Visually Identifiable Electrical Structural Wiring System

Abstract

The present invention provides an identifiable armored cable sheath. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an identifiable armored cable sheath comprising: an armored cable sheath having an outer surface, and a visual indicia applied on the outer surface of the cable sheath in a patterned arrangement, wherein the visual indicia possesses visibility features in low light. Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of making an identifiable armored cable sheath comprising: providing an armored cable sheath, and applying a visually distinctive tape to the outer surface of the sheath in a patterned arrangement.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An identifiable armored cable sheath comprising:
 an armored cable sheath having an outer surface, and visual indicia applied on the outer surface of the cable sheath in a patterned arrangement, and wherein the visual indicia is distinct from the armored cable sheath, and wherein the visual indicia includes material which is visible in low light.   
     
     
         2 . The armored cable sheath defined in  claim 1 , wherein the visual indicia comprise ink, dye, powder, paint, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The armored cable sheath defined in  claim 1 , wherein the visual indicia comprise luminescent, fluorescent, and/or UV-visible materials. 
     
     
         4 . The armored cable sheath defined in  claim 1 , wherein the indicia is helically patterned relative to the armored cable sheath or reverse helically patterned relative to the armored cable sheath. 
     
     
         5 . The armored cable sheath defined in  claim 1 , wherein the patterning is applied along the length of the armored cable sheath. 
     
     
         6 . The armored cable sheath defined in  claim 1 , wherein the sheath is formed of a metallic material and wherein the pattern provides an exposed portion of the metallic sheath to maintain electrical grounding functionality throughout the entire sheath. 
     
     
         7 . An identifiable armored cable sheath comprising:
 an armored cable sheath having an outer surface, and tape applied on the outer surface of the cable sheath in a patterned arrangement, and wherein the tape is visually distinctive from the armored cable sheath by means of a visual indicia.   
     
     
         8 . The armored cable sheath defined in  claim 7 , wherein the visual indicia comprises ink, dye, powder, paint, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         9 . The armored cable sheath defined in  claim 7 , wherein the visual indicia comprises printed information applied on the tape. 
     
     
         10 . The armored cable sheath defined in  claim 7 , wherein the visual indicia comprises luminescent, fluorescent, and/or UV-visible materials. 
     
     
         11 . The armored cable sheath defined in  claim 7 , wherein the tape is a composite tape comprising at least two layers of film. 
     
     
         12 . The armored cable sheath defined in  claim 7 , wherein the tape is helically wound relative to the armored cable sheath or reverse helically wound relative to the armored cable sheath. 
     
     
         13 . The armored cable sheath defined in  claim 7 , wherein the tape is applied along the length of the armored cable sheath. 
     
     
         14 . The armored cable sheath defined in  claim 7 , wherein the sheath is formed of a metallic material and wherein the pattern provides an exposed portion of the metallic sheath to maintain electrical grounding functionality throughout the entire sheath. 
     
     
         15 . A method of making an identifiable armored cable sheath comprising:
 providing an armored cable sheath, and applying a tape to the outer surface of the sheath in a patterned arrangement, wherein the tape is visually distinctive from the armored cable sheath by means of a visual indicia.   
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the tape is applied using a conventional tape application device. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the tape is applied along the length of the armored cable sheath. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 15 , further comprising a step of heating the cable sheath after the application of the tape. 
     
     
         19 . A visually identifiable electrical structural system comprising: an electrical structural element selected from the group consisting of electrical boxes, electrical switches, pull-stations, cable shealths, breaker boxes, electric meters, hydro meters, energy meters, and/or any combination thereof, and visual indicia which is visible in low light comprising luminescent, fluorescent, and/or UV-visible materials, wherein the visual indicia is applied to the electrical structural element. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the visual indicia comprises tape.