Braided cord with changing cross-sectional area

A braided cord, comprising:

• a braided sheath of sheath strands braided along a cord axis, and
• a core surrounded by the braided sheath,
• wherein each sheath strand comprises one or more fibers and each fiber comprises one or more filaments;
• and
• wherein
• the braided sheath has changing thickness achieved by at least one mode selected from the group consisting of (i) one or more sheath strands having changing size, (ii) one or more sheath strands having changing twist level, and (iii) the braided sheath having changing pick count, and (iv) the braided sheath comprising at least one shaped sheath strand, which is an untwisted strand having a twist level of less than 1 turn per meter, a cross-sectional aspect ratio of at least 3:1, and changing strand width;
• or
• with the proviso that the braided sheath has a constant thickness, the core has changing cross-sectional area
• so that the braided cord has changing cross-sectional area with a minimum cross-sectional area being at least 0.0004 mm2 and a maximum cross-sectional area being at most 30 mm2 and the braided cord contains one or more sections tapering along the cord axis at a tapering angle of 1° to 60°.

A process of producing a braided cord with changing cross-sectional area, the process comprising:

• forming a braided sheath by braiding a plurality of sheath strands along a cord axis;
• optionally forming a core surrounded by the braided sheath;
• and
• obtaining the braided cord with changing cross-sectional area by one of (a) and (b):
• (a) with the proviso that the braided cord has no core or has a core optionally with changing cross-sectional area, changing thickness of the braided sheath by at least one mode selected from the group consisting of (i) changing size of one or more sheath strands, (ii) changing twist level of one or more sheath strands, and (iii) (iv) shaping at least one sheath strand, which is an untwisted strand having a twist level of less than 1 turn per meter, so that the at least one shaped sheath strand has a cross-sectional aspect ratio of at least 3:1 and changing strand width;
• and
• (b) with the proviso that the braided sheath has a constant thickness and the braided cord has a core, changing cross-sectional area of the core,
• wherein
• each sheath strand comprises one or more fibers and each fiber comprises one or more filaments, and
• the braided cord has a minimum cross-sectional area of at least 0.0004 mm2 and a maximum cross-sectional area of at most 30 mm2 and contains one or more sections tapering along the cord axis at a tapering angle of 1° to 60°.