The present invention relates generally to structured surfaces fabricated using microreplication techniques. The invention has particular application to structured surfaces that comprise retroreflective cube corner elements.
The reader is directed to the glossary at the end of the specification for guidance on the meaning of certain terms used herein.
It is known to use microreplicated structured surfaces in a variety of end use applications such as retroreflective sheeting, mechanical fasteners, and abrasive products. Although the description that follows focuses on the field of retroreflection, it will be apparent that the disclosed methods and articles can equally well be applied to other fields that make use of microreplicated structured surfaces.
Cube corner retroreflective sheeting typically comprises a thin transparent layer having a substantially planar front surface and a rear structured surface comprising a plurality of geometric structures, some or all of which include three reflective faces configured as a cube corner element.
Cube corner retroreflective sheeting is commonly produced by first manufacturing a master mold that has a structured surface, such structured surface corresponding either to the desired cube corner element geometry in the finished sheeting or to a negative (inverted) copy thereof, depending upon whether the finished sheeting is to have cube corner pyramids or cube corner cavities (or both). The mold is then replicated using any suitable technique such as conventional nickel electroplating to produce tooling for forming cube corner retroreflective sheeting by processes such as embossing, extruding, or cast-and-curing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,863 (Pricone et al.) provides an illustrative overview of a process for forming tooling used in the manufacture of cube corner retroreflective sheeting. Known methods for manufacturing the master mold include pin-bundling techniques, laminate techniques, and direct machining techniques. Each of these techniques has its own benefits and limitations.
In pin bundling techniques, a plurality of pins, each having a geometric shape such as a cube corner element on one end, are assembled together to form a master mold. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,591,572 (Stimson) and 3,926,402 (Heenan) provide illustrative examples. Pin bundling offers the ability to manufacture a wide variety of cube corner geometry in a single mold, because each pin is individually machined. However, such techniques are impractical for making small cube corner elements (e.g., those having a cube height less than about 1 millimeter) because of the large number of pins and the diminishing size thereof required to be precisely machined and then arranged in a bundle to form the mold.
In laminate techniques, a plurality of plate-like structures known as laminae, each lamina having geometric shapes formed on one end, are assembled to form a master mold. Laminate techniques are generally less labor intensive than pin bundling techniques, because the number of parts to be separately machined is considerably smaller, for a given size mold and cube corner element. However, design flexibility suffers relative to that achievable by pin bundling. Illustrative examples of laminate techniques can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,773 (Lindner); International Publication No. WO 97/04939 (Mimura et al.); and U.S. application Ser. No. 08/886,074, “Cube Corner Sheeting Mold and Method of Making the Same”, filed Jul. 2, 1997.
In direct machining techniques, series of grooved side surfaces are formed in the plane of a planar substrate to form a master mold. In one well known embodiment, three sets of parallel grooves intersect each other at 60 degree included angles to form an array of cube corner elements, each having an equilateral base triangle (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,706 (Stamm)). In another embodiment, two sets of grooves intersect each other at an angle greater than 60 degrees and a third set of grooves intersects each of the other two sets at an angle less than 60 degrees to form an array of canted cube corner element matched pairs (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,258 (Hoopman)). Direct machining techniques offer the ability to accurately machine very small cube corner elements in a manner more difficult to achieve using pin bundling or laminate techniques because of the latter techniques' reliance on constituent parts that can move or shift relative to each other, and that may separate from each other, whether during construction of the mold or at other times. Further, direct machining techniques produce large area structured surfaces that generally have higher uniformity and fidelity than those made by pin bundling or laminate techniques, since, in direct machining, a large number of individual faces are typically formed in a continuous motion of the cutting tool, and such individual faces maintain their alignment throughout the mold fabrication procedure.
However, a significant drawback to direct machining techniques has been reduced design flexibility in the types of cube corner geometry that can be produced. By way of example, the maximum theoretical total light return of the cube corner elements depicted in the Stamm patent referenced above is approximately 67%. Since the issuance of that patent, structures and techniques have been disclosed which greatly expand the variety of cube corner designs available to the designer using direct machining See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,775,219 (Appledorn et al.); 4,895,428 (Nelson et al.); 5,600,484 (Benson et al.); 5,696,627 (Benson et al.); and 5,734,501 (Smith). Some of the cube corner designs disclosed in these later references can exhibit effective aperture values well above 67% at certain observation and entrance geometry.
