Encapsulated splice assembly and method

A readily re-enterable encapsulated conductor splice assembly for electrical conductors comprising, a plurality of conductors in side by side relation and spliced together at their adjacent ends, a splice housing enclosing the spliced ends of said conductors, said housing including a pair of cup-shaped members at least one of which is formed of pliant elastomeric material having their inlet ends telescoped together, the bottom of said one of said members being slit crosswise thereof with said conductors extending outwardly therethrough and in close wiping contact with the edges of said slit, and the interior of said splice housing being filled with permanently gel-like potting composition having waterproof and pronounced cohesive characteristics highly effective in holding said housing members assembled about the spliced conductor ends encapsulated therein.

A splice assembly including:

• a protective housing for spliced conductor ends comprising a pair of deep cup-shaped members of nonconductive material having their open ends telescoped one over the other, at least one of said members being formed of pliable material and the bottom thereof being slit generally diametrically thereof;
• and a plurality of spliced conductor ends extending through said slit with the edges of said slit pressed against the exteriors of said conductor ends with said conductor ends held flattened in side-by-side relation crosswise of said slit, said spliced conductor ends including shroud means thereon and being bent backwardly through a reverse bend of 180.degree. adjacent the point of entry into said shroud means so that said shroud means lies closely beside the adjacent portion of said conductor ends with the reverse bend remote from the slit bottom of the cup-shaped member.

That method of encapsulating a splice junction between a plurality of conductors in a waterproof manner without interference with accessibility to the splice which comprises:

• providing the closed end of one of a pair of deep cup-shaped members of pliant supple material, which members are sized for telescopic assembly of their open ends, with a short slit generally diametrically thereof, inserting the ends of conductors to be spliced through said slit and completing a splice between the ends of the conductors, the completion of the splice between the ends of the conductors including the step of telescoping a short length of flattened tubular shroud over the spliced conductor ends and bending the shrouded end of said splice backwardly to lie beside the contiguous portions of said conductors, charging a quantity of water-repellant non-setting potting compound into the inner end of at least one of said members and then telescoping said members together about the spliced ends of the conductors to encapsulate the splice in said potting compound and seal the same against the entry of moisture.