Strain relief and grounding device for shielded electrical cables

Claim 1

A strain relief and grounding assembly in combination with a shielded electrical cable, said assembly comprising a substantially cylindrical housing having an electrically conductive inner wall, four electrically conductive rings having equal outer diameters substantially corresponding to the inner diameter of said housing, said rings being mounted for longitudinal movement within said housing, stop means within said housing for limiting the longitudinal movement of said rings within said housing, said rings having openings therein of equal diameter which are slightly larger than the outer diameter of said cable, the opening in each of said rings being out of alignment with the openings in all of the other rings when said rings are mounted in said housing, said cable being movable through the openings in said rings when said rings are spaced apart from each other within said housing, and means exerting pressure against the opposite sides of said rings to move said rings into substantially adjacent relationship with each other so that the openings of said rings form a single combined opening of smaller diameter than the outer diameter of said cable, the inner peripheries of said rings being thereby held in tight engagement with the shielding of said cable at four different places spaced around the periphery of said shielding to provide simultaneous strain relief and electrical grounding of said cable, the compressive and strain relief force being divided between all of said rings.