Appeal No. 2005-1577
Application No. 09/581,159 Page 7
also serve as protective layer that is impermeable to
the diffusion of water vapor.
As for the protective layer of Winter being
opaque, the reference teaches the protective layer
being capable of impairing the visibility of the driver
if it is covers too much area (column 4, lines 57-62).
Therefore, the skilled artisan would have readily
appreciated that the protective layer is opaque.
It is known in the art to form a laminated glazing
for a windshield having one pane with a transparent
coating thereon and which is spaced from the peripheral
edges of the pane by coating the entire surface of the
pane and subsequently removing the coating from
selected areas of the pane, as taught by Koontz (column
4, lines 18-25). Therefore, it would have been obvious
to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the
invention was made to apply the transparent coating of
Winter to the entire surface of the pane and
subsequently remove the coating from selected areas.
Selection of a particular width for the uncoated
regions of the pane would have been within purview of
the skilled artisan at the time the invention was made.
However, it is known in the windshield art to apply a
transparent coating to the entire surface of a glass
pane and subsequently remove portions of the coating in
an area extending from the peripheral edge of the
pane up to about 0.025-3.18 mm inside the edge of the
pane, as taught by Tweadey (column 4, line 61 - column
5, line 5; column 5, lines 11-12).
The difficulty we have with the examiner’s obviousness
position stems from the fact that Winter is concerned with an
antenna system for a windshield and method of making same, not a
method for forming a laminated glazing unit that includes a
corrosion protected transparent surface coating and a protective
coating layer including the specific method steps claimed. In
this regard, both Koontz and Tweadey are not instructive about
forming a windshield antenna system and method of preparing same
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