Patent ID: 8038818

Claim:
A connection method of a thermoplastic resin long body for interconnecting end portions of a long body made of thermoplastic resin in which conductive substantially unstretchable members are embedded within the thermoplastic resin along a longitudinal direction, comprising: a first step of cutting a first portion of the thermoplastic resin long body, spaced apart in a longitudinal direction of the thermoplastic resin long body from a first end face at one end by a predetermined distance while not cutting a periphery of the unstretchable members; a second step of heating the unstretchable members in a first section between the first end face and the first portion using an induction heating portion for melting the thermoplastic resin coating the unstretchable members, so that the unstretchable members are exposed by removing the thermoplastic resin in the first section alone; a third step of cutting a second portion of the thermoplastic resin long body spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the thermoplastic resin long body from a second end face at an other end of the thermoplastic resin long body by a predetermined distance while not cutting a periphery of the unstretchable members; a fourth step of heating the unstretchable members in a second section between the second portion and a portion spaced apart by a predetermined distance from the second portion in a direction opposite to the second end face for melting and removing the thermoplastic resin coating the unstretchable members to peel off the unstretchable members in the second section from the thermoplastic resin and cutting the unstretchable members that have been peeled, so that the unstretchable members that have been peeled and cut are exposed on the thermoplastic resin in the second section; and a fifth step of connecting both ends of the thermoplastic resin long body by coating exposed portions of the unstretchable members with supplementary thermoplastic resin while one end of the thermoplastic resin long body from which the unstretchable members are exposed in the second step and the other end of the thermoplastic resin long body from which the unstretchable members are exposed on the thermoplastic resin in the fourth step are held in a state where the unstretchable members being exposed at one end and at the other end are butt-connected to each other.