Appeal No. 96-2744
Application 08/004,734
examiner cites Abe for a teaching of providing synthetic resin in
an optical fiber in order to change color of the light and
contends that it would have been obvious to employ such a
teaching in Gery. To buttress this position, the examiner points
to column 1, line 67 to column 2, line 4 of Abe. This section
recites that a synthetic optical fiber is known wherein such a
fiber comprises a core and cladding around the core, both of
which are colored by containing organic dye to provide a
wavelength filtering property. Abe also teaches that only light
of a specific wavelength is transmitted through the synthetic
resin optical fiber [column 2, lines 4-6]. This indicates that
the light passing along Abe's fiber and out the end is changed in
color by the synthetic resin-dye. However, an analysis of the
remainder of the disclosure of Abe appears to indicate that the
resin doped with dye is provided in the core and cladding to
prevent light leakage from the sides of the optical fiber. Thus,
we conclude from this understanding of Abe, that it would not
have been obvious to the artisan to treat the output tip of
Gery's fiber which emits the light (and it is the output tip of
the fiber that the examiner has identified as the optical display
element in Gery) with a bead of resin doped with a dye. As
appellant states, at page 3 of the reply brief, "Abe discusses
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