Nevertheless, an entire class of cube corner elements, referred to herein as “preferred geometry” or “PG” cube corner elements, have up until now remained out of reach of known direct machining techniques. A substrate incorporating one type of PG cube corner element is shown in the top plan view of
Disclosed herein are methods for making geometric structures, such as PG cube corner elements, that make use of direct machining techniques. Also disclosed are molds to manufacture articles according to such methods, such articles characterized by having at least one specially configured compound face.
Structured surface articles such as molds or sheeting are formed on a compound substrate comprising a machined substrate and a replicated substrate. In one embodiment, the structured surface is a cube corner element on a compound substrate. In another embodiment, the structured surface comprises a geometric structure that has a plurality of faces, where one face is located on the machined substrate and another face is located on the replicated substrate. The geometric structure can optionally be a cube corner element or a PG cube corner element.
In yet another embodiment, at least some of the faces comprise a compound face with a portion formed on the machined substrate and a portion formed on the substantially replicated substrate. A transition line may separate the portion of a compound face located on the machined substrate from the portion located on the replicated substrate. The portion of the compound face on the machined substrate and the portion on the replicated substrate typically have angular orientations that differ by less than 10 degrees of arc.
Another embodiment is directed to a geometric structure having a plurality of faces disposed on a compound substrate. The compound substrate comprises a machined substrate having a structured surface and a substantially replicated substrate bonded along only a portion of an interface with the machined substrate.
In another embodiment, the compound substrate comprises a substantially replicated substrate having a structured surface and a discontinuous machined substrate covering only a portion of the structured surface. The compound substrate also comprises at least one geometric structure having at least one face disposed on the structured surface and at least another face disposed on the machined substrate.
Another embodiment is directed to a compound substrate comprising a substantially replicated substrate and a machined substrate. The replicated substrate has a structured surface and the machined substrate disposed in discrete pieces on the structured surface.
Another embodiment is directed to a compound mold having a structured surface comprising cavities formed in a replicated substrate and a plurality of pyramids bordering the cavities that are machined at least in part in a machined substrate of the compound substrate.
Cube corner elements, and structured surfaces incorporating an array of such elements, are disclosed wherein at least one face of the cube corner element terminates at a nondihedral edge of such element, the face comprising two constituent faces disposed on opposed sides of a transition line that is nonparallel to the nondihedral edge. The cube corner element can comprise a PG cube corner element where some or all of such elements comprise two constituent faces disposed on opposed sides of a transition line that is nonparallel to the respective nondihedral edge and the transition line comprises an interface between two adjacent layers of a compound substrate. In an array of neighboring cube corner elements, each cube corner element in the array can have at least one face configured as described above. Further, the cube corner elements can be made very small (well under 1 mm cube height) due to the direct machining techniques employed.
Also disclosed is a method of making a structured surface article comprising a geometric structure having a plurality of faces. The method comprises the steps of forming an array of geometric structures in a first surface of a machined substrate; passivating selected locations of the first surface of the machined substrate; forming a replicated substrate of the machined substrate to form a compound substrate; forming an array of second geometric structures on a second surface opposite the first surface on the machined substrate; and removing selected portions from the second surface of the machined substrate to form an array of neighboring cube corner elements. The cube corner elements can be PG cube corner elements.
In another embodiment, the method of making a structured surface article comprises the steps of forming an array of geometric structures in a first surface of a machined substrate; passivating selected locations of the first surface of the machined substrate; forming a replicated substrate of the machined substrate to form a compound substrate; forming an array of second geometric structures on a second surface opposite the first surface on the machined substrate; and removing selected portions from the second surface of the machined substrate to form a geometric structure having a plurality of faces, wherein at least one of the faces is located on the machined substrate and at least one of the faces is located on the replicated substrate.
In another embodiment, the method of making a geometric structure in an article comprises providing a compound substrate having a structured surface formed along an internal interface between two substrates; and forming grooved side surfaces in an exposed surface of the compound substrate to form a geometric structure, the geometric structure comprising a portion of the internal interface and a portion of the grooved side surfaces.
a is an enlarged section of the compound substrate of
In the drawings, the same reference symbol is used for convenience to indicate elements that are the same or that perform the same or a similar function.
