Chemical nickel plating methods and apparatus

Claim 1

THE METHOD OF CHEMICALLY PLATING WITH NICKEL THE INTERIOR OF A HOLLOW CONTAINER FORMED ESSENTIALLY OF AN ELEMENT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF COPPER, SILVER, GOLD, ALUMINUM, IRON COBALT, NICKEL, PALLADIUM AND PLATINUM; WHICH METHOD COMPRISES PROVIDING AN AQUEOUS CHEMICAL NICKEL PALTING SOLUTION OF THE NICKEL CATIONHYPOPHOSPHITE ANION TYPE HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY A PREDETERMINED COMPOSITION AND CHARACTERIZED BY A HIGH PLATING RATE AT A TEMPERATURE WITHIN A GIVE RANGE DISPOSED NEAR THE BOILING POINT THEREOF, ROTATING SAID CONTAINER THROUGHOUT A GIVEN TIME INTERVAL ABOUT A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL AXIS, MAINTAINING DURING SAID ROTATION AND THROUGHOUT SAID TIME INTEVAL SAID CONTAINER AT LEAST PARTIALLY FILLED WITH SAID SOLUTION, AND CIRCULATING DURING SAID ROTATION AND THROUGHTOUT SAID TIME INTERVAL SAID SOLUTION FROM THE EXTERIOR INTO SAID CONTAINER AND THERETHROUGH AND BACK TO THE EXTERRIOR, WHEREIN SAID SOLUTION WHEN INTRODUCED INTO SAID CONTAINER HAS A TEMPERATURE WITHIN SAID GIVEN RANGE AND WHEREIN THE RATE OF CIRCULATION OF SAID SOLUTION THROUGH SAID CONTAINER IS SUFFICIENTLY HIGH TO MAINTAIN THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID FILL WITHIN SAID GIVEN RANGE AND TO PREVENT SUNBSTANTIAL DEPARTURE OF THE COMPOSITION OF SAID FILL FROM SAID PREDETERMINED COMPOSITION.