referring to fig1 there is shown a first embodiment of the present invention , a reversible protective cable chute 20 including a cable shield 22 and a conventional decorative cover plate 24 . the reversible protective cable chute 20 is depicted in alignment with a horizontally mounted electrical box 26 secured in a wall 28 . cable shield fasteners 30 secure the cable shield 22 to the electrical box and cover fasteners 32 secure the cover plate 24 to the cable shield 22 . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the cable shield 22 includes a base portion 34 having two ends 36 and two ears 38 extending from each end 36 . outer bores 40 and inner bores 42 are provided in the ears 38 . the cable shield 22 further includes a nose portion 44 having sidewalls 46 , a top wall 48 , and an outer wall 50 . a planar outer edge 52 is provided on the outer wall 50 and a planar side edge 54 is provided at the lower end of the sidewalls 46 . as shown in fig3 , a substantially rectangular - shaped nose portion opening 56 is formed by the outer edge 52 and side edge 54 of the outer wall 50 and sidewalls 46 respectively rectangular - shaped nose portion opening 56 is formed by the outer edge 52 and side edge 54 of the outer wall 50 and sidewalls 46 respectively . a peripheral collar 58 extends outward from the base portion 34 in the opposite direction of the nose portion 44 . referring to fig4 - 6 , the cable shield 22 further includes a substantially wide open area 60 with width w 1 that is visible from the front of the cable shield 22 . as shown in fig5 the nose portion 44 extends a substantial distance d 1 from the base portion 34 thereby creating a substantially deep open area 60 with depth d 2 . the cable shield 22 includes a rear opening 62 and an open cable passageway 64 extending between the open area 60 and rear opening 62 . as shown in fig6 , the angle θ 1 of the outer edge 52 of the nose portion 44 with respect to horizontal combined with the height h 1 of the side edge 54 above the lower portion 66 of the nose 44 creates an open area 60 that is readily visible from the front of the nose portion 44 . as shown in fig4 , the open area 60 is of width w 1 and height h 2 . angle θ 1 of the outer edge 52 of the nose portion 44 with respect to horizontal is preferably between 5 and 9 degrees . with reference to fig7 and 8 , the first embodiment of the reversible protective cable chute 20 may be secured to a wall in several orientations , with the cable shield 22 being reversed with respect to the electrical box or low voltage frame ( not shown ) to meet the installer &# 39 ; s requirements . the cable shield 22 can be installed with the nose portion 44 extending away from the box , as shown in fig7 . in this configuration low voltage cables may be routed upward into the open area 60 and through the wall 28 . an alternative configuration for the first embodiment of the reversible protective cable chute 20 is depicted in fig8 . in this configuration , the cable shield 22 is secured to secured to an electrical box or frame member ( not shown ) with the nose portion 44 extending into the box or frame member and therefore into the wall 28 . the cover plate 24 is then secured to the cable shield 22 to complete the installation . in this configuration low voltage cables may be routed into the rear opening 62 and through the wall 28 . the configuration depicted in fig8 may be used in those situations in which space is at a premium and it would be undesirable to have the nose portion 44 extending into the room . with reference to fig9 there is a front view of the reversible protective cable chute 20 after being secured to an electrical box and installed on a wall 28 with the nose portion 44 extending into the room . as shown in fig9 , the front opening provides a substantially wide open area 60 . with reference to fig1 there is shown a second and preferred embodiment of the reversible protective cable chute 70 according to the present invention . the reversible protective cable chute 70 is a one - piece device in which the cover plate 72 is integral with the cable shield 74 . the cable shield 74 includes a nose portion 76 extending outward from the cover plate 72 . the reversible chute 70 can be installed with the nose portion 76 extending outward from the electrical box 26 as shown in fig1 or it can be reversed and secured to the box 26 with the nose portion 76 extending into the box 26 . the one - piece cable chute 70 includes two - way apertures 78 for accepting fasteners 80 there through for securing the cable chute 70 to the electrical box 26 . as shown in fig1 and 12 , the one - piece reversible cable chute 70 includes a substantially wide and high open area 60 in the same manner as the first embodiment of the cable chute . as shown in fig1 , the open area 60 includes a substantial width w 1 and height h 2 in same manner as the first embodiment . cover plate 72 is provided with a raised outer periphery 82 . as shown in fig1 , the cable shield 74 portion of the one - piece reversible cable chute 70 includes a side wall 84 , top wall 86 , outer wall 88 , end wall 90 , outer edge 92 at the lower tip of the end wall 90 , and a side edge 94 . the cover plate 72 opening includes a bottom edge 96 that will define the lower edge of the open area 60 . the one - piece