Appeal No. 2000-2217 Page 6
Application No. 09/067,287
a base supporting said body of ignitable
material and said means for igniting; and a cap
supported on said base at a location spaced apart
from said burst disk, said cap enclosing said body
of ignitable material and maintaining said body of
ignitable material in position on said base;
at least a first portion of said cap being
releasable from said base as a unitary body under as
a unitary body and into engagement with said burst
disk to rupture said burst disk,
said first portion of said cap having an inner
side surface which is in intimate contact with said
body of ignitable material and an outer side surface
which is engageable with said burst disk upon
movement of said first portion of said cap into
engagement with said burst disk,
said body of ignitable material comprising an
ignitable powder which is enclosed by said cap and
maintained in position on said base by said cap.
The rejection under appeal as set forth in the answer
(pp. 3-4) reads as follows:
Claims 14, 16, 18 and 20 are rejected under 35
U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Mossi et al in
view of Evans et al and Refouvelet et al. Mossi et al
disclose an apparatus for inflating an inflatable vehicle
occupant protection device comprising a container 42 for
containing a quantity of inflation fluid, a burst disk 44
blocking flow of fluid out of the container, and an
actuatable initiator 10 and projectile 22 for rupturing
the burst disk to enable flow of fluid out of the
container. However, Mossi et al do not disclose the
claimed initiator. Evans et al clearly teach an
actuatable initiator comprising an ignitable material 14
and 15, an electrically energizable means 28 for igniting
the ignitable material, a base 17 for supporting the
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