Patent ID: 7077442

Claim:
A bumper assembly comprising: a bumper cross beam unitarily formed with an outer generally vertical web and two generally horizontal sides extending inward from upper and lower edges of the web; two vehicle frame members having support ends spaced inward from and vertically offset from a center of the cross-beam web; and respective crash boxes each formed as a horizontally extending tube having an outer end engaging the bumper cross beam and an inner end fixed to and bearing inward on the respective frame member, the outer ends of the crash boxes being vertically offset from the respective inner ends such that the crash boxes extend at a small acute angle to a horizontal central plane of the frame members, the outer ends of the crash boxes bearing outward generally only on the web and on one of the sides of the cross beam, the other of the sides of the cross beam being generally out of engagement with the crash boxes, the crash boxes being substantially out of contact with the members and with the web except at the respective inner and outer ends.