Patent ID: 8136855

Claim:
A bumper assembly for a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a chassis, the bumper assembly comprising a bumper core, wherein said bumper core comprises: a first cross member comprising a first thermoplastic material; a first substantially undeformable connection device; and a second substantially undeformable connection device, wherein said first and second substantially undeformable connection devices are configured to rigidly fix said first cross member to the chassis of the vehicle, wherein said first and the second substantially undeformable connection devices co-operate with said first cross member; a second cross member and at least one shock-absorbing element which is arranged between said first cross member and said second cross member, wherein said second cross member is connected to said first and second substantially undeformable connection devices or is formed as one piece with said first and second substantially undeformable connection devices, a first and a second crash box, the first substantially undeformable connection device being in contact with said first crash box and the second substantially undeformable connection device being in contact with said second crash box, said second cross member, during use, extending over a distance at least corresponding to that between the first and the second crash boxes, wherein said second cross member is arranged between the crash boxes, wherein said second cross member is arranged between the crash boxes and said first and second substantially undeformable connection devices; and wherein the at least one shock-absorbing element is arranged between the first cross member and the second cross member in a length direction of the chassis to absorb energy from a front impact, the at least one shock-absorbing element being in contact with the first cross member and the second cross member; and wherein said shock-absorbing element comprises a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being resilient and the second portion being substantially rigid, and wherein length or thickness of the first portion is dependent upon an intrusion distance of the vehicle.