Blank 22 is composed of a material that can be scribed, cut, or otherwise machined without significant post-machining deformation and without substantial burring. This is to ensure that the machined faces, or replications thereof in other substrates, can function as effective optical reflectors. The blank 22 may be constructed from various materials, such as copper, nickel, aluminum, acrylic, or other polymeric materials. Further discussion on suitable substrate materials is given below. In one embodiment, the blank 22 is a thin metal sheet material approximately 0.030 inches thick.
The blank 22 is bonded to a first machining base 24 using a suitable bonding layer 26, such as epoxy, wax, thermoform or thermoset adhesives, and the like. In the illustrated embodiment, the first machining base 24 is a metal plate approximately 2.54 centimeters (1.0 inch) thick. The first machining base 24 supports the relatively thin blank 22 and provides reference surfaces 38 for subsequent machining operations. Although the circular shape of the assembly 20 is convenient for subsequent electro-plating operations, the circular shape is not required.
Each tool 40 is depicted as a so-called “half-angle” tool, which produces grooved side surfaces as it progresses through the material rather than a pair of opposed groove side surfaces, although this is not necessary. In the illustrated embodiment, one of the grooved side surfaces is substantially vertical (see
It should be noted that although three cutting tools are shown in
The structured surface 50 is then cleaned and passivated. The passivation step comprises applying a release layer or modifying the surface 50 to permit separation of a subsequent replicated substrate 70 (see
In order to permit selective adhesion of the replicated substrate 70 to the structured surface 50, the top surfaces 62 of the protrusions 58 are treated. In one embodiment, the top surfaces 62 are abraded. Abrasion of the top surfaces 62 can be accomplished using a planarization process, fly cutting, or a variety of other processes.
a illustrate an assembly 81 that results after forming a replicated substrate 70 over the machined substrate 28 and the reference pads 30. Electro-plating, casting a filler material, and a variety of other techniques can form the replicated substrate 70. The thickness of the replicated substrate 70 is a matter of design choice. In the illustrated embodiment, the replicated substrate 70 has a thickness of about 2 times the height of the desired cube corner elements.
As best illustrated in
A series of four cuts are made around the perimeter P1, P2, P3, P4 of compound substrate 82, permitting the portions of the modified blank 22′ surrounding the machined substrate 28 to be removed from the assembly 81. Reference marks 43 may optionally be used to locate the compound substrate 82. The passivation layer facilitates removal of this waste material. In an embodiment where the blank 22 and replicated substrate 70 are constructed from metal, the portion of the blank 22 surrounding the machined substrate 28 is a thin layer that can be peeled from the replicated substrate 70.
The machining step illustrated in
After cuts are made along all three axes 42a, 42b, 42c, waste portions 94 of the machined substrate 28 fall away or are removed, leaving a cube corner cavity 118 in the replicated substrate 70. In some embodiments, the tool 101 may cut into the replicated substrate 70 such that the replicated substrate may include a replicated or formed portion and a machined portion. The distal ends or top surfaces 62 of the discrete pieces or protrusions 58 from the machined substrate 28 are bonded to the replicated substrate 70. Bottom or proximal portions of the protrusions 58 are machined to form cube corner pyramids 120a. The protrusions 58 on the machined substrate 28 remain embedded in the replicated substrate 70. Once all of the waste portions 94 of the machined substrate 28 are removed from the replicated substrate 70, the cube corner pyramids 120a and cube corner cavities 118 form a geometric structured surface 100 with an array of PG cube corner elements (see
Each of the three faces 126a-c of the cube corner pyramids 120a are machined to be substantially aligned with the nearest face 116 of an adjacent cube corner cavity 118. Consequently, each new cube corner cavity 132 comprising one replicated cube corner cavity 118 and one machined face 126 from each of its neighboring geometric structures 120a. Reference numeral 132a shows in bold outline one such cube corner cavity 132. A given face of one of the cube corner cavities 132 comprises one face of a cube corner cavity 118 formed in the replicated substrate 70 and one of the faces 126a, 126b, or 126c machined in the machined substrate 28. As will be discussed infra, faces 116 of the cube corner cavity 118 are machined in the replicated substrate 70. Therefore, each cube corner cavity 132 comprises a compound face made up of a portion substantially formed or replicated in the replicated substrate 70 and a portion machined in the machined substrate 28 separated by a transition line 130. The transition lines 130 lie along the boundary or interface between the machined substrate 28 and the replicated substrate 70.
