Appeal 2007-0129
Application 09/810,225
such an application. This leads to a prolongation of the efficiency of the
phosphors in PDD applications according to Bechtel.
The Examiner has not fairly explained why one of ordinary skill in the
art would seek to modify the specific aluminate phosphor coating method of
Bechtel that is designed to prolong phosphor performance in a PDD
application based on the teachings of Sigai, which latter reference does not
mention aluminate phosphors or a PDD application for the coated phosphors
thereof. Nor has the Examiner established a particularized suggestion for
employing uncoated aluminate phosphors, as disclosed in Bechtel, as the
phosphors to be treated by the method of Sigai for the fluorescent tube
application described in Sigai. While Sigai discloses that any material
brought to fluorescence by UV radiation may be used as a lamp phosphor,
Sigai teaches that the subject coating process thereof is applicable to lamp
phosphors of class “C” of the Geldhart Classification Scale. See col. 3, ll.
34-39 and col. 4, ll. 3-7 of Sigai. Here, the Examiner has not furnished any
particularized evidence to show that aluminate phosphors of the type
disclosed by Bechtel would have been known to be a Geldhart class “C”
phosphor or otherwise be particularly suitable for use in a fluorescent lamp
after coating using an aluminum precursor, such as disclosed by Sigai. We
conclude that the Examiner has not established a prima facie case of
obviousness for the claimed subject matter based on the combined teachings
of Sigai and Bechtel.
Similarly, the Examiner has not established why one of ordinary skill
would have been led to modify the specific manganese-doped zinc silicate
phosphor that is the subject of the coating method of Kasenga, which
phosphors are used in fluorescent lamps, by substituting an aluminate
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