Foldable and restrainable cables

A continuous and foldable cable for use with electrical and electronic devices, said cable comprising:

• a cable having a conductor and an outer jacket covering the conductor;
• the cable having a first end and a second end;
• and
• a portion of the outer jacket between the first and second ends being thermally and permanently preformed into a desired shape to create a preformed restrainer having a W-shaped hook capable of bundling and holding the cable when folded, the W-shaped hook being formed by two preformed loops in approximately parallel planes joined by a third preformed loop in a plane approximately perpendicular to the planes of the two loops.

A continuous and foldable cable for use with electrical and electronic devices, said cable comprising:

• a cable having a conductor and an outer jacket covering the conductor;
• the cable having a first end and a second end;
• a portion of the outer jacket between the first and second ends being thermally and permanently preformed into a desired shape to create a preformed restrainer capable of bundling and holding the cable when folded;
• and
• the outer jacket of the cable has two or more thermally preformed bends spaced apart along the cable and alternating with straight sections of the cable, the bends being less flexible than the straight sections so as to retain their shape.

A continuous and foldable cable for use with electrical and electronic devices, said cable comprising:

• a cable having a conductor and an outer jacket covering the conductor;
• the cable having a first end and a second end;
• a portion of the outer jacket between the first and second ends being thermally and permanently preformed into a desired shape to create a preformed restrainer capable of bundling and holding the cable when folded, the preformed restrainer being a preformed spiral;
• and
• the cable has two or more bends alternating with straight sections, the bends being less flexible than the straight sections so as to retain their shape, and the outer jackets over the bends are thermally preformed and of the same material as the spiral so that the bends permanently retain their shape.

A continuous and foldable cable for use with electrical and electronic devices, said cable comprising:

• a cable having a conductor and an outer jacket covering the conductor;
• the cable having a first end and a second end;
• the cable also having two or more preformed bends alternating with straight sections between the first end and the second end, and the outer jackets over the bends are thermally preformed so that the bends permanently retain their shape;
• a portion of the outer jacket between the first and second ends being thermally and permanently preformed into a desired shape to create a preformed restrainer capable of bundling and holding the cable when folded, the preformed restrainer being a preformed spiral;
• and
• the cable is a variable-stiffness cable and the preformed spiral and the preformed bends are of a stiffer material than the straight sections.

A continuous and foldable cable for use with electrical and electronic devices, said cable comprising:

• a cable having a conductor and an outer jacket covering the conductor,
• the material of the outer jacket of the cable being of uniform stiffness;
• the cable having a first end and a second end;
• and
• a preformed restrainer for the purpose of bundling and holding the cable when folded, the preformed restrainer consisting only of:
• a section of the cable between the first and second ends;
• a thermally formable sleeve that covers that section of the cable to add stiffness to that section;
• and
• the sleeve and the section of the cable covered by the sleeve being stiffer than the rest of the cable and thermally and permanently preformed into a desired shape to create the preformed restrainer;
• wherein the preformed restrainer is capable of being wound and/or unwound around the folded cable to neatly bundle or unbundle the foldable cable and thereby prevent tangling of the foldable cable.

A continuous and foldable cable for use with electrical and electronic devices, said cable comprising:

• a cable having a conductor and an outer jacket covering the conductor,
• the cable having a first end and a second end;
• and
• one or more preformed restrainers for the purpose of bundling and holding the cable when folded, the preformed restrainers consisting only of:
• a first section of the cable between the first and second ends;
• a thermally formable portion of the first section in which the outer jacket is stiffer than the outer jacket of the rest of the cable;
• the stiffer portion of the first section being thermally and permanently preformed into a first preformed spiral to create a first preformed restrainer;
• at least one additional section of the cable itself between the first and second ends;
• a thermally formable portion of each additional section in which the outer jacket is stiffer than the rest of the cable except for the first section;
• the stiffer portion of each additional section being thermally and permanently preformed into an additional preformed spiral to create additional preformed restrainers;
• wherein each preformed restrainer is capable of being wound and/or unwound around the folded cable to neatly bundle or unbundle the foldable cable into one or more bundles and thereby prevent tangling of the foldable cable.