Patent EA-001901-B1 (EA)
Title: Electrobraid fence
IPC: A01K15/04
Filed: 1997-11-03
Abstract: 1. An electrically conductive rope for an electric fence comprising a cylindrical tightly woven braided exterior layer, being formed from a plurality of elements and at least two conductive elements, each of said conductive elements comprises a plurality of electrically conductive wires, the conductive elements are helically wound with opposed orientations, said conductive elements being on the surface of the exterior layer and being in electrical contact at periodic intervals along the exterior layer. 2. The rope of Claim 1 in which the braided exterior layer is formed from 8-32 braided elements with a tightness of 4-32 picks/inch. 3. The rope of any one of Claims 1-2 in which the rope has a breaking strength of at least 400 kg. 4. The rope of any one of Claim 1-3 in which the elongation at break is 15-20%. 5. The rope of any one of Claims 1-4 in which subjecting the rope to a load in tension of up to 200 kg and subsequently releasing such load does not cause an increase in the length of the rope. 6. The rope of any one of Claims 1-5 in which the non-conductive elements are formed from fibres of polyamide, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene or aramid. 7. The rope of any one of Claims 1-6 in which the conductive element is a conductive filament. 8. The rope of any one of Claims 1-6 in which the conductive element is selected from copper wire, copper as a coating on another metal, copper as an alloy with another metal, and copper coated with another metal. 9. The rope of any one of Claims 1-8 in which the exterior layer comprises a single outer layer of braided elements including both electrically conductive and high strength non-conductive elements. 10. The rope of any one of Claims 1-8 in which there are multiple layers of braided elements, the exterior layer having conductive elements. 11. The rope of any one of Claims 1-10 in which the non-conductive elements are extruded monofilaments or spun yarn. 12. The rope of any one of Claims 1-11 in which the non-conductive elements are polyester. 13. The rope of any one of Claims 1-12 in which, under tension, the helical electrically conductive elements uncoil in the manner of a coiled spring. 14. The rope of any one of Claims 1-13 in which the outer braided layer comprises one or more fluorescent elements or one or more light reflective elements. 15. The rope of any one of Claims 1-13 in which the outer braided layer comprises high tenacity filaments with high visibility colours. 16. The rope of any one of Claims 1-15 in the form of an electrified net fence. 17. The rope of any one of Claims 1-16 in which the rope does not undergo a change in length with changes in ambient temperature. 18. The rope of any one of Claims 1-17 in which the rope has an inner core of high strength non-conductive synthetic yarns. 19. The rope of any one of Claims 1-18 in which the rope has an inner core comprised of elastic elements. 20. The rope of Claim 18 in which the inner core is comprised of elements of straight or slightly twisted configuration. 21. The rope of Claims 18-20 in which the inner core is comprised of elements combined in a braided configuration. 22. The rope of any one of Claims 1-21 in which each of the conductive elements is a single copper wire. 23. The rope of any one of Claims 1-22 in which there are two conductive elements. 24. The rope of Claim 22 or Claim 23 in which the copper wire has a gauge in the range of 20-30 American Wire Gauge Standard. 25. The rope of any one of Claims 18-21 in which the inner core is formed from monofilament polypropylene. 26. The rope of any one of Claims 1-25 in which the rope has 16 braided elements formed at 8 picks/inch. 27. The rope of any one of Claims 1-21 in which the conductive elements are a plurality of copper wires, such copper wires being twisted together into two or more strands. 28. The rope of Claim 27 in which there are 3-8 copper wires in each conductive element. 29. The rope of any one of Claims 22-28 in which the copper wires have a gauge in the range of 30-40 American Wire Gauge Standard (0.25-0.80 mm). 30. The rope of any one of Claims 1-29 in which the rope has a thickness of 1/8-3/8 inches.