One can also identify new cube corner pyramids 134 formed on the structured surface shown in
The machined cube corner article of
More commonly, however, the compound substrate of
Transition lines can in general take on a great variety of forms, depending upon details of the cutting tool used and on the degree to which the motion of the cutting tool is precisely aligned with other faces in the process of forming groove side surfaces. Although in many applications transition lines are an artifact to be minimized, in other applications they can be used to advantage to achieve a desired optical result such as a partially transparent article. A detailed discussion of various transition line configurations is set forth in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,367 (Benson et al.), entitled Structured Surface Articles Containing Geometric Structures with Compound Faces and Methods for Making Same, which is incorporated by reference.
A wide variety of structured surfaces can be fabricated using the present compound substrate 82 and the machining technique described above. The PG cube corner elements of
Four distinct types of cube corner elements are present on the structured surface 136: truncated cube corner cavities formed in replicated substrate 70 and a triangular outline in plan view; truncated cube corner pyramids having faces machined in discrete pieces of the machined substrate 28 and triangular outline; PG cube corner cavities having compound faces and a hexagonal outline; and PG cube corner pyramids, also having compound faces and a hexagonal outline. A representative cube corner cavity formed in the replicated substrate 70 is identified in
The embodiments discussed above have associated therewith an asymmetrical entrance angularity (i.e., when rotated about an axis within the plane of the sheeting). Embodiments with symmetrical entrance angularity are also possible, such as the matched-pair cube corner structure discussed in connection with
As illustrated in sectional view
As illustrated in
Discrete pieces or portions 278, 280 of the compound substrate 236, however, are bonded to the replicated substrate 214 along surfaces 230. Bottom or proximal portions of the portions 278, 280 are machined to form three-sided pyramids 282. The portions 278, 280 of the machined substrate 200′ remain embedded in the replicated substrate 214 portion of the compound substrate 236. Once all of the waste portions 274 of the compound substrate 236 are removed from the replicated substrate 214, thus exposing all of the four-sided cavities 276, the three-sided pyramids 282 and four-sided cavities 276 form a geometric structured surface 290 comprising an array of PG cube corner elements (see
In an embodiment where the machined substrate 200′ and/or the replicated substrate 214 are formed from a transparent or semi-transparent material, or where the interface between the machined substrate 200′ and replicated substrate 214 can be viewed along the perimeter of compound substrate 236, reference pads such as illustrated in connection with
Cube corner elements of
During the present machining process, the cutting tool removes a relatively large amount of material because the angle between the steeply inclined side wall and the subsequent machined face is often in excess of 10 degrees, typically ranging from about 10 to about 45 degrees. Some of the groove side surfaces can then be formed in such a modified machined substrate by leaving more material on the cavities or protrusions during either or both machining steps, thereby reducing tool forces which could detrimentally cause distortions. Another benefit is less wear on the cutting tool. A modified machined substrate can also be used as a master from which future generations of positive/negative molds can be made. Various geometric configurations for modified machined substrate are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,367 (Benson et al.), entitled Structured Surface Articles Containing Geometric Structures with Compound Faces and Methods for Making Same, which is incorporated by reference. The cube corner elements disclosed herein can be individually tailored so as to distribute light retroreflected by the articles into a desired pattern or divergence profile, as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,219 (Appledorn et al.). For example, compound faces that make up the PG cube corner elements can be arranged in a repeating pattern of orientations that differ by small amounts, such as a few arc-minutes, from the orientation that would produce mutual orthogonality with the other faces of cube corner element. This can be accomplished by machining groove side surfaces (both those that ultimately become the faces in the finished mold below the transition plane as well as those that become faces in the finished mold above the transition plane) at angles that differ from those that would produce mutually orthogonal faces by an amount known as a “groove half-angle error”. Typically the groove half-angle error introduced will be less than ±20 arc minutes and often less than ±5 arc minutes. A series of consecutive parallel groove side surfaces can have a repeating pattern of groove half-angle errors such as abbaabba . . . or abcdabcd . . . , where a, b, c, and d are unique positive or negative values. In one embodiment, the pattern of groove half-angle errors used to form faces in the finished mold above the transition plane can be matched up with the groove half-angle errors used to form faces in the finished mold below the transition plane. In this case, the portions of each compound face on the machined substrate and the replicated substrate will be substantially angularly aligned with each other. In another embodiment, the pattern used to form one set of faces can differ from the pattern used to form the other, as where the faces below the transition plane incorporate a given pattern of nonzero angle errors and faces above the transition plane incorporate substantially no angle errors or a different pattern of non-zero errors. In this latter case, the portions of each compound face on the machined substrate and the replicated substrate will not be precisely angularly aligned with each other.
