A cable splice such as found in a telecommunications cable is ordinarily housed within a protective cover known as a cable splice enclosure. Such enclosures often have cylindrical covers with one or more longitudinal joints and circular end plates that surround incoming and outgoing cables. Seals between the plates and the cables, and between the plates and the covers protect the splice from contamination. Usually, two rigid metal bars, known as torque bars, extend longitudinally on diametrically opposite sides of the enclosure, between the oppositely facing end plates. The splice must be kept within the bounds of the enclosure, as defined by the two torque bars and the two end plates, to ensure the cylindrical covers can be fastened to the end plates.
When a cable splice is made, individual wires in the cable are separated from bundles of wires. Typically bundled wires are densely packed within the cable and therefore occupy only a minimum amount of space. When the individual wires are separated however, a greater amount of space is required. In addition, cables are typically connected together using crimped connectors which also occupy a considerable amount of space. Thus the splice often occupies a large amount of space within the enclosure.
The splice can also be quite heavy, tending to hang downwards below the bounds of the enclosure. The torque bars typically extend on either side of the splice i.e. the bars are spaced generally horizontally apart, and therefore provide no direct support for the splice. It is, however, desirable to provide support for the splice to confine it within the bounds of the enclosure so that individual wires do not rub against the enclosure or hang outside the enclosure.
Usually, after a splice is made, individual wires are tied into bundles using waxed string. This enables the individual wires to be tightly drawn together to occupy less space within the enclosure. After the bundles are tied, any of several methods is employed to support and protect the splice. One method involves the use of a non-adhesive, approximately 11/4inch wide woven cloth tape known as "U.G. tape". The tape is tied to a torque bar, looped under the splice and wrapped or tied around the other torque bar. This is repeated several times along the length of the splice to create a cradle formed by a series of loops extending between the two torque bards. Another method of making a cradle involves a similar tying and looping process but instead of the U.G. tape, a one-inch fibre glass tape is used. After a cradle has been created, the entire length of the splice is further wrapped helically in a fine pitch using an approximately three-inch wide non-adhesive cloth tape known as muslin tape. The splice is wrapped tightly to ensure the bundles of wires are drawn radially inwardly within the bounds of the enclosure. The enclosure covers are then installed and the repair operation is completed.
The use of the above methods for wrapping a cable splice presents problems to repairmen who are later required to open the splice for maintenance or other work. In order to gain access to any particular wire pair within the splice, the repairman must unwrap the muslin tape to expose the entire splice while the U.G. tape or fibre glass tape remains intact, unless access to a lower portion of the splice is necessary, in which case the cradle is cut. The repair or maintenance work can then be performed, after which the repairman is required to recreate the cradle if the previous cradle was cut and is required to rewrap the splice with muslin tape. This can be very time consuming.
Often, cable splice enclosures are located in manholes or on above-ground cables rendering them susceptible to water contamination while the enclosure covers are removed. It will be appreciated that water can be retained within the muslin tape. Should the enclosure covers be installed while the muslin tape is wet, the tape is susceptible to rotting and the cable splices are susceptible to corrosion. Thus, should water come in contact with the muslin tape, the tape must be dried before the enclosure covers are installed.