reversible cable chute 70 includes an open area 60 , rear opening 62 , and cable passageway 64 as shown . the cover plate 72 portion of the one - piece reversible cable chute 70 , as shown in fig1 , includes a front recessed area 98 and a rear recessed area 100 . the front recessed area 98 extends between the outward extending cable shield 74 and the raised outer periphery 82 of the cover plate 72 . cover plate apertures 78 are provided in the cover plate 72 on either side of the side walls 84 of the cable shield 74 . the side walls 84 of the cable shield 74 preferably slope inward slightly at an angle θ 3 with respect to an axis 101 perpendicular to the front surface of the cover plate 72 . preferably angle θ 3 is between 2 and 5 degrees . as shown in fig1 , cover plate two - way aperture 78 with axis 102 includes countersunk areas 104 on both sides of the cover plate 72 . the countersunk areas 104 are critical to enable the one - piece cable chute 70 to be reversible with respect to any box or frame that is connected to while providing an attractive installation with the head of the fasteners ( not shown ) residing below the surface of the recessed areas 98 and 100 of the cover plate 72 . preferably the angle θ 2 of the countersunk areas 104 is between 75 and 85 degrees . the width w 2 at the center 106 of the cover plate two - way aperture 78 is preferably no more than 0 . 02 inch greater than the outer thread diameter of the cover plate fastener ( not shown ) that will be passed there through . as the one - piece cable chute 70 is preferably molded in one piece of plastic , it is critical that width w 2 not exceed the preferred stated dimension with respect to the fastener in order for the cover plate 72 at the center 106 of aperture 78 adequately hold the fastener . reference is made to fig1 and 16 for an explanation of the operation of the one - piece reversible cable chute 70 of the present invention . the reversible cable chute 70 is a device for providing an attractive attachment for an electrical box or low voltage frame for the purpose of passing low voltage wiring from one room into an adjacent room . the cable chute 70 may be secured to the box 26 with the cable shield 74 extending outward into the room as shown in fig1 or it may be reversed and secured to the box 26 with the cable shield 74 extending into the electrical box 26 as shown in fig1 . in either case the reversible cable chute 70 provides a portal for passing low voltage cables between separate rooms in a building . for creating an installation with the nose portion 76 of the cable shield 74 extending outward into the room , the cable chute 70 is simply aligned with the rear surface 110 of the cable chute 70 facing the box and with the cover plate apertures 78 aligned with the bores 112 in the electrical box 26 . fasteners 108 are then driven through cover plate 72 and tightened into bores 112 to secure the reversible cable chute 70 to the electrical box 26 . since low voltage cables ( not shown ) will be passed through the cable chute 70 , there is no requirement by the electrical code to seal the box or frame member . alternatively , the cable chute 70 may be installed with the nose portion 76 of the cable shield 74 extending into the box 26 as shown in fig1 . for creating an installation with the nose portion 76 of the cable shield 74 extending into the electrical box 26 , the cable chute 70 is simply aligned with the front surface 114 of the cable chute 70 facing the box 26 and with the cover plate apertures 78 aligned with the bores 112 in the electrical box 26 . fasteners 108 are then driven through cover plate 72 and tightened into bores 112 to secure the reversible cable chute 70 to the electrical box 26 . the countersunk areas 104 , being provided on both the front surface 114 and rear surface 110 of the cover plate 72 , enable the fasteners 108 in the final configuration to be recessed within the cover plate 72 regardless of whether the front surface 114 or rear surface 110 is facing outwards from the wall 28 . raised periphery 82 and recessed areas 98 and 100 on cover plate 72 enable the cover plate 72 to fit flush against wall 28 , even if electrical box 26 juts slightly outward of the wall surface . the protective cable chutes 20 and 70 of the present invention are preferably molded of plastic but could also be formed of metal . for the first embodiment of the reversible protective cable chute 20 shown in fig1 , the cable shield 22 is most preferably molded in one piece of plastic and the cover plate 24 is simply a conventional decorative electrical cover plate that is available in most hardware stores . for the second and preferred embodiment of the reversible protective cable chute 70 , shown in fig1 and 16 , the cable chute 70 is most preferably molded in one piece of plastic . the plastic used to form the cable shield 22 of cable chute 20 and the one - piece cable chute 70 is preferably polypropylene , polyethylene , polyvinyl chloride ( pvc ), acrylonitrile - butadiene styrene ( abs ), or polycarbonate . although the description above contains many specific descriptions , materials , and dimensions , these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention . thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents , rather than by the examples given .