Background When changing known protective sleeves of power transfer or similar joints on cars, it is necessary to dismount the joint to install the new protective sleeve. This requires an extensive work and causes high costs when done in a workshop.

It is known to manufacture divided protective sleeves with longitudinal tongue-groove- connection, but such sleeves have not been satisfying. The mounting on a difficult accessible place on a car has created problems to have a tight connection. Operations which can be accomplished on a work bank, can not be equal easily accomplished on the vehicle.

From US-patent specification 5,901,756 it is known a divided protective sleeve for cables, which is provided with a velcro-type of connection, but this kind of mechanism is not suitable for a protective sleeve, which has to seal against dust and water.

Objects The main object of the invention is to provide a divided sleeve, particularly with undulations, which is easy to install and which provides a tight seal even on difficult accessible locations, e. g. on the steering screw on cars. It is important to have sealing force from both sides on an undulated sleeve.

Further it is an object to have a protective sleeve made from materials enduring heat and the influence of gasoline, oil etc., and which also has the mechanical strength in the connection to have a service life approaching that of closed protective sleeves.

It is also an object to provide a divided protective sleeve which can be manufactured and disposed at a price not substantially higher than the known closed protective sleeves.

The Invention The invention is described in claim 1. With such a protective sleeve it is possible to conduct a rapid and reliable change of protective sleeves anywhere on a vehicle. On some protective

sleeves it will be possible to merge the series of knots without any auxiliary means. It is however particularly advantageous, if a glider as stated in claim 2 is utilized., which can create a joining force from the inner side of the sleeve. Such a glider can be introduced from one end of the sleeve and be removed after closing.

The protective sleeve can primarily be cylindrical with undulation, but it may also have a squared or elliptical section.

The protective sleeve according to the invention can be installed easily. Particularly with a glider, it is possible to achieve a rapid and reliable mounting, even on narrow locations.

The novel protective sleeve can be well sealed against penetration of fluids and particles, such as dust. The feature of claim 3 will make the sleeve particular tight.

By providing knots which are flushing on both sides, the ends can be clamped by a prior art clamping strap.

Further details are described in the following example.

Example The drawing illustrates an embodiment of the invention, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a divided protective sleeve according to the invention, Fig. 2 is a section of the joining area of the protective sleeve of Fig. 1, while Fig. 3 is a side view of the joining area of two knots of the protective sleeve of Fig. 1.

In fig. 1 a protective sleeve 11 is shown, which may be provided for covering the steering screw of a passenger car. It is generally tubular, with cylindrical end parts 12 and a central part 13 with undulations 14, which makes it flexible and extendable or compressible. On compression, the undulations 14 are pressed closer, while on extension, they will be flattened. Between the tops of the undulations 14, grooves 15 are provided, with an inner diameter being qual to or slightly larger than then inner diameter of the end parts 12.

The protective sleeve 11 is provided with a longitudinal slit with arrays of knots 16,17 integrated on the sides, said knots being designed like the parts of a zipper. This may be

provided by integrating the knots 18 (Fig. 2) in the edge of the material or by joining such knots to the material of the protective sleeve.

In Fig. 2 the mutual sideward engagement of the knots 18 is shown, in a manner basically known from a zipper. On each side of the arrays of knots 16,17, a U-groove 19 making a longitudinal recess is provided. This recess is guiding the legs 21 of a generally H-shaped glider 20 which has a central web 22 extending radially to the sleeve when being used and which is moved longitudinally to press the arrays of knots together. At short protective sleeves with relatively large diameter, it will in some cases be possible to press the arrays of knots together without any glider. But generally, such a glider will be an important means to ensure easy and tight sealing on narrow locations.

Fig. 3 shows a longitudinal section illustrating how a pair of knots are rounded at 23 longitudinally, to engage at the edges at an angular position. In this angular position an improved seal between the knots of the two sides 16,17 are achieved.

With the present technology of materials, the use of knots will be advantageous due to the possibility of providing a sealed connection of a sturdy material with a high resistance to wear and also resistance to other strains, also in the undulations. But it is also possible to imagine new material emerging, which will allow the use of longitudinal ribs engaging in a grove-tongue manner.

The projective sleeve of the invention will provide a proper seal for most purposes and areas of use in the design shown. But for particular demanding purposes, a liquid and curing sealing agent, which also is connecting, may be used.

In some cases, protective sleeves can be mounted without any clamping. At divided sleeves according to the invention, a clamping band at each end is required. To ensure a rigid mesh, it is proposed to make the arrays of knots 16,17 plain mainly on the exterior side, but preferably also on the inner side, to ensure a tight fit of the clamping band.

The invention is described with particular reference to vehicles. It may however be utilized for other purposes with similar problems: narrow space and complicated demounting of machine parts, for providing a new closed, integrated sleeve.