Appeal No. 2006-2962
Application No. 10/252,177
canister and lies flush with the instrument panel 14 of the motor vehicle (see
Figures 1 and 2).
The door 12 is a unitary structure composed of a relatively soft one-piece
thermoplastic layer 60 and a relatively hard one-piece thermoplastic layer 70 (see
col. 2, ll. 3-9). These layers provide the door with a desirable combination of
external softness and internal rigidity (see col. 5, ll. 27-33). As described in more
detail by Cherry,
The deployment door 12 comprises a relatively
soft first material layer 60 and a relatively hard second
material layer 70. The hard second material layer 70
includes a body portion 78 (FIG. 3) which lies between
the air bag 18 and the soft first material layer 60. The
hard second material layer 70 includes an inner surface
74 which is presented toward and engaged by the air bag
18 when the air bag 18 is inflated. The hard second
material layer 70 further includes a major side surface 77
which lies opposite the inner surface 74. The major side
surface 77 is adhered to a major side surface 67 of the
soft first material layer 60. The soft first material layer
60 includes (i) a first outer surface portion 62 which lies
opposite the major side surface 67 and is exposed to the
vehicle passenger compartment and (ii) a second outer
surface portion 69 which is also exposed to the vehicle
passenger compartment.
The hard second material layer 70 has a [U-
shaped] projecting portion 76 which extends away from
the body portion 78 toward the vehicle passenger
compartment. The projecting portion 76 has an outer
surface 72 which is shown in the drawings as exposed to
the vehicle passenger compartment. The outer surface 72
of the projecting portion 76 lies flush with the first and
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