US2438006A

US2438006A - Electric cord

Info

Publication number: US2438006A
Application number: US538731A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gilbert E Gustafson
Original assignee: Zenith Radio Corp
Current assignee: Zenith Electronics LLC
Priority date: 1944-06-05
Filing date: 1944-06-05
Publication date: 1948-03-16
Anticipated expiration: 1965-03-16

Description

March 16, 1948. e. E. GUSTAFSON ELECTRIC CORD Filed June 5; 1944 FIG.

TRANSPARENT MATERIAL FIG.2

COPPER COLORE CONDUCTOR I NVENTOR GILBERT E. GUSTAFSON HIS ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 16, 1948 ELECTRIC CORD Gllbert'E. Gustai'son, River Forest, Ill., asslgnor to Zenith Radio Corporation, a. corporation of Illinois Application June 5, 1944, Serial No. 538,731

- 4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to electrical cords such as are particularly useful in electrical apparatus such as wearable hearing aids or. the like,

In such portable or wearable electrical apparatus as hearing aids, it is desirable that electrical cords connecting various parts of the apparatus, for example, the cord extending between the amplifier case and earpiece be of pleasing and inconspicuous appearance. Many persons whose hearing is impaired and who should wear a hearing aid decline to do so because, among other reasons, or the unsightly appearance of the cord extending from the amplifier case to the receiver and because of a feeling that such cord when contrasted to the color of their skin makes them conspicuous.

it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved wearable electrical cord having a pleasing appearance and one which tends to make the wearer thereof feel less conspicuous because of its presence.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical cord having a white-pinkish color which blends in well with the color of the skin of persons of the white or Caucasian race.

A further object of this present invention is to provide an improved electrical cord of a color resembling that of flesh color, of simple inexpen sive construction and of a minimum number of component parts.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. This invention itself, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 shows an elevational view or an end of an electrical cord embodying the present invention;

Fig, 2 shows a sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 shows a sectional view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

The electrical cord I0, of white-pinkish color resembling the color of the skin of persons of the white or Caucasian race, comprises copper conductors II and I2 formed respectively on strands l3 and ll of rayon, silk or other similar material for stiffness of assembly. The conductors I2 are covered with nontransparent rayon or silk l5 of white color and conductors II are bare. Conductors II and I! lie parallel and are encased in a tube of flexible transparent material l6 preferably of a transparent plastic such as that bearing the trade name Vinylite,

The conductors l l and it, which are preferably of copper or copper color, and which may, for example, extend between the amplifier case and earpiece or bone conductor, or between batteries and amplifier case in hearing aid apparatus, need only be of small current capacity. In the preferred embodiment shown, conductors ii and i2 comprise, respectively; pairs of conductors ii, iii and it), til, each having a rectangular cross section and being wound in side-by-sicle relationship on the respective strands l3 and it, as shown in Fig. 3. Such conductors ll, it and it, 26 of small cross section are wound respectively on strands and i or" some flexible material such as rayon, to provide flexibility and freedom from breakage in the copper conductors and also to make it easy to. wind the conductors ii and ill on the strands l3 and M. It is understood, however, th'at solid or braided conductors may be moulded in the transparent casing it without ini tially mounting them on such strands l3 and id, but an advantage resides in winding at least a pair of conductors in side-by-side relationship to form the composite conductor 5 l in Fig. l in that the spacing, however small, between adjacent edges of conductors ll and 88 causes desirable discontinuities in the light reflected from the conductor ii toproduce the desired appearance wh'ile providing a high degree of flexibility.

It is an important feature of the present invention to cover only one of such conductors ii and i2 with a material I 5 with a whitish color such as white rayon and to embed 0r mould the white covered conductor and the bare copper conductor 8 l in side-by-side relationship within transparent material l6 such as a plastic, preferably "Vinylite.

Plastics, such as Vinylite, are moulded around thetwo parallel extending conductors by extrusion.

The bare conductor ii and covered conductor ii are preferably moulded as shown in Fig. 1 in parallel extending relationship without twist with respect to casing IS. A similar effect to that produced by those parallel extending conductors may be achieved by twisting the conductors H and I2 prior to moulding them in the plastic materlal.

It is noted that transparent plastics such as Vinylite have a refractive index in the range of 1.5 to 1.6 and inasmuch as the cross section of the cord is oval shaped as shown in Figure 2 U68] purposes in use th'e embedded copper conductor large extent by refracted light rays. Such being the case, the copper conductor l3 for all pracis visible at substantially all angles when viewed by an observer.

This is particularly true where the transparent plastic is polymerized resins o! the vinyl type known as Vinylite.

While the particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications maybe made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects, and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. A flesh-colored cord for people of the white race comprising, in combination, a pairof conductors encased in a transparent plastic material, one of said conductors being of copper color and the other conductor being covered with whitish material whereby the assembled cord has a color resembling flesh color.

2. An electric cord comprising a copper-colored conductor, a second conductor extending parallel with said copper-colored conductor, a whitish-colored covering over said second conductor, and a transparent sheath over both said conductors and said cover.

3. An electric cord comprising a flexible copper-colored conductor, a flexible whitish-colored is: viewed a '4 conductor lying alongside said copper-colored conductor, and a transparent sheath over both said conductors. j

4. A flesh-colored cord for people or the white race comprising, in combination, a pair of conductors at least one or which comprises a pair of copper-colored conductors wound over a core in side-by-side relationship to produce discontinuities in light reflected from said one conductor, a whitish nontransparent covering for the other conductor, and a transparent material encasing said pair of conductors.

GILBERT E. GUSTAFSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are or record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS N. Y, C., entitled How to Use Small Button Earpiece with the New Soft Rubber Eartip; form A5; copyri hted 1931.