Offset reformable jumper

Abstract

A jumper cable is formed from conventional ribbon cable having parallel conductors embedded in insulating material, either by laminating insulated or uninsulated conductors between plastic films, by extruding a plastic film around insulated or uninsulated conductors, or by bonding insulated conductors together, and subsequently separating the resulting individual insulated conductors at spaced intervals, forming a jumper of increased flexibility and reformability for use in confined spaces, without the need for subsequent removal of any part of the ribbon cable. The ribbon cable is preferably formed in sections, each section containing an oblique section of separated conductors, and separated by an oblique stripped area of uninsulated conductors, adjacent insulated cable sections being offset from each other. The resulting cable is then preferably folded at a stripped area, to form a V-shaped offset reformable jumper which may be easily reformed and reoriented after installation to fit into a confined space, while also having sections of unmodified ribbon cable serving as support section maintaining the individual conductors at predetermined parallel spacing to facilitate interconnection and to prevent the individual conductors from becoming tangled. The jumper may be used to connect two devices that are side by side, or arranged in a V-shaped or W-shaped arrangement, as well as for connecting devices which are aligned.