Miniature rope

Abstract

A miniature rope formed of metal includes: a core wire; and a plurality of surrounding wires wound around the core wire so as to form a stranded wire as a whole, wherein the core wire is formed of a material whose characteristics differ from those of the surrounding wires. Specifically, the core wire may be a tungsten wire, a superelastic alloy wire, or a nickel-titanium alloy wire, while the surrounding wires may be stainless steel wires.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A miniature rope formed of metal comprising: 
 a core wire; and    a plurality of surrounding wires wound around said core wire so as to form a stranded wire as a whole, wherein said core wire is formed of a material whose characteristics differ from those of said surrounding wires.    
     
     
         2 . The miniature rope according to    claim 1   , wherein said core wire has characteristics which excel in the tensile strength and the difficulty of formation of a kink as compared with said surrounding wires, and said surrounding wires has a characteristic excelling in wear resistance as compared with said core wire.  
     
     
         3 . The miniature rope according to    claim 1   , wherein said surrounding wires are stainless steel wires.  
     
     
         4 . The miniature rope according to    claim 1   , wherein said core wire is a tungsten wire.  
     
     
         5 . The miniature rope according to    claim 1   , wherein said core wire is a superelastic alloy wire.  
     
     
         6 . The miniature rope according to    claim 1   , wherein said core wire is a nickel-titanium alloy wire.