Appeal No. 2005-1161 Page 5
Application No. 09/793,406
particular, that is intended to be protected. The portion of Macquart relied upon by Appellant
does not indicate otherwise. Column 7, lines 64-67 read:
first, the first coating with the dielectric material base has
at least one barrier layer for the diffusion of alkaline ions and
oxygen, particularly at least 10 or 15 nanometers thick, and
This portion of Macquart does not explain what is being protected from alkaline ions and
oxygen. However, other portions of Macquart are more clear. For instance, column 1, lines 54-
66 of Macquart discusses degradation of the silver layer during thermal treatment. In that
discussion it is stated that:
[T]he silver layer is oxidized by diffusion of the atmospheric oxygen across layers which
overlay it. It also tends to be oxidized by diffusion of the oxygen of the glass across the
underlying layers. Lastly, it may tend to be excessively altered in contact with alkaline
ions, such as sodium (Na+) migrating from the glass across the underlying layers.
(Macquart, col. 1, ll. 60-66; emphasis added). This portion of Macquart indicates that it is the
silver layer that requires protection from alkaline ions and oxygen. Column 8, lines 18-24, in a
discussion of a specific embodiment, reinforces that fact and indicates that the barrier layers
function to protect the silver layer.
We cannot agree with Appellant that one of ordinary skill in the art would have felt
constrained to place the SiOxNy layer in direct contact with the glass substrate when using the
SiOxNy layer in the coating of Hartig ‘933 (Brief, pp. 6-7). Hartig ‘933 describes a layer
sequence of glass substrate/TiO2/Si3N4/Ni or Ni:Cr/Ag/. The Si3N4 layer, the layer which, as
indicated by Macquart functions to provide barrier properties, is not in direct contact with the
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