Patent ID: 7331311

Claim:
An omnidirectionally reflective rope, comprising: a. a central cylindrical braided high strength rope core operable to sustain substantial tensile forces; b. a cylindrical reflective braided sleeve comprising three or more narrow width reflective strips that are braided at a shallow cylindrical braid angle, said cylindrical reflective braided sleeve being operable to surround said central cylindrical braided rope core thereby providing omnidirectional reflectivity; c. said cylindrical reflective braided sleeve being substantially coated with a conformal transparent polymeric abrasion resistant coating; d. said narrow width reflective strips comprising a woven or knitted narrow width strip and a flexible nylon retroreflective sheet sewn thereon, said woven or knitted narrow width strip having a show surface, said flexible retroreflective nylon sheet comprising a flexible retroreflective sheet thermally bonded onto a nylon mesh strip, said nylon mesh strip being sewn onto said show surface of said narrow width reflective strip; e. said flexible retroreflective sheet having retroreflectors bonded thereto with a transparent bond layer; f. said transparent polymeric abrasion resistant coating having a refractive index lower than that of said retroreflectors; and whereby said rope exhibits flexibility in combination with abrasion resistance, and when attached to marine craft hardware by knotting or nail or staple attachment, provides omnidirectional reflectivity operative to delineate and outline or otherwise increase visibility thereof.