Moulding apparatus for encapsulating cable splices

Claim 1

A moulding apparatus for moulding encapsulations upon cables comprising at least two mould parts which define a mould cavity and an opening to the cavity for location therein of a cable to extend through the mould and into the cavity, and a resiliently compressible element gripping and sealing device disposed within the opening to seal around said cable and grip it and retain it in fixed position during a moulding operation, said device formed as a diametrically split annulus composed of two structures each of which comprises two groups of planar resilient plates, the plates in one group alternating with those of the other and wherein the plates of one group have semi-circular extensions directed radially inwards of the opening and lying in the plane of its plate, each extension forming a radial rib between plates of the other group, and the ribs of each structure radially in alignment with and sealingly abutting against those of the other structure at the diametral split line to provide annular ribs within the annulus, said ribs being spaced axially along the opening by the plates of the other group of each structure to compressively seal and grip against the cable.