Patent ID: 7188704

Claim:
An energy absorber comprising: a housing having an attachment for attaching the energy absorber to a first structure; a metallic coil mounted by the housing and having a pair of ends one of which includes an endstop; another attachment for attaching the other end of the metallic coil to a second structure; a first pair of pins mounted by the housing in a spaced relationship from each other along a direction between the attachments, the first pair of pins having round outer surfaces; the metallic coil extending to its other end around one of the spaced pins with a curvature in one direction and thence disengaging the one spaced pin and extending to and around the other spaced pin with a curvature in another direction opposite its one direction of curvature around the one pin; the metallic coil plastically deforming in opposite directions in a sequential manner around the first pair of spaced pins upon uncoiling under the impetus of force applied to the pair of attachments away from each other; a second pair of pins mounted by the housing in a spaced relationship from each other and being contacted by the metallic coil upon uncoiling upon movement thereof toward the first pair of pins around which the deformation sequentially takes place in opposite directions; and upon uncoiling of the metallic coil, the second pair of pins are being contacted by the endstop to limit the extent of movement of the attachments away from each other.