Abstract:
When making splices of communication cables above ground, a protective closure can be placed around the cable at the location of the splice, thereby protecting the splice from the elements. Rubber walls at either end of the protective closure, which otherwise form a sealed closure, may be breached by wind and/or animals desiring a habitat. A protective shield is affixed to the outside of each of the rubber end walls, at both ends of the closure, to protect the rubber end walls and thereby prevent the closure from being breached. The shield is non-conductive and can be made from plastic.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to aerial closures used for protecting cable conductor splices from the elements and, more particularly, to an improvement which inhibits penetration of those closures by the elements such as wind and/or by animals. 
   2. Description of Prior Art 
   In this modern world of improved communication, it is commonplace to see cables stung on poles, high above ground. These cables can be used for TV, telephone, fax, and/or Internet communication, etc. Oftentimes, cables have to be spliced in the field to accommodate changes that were not contemplated when the cables were initially installed. Splicing cables is not only a challenging endeavor when they are elevated high above ground, i.e., “aerial” cables, but since that splice represents a point of relative fragility or sensitivity with respect to the rest of the cable which has not been altered, protection of that splice is very important. Clearly, when communication services go down because of cable failure resulting from a splice that has deteriorated or completely failed, that causes significant aggravation for any consumer whose communication service has been interrupted. 
   Aerial cable splice closures/terminals are commercially available. One company, 3M, supplies a model known as the “3M SliC Splice Case” or “3M Slic Closure/Terminal”. A major drawback to this terminal is that it uses rubber ends or walls to seal the cable to the closure (thereby forming an “enclosure”) and the rubber walls are not always completely impervious to wind and/or to animals. The rubber walls, particularly near outer edge of the wall closest to the body of the splice closure, tend to work their way out of the closure over time, resulting from movement back and forth during windy conditions. That, in combination with birds or other animals which tend to chew on the loose rubber and pull it apart, can result in a major breech of the rubber walls, exposing the splice to the elements such as wind-swept rain. Moreover, it is not unusual to discover that animals, such as squirrels, bats and/or birds, were living inside the enclosure. While inside, they can do further damage to the splice. Therefore, there is a need for an improved aerial closure which solves these problems. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Embodiments of the present invention include an improved aerial closure used for protecting a splice made between two cable conductors. The closure includes a latch-able plastic case having two open ends for encompassing (installing around) both the splice and attached portions of the two cable conductors. The closure further includes rubber walls for sealing the two open ends, and converting the closure into an enclosure. In one embodiment, the rubber walls are made by spiraling rubber wrap around each one of the attached portions of the two cable conductors at each one of the open ends until the open ends are sealed. The improvement comprises non-conductive protectors, one of the protectors being affixed to the outside of each one of the rubber walls to prevent penetration into the enclosure through the rubber walls by wind and/or by animals. 
   In a further feature of the present invention the protectors are plastic plates which are configured to conform to the shape and size of the outside of the rubber walls. The shape of the outside of the rubber walls can be circular. If they are circular, the plastic plates are comprised of two semi-circular plate pieces, each piece having a semi-circular hole formed at the center of the piece. The hole is sized to accommodate there-through one of the attached portions of the two cable conductors. 
   In another feature, the invention includes two semi-circular plate pieces each have arcs of concentric circle break-away perforations for permitting a cable installer/technician to break away portions of the plate pieces at the perforations to accommodate larger or thicker cable conductors, as may be required. The plate pieces can be affixed to the outside of the rubber walls by peel and stick adhesive tape. The protection may be virtually complete, where substantially the entire outside of the rubber walls is protected by the protectors whereby virtually no portion of the outside of the rubber walls remains visible. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  depicts an exemplary cable splice closure of the type that is used in the prior art; 
       FIG. 2  depicts protective plates to be used with the closure of  FIG. 1  in accordance with principles of the present invention; and, 
       FIG. 3  depicts the closure of  FIG. 1  after application of the protective plates of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with principles of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   FIG.  1 —Cable Splice Closure 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is depicted aerial cable closure system  100  with spliced cable contained therein. Cable  101  is spliced to cable  106  and that splice is not visible in this Fig. because it is contained within closure body  102 . Cable  101  and  106  may be equivalent cables which are equally-sized, or they may be physically or electrically different from each other. Detail about the cable(s) or the nature of the splice of the cables is not material to the present invention. Closure body  102  is typically a plastic material, and is not an electrically conductive material. 
   Closure body  102  had been in an open state (not shown), when the cable splice was initially positioned therein. After inserting/positioning the splice, closure body  102  was closed and latched by a cable installer/technician using latches  103  and  104 . In reverse operation, closure body can be opened by a cable installer/technician who releases latches  103  and  104 . On the opposite side from seam  107  on closure body  102  (hidden from view), a hinged mechanism or the equivalent permits closure sections  102 A and  102 B to be opened (separated) and closed relative to each other, where those sections rotate about the axis of the hinged mechanism while being opened or closed. 
   The outside of rubber wall  105  is shown at an end of closure body  102 . It is formed by spiraling a rubber wrap or strip (not shown in detail, but approximately 2 inches wide and one-half inch thick around that portion of cable  101  that is located at that end of closure body  102 . The resulting rubber wall, constructed of the spiraling rubber strip, has a generally circular shape. When sufficient rubber is applied to form a complete wall, it is held in place by wrapping an adhesive tape around the wall circumference. The rubber wrap and the tape can be applied to that end of the cable while closure sections  102 A and  102 B are in an opened state. While in that opened state, a similar rubber wall (not visible in this view) is constructed at the other end of closure body  102 . When both rubber walls are built, closure sections  102 A and  102 B are closed and latched using latches  103  and  104 . The closure sections clamp-down on both rubber walls which have resilience and compress, since the walls are made of rubber. This resulting enclosure around the cable splice is intended to form a safe and moisture-proof environment for the splice. 
