Patent ID: 6905136

Claim:
A collapsible support for absorbing energy during an impact, the collapsible support comprising: a hollow tubular body made of a plastic material that extends along a longitudinal axis, the tubular body having a first end wall, a second end wall, and at least one side wall that extends around the axis and between said wall ends, the at least one side wall having at least two sections, adjacent sections of the aide wall being separated by a step in the cross-section of said side wall when viewed in a plane parallel to said axis, and wherein the end walls and at least one side wall enclose a hollow volume, and wherein the step in the at least one side wall is a step in both an outer surface of said wall and an inner surface of said wall, and wherein a vent aperture is disposed in one of the side walls, and wherein the tubular body is adapted to deform so that sections of wall collapse with one section moving inside another section upon the application of a compressive force applied to said body along said axis.