In the past, cables and more particularly the connectors at the end of cables, have been terminated with covers or caps. The covers are essentially caps which are formed to snap over the end of the cable connectors be they circular, rectangular or of other shapes. In operating systems and particularly systems that are mobile as in vehicles or aircraft, the covers tend to become dislodged and not only does the dirt and other foreign matter then enter the cavity that contains either the male or a female terminal pins or receptacles, but also leaves the cable connector in a position where it is possible to hit other metal objects and cause system difficulties within the electronic system to which the cable might be connected. To meet certain military and critical requirements it has also been common to make the covers out of a conductive material such as a carbon filled plastic or other materials which not only will protect the connector cavity but also will cover the cavity with a conductive material so that a complete electrostatic shield is created. An example of a connector cover is seen in the Guy patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,129. Another example of a connector housing is seen in the Gallagher patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,643. In some of these prior art covers, difficulty has been experienced in retaining the two mating members together or positively retained onto the connector.
These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide complete electrically conductive encapsulation of a cable connector.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a unitary member that has two parts that are positively retained together.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a portion that will engage the grounded portion of a cable connector.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.