiment, it is not always necessary for the entire covering material surrounding the communication cable to emit light. As long as the light emission can be visually observed over the entire communication cable, there is no problem even if the light emission points exist at a certain interval and area on the communication cable. In this case, even if the electrode functions for emitting light are scattered on the communication cable, there is no problem as long as the electrode functions have the same number and intervals as those at almost any point on the communication cable. When a large number of such light-emitting portions and electrode portions are scattered, a rigid light-emitting body such as an ordinary LED can be used instead of the thin-film light-emitting body.

In the embodiment, light emission by power supply is taken as an example. However, it goes without saying that there is no problem even if light emission / discoloration or the like is chemically excited by the entire material due to pressure sensitivity. .

As shown in FIG. 3, an optical fiber cable 31 is used for coating, and a plurality of light leakage / light entrance terminal points 31a are provided on the cable. Embodiments in which light leaks from other terminal points are also possible.

The above-mentioned cables are applicable not only to communication cables, but also to all power supply cables for supplying power, and all cables for connecting devices, including gas pipes.

[0029]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, even when a large number of communication cables of the same shape are wired, it is possible to easily trace the wiring state and the connected party. The efficiency and reliability of cable identification in the change and replacement of wiring and connected devices are greatly improved.
At the same time, it is easy to avoid adverse effects on the connected devices and the entire system due to erroneous recognition of the communication cable.

Furthermore, compared to the prior art, since the cable itself can be actually identified, man-hours for attaching the tag seal and erroneous recognition due to a mistake in attaching the tag can be avoided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a cable device according to an embodiment of the present invention and a cross-sectional view of a communication cable.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a material that emits light by pressure sensitivity.

FIG. 3 is an external view of a cable using an optical fiber cable for coating.

FIG. 4 is a connection diagram showing an example of a conventional LAN.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Communication cable 12, 13 Connection socket part 14 Cable core part 15 Cable coating material 15a Light emitting material 15b Exterior material 15c Protective coating 16 Button battery

Claims (9)

[Claims] The present invention is characterized in that it comprises a cable core portion and a cable covering material for protecting the cable core portion, wherein the cable covering material emits or emits color by operating an arbitrary point. A cable having an identification means to be used. 2. A cable having identification means according to claim 1, wherein the cable covering material emits light or color throughout. 3. A cable having identification means according to claim 2, wherein said cable coating material emits light or develops a color at points or surfaces having an arbitrary interval. 4. A cable having identification means according to claim 1, wherein the cable coating material emits light or develops a color when pressed. 5. An EL (Electro Luminesen) cable covering material.
2. A cable having an identification means according to claim 1, wherein a thin film luminous element of the element is used. 6. A cable covering material comprising a thin-film luminous body, two electrode layers, and a gel-like insulating layer provided between the two electrode layers. A cable having the identification means as described. 7. A cable having identification means according to claim 1, wherein an electrode function for causing light emission is scattered on the cable covering material. 8. An optical fiber cable is used as a cable covering material, a plurality of light leaking / light incoming terminal points are provided on the cable surface, and light incident from each terminal point leaks from another terminal point. A cable having the identification means according to claim 1. 9. A cable having the identification means according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein connection sockets are provided at both ends of the cable, and power is supplied from the connection sockets for light emission or coloring. Cable equipment.