Advantageously, such substrates can serve as a master substrate from which future generations of positive/negative molds can be made, all having the same general shape of cube corner element in plan view but having slightly different face configurations. One such daughter mold can incorporate cube corner elements that each have compound faces whose constituent faces are aligned, the compound faces all being mutually perpendicular to the remaining faces of the cube corner element. Another such daughter mold can incorporate cube corner elements that also have compound faces whose constituent faces are aligned, but the compound faces can differ from orthogonality with remaining faces of the cube corner element. Still another such daughter mold can incorporate cube corner elements that have compound faces whose constituent faces are not aligned. All such daughter molds can be made from a single master mold with a minimal amount of material removed by machining.
The working surface of the mold substrates can have any suitable physical dimensions, with selection criteria including the desired size of the final mold surface and the angular and translational precision of the machinery used to cut the groove surfaces. The working surface has a minimum transverse dimension that is greater than two cube corner elements, with each cube corner element having a transverse dimension and/or cube height preferably in the range of about 25 μm to about 1 mm, and more preferably in the range of about 25 μm to about 0.25 mm. The working surface is typically a square several inches on a side, with four inch (10 cm) sides being standard. Smaller dimensions can be used to more easily cut grooves in registration with formed surfaces over the whole structured surface. The substrate thickness can range from about 0.5 to about 2.5 mm. (The measurements herein are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be limiting.) A thin substrate can be mounted on a thicker base to provide rigidity. Multiple finished molds can be combined with each other, e.g., by welding in known tiling arrangements to yield a large tiled mold that can then be used to produce tiled retroreflective products.
In the manufacture of retroreflective articles such as retroreflective sheeting, the structured surface of the machined substrate is used as a master mold that can be replicated using electroforming techniques or other conventional replicating technology. The structured surface can include substantially identical cube corner elements or can include cube corner elements of varying sizes, geometry, or orientations. The structured surface of the replica, sometimes referred to in the art as a ‘stamper’, contains a negative image of the cube corner elements. This replica can be used as a mold for forming a retroreflective article. More commonly, however, a large number of suitable replicas are assembled side-by-side to form a tiled mold large enough to be useful in forming tiled retroreflective sheeting. Retroreflective sheeting can then be manufactured as an integral material, e.g., by embossing a preformed sheet with an array of cube corner elements as described above or by casting a fluid material into a mold. See, JP 8-309851 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,861 (Pricone). Alternatively, the retroreflective sheeting can be manufactured as a layered product by casting the cube corner elements against a preformed film as taught in PCT application No. WO 95/11464 (Benson, Jr. et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,684,348 (Rowland) or by laminating a preformed film to preformed cube corner elements. By way of example, such sheeting can be made using a nickel mold formed by electrolytic deposition of nickel onto a master mold. The electroformed mold can be used as a stamper to emboss the pattern of the mold onto a polycarbonate film approximately 500 μm thick having an index of refraction of about 1.59. The mold can be used in a press with the pressing performed at a temperature of approximately 175° to about 200° C.
The various mold substrates discussed above can generally be categorized into two groups: replicated substrates, which receive at least part of their structured surface by replication from a prior substrate, and bulk substrates, which do not. Suitable materials for use with bulk mold substrates are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, and generally include any material that can be machined cleanly without burr formation and that maintains dimensional accuracy after groove formation. A variety of materials such as machinable plastics or metals may be utilized. Acrylic is an example of a plastic material; aluminum, brass, electroless nickel, and copper are examples of useable metals.
Suitable materials for use with replicated mold substrates that are not subsequently machined are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, and include a variety of materials such as plastics or metals that maintain faithful fidelity to the prior structured surface. Thermally embossed or cast plastics such as acrylic or polycarbonate can be used. Metals such as electrolytic nickel or nickel alloys are also suitable.