   However, as noted, rubber wall  105  and its companion (not visible) at the other end of closure body  102  are not sufficiently robust to withstand certain environmental challenges, for example excessive wind and/or animals picking at the rubber walls. Applicant offers a solution to this problem. 
   Referring to  FIG. 2 , an electrically non-conductive protector is depicted. Protector plate pieces  201  and  202  are shown, in a semi-circular shape to conform to the circular shape of rubber wall  105 . Protector plates or plate pieces  201  and  202  can be made of any non-conductive material, and generally are formed from hard plastic. In a particular embodiment, protector plates  201  and  202  have peel and stick tape (not shown) affixed to one of their sides. The tape is intended to adhere to rubber wall  105  when the protector plates are put in place. Protector plate piece  201  has a semi-circular cutout  203  at its center. Likewise, protector plate piece  202  has an equally-sized semi-circular cutout  204  at its center. The diameter of the cutouts approximate the diameter of the cable with which the cutouts are to be mated, e.g., cable  101 . Dimension (diameter)  207  is substantially equal to the diameter of rubber wall  105 . Protector  201 / 202  has been informally dubbed by its inventor—the “AlveSeal.” 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , aerial cable closure system  300  is identical to aerial cable closure system  100  depicted in  FIG. 1 , except for the salient difference of showing the protective plates of  FIG. 2  in their proper position on the outside of rubber wall  105 . In this view, protective plates  201  and  202  are shown affixed to the outside of rubber wall  105  in a manner that edges  207  and  208  do not touch. The outside of rubber wall  105  is visible between those edges. A similar pair of protective plates are affixed to the other rubber wall (not visible in this view). 
   In operation, the installer/technician selects an appropriately sized pair of protector plates such as plates  201 / 202  from his inventory of protectors. The diameter dimension  209  should match or approximate the outside diameter of the rubber wall and the diameter of the semi-circular holes  203 / 204  should match or approximate the outside diameter of the cable to which the protector plates are to be applied. If the outside dimension  209  is appropriate, but the inside holes  203 / 204  are too small to fit around the cable, the installer/technician can press against perforations  205 / 206  and punch-out portions of protectors  201  and  202  to make the inside hole larger. There can be several arcs of concentric circle perforations (only one arc being shown in  FIG. 2 ) at different hole-size locations, so that the installer/technician can readily select the size of the hole desired. 
   After the protector plates are selected and prepared as described above, the stick and peel tape affixed to the protectors is peeled to expose the sticky adhesive (not shown). Then, the plastic protectors are simply fitted over the protruding cable, e.g., cable  101  and pressed against rubber wall  105  to which the protector plates adhere. Protector plates  201  and  202  are positioned over cable  101  and against rubber wall  105  in a manner so that edges  207  and  208  are close or abutting, whereby protector plates  201  and  202  may cover all or substantially all of the outside of rubber wall  105 . In certain instances, if the inside hole dimension is too large relative to the cable diameter, edges  207 / 208  may move beyond an abutting position and may overlap slightly, particularly if protectors  201  and  202  are slightly larger than the rubber wall, where “wiggle” room is needed. In such an instance, substantially all of rubber wall  105  is protected. 
   The most important section of rubber wall  105  to protect is its outer periphery section, nearest closure body  102 . This section has proven to be the most likely section of the rubber wall to loosen first. Therefore, protector plates  201 / 202  should be positioned so that the periphery of rubber wall  105  is protected, leaving a small portion of rubber wall closest to cable  101  exposed, if need be. In the ideal circumstance, the entirety of rubber wall  105  is virtually completely covered by plates  201  and  202 . When protectors, such as protector  201 / 202 , are in place on the outsides of both rubber walls on both ends of closure  102 , the resulting enclosure becomes far more resistant and impervious to wind and animals than is previously had been. 
   While several illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, numerous variations and alternative embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art. For one example, the outer periphery of protective plates  201  and  202  can be made to match substantially completely the outline of the ends of the body of the closure, when the closure is latched. Accordingly, the outside edge of the rubber wall that is being compressed by the body of the closure when latched is being completely protected by the plates while straight edges  207 / 208  are made to overlap, whereby the protective plates completely cover the outside of the rubber wall. 
   For another example, the ends of the body of the closure can have grooves designed therein, if not already in place, to receive the outer peripheries of protective plates  201  and  202  when the closure is latched closed, thereby offering stronger protection. This idea requires a slightly oversized pair of protective plates (relative to the size of the compressed rubber wall) in order for the plates to fit into the grooves. Again the protective plates completely cover the outside of the rubber wall. 
   For yet another example, other than peel and stick adhesive can be used; other adhesive can be applied directly to each rubber wall and/or to the protectors if such other adhesive proves to be more reliable than the peel and stick adhesive currently being used. 
   For still yet another example, variations in protector plate thickness, protector plate material, etc. can be made into different protector plate models; these different models can be used in different geographical areas where climate variations might make one model more suitable than another (e.g., Alaska is frigid most of the year and southern Florida is humid and hot most of the year.) For closures that may have shapes other than those illustrated with circular ends, protector plates  201 / 202  can be made to conform to these other shapes. Perforated stress lines can be included on the protector plates other than the concentric arc perforations discussed above to accommodate other than circularly-shaped protective plates. Such variations and alternative embodiments are contemplated, and can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.