Patent ID: 6098767
Filing Date: 2000-08-08
Classification: F16F

Abstract:
A crash cushion for at least partially absorbing the impact energy of a vehicle striking the cushion, the cushion comprising: an elongate shell containing crushable crash cartridges, said shell having proximal and distal ends; first and second dividers extending transversely across the shell, dividing the shell into proximal, intermediate, and distal sections, each section having a proximal wall and a distal wall, the proximal end of the shell and the first divider forming the proximal and distal walls of the proximal section having a first longitudinal length, the first and second dividers forming the proximal and distal walls of the intermediate section having a second longitudinal length, and the second divider and the distal end of the shell forming the proximal and distal walls of the distal section having a third longitudinal length; three crash cartridges formed in each of said proximal, intermediate and distal sections, each cartridge extending from its respective proximal wall to its respective distal wall, and comprising a plurality of cells formed from a block of cell paper material, each cell within each block of cell paper material having a given size, the cell paper material in the cartridges oriented with the longitudinal direction of the cells generally perpendicular to the proximal and distal walls of the section; the cells in the cartridges in the intermediate section having a given size which is larger than the size of the cells in the cartridges in the proximal section, and the cells in the cartridges in the distal section having a given size which is larger than the size of the cells in the cartridges in the intermediate section; and two panels extending between the proximal and distal walls of each section separating adjacent cartridges.