Grip for pulling fiber optic cable and method of inserting the cable into the grip

Abstract

A grip for pulling cable, especially fragile cable such as fiber optic cable. The grip can pull such fragile cable with or without a fragile connector at the end thereof. The grip comprises a rigid, hollow protective sheath with an open tail end for receiving the cable end therein, a pulling device coupled at the lead end of the sheath, and a braided open wire mesh sleeve coupled at the tail end of the sheath for engaging the cable upon a longitudinal stretching thereof which radially reduces the sleeve around the cable. The pulling device can be a flexible wire loop rotatably coupled to the protective sheath. The open wire mesh sleeve can be closed along its length, split along its length or both closed and split in the two sections along its length. A method of inserting the fragile cable with a fragile connector at the end includes the steps of inserting a hollow rigid tube into the sleeve, inserting the fragile connector into the tube, removing the tube from the sleeve, maneuvering the connector into the protective sheath and radially reducing the sleeve by stretching.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.