Patent ID: 8029041

Claim:
A door assembly for use in a vehicle, the door assembly comprising: an outer door panel; a substrate attachable to said outer door panel; and an occupant impact-absorbing bolster formed on said substrate to form an integrated substrate-bolster component, said bolster having an interior and including a plurality of outer walls, each wall having an outer side and an inner side, said walls having top edges and at least one intersection formed by a four inner intersecting walls attached to said outer walls, each of said intersecting walls having a portion adjacent said at least one intersection, at least one of said outer walls having flanges formed on its top edge, said flanges angled outwardly away from said outer sides of said wall, said at least one of said four intersecting walls having an outer wall end attachment portion, each of said portions adjacent said at least one intersection having lesser heights than said outer wall end attachment portion, whereby a recessed area is defined between said outer walls.