Patent ID: 8020906

Claim:
A crash apparatus for a motor vehicle, comprising: a crash box having opposite top and bottom shells, each of the shells having a base panel, opposite first and second side panels projecting angularly from the base panel and first and second flanges projecting outwardly from ends of the respective first and second side panels remote from the base panel, the flanges of the top shell being registered with the flanges of the bottom shell and the base panels of the respective shells being opposed to and spaced from one another so that the shells define a hollow profile with opposite front and rear ends spaced apart along a deformation direction, the base panel of each of the shells being formed with beads spaced apart along the deformation direction and extending transverse to the deformation direction, each the flanges being formed with beads spaced apart along the deformation direction and extending transverse to the deformation direction, the beads on the flanges of the top shell having concave surfaces registered with and facing respective concave surfaces defined by the beads on the flanges of the bottom shell, substantially planar contact surfaces being defined on the flanges between the beads, the planar contact surfaces on the flanges of the top shell being secured respectively to the planar contact surfaces of the flanges of the bottom shell and so that each of the beads on the flanges defines a convex surface facing outwardly on the crash box wherein each of the beads on each of the base panels has opposite first and second ends aligned with but spaced from the respective beads on the flanges and portions of the side walls between the beads on the base panel and the respective beads on the flanges being substantially planar.