Mass terminable flat cable and cable assembly incorporating the cable

A cable assembly for use with a mass termination connector having a plurality of regularly spaced terminal elements, said cable assembly comprising:

• a flat cable deformed from its flat, as-manufactured configuration into a non-flat configuration;
• and
• holding means disposed about the periphery of said cable holding said cable in said non-flat configuration whereby removal of the holding means allows said cable substantially to return to its flat configuration, said cable in its as-manufactured configuration comprising:
• a plurality of discrete conductors extending throughout the length of said cable, each conductor having an insulative jacket made of a thermoplastic material;
• said cable having a plurality of spaced first cable sections in which said conductors are held in regularly spaced parallel relationship, said cable further having a plurality of spaced second cable sections in which said conductors are not held in regularly spaced parallel relationship, with adjacent first cable sections being spaced by a second cable section;
• each first cable section comprising a laminated carrier film holding said conductors, said carrier film including an attachment layer of thermoplastic insulation having a melting temperature similar to that of the jacket material, and a dimensional stabilization layer made of an insulative material having a melting temperature higher than those of the attachment layer and the jacket material and displaying dimensional stability at the melting temperatures of the attachment layer and jacket material, the jackets of said conductors being fused to said attachment layer and said attachment layer being held by said stabilization layer.

A flat cable for use with a mass termination connector having a plurality of regularly spaced terminal elements, said cable comprising:

• a plurality of discrete conductors extending throughout the length of said cable, each conductor having an insulative jacket made of a thermoplastic material;
• said cable having a plurality of spaced first cable sections in which said conductors are held in regularly spaced parallel relationship, said cable further having a plurality of spaced second cable sections in which said conductors are not held in regularly spaced parallel relationship, with adjacent first cable sections being spaced by a second cable section;
• each first cable section comprising a laminated carrier film holding said conductors, said carrier film including an attachment layer of thermoplastic insulation having a melting temperature similar to that of the jacket material, and a dimensional stabilization layer made of an insulative material having a melting temperature higher than those of the attachment layer and the jacket material and displaying dimensional stability at the melting temperatures of the attachment layer and jacket material, the jackets of said conductors being fused to said attachment layer and said attachment layer being held by said stabilization layer,
• wherein said laminated carrier film is a first carrier film and is disposed on one side of said first cable section, each first cable section further comprising a second carrier film disposed on the other side of said first cable section, said second carrier film including an attachment layer of thermoplastic insulation having a melting temperature similar to that of the jacket material.

A flat cable for use with a mass termination connector having a plurality of regularly spaced terminal elements, said cable comprising:

• a plurality of discrete conductors extending throughout the length of said cable, each conductor having an insulative jacket made of a thermoplastic material;
• said cable having a plurality of spaced first cable sections in which said conductors are held in regularly spaced parallel relationship and have undulations on each side of the cable formed by said conductors matching the spacing of said terminal elements, said cable further having a plurality of spaced second cable sections in which said conductors are not held in regularly spaced parallel relationship, with adjacent first cable sections being spaced by a second cable section;
• each first section comprising a first film disposed on one side of the conductors and a second film disposed on the other side of said conductors, each film including an attachment layer with the attachment layers being fused together between each pair of adjacent conductors, at least one of said films comprising a dimensional stabilization layer made of an insulative material having a melting temperature higher than those of said attachment layers and displaying dimensional stability at the melting temperatures of said attachment layers, the dimensional stabilization layer holding the attachment layer in said one film.