Appeal No. 2005-2268 Page 11
Application No. 09/976,683
24. Byker describes an "electrochromic . . . panel or partition in the interior of a
building. . . ." Col. 3, ll. 25-27. The panel may be transparent or "may be darkened, as
desired, for privacy purposes." Col. 2, ll. 21-22. More specifically, the panel "includes a
thin layer 14 of an electrochromic medium disposed between two glass or plastic
transparent substrates 16 and 18. When electrical potential is applied to the
electrochromic medium 14, the electrochromic medium darkens and begins to absorb
light. The higher the voltage, the darker the [panel] becomes. When the electrical
voltage is decreased to zero, the [panel] returns to its clear state." Id. at ll. 38-45.
25. The references establish the level of ordinary skill in the art. See In re GPAC
Inc., 57 F.3d 1573, 1579, 35 USPQ2d 1116, 1121 (Fed. Cir. 1995) (finding that the
Board of Patent Appeals and Interference did not err in concluding that the level of
ordinary skill was best determined by the references of record); In re Oelrich, 579 F.2d
86, 91, 198 USPQ 210, 214 (CCPA 1978) ("[T]he PTO usually must evaluate ... the
level of ordinary skill solely on the cold words of the literature.").
II. DISCUSSION
We address the claims in the following order:
• Group 1: claims 1, 2, 4-7, and 9
• Group 2: claims 8, 10, 11, and 13
• Group 3: claims 3 and 12.
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