Suitable materials for use with replicated mold substrates whose structured surface is subsequently machined are also well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Such materials should have physical properties such as low shrinkage or expansion, low stress, and so on that both ensure faithful fidelity to the prior structured surface and that lend such materials to diamond machining A plastic such as acrylic (PMMA) or polycarbonate can be replicated by thermal embossing and then subsequently diamond machined. Suitable hard or soft metals include electrodeposited copper, electroless nickel, aluminum, or composites thereof.
With respect to retroreflective sheeting made directly or indirectly from such molds, useful sheeting materials are preferably materials that are dimensionally stable, durable, weatherable and readily formable into the desired configuration. Examples of suitable materials include acrylics, which generally have an index of refraction of about 1.5, such as Plexiglas resin from Rohm and Haas; thermoset acrylates and epoxy acrylates, preferably radiation cured, polycarbonates, which have an index of refraction of about 1.6; polyethylene-based ionomers (marketed under the name ‘SURLYN’); polyesters; and cellulose acetate butyrates. Generally any optically transmissive material that is formable, typically under heat and pressure, can be used. Other suitable materials for forming retroreflective sheeting are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,235 (Smith et al.). The sheeting can also include colorants, dyes, UV absorbers, or other additives as needed.
It is desirable in some circumstances to provide retroreflective sheeting with a backing layer. A backing layer is particularly useful for retroreflective sheeting that reflects light according to the principles of total internal reflection. A suitable backing layer can be made of any transparent or opaque material, including colored materials, that can be effectively engaged with the disclosed retroreflective sheeting. Suitable backing materials include aluminum sheeting, galvanized steel, polymeric materials such as polymethyl methacrylates, polyesters, polyamids, polyvinyl fluorides, polycarbonates, polyvinyl chlorides, polyurethanes, and a wide variety of laminates made from these and other materials.
The backing layer or sheet can be sealed in a grid pattern or any other configuration suitable to the reflecting elements. Sealing can be affected by use of a number of methods including ultrasonic welding, adhesives, or by heat sealing at discrete locations on the arrays of reflecting elements (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,928). Sealing is desirable to inhibit the entry of contaminants such as soil and/or moisture and to preserve air spaces adjacent the reflecting surfaces of the cube corner elements.
If added strength or toughness is required in the composite, backing sheets of polycarbonate, polybutryate or fiber-reinforced plastic can be used. Depending upon the degree of flexibility of the resulting retroreflective material, the material can be rolled or cut into strips or other suitable designs. The retroreflective material can also be backed with an adhesive and a release sheet to render it useful for application to any substrate without the added step of applying an adhesive or using other fastening means.
All patents and patent applications referred to herein are incorporated by reference. Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes can be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
This application is a division of and claims benefit and priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/515,978 filed Feb. 25, 2000.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1194294 | Johanson | Aug 1916 | A |
1591572 | Stimson | Jul 1926 | A |
2310790 | Jungerson | Feb 1943 | A |
2407680 | Palmquist et al. | Sep 1946 | A |
3190178 | McKenzie | Jun 1965 | A |
