Protective caps for wiper blades

Abstract

A protective cap for a wiper blade includes a body and a pair of clamping legs. The wiper blade includes a support element and a wiper strip attached to the support element. The body defines a receiving space for receiving a longitudinal end of a wiper strip. The clamping legs attach the body to the support element.

1 . A disposable protective cap for a wiper blade comprising:
 a body defining a receiving space for receiving a wiper strip; and   a securing mechanism for securing the body to the wiper blade.   
     
     
         2 . The disposable protective cap of  claim 1  wherein the securing mechanism includes a pair of clamping legs. 
     
     
         3 . The disposable protective cap of  claim 2  wherein the pair of clamping legs extending from the body and clamping a support element therebetween, the wiper strip attached to the support element. 
     
     
         4 . The disposable protective cap of  claim 2  wherein the clamping legs are deflectable. 
     
     
         5 . The disposable protective cap of  claim 2  wherein the clamping legs each define a slot for receiving a longitudinal edge of the support element. 
     
     
         6 . The disposable protective cap of  claim 1  wherein the body includes a pair of side walls that define the receiving space. 
     
     
         7 . The disposable protective cap of  claim 6  wherein the side walls each include a first edge and a second edge, wherein the first edges of the side walls are connected to form a closed end and the second edges are spaced to form an opening. 
     
     
         8 . The disposable protective cap of  claim 6  wherein the securing mechanism includes a pair of clamping legs at each of the side walls. 
     
     
         9 . The disposable protective cap of  claim 1  further comprising a positioning member for positioning the body relative to the wiper blade. 
     
     
         10 . The disposable protective cap of  claim 1  further comprising a shield structure disposed outwardly of a longitudinal end of the wiper strip along a longitudinal direction of the wiper strip. 
     
     
         11 . A wiper blade comprising:
 a support element;   a wiper strip attached to the support element; and   at least one disposable protective cap attached to the support element for receiving at least a part of the wiper strip.   
     
     
         12 . The wiper blade of  claim 11  wherein the protective cap includes a body defining a receiving space for receiving the at least a part of the wiper strip and a securing mechanism for attaching the body to the support element. 
     
     
         13 . The wiper blade of  claim 12  wherein the body includes a pair of side walls that define the receiving space, the side walls spaced apart along a direction transverse to a longitudinal direction of the wiper blade. 
     
     
         14 . The wiper blade of  claim 12  wherein the securing mechanism includes a pair of deflectable clamping legs extending from the body. 
     
     
         15 . The wiper blade of  claim 14  wherein the clamping legs each define a slot for receiving a longitudinal edge of the support element. 
     
     
         16 . The wiper blade of  claim 11  wherein the protective cap further comprising a positioning member inserted into a slot of the support element. 
     
     
         17 . The wiper blade of  claim 11  further comprising a shield structure that is disposed outwardly of a longitudinal end of the support element along a longitudinal direction of the support element. 
     
     
         18 . A wiper blade comprising:
 a support element defining two longitudinal ends and an elongated slot extending between the longitudinal ends;   a wiper strip including an upper end, a wiper portion, and a narrow portion connecting the upper end and the wiper portion, the narrow portion is inserted into the elongated slot; and   a pair of protective caps attached to the longitudinal ends of the support element, the protective caps each including
 a pair of side walls disposed below the support element and defining a receiving space for receiving a longitudinal end of the wiper strip, 
 a transverse wall extending transversely between the side walls and connecting the side walls, 
 a pair of deflectable clamping legs extending from the side walls toward the support element and clamping the support element therebetween, and 
 a positioning member extending from the transverse wall and inserted into the elongated slot of the support element. 
   
     
     
         19 . The wiper blade of  claim 18  wherein the protective caps each further include a shield structure connected to the transverse wall and partially surrounding an adjacent one of the longitudinal ends of the support element. 
     
     
         20 . The wiper blade of  claim 18  wherein the deflectable clamping legs each include a chamfered surface for guiding the support element into an adjacent one of slots in the clamping legs.