3417959 | Schultz | Dec 1968 | A |
3632695 | Howell | Jan 1972 | A |
3649153 | Brudy | Mar 1972 | A |
3684348 | Rowland | Aug 1972 | A |
3689346 | Rowland | Sep 1972 | A |
3712706 | Stamm | Jan 1973 | A |
3741623 | Mihalik | Jun 1973 | A |
3810804 | Rowland | May 1974 | A |
3811983 | Rowland | May 1974 | A |
3873184 | Heenan | Mar 1975 | A |
3922065 | Schultz | Nov 1975 | A |
3924928 | Trimble | Dec 1975 | A |
3924929 | Holmen et al. | Dec 1975 | A |
3926402 | Heenan | Dec 1975 | A |
4025159 | McGrath | May 1977 | A |
4066236 | Lindner | Jan 1978 | A |
4066331 | Lindner | Jan 1978 | A |
4095773 | Lindner | Jun 1978 | A |
4149304 | Brynjegard | Apr 1979 | A |
4202600 | Burke et al. | May 1980 | A |
4208090 | Heenan | Jun 1980 | A |
4243618 | Van Arnam | Jan 1981 | A |
4275258 | Harmsen et al. | Jun 1981 | A |
4349598 | White | Sep 1982 | A |
4478769 | Pricone et al. | Oct 1984 | A |
4498733 | Flanagan | Feb 1985 | A |
4576850 | Martens | Mar 1986 | A |
4582885 | Barber | Apr 1986 | A |
4588258 | Hoopman | May 1986 | A |
4601861 | Pricone et al. | Jul 1986 | A |
4618518 | Pricone et al. | Oct 1986 | A |
4668558 | Barber | May 1987 | A |
4726706 | Attar | Feb 1988 | A |
4775219 | Appeldorn et al. | Oct 1988 | A |
4798178 | Greulich et al. | Jan 1989 | A |
4801193 | Martin | Jan 1989 | A |
4895428 | Nelson et al. | Jan 1990 | A |
4938563 | Nelson et al. | Jul 1990 | A |
5117304 | Huang et al. | May 1992 | A |
5122902 | Benson | Jun 1992 | A |
5156863 | Pricone et al. | Oct 1992 | A |
5171624 | Walter | Dec 1992 | A |
5175030 | Lu et al. | Dec 1992 | A |
5183597 | Lu | Feb 1993 | A |
5429857 | Amemiya et al. | Jul 1995 | A |
5450235 | Smith et al. | Sep 1995 | A |
5564870 | Benson et al. | Oct 1996 | A |
5565151 | Nilsen | Oct 1996 | A |
5600484 | Benson et al. | Feb 1997 | A |
5614286 | Bacon et al. | Mar 1997 | A |
5657126 | Ducharme et al. | Aug 1997 | A |
5657162 | Nilsen et al. | Aug 1997 | A |
5696627 | Benson et al. | Dec 1997 | A |
5706132 | Nestegard et al. | Jan 1998 | A |
5734501 | Smith | Mar 1998 | A |
5759468 | Smith et al. | Jun 1998 | A |
5812315 | Smith et al. | Sep 1998 | A |
5822121 | Smith et al. | Oct 1998 | A |
5837082 | Grafe | Nov 1998 | A |
5840406 | Nilsen | Nov 1998 | A |
5866233 | Oshima et al. | Feb 1999 | A |
5914812 | Benson et al. | Jun 1999 | A |
5946134 | Benson et al. | Aug 1999 | A |
5959774 | Benson et al. | Sep 1999 | A |
6010609 | Mimura et al. | Jan 2000 | A |
6083607 | Mimura et al. | Jul 2000 | A |
6136416 | Smith et al. | Oct 2000 | A |
6277470 | Smith et al. | Aug 2001 | B1 |
6386855 | Luttrell et al. | May 2002 | B1 |
6413615 | Smith et al. | Jul 2002 | B2 |
6540367 | Benson et al. | Apr 2003 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
44 29 683 | Mar 1996 | DE |
197 55 061 | Apr 2003 | DE |
0 390 344 | Oct 1990 | EP |
0 887 665 | Dec 1998 | EP |
423464 | Feb 1935 | GB |
441319 | Jan 1936 | GB |
57138510 | Aug 1982 | JP |
63-306824 | Dec 1988 | JP |
05-164132 | Jun 1993 | JP |
07-135276 | May 1995 | JP |
8-309851 | Nov 1996 | JP |
2006-189664 | Jul 2006 | JP |
WO 9414091 | Jun 1994 | WO |
WO 9511464 | Apr 1995 | WO |
WO 9511469 | Apr 1995 | WO |
WO 9511471 | Apr 1995 | WO |
WO 9633839 | Oct 1996 | WO |
WO 9704939 | Feb 1997 | WO |
WO 9818028 | Apr 1998 | WO |
WO 9819842 | May 1998 | WO |
WO 9856966 | Dec 1998 | WO |
WO 9901273 | Jan 1999 | WO |
WO 9901275 | Jan 1999 | WO |
WO 0060385 | Oct 2000 | WO |
Entry |
---|
Madou; Fundamentals of Microfabrication; 1997; Chapter 6, pp. 275-323. |
Sheet entitled “Techmetal 123 Amorphous Nickel Alloy Coating” from Techmetals, Inc.; Jul. 1994; 1 pg. |
Decision on Appeal Before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, U.S. Appl. No. 09/515,978, Appeal No. 2007-2987, decided Nov. 30, 2007, 17 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20110149395 A1 | Jun 2011 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 09515978 | Feb 2000 | US |
Child | 